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Windows 98 wont load-need old data files

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9 replies

by lt1transamgt 1 view

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I have a WIndows 98 machine and when I tried to load windows it told me himem.sys was missing. I loaded the file from another machine but now it says to reinstall windows and wont let me do anything. I need some important files off the computer. I can't get them from dos because they are large. Can I reinstall windows from the cd and still keep all my files safe on the computer? Will it ask me if I want to keep the old files. Please help! Thanks,
George

9 replies

by ann777

If you reinstall win98 on top of the current installation, then it will not do anything to your old data files. It should replace all missing system files and you should be able to retrieve any and all data normally thereafter.

Before reinstalling, rename the himem.sys file you copied over from another computer to himem.old and then re-run setup from the windows 98 cd-rom.

All of the above assumes that you have a win98 cd and not a recovery cd that some manufacturer's provide for recreating the entire hdd. If you have a recovery cd, then you will need to contact your manufacturer for further instruction on how to save your data.

by alpha-male

First I would virus-scan and scandisk your PC thoroughly...

Then, I would re-install your Windows 98 to a different directory (to keep things as clean and simple as possible)...use c:\win98 instead of the default c:\windows for example.

Then, once you're up and running successfully, get your datafiles safely archived. The more important they are, the more care I'd take (testing...having a redundant backup, etc).

After this, I'd most likely fdisk the drive and mbr. Reinstall the machineand test the HD. It may be having hardware issues and that could make you vulnerable to being in this situation again.

Fool me once, shame on you....fool me twice shame on me....

Good luck!

by nettek

You can reinstall windows and be fairly certain that your old files will be there if those files are on another partition (e: drive, for example).

Another solution is to remove the hard drive that has your files and add the drive as a slave to another PC that has Windows already on it. Once you boot the other PC, Windows should detect the drive and you should be able to access your files.

by 7nt

Before reinstalling Win98 again, boot the computer and hold down the CTRL key until the menu appears, then select BOOT TO DOS PROMPT. Once there, change to the root directory (via CD:\ and ) and type EDIT CONFIG.SYS

If there is a statementthere regarding HIMEM.SYS, put a "rem" in front of it, e.g. "rem device=himem.sys". Now reboot and see if Windows loads properly.

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