> From: Ronn Blankenship <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Thanks to all those who have replied! > > My earlier description of the problem: > > >Hi, you experts . . . > > > >Over the weekend, my Win 98 machine refused to boot. It reported a > >registry problem, and SCANREG did not fix it. A friend of mine locally > >who does this kind of thing for a living said I needed to reinstall Win 98 > >to correct the problem. Numerous attempts to reinstall it from the CAB > >files in the C:\WIN98 directory to the C:\WINDOWS directory all resulted > >in the message: > > > >"Message SU995028 > >Setup encountered an error while creating registry keys. If the problem > >persists, you will not be able to upgrade but should install Windows 98 to > >a new directory. (0x13a4)" > > > >Finally, I took its advice and created a new directory and installed it > >there. Not only does that mean that I will have to reinstall all the > >software before it can work, but for some reason it cannot find any of the > >proper drivers: for example, it refuses to let the monitor show anything > >but 16 colors, 640x480 resolution. > > > >What I would like to do, of course, is to get back to where I was last
> >week or so, without the impending registry problem. I have exhausted my > >store of ideas on what to try (and my friend is not currently available > >and I don't want to keep bothering him for free advice, anyway), so I got > >my old Win 95 machine running (or at least walking) so I could ask for help. > > > >Is there some way I can do something like copy the registry file from the > >new directory into the old C:\WINDOWS directory, then try reinstalling > >there again with any hope of success? Or is there something else I can try? > > > >Thanks, > >-- Ronn! :) > > > A bit more of the chronology, etc.: > > This happened Sunday night/Monday morning around midnight. By that time, > the computer had been up if not all day, most of the day. (And, FWIW, NAV > had run its weekly full-system virus scan that morning�scheduled at the > same time as Church�and hadn't found anything AFAIK.) I had just > downloaded a batch of e-mail and was trying to copy and paste something > from one message into a new message to forward to someone else. The c&p > wasn't working properly, so I rebooted. It came back up with the screen > which gives the choices of "Normal", "Safe mode", etc., and said to choose > "5. Command Prompt Only" and then run SCANREG. I did that numerous times, > with no luck (see below). As it was the middle of the night and I couldn't > think of any source of help available at the time (other than over the > Internet, which I couldn't get to), I turned the computer off and called it > a night. > > I think I may have tried it again Monday on the off chance that it was one > of those problems that seems to clear itself up, but of course it wasn't. > > Tuesday morning, I was able to get hold of the friend I mentioned in my > earlier message, and he said that I needed to reinstall Windows 98 over the > old installation and that when I did, everything would still be there as it > had been. To get it started to do that, I needed a Win 98 startup disk, Nope. You're screwed because that only kinda sorta works with a good registry. I can send you via email a working win9x disk. > which meant I needed another (working) computer that was running Win 98. I > tried to make one Tuesday night on a computer at school, but when I > started, it asked for the Win 98 CD, which of course I didn't have with me, > and no one else who was around at the time had one, either. > > So I tried again Wednesday night with another Win 98 machine with the a Win > 98 CD at hand. This time, it didn't ask for the CD. (Of course.) After I > got home, I used the startup disk to try to reinstall Win 98 over the old > installation, with the aforementioned results . . . > > Responses I received: > > >The Fool wrote: > > > > > > > > > Do you have any backups you have made in the past? Look for a backup > > > file System.da0 . It should be the backup. Try copying and renaming it System.dat and then moving it to the Windows\ directory. Look for other system.* files. Sometime some other programs back up the registry too. > > I know the file you are referring to. Doubt if I have one that would be of > much use, 'cuz AFAIK it creates a new one from the SYSTEM.DAT file every > time it starts. Though it seems like I've seen a third file named > SYSTEM.<something-or-other> on occasion. I'd have to check the "Modified" > dates to see if any of them date from before Sunday night. Only on a 'good' start. > > > > > > > You can move the registry from your temporary installation into your old > > > installation but you will encounter problems. > > > > > > 1 wipe the new installation. > > > > > > 2 rename the old windows directory winold (move windows winold). > > > > > > 3 reinstall from cd, with the directory windows > > > > > > 4 copy system.dat and user.dat to another directory. > > > > > > 5 move windows winnew > > > > > > 6 move winold windows > > > > > > 7 backup / rename your current registry files > > > > > > 8 copy the new system.dat file into the windows directory > > > > > > you _Will_ lose installation information about everything that was > > > previously installed on your computer, but by this point you are screwed > > > anyway. > > > > > > Need more information about the video problem. What did you do to try to > > > change the mode? > > > First, tried changing the values on the "Display Properties | Settings" window. > > Then, told it to look for a different driver. Told it specifically to look > in the old C:\WINDOWS directory. It always went back to the new directory > and selected what appears to be the most basic generic driver > available. The specific driver it needs does not seem to be listed > anywhere in the list of drivers Win 98 provides. I tried things like > changing it from a generic VGA to something like a generic Super VGA with > higher resolution, etc., and after rebooting, it would always be back to > the same basic generic driver and mode. > Copy the contents of the windows\inf directory, into the new directory. > > > > > What video card do you have? What drivers have you installed for this > > video card? > > > > The quick answer to both questions is "The one that came already installed > in the computer that worked fine prior to now." To find out would require > swapping machines again, turning that machine on, and hoping it would tell me. Find out, because you may (probably) have to download drivers for it from the manufacturer. > > > > Windows doesn't always magically have a > > > driver for everything, they have to be installed from the vendors disks, > > > etc. > > > > No such disks were provided with the computer when I bought it. Everything > was "pre-installed." (Which, of course, is a major reason why I want to > get it back the way it was.) And the last time I tried to get some help > from the people that built the computer�specifically with some > documentation about some of the stuff that was installed in it�they were no > help at all. In that case some of the software that came with it may no longer be usable. > (And if anyone asks why I hadn't copied it all as a backup, I refer you to > the discussion we had on the list a few weeks ago on the failure rate of > the blank CDs I got from CompUSA, which in the ones I have tested out of > the 200 I purchased is a consistent 100%. Since discovering that problem > when I went to use the blank disks, I've not had the funds to purchase a > similar quantity of higher quality. And at about $100 per GB, there is no > way I could have obtained enough Zip disks for the purpose.) > > > >Nick Arnett wrote: > > > > > > Ugh. I just had a laptop fail and I've copied its drive onto a different > > > machine, so I'm facing some of the same ugliness. > > > > > > There's no good way to fix the registry, in my experience (and I have far > > > too much). If you don't have very many things installed > > > > Shirley, you jest. The 80GB hard drive I mentioned on the list awhile back > was not a frivolous option, being nearly half-full already. (And not > simply with old e-mail. ;-) ) > > > > > (unlikely), you > > > could go through the painful and tedious process of copying the application > > > keys from the old registry (if you can open it) > > > > That is my first question. Where is the old one, especially since the > system says it can't find it? I know that sometimes files that get munged > get stored somewhere like C:\WINDOWS\TEMP under a different name; does > anyone know what I might look for to see if there is a copy somewhere? The 'registry' in win9x is System.dat and User.dat in the windows directory. > > > > into the new one, then > > > swapping as you suggest. But without the application keys, swapping it > > will > > > just make your life miserable. And it won't know where the correct Windows > > > directory is, so you'd have to fix that in the registry. > > > > > > You could try and find a registry tool that would tell you the differences > > > between your new one and the old one, so you could decide what to copy. > > > > Does such a tool exist anywhere? Does the Registry Editor in Norton > SystemWorks have that capability? Or would one have to open the old one, > save it as a text file, then compare by eye and copy the information into > the new one? I would look at www.download.com . You do not have the ability to edit the registry by hand. > Obviously, not _everything_ has to be copied. But I do need to somehow > restore the stuff that came pre-installed with no disks, if at all possible. > > > > > > > You can export a whole registry tree at a time, so it's not really, really > > > horrible. Just really. > > > > > > It probably can't find drivers because there's an incorrect registry key > > > telling it where to look for them. The registry is an abomination, by the > > > way. > > > > At least you're not telling me how easy this would be in Linux (which > partition of the disk I fortunately had done essentially nothing with as > yet, so there was naught to lose except the BootMagic selection screen when > I boot up) or on a Mac. Unfortunately, most of us who want to be > compatible with the rest of the world are still at Bill Gates's mercy . . > You'd just love doing it in linux. Editing all of those txt files. By hand. > > > > > > You're certain you don't have the registry backed up somewhere? > > > > > > Not to my knowledge, unless I can find it somewhere. > > > > > Nick > > > > > > >Chad Cooper wrote: > > > > > > HOLD ON... > > > > > > http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q221512 > > > > > > There is a utility called scanreg that should be on your hard drive. > > > > Yes. When the problem first occurred, it said to choose "5. Command Prompt > Only" and then run SCANREG. