Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was out of
town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery" on some of the
system files and utilities.

Specs:

Compaq Presario 5WV232
20gb HDD
750mhz AMD Duron MMX
320mb RAM
8mb AGP NVidia TNT2 graphics card
SoundMax Digital Audio


I have found that he hacked the registry to pieces in areas, the PC crashes
randomly, various errors (while running/startup/shutdown), system restore has
been completely removed (not disabled but deleted entirely), DirectX 9.0c is
buggy, a display driver that is only partly compatable (there appears the be
two drivers installed in Add/Remove & there is many display errors etc.),
wrong audio driver (wavs play but nothing else, even with all codecs
installed), the list goes on and on.

I have went through and extracted many of the missing system files from the
install cabs and reinstalled many programs but I cannot revert the registry
using "scanreg" or "regedit" because the backup files were deleted and the
scanreg "/fix" command line does nothing for the problem. I have also tried
to reinstall the correct drivers. But all of this is rather useless because
the registry entries still keep these changes from being fully effective in
many ways.

I feel that I could possibly salvage things but my main concern is that
System Restore has been completely removed. I don't know exactly what files
are needed from the Cab files in order to extract them to their proper
locations.

In any case, I would like to do a reinstall but my original Windows ME disks
were destroyed by my kid's dogs a while back <g>. I have run through only the
first steps of doing a reinstall from the hard drive (via
c:\windows\options\install\setup.exe) to ensure that all of my Cab files are
present and complete. Everything looks good.

My question is this, does the reinstall from the HD delete everything and
leave you with a clean install of Win ME or does it restore the OS only?
Seeing as how all of my programs still function correctly (except where the
audio and/or display creates conflicts) and for the sake of not having to
start from scratch, can I reinstall ONLY the complete OS from the
Windows\Install folder without wiping out everything on my HD?

If this is possible, are there any special steps needed (for example,
uninstalling WMP 9.0 and IE 6.0)...or if someone could direct me to a
reliable source of info on partial reinstalls from the HD. I have searched
the net on the subject but all I can find is info on complete reinstalls by
formatting and then reinstalling using the original disks.

I would greatly appreciate any help you could give. TIA!

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

Maybe you have a System Restore point just before your 15 year old
nephew did surgery?

It might be iffy though... several weeks might be a long time for SR. A
reinstall might be on the horizon.

John

My name wrote:

> I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was out of
> town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery" on some of the
> system files and utilities.
>
> Specs:
>
> Compaq Presario 5WV232
> 20gb HDD
> 750mhz AMD Duron MMX
> 320mb RAM
> 8mb AGP NVidia TNT2 graphics card
> SoundMax Digital Audio
>
>
> I have found that he hacked the registry to pieces in areas, the PC crashes
> randomly, various errors (while running/startup/shutdown), system restore has
> been completely removed (not disabled but deleted entirely), DirectX 9.0c is
> buggy, a display driver that is only partly compatable (there appears the be
> two drivers installed in Add/Remove & there is many display errors etc.),
> wrong audio driver (wavs play but nothing else, even with all codecs
> installed), the list goes on and on.
>
> I have went through and extracted many of the missing system files from the
> install cabs and reinstalled many programs but I cannot revert the registry
> using "scanreg" or "regedit" because the backup files were deleted and the
> scanreg "/fix" command line does nothing for the problem. I have also tried
> to reinstall the correct drivers. But all of this is rather useless because
> the registry entries still keep these changes from being fully effective in
> many ways.
>
> I feel that I could possibly salvage things but my main concern is that
> System Restore has been completely removed. I don't know exactly what files
> are needed from the Cab files in order to extract them to their proper
> locations.
>
> In any case, I would like to do a reinstall but my original Windows ME disks
> were destroyed by my kid's dogs a while back <g>. I have run through only the
> first steps of doing a reinstall from the hard drive (via
> c:\windows\options\install\setup.exe) to ensure that all of my Cab files are
> present and complete. Everything looks good.
>
> My question is this, does the reinstall from the HD delete everything and
> leave you with a clean install of Win ME or does it restore the OS only?
> Seeing as how all of my programs still function correctly (except where the
> audio and/or display creates conflicts) and for the sake of not having to
> start from scratch, can I reinstall ONLY the complete OS from the
> Windows\Install folder without wiping out everything on my HD?
>
> If this is possible, are there any special steps needed (for example,
> uninstalling WMP 9.0 and IE 6.0)...or if someone could direct me to a
> reliable source of info on partial reinstalls from the HD. I have searched
> the net on the subject but all I can find is info on complete reinstalls by
> formatting and then reinstalling using the original disks.
>
> I would greatly appreciate any help you could give. TIA!
>
>
>

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

John John <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote in
news:uwXbey4JFHA.3132@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl:

> Maybe you have a System Restore point just before your 15 year old
> nephew did surgery?
>
> It might be iffy though... several weeks might be a long time for SR. A
> reinstall might be on the horizon.
>
> John
>


System restore was completely deleted along with all of the files needed to
do a restore. Even if I still had the restore points, I don't have the system
restore program EXEs & DLLs to restore it with.

