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WININSTO.400 is BREEDING!

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5 replies

by nsteere

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I have a user who somehow managed to get 20+ copies of the WININSTO.400 folder created like this:
C:\WININSTO.400\WININSTO.400\WININSTO.400\WININSTO.400\WININSTO.400.....etc. Each folder contains a copy of the C:\ folders. When I do a search, all copies of the files come up taking forever.
Tried to delete but I run into bunches of problems trying to get rid of the protected files like a copy of IE.
The properties of the first folder give a size of 30+ GB. The drive is only 20GB.
DID:
1. Ran Virus scans--no viruses
2. Ran scandisk and Norton disk doctor--one minor problem on D: drive found---yay

This is wierd, any help mucho appreciated.

5 replies

by crapaud ergo sum

sounds familiar. keep notes of all locations. uninstall explorer, then try again, if still not, reboot from dos, KILLDIR depending on OS, or the long way, delete one at a time.
recheck.
reboot, recheck.
then reinstall explorer.
good luck.
btw, this reminds me of a virus and i have faith in norton.

by maxwell edison

WININSTO.400 is a folder created by Windows 95 setup program, most likely a Windows 95 update to OSR2. This is available for download from the Microsoft Web site, so it can be run with or without the CD.

Is this a Windows 95 machine?

Did the user run that setup 20+ times?

If the answer to those questions is yes, then you know how it may have happened. To resolve the issue, I'd reload Windows (your "good" version) over itself to repair damaged and replace missing files.

By the way, although I've seen this folder associated mainly with Windows 95, I've have also seen mention of it with Windows 98 as well. So regardless of your exact version, I think the cause and resolution will be the same.

Backup any data files first, just in case the worst happens.

Best of luck and have a GREAT 2002!

Maxwell

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