Windows98 Start up Problem

[fatcat2002]

My PC will no longer start up. After switching on the PC run trough to showing me my background wallpaper. AT this point I get the following message:

"A required .DLL file c:\windows\system\MSVCRT.DLL was not found."

I also get a pop-up box saying "Version Mismatches S32UTILL expected 28.0.0.181"

I then ger another pop-up box stating "Error loading Explorer.exe. You must reinstall windows".

The PC then locks up.

I've tried starting my PC with a Windows Start Up Disk but I'm unable to reinstall Windows98. When I try to run the setup progam I get the following message:

"setup initiallaized.........
windows setup requires 'largest executable program size' to be at least 442368 bytes to run."

I then get the MSDOS prompt again.

Does anyone have any idea how or what I should do to get my PC running again.

I've also tried starting it in SAFE MODE but I get the same error messages.

Thank you

 

[Jakespeare]

There is only one piece of advice I can think of to offer IN THIS FORMAT -------That is BY REMOTE.
(If this fails, I recommend that Windows will have to be installed on a reformatted hard drive )

> What I'm suggesting is trying to restore a GOOD copy of the REGISTRY (if there is still one left). By default Win98 keeps 5 copies as backup. Maybe there is still a copy that you can use to get your computer up and running again.

> At boot up,,,, HOLD DOWN the F8 KEY
> At the command prompt, choose
"COMMAND PROMPT ONLY"
>TYPE: >scanreg /restore
> Hit enter

Here is the part that requires some thought:
You will be shown, Hopefully, a list (of 5) copies of the REGISTRY,,,,, and DATES!
DATES.
That is the critical part. Choose one of the REG files rb001,
rb002,
rb003 ........ the one that has a DATE when your computer last ran,,,,,,,
Choose that one.
Run that.
REBOOT............
> See what happens ??

Write back.

 

[grygst76]

Check this out with your error messageSYMPTOMS
When you run the Windows Setup program, you may receive the following error message:

Windows Setup requires the largest executable program size to be at least x,xxx,xxx bytes
The number that is reported may be 4,442,368 or 442,368 bytes.



CAUSE
This issue can occur in the following scenarios:

The amount of space on the hard disk has been reported incorrectly.


You installed drive overlay software, but you did not follow the correct installation sequence. For example, you may have to press the SHIFT key or use a similar keystroke combination to start your computer when you use a disk.


The computer has a virus.


The computer has failing or faulty hardware.





RESOLUTION
Before you start the resolution procedure, follow these steps:

Use backup software (or some other means) to back up critical data.


If you are using drive overlay software, follow the instructions on the screen to restart your computer from a disk.


Perform a scan of your hard disk using current antivirus software to find and eliminate any viruses that may be present.


If you do not have access to your CD-ROM at the MS-DOS prompt but you have access using Windows, start Windows, and then copy the Windows Setup files from the CD-ROM to a folder (known as the Flat folder) to your hard disk.


To resolve this issue:
Start Microsoft Windows Explorer, click the C drive (or another drive that has a lot of free disk space), create a new folder, and then name it "Flat".


Locate and click the Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows 98 Second Edition folder on your CD-ROM.


Click any file in the right pane, and then click Select All on the Edit menu.


Click Copy on the Edit menu.


Open the Flat folder that you created in step one.


Click Paste on the Edit menu.


Create a Startup disk and ensure that it is virus-free.

 

[Jakespeare]

grygrst76

It would also be helpful if you posted the "Q" number of
the Microsoft Knowledge base text file that it Looks like you copied this out of.
There is probably some other information, like links to other "Q" articles that would be helpful.

 

[fatcat2002]

Jakespeare,

Thank you for you advise. Unfortunately it did not work. I was able to see the REGISTRY files and tried to restore an old version. It told me that it was successful but when I re-booted my PC is received the same error messages.

I'll try the solution posted by GRYGST76 this evening and let you know what happens.

Thank you all for you help.

 

[fatcat2002]

grygst76,

I tried your solution but was unable to follow it. How do I go about creating a new directory in DOS. I am unable to access windows to open WIndows Explorer.