Thanks anyway.

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

My name <MyEmail@nospam.net> wrote in
news:SmOYd.42644$%Y4.6417@bignews6.bellsouth.net:

> I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was
> out of town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery"
> on some of the system files and utilities.
>

I hope you "did surgery" on him <g>.

A very useful site ......
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/winhelp.htm

Specific to re-installing WinME ......
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/reinME.htm


--
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming
"WOW, WHAT A RIDE"

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

Doc <postmaster@[127.0.0.1]> wrote in
news:Xns9618D646A13D1Aardvark@news.xtra.co.nz:

> My name <MyEmail@nospam.net> wrote in
> news:SmOYd.42644$%Y4.6417@bignews6.bellsouth.net:
>
>> I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was
>> out of town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery"
>> on some of the system files and utilities.
>>
>
> I hope you "did surgery" on him <g>.
>
> A very useful site ......
> http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/winhelp.htm
>
> Specific to re-installing WinME ......
> http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/reinME.htm
>
>


lol...yeah, we completed the brain surgery but I don't believe the procedure
was a complete success...we may have to go back in. It appeared that the
"know it all" section of his brain was overloading the "common sense" portion
resulting in impaired judgement. He says that he was trying to "clean" the
computer to make space for the tons of mp3s that he has...grrrr...he cleaned
it all right.

I appreciate the links to the site. It is full of usefull information on the
subject. However, I do still have the one question that I hope someone might
answer, "Does reinstalling from the HD, wipe out the entire contents of the
HD or does it only reinstall the OS while keeping the program files, etc."?

Thanks.

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

My name <MyEmail@nospam.net> wrote:

> lol...yeah, we completed the brain surgery but I don't believe the
> procedure was a complete success...we may have to go back in. It
> appeared that the "know it all" section of his brain was overloading
> the "common sense" portion resulting in impaired judgement. He says
> that he was trying to "clean" the computer to make space for the tons
> of mp3s that he has...grrrr...he cleaned it all right.
>
> I appreciate the links to the site. It is full of usefull information
> on the subject. However, I do still have the one question that I hope
> someone might answer, "Does reinstalling from the HD, wipe out the
> entire contents of the HD or does it only reinstall the OS while
> keeping the program files, etc."?

If you are reinstalling Win Me over an existing Win Me system be it using
setup and the cab files on the hard disk or from a Win Me CD all existing
data files and installed applications should remain intact. The most
important things to note if reinstalling Win Me over itself, and I am sure
it has already been mentioned, is to uninstall IE6 if that has been
installed and to rename the file wmploc.dll to wmploc.old if Windows Media
Player 9 has been installed.
--
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp [...] ichol.mspx
In memory of a very dear friend, Windows MVP Alex Nichol

Mike Maltby MS-MVP
mike.maltby@gmail.com

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

My name wrote:
> I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was out of
> town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery" on some of the
> system files and utilities.
>
> Specs:
>
> Compaq Presario 5WV232
> 20gb HDD
> 750mhz AMD Duron MMX
> 320mb RAM
> 8mb AGP NVidia TNT2 graphics card
> SoundMax Digital Audio
>
>
> I have found that he hacked the registry to pieces in areas, the PC crashes
> randomly, various errors (while running/startup/shutdown), system restore has
> been completely removed (not disabled but deleted entirely), DirectX 9.0c is
> buggy, a display driver that is only partly compatable (there appears the be
> two drivers installed in Add/Remove & there is many display errors etc.),
> wrong audio driver (wavs play but nothing else, even with all codecs
> installed), the list goes on and on.
>
> I have went through and extracted many of the missing system files from the
> install cabs and reinstalled many programs but I cannot revert the registry
> using "scanreg" or "regedit" because the backup files were deleted and the
> scanreg "/fix" command line does nothing for the problem. I have also tried
> to reinstall the correct drivers. But all of this is rather useless because
> the registry entries still keep these changes from being fully effective in
> many ways.
>
> I feel that I could possibly salvage things but my main concern is that
> System Restore has been completely removed. I don't know exactly what files
> are needed from the Cab files in order to extract them to their proper
> locations.
>
> In any case, I would like to do a reinstall but my original Windows ME disks
> were destroyed by my kid's dogs a while back <g>. I have run through only the
> first steps of doing a reinstall from the hard drive (via
> c:\windows\options\install\setup.exe) to ensure that all of my Cab files are
> present and complete. Everything looks good.
>
> My question is this, does the reinstall from the HD delete everything and
> leave you with a clean install of Win ME or does it restore the OS only?
> Seeing as how all of my programs still function correctly (except where the
> audio and/or display creates conflicts) and for the sake of not having to
> start from scratch, can I reinstall ONLY the complete OS from the
> Windows\Install folder without wiping out everything on my HD?
>
> If this is possible, are there any special steps needed (for example,
> uninstalling WMP 9.0 and IE 6.0)...or if someone could direct me to a
> reliable source of info on partial reinstalls from the HD. I have searched
> the net on the subject but all I can find is info on complete reinstalls by
> formatting and then reinstalling using the original disks.
>
> I would greatly appreciate any help you could give. TIA!
>
>
>
What I would do is to copy that out to a CD or a Zip
disk, then reinstall from there. You'll need to reformat the
drive completely. Your nephew is an up and coming world
class hacker (the bad type). Either that or he's taking
instructions from the wrong people.

--
Lester Stiefel
In Romans 1 there are qualities of Unregenerate man listed
which describe him in the last days.
Is your quality found on this list??

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 05:46:26 GMT,Lester Stiefel <les7954@verizon.net>
penned this whopper in microsoft.public.windowsme.general

> My name wrote:
>> I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was
>> out of town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery"
>> on some of the system files and utilities.
>>
>> Specs:
>>
>> Compaq Presario 5WV232
>> 20gb HDD
>> 750mhz AMD Duron MMX
>> 320mb RAM
>> 8mb AGP NVidia TNT2 graphics card
>> SoundMax Digital Audio
>>
>>
>> I have found that he hacked the registry to pieces in areas, the PC
>> crashes randomly, various errors (while running/startup/shutdown),
>> system restore has been completely removed (not disabled but deleted
>> entirely), DirectX 9.0c is buggy, a display driver that is only
>> partly compatable (there appears the be two drivers installed in
>> Add/Remove & there is many display errors etc.), wrong audio driver
>> (wavs play but nothing else, even with all codecs installed), the
>> list goes on and on.
>>
>> I have went through and extracted many of the missing system files
>> from the install cabs and reinstalled many programs but I cannot
>> revert the registry using "scanreg" or "regedit" because the backup
>> files were deleted and the scanreg "/fix" command line does nothing
>> for the problem. I have also tried to reinstall the correct drivers.
>> But all of this is rather useless because the registry entries still
>> keep these changes from being fully effective in many ways.
>>
>> I feel that I could possibly salvage things but my main concern is
>> that System Restore has been completely removed. I don't know exactly
>> what files are needed from the Cab files in order to extract them to
>> their proper locations.
>>
>> In any case, I would like to do a reinstall but my original Windows
>> ME disks were destroyed by my kid's dogs a while back <g>. I have run
>> through only the first steps of doing a reinstall from the hard drive
>> (via c:\windows\options\install\setup.exe) to ensure that all of my
>> Cab files are present and complete. Everything looks good.
>>
>> My question is this, does the reinstall from the HD delete everything
>> and leave you with a clean install of Win ME or does it restore the
>> OS only? Seeing as how all of my programs still function correctly
>> (except where the audio and/or display creates conflicts) and for the
>> sake of not having to start from scratch, can I reinstall ONLY the
>> complete OS from the Windows\Install folder without wiping out
>> everything on my HD?
>>
>> If this is possible, are there any special steps needed (for example,
>> uninstalling WMP 9.0 and IE 6.0)...or if someone could direct me to a
>> reliable source of info on partial reinstalls from the HD. I have
>> searched the net on the subject but all I can find is info on
>> complete reinstalls by formatting and then reinstalling using the
>> original disks.
>>
>> I would greatly appreciate any help you could give. TIA!
>>
>>
>>
> What I would do is to copy that out to a CD or a Zip
> disk, then reinstall from there. You'll need to reformat the
> drive completely. Your nephew is an up and coming world
> class hacker (the bad type). Either that or he's taking
> instructions from the wrong people.
>

This might be more in line with what he's looking for:
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/reinME.htm
Credit, of course, to Noel and the late Koldbear.

--
"Time will bring to light whatever is hidden;
it will cover up and conceal what is now shining in splendor."
Horace (65 - 8 BC); Roman poet.

Mike

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 05:46:26 GMT,Lester Stiefel <les7954@verizon.net>
penned this whopper in microsoft.public.windowsme.general

> My name wrote:
>> I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was
>> out of town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery"
>> on some of the system files and utilities.
>>
>> Specs:
>>
>> Compaq Presario 5WV232
>> 20gb HDD
>> 750mhz AMD Duron MMX
>> 320mb RAM
>> 8mb AGP NVidia TNT2 graphics card
>> SoundMax Digital Audio
>>
>>
>> I have found that he hacked the registry to pieces in areas, the PC
>> crashes randomly, various errors (while running/startup/shutdown),
>> system restore has been completely removed (not disabled but deleted
>> entirely), DirectX 9.0c is buggy, a display driver that is only
>> partly compatable (there appears the be two drivers installed in
>> Add/Remove & there is many display errors etc.), wrong audio driver
>> (wavs play but nothing else, even with all codecs installed), the
>> list goes on and on.
>>
>> I have went through and extracted many of the missing system files
>> from the install cabs and reinstalled many programs but I cannot
>> revert the registry using "scanreg" or "regedit" because the backup
>> files were deleted and the scanreg "/fix" command line does nothing
>> for the problem. I have also tried to reinstall the correct drivers.
>> But all of this is rather useless because the registry entries still
>> keep these changes from being fully effective in many ways.
>>
>> I feel that I could possibly salvage things but my main concern is
>> that System Restore has been completely removed. I don't know exactly
>> what files are needed from the Cab files in order to extract them to
>> their proper locations.
>>
>> In any case, I would like to do a reinstall but my original Windows
>> ME disks were destroyed by my kid's dogs a while back <g>. I have run
>> through only the first steps of doing a reinstall from the hard drive
>> (via c:\windows\options\install\setup.exe) to ensure that all of my
>> Cab files are present and complete. Everything looks good.
>>
>> My question is this, does the reinstall from the HD delete everything
>> and leave you with a clean install of Win ME or does it restore the
>> OS only? Seeing as how all of my programs still function correctly
>> (except where the audio and/or display creates conflicts) and for the
>> sake of not having to start from scratch, can I reinstall ONLY the
>> complete OS from the Windows\Install folder without wiping out
>> everything on my HD?
>>
>> If this is possible, are there any special steps needed (for example,
>> uninstalling WMP 9.0 and IE 6.0)...or if someone could direct me to a
>> reliable source of info on partial reinstalls from the HD. I have
>> searched the net on the subject but all I can find is info on
>> complete reinstalls by formatting and then reinstalling using the
>> original disks.
>>
>> I would greatly appreciate any help you could give. TIA!
>>
>>
>>
> What I would do is to copy that out to a CD or a Zip
> disk, then reinstall from there. You'll need to reformat the
> drive completely. Your nephew is an up and coming world
> class hacker (the bad type). Either that or he's taking
> instructions from the wrong people.
>

And I forgot, I don't think they mentioned on that site to remove WMP9
first.

--
"Time will bring to light whatever is hidden;
it will cover up and conceal what is now shining in splendor."
Horace (65 - 8 BC); Roman poet.

Mike

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

Not possible - unless you've only recently installed it.
The workaround is to delete the WMPLOC.DLL file - which is clearly explained
(I hope) on the page.


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm

In fond memory of one of life's Gentlemen - Alex Nichol
http://www.aumha.org/alex.htm

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"BJ Honeycut" <Friday@drag.net.invalid> wrote in message
news:Xns96197ED40B6E1VincentVanGogh@207.46.248.16...
> On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 05:46:26 GMT,Lester Stiefel <les7954@verizon.net>
> penned this whopper in microsoft.public.windowsme.general
>
>> My name wrote:
>>> I loaned my PC to my 15 year old nephew for several weeks while I was
>>> out of town. When I returned, I found that he decided to "do surgery"
>>> on some of the system files and utilities.
>>>
>>> Specs:
>>>
>>> Compaq Presario 5WV232
>>> 20gb HDD
>>> 750mhz AMD Duron MMX
>>> 320mb RAM
>>> 8mb AGP NVidia TNT2 graphics card
>>> SoundMax Digital Audio
>>>
>>>
>>> I have found that he hacked the registry to pieces in areas, the PC
>>> crashes randomly, various errors (while running/startup/shutdown),
>>> system restore has been completely removed (not disabled but deleted
>>> entirely), DirectX 9.0c is buggy, a display driver that is only
>>> partly compatable (there appears the be two drivers installed in
>>> Add/Remove & there is many display errors etc.), wrong audio driver
>>> (wavs play but nothing else, even with all codecs installed), the
>>> list goes on and on.
>>>
>>> I have went through and extracted many of the missing system files
>>> from the install cabs and reinstalled many programs but I cannot
>>> revert the registry using "scanreg" or "regedit" because the backup
>>> files were deleted and the scanreg "/fix" command line does nothing
>>> for the problem. I have also tried to reinstall the correct drivers.
>>> But all of this is rather useless because the registry entries still
>>> keep these changes from being fully effective in many ways.
>>>
>>> I feel that I could possibly salvage things but my main concern is
>>> that System Restore has been completely removed. I don't know exactly
>>> what files are needed from the Cab files in order to extract them to
>>> their proper locations.
>>>
>>> In any case, I would like to do a reinstall but my original Windows
>>> ME disks were destroyed by my kid's dogs a while back <g>. I have run
>>> through only the first steps of doing a reinstall from the hard drive
>>> (via c:\windows\options\install\setup.exe) to ensure that all of my
>>> Cab files are present and complete. Everything looks good.
>>>
>>> My question is this, does the reinstall from the HD delete everything
>>> and leave you with a clean install of Win ME or does it restore the
>>> OS only? Seeing as how all of my programs still function correctly
>>> (except where the audio and/or display creates conflicts) and for the
>>> sake of not having to start from scratch, can I reinstall ONLY the
>>> complete OS from the Windows\Install folder without wiping out
>>> everything on my HD?
>>>
>>> If this is possible, are there any special steps needed (for example,
>>> uninstalling WMP 9.0 and IE 6.0)...or if someone could direct me to a
>>> reliable source of info on partial reinstalls from the HD. I have
>>> searched the net on the subject but all I can find is info on
>>> complete reinstalls by formatting and then reinstalling using the
>>> original disks.
>>>
>>> I would greatly appreciate any help you could give. TIA!
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> What I would do is to copy that out to a CD or a Zip
>> disk, then reinstall from there. You'll need to reformat the
>> drive completely. Your nephew is an up and coming world
>> class hacker (the bad type). Either that or he's taking
>> instructions from the wrong people.
>>
>
> And I forgot, I don't think they mentioned on that site to remove WMP9
> first.
>
> --
> "Time will bring to light whatever is hidden;
> it will cover up and conceal what is now shining in splendor."
> Horace (65 - 8 BC); Roman poet.
>
> Mike

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

"Noel Paton" <NoelDPspamless@btopenworld.com> wrote in
news:e6#QteNKFHA.3652@TK2MSFTNGP10.phx.gbl:

> Not possible - unless you've only recently installed it.
> The workaround is to delete the WMPLOC.DLL file - which is clearly
> explained (I hope) on the page.
>
>


I greatly appreciate your site Noel. I feel it will be invaluable when
restoring this PC.

If I might ask just a couple of quick questions that I found were not
answered on the site:

Does reinstalling ME over itself from the HDD completely erase items such as
programs files and such?

Is the registry retained "as is" (as it was before the reinstall), rebuilt to
appear as it would with a completely fresh install, or are only the OS-
related entries modified back to factory specs while leaving individual
program keys and values "as is"?

In the unlikely event that I needed to completely format the HD and then do a
complete reinstall, could I do this by copying the entire Windows\Options
folder to a CD-R and do a fresh install from it (using the EBD and command
lines as detailed on your site)?

Would you happen to know the registry key that holds the Windows ME
activation key right off? If not or if it is too much trouble, it ok. I found
the registry key that contains it on Google once, I'm sure I can do so again.

I feel that if I could get these four questions answered, I would have a bit
of relief as I am always cautious with something as potentially dangerous as
this. Formatting and then doing a fresh install using the original
installation CDs is one thing, but reinstalling ME over itself using this
method worries me a bit.

I would be very greatful for any answers or advise that you might be able to
give.

Cheers!

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsme.general (More info?)

On Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:52:10 GMT,"Noel Paton"
<NoelDPspamless@btopenworld.com> penned this whopper in
microsoft.public.windowsme.general

> Not possible - unless you've only recently installed it.
> The workaround is to delete the WMPLOC.DLL file - which is clearly
> explained (I hope) on the page.
>

Thanks for the clarification, Noel. To be honest I haven't read it in some
time, sort of fly by the seat of my trousers. It's all on a PDA I carry
with me.

--
"Time will bring to light whatever is hidden;
it will cover up and conceal what is now shining in splendor."
Horace (65 - 8 BC); Roman poet.

Mike