If I format my hard drive, will I be able to use my Windows Start Up Disk to reinstall Windows. I'm very nervous about formatting the hard drive due to the probelms I'm having trying to run my WIndows 98 CD.

 

[Guest_imported]

FatCat,

To create a directory in DOS:

MD [name]

or

MKDIR [name]

real mode DOS requires 8.3 names, so keep it simple ("BKUP0202" or "sysbkup1", etc.)

to copy data, use:

XCOPY /s/e [path] [path]

where the first path is "from" and the second path is "to."

Note that you can not use XCOPY32 in real mode. Also, check your paths carefully... Windows sometimes lies about paths (for example, Desktop appears to be / in GUI mode, but is really c:/windows/desktop, etc.).

CD [dir name]

will let you move "up" one level,

CD ..

will let you move down one level.

 

[Guest_imported]

Aftertho't:

You might want to

EDIT c:\AUTOEXEC.BAT

and look for a line that says "WIN /WX" --if you find it, put a colon : in front of that line, then ALT,F,S,ALT,F,X to save and exit. If that line was present,

EDIT C:\CONFIG.SYS

and look for a line that says "DOS=SINGLE" -- place the letters REM in front of that line, then ALT,F,S,ALT,F,X to save and exit.

Reboot.

Ignore lines in the config.sys that say "DOS=HIGH,UMB" or anything like that... you are only looking for "DOS=SINGLE."

This is probably not your problem, but the results can be similar.

 

[grygst76]

Try this then boot to a command prompt and type scandisk
try to do a scandisk on the drive if it is not successful or fails in anyway there is a problem with either the drive or memory if it is successful then follow this
boot using your win98 start up disk click yes for cdrom access
wait for it to finish
then switch to the cdrom
type cd win98
then type setup
if it fails
go to the prompt again and type
c:md flat
cd e: (assuming e: is the cdrom)
if you are unfamiliar with xcopy type xcopy/?
you want to copy the entire cd to the flat folder
then run setup from that folder
if it fails again run setup again from that folder by using this switch setup /is
For those of you not familiar with the Microsoft article number it is (Q289727)

sorry it took so long for me to respond,,,

 

[fatcat2002]

Thank you to everyone for your advice. My problem has now been resolved.

For those who are interested I had to copy the MSVCRT.DLL and EXPLORER.EXE file from another PC running Windows 98 to my PC. Once I had done this my PC ran okay. I think something happened with Nortons Utilities that caused my problem.

 

[Jakespeare]

Norton utilities. McAfee utilities. Nuts&Bolts, etc.
They are all VERY problematic. I love them, as they help pay my rent,
**** but I tell all my friends, NEVER use those UTILITY SUITES,,,,, they cause nothing but problems.

I really like Norton AntiVirus (I won't use McAfee anymore),
but I wouldn't even dream of using Norton system Works (unless I hated the customer).

Thanks for the final post fatcat2002

 

[Jakespeare]

** OH, I forgot:
The clue was there the whole time in your first post:

"I also get a pop-up box saying "Version Mismatches S32UTILL expected 28.0.0.181"

S32UTIL - *must* be Norton. Heh.

 

[Prozactive]

Dear fatcat2002,

I'm having almost the exact same problem...

I get the pop-up box saying "Version Mismatches: S32UTILL expected 28.0.0.181; Not Found" with Continue or Exit buttons, but I don't get the "MSVCRT.DLL not found" or "Error loading Explorer.exe" messages. Instead, I get an EXPLORER.EXE page fault at 017f:00401f31 pop-up box with a stack dump... but the rest of the symptoms are identical. All I get is the desktop wallpaper... no icons at all. Rebooting in safe mode yields the same error messages. The system will not boot up.

This problem started immediately after I installed an old Diamond Monster3D Voodoo add-on video card and its associated drivers (m3d1600.exe). My OS is Win98SE and yes, Norton SystemWorks is loaded.

I haven't had a chance to try your solution yet because it's a relative's computer and not here at my house, but I will soon. I was wondering how you figured out the solution because my problem is not exactly like yours and may not respond similarly.

Thanks in advance for your or anyone else's help with this problem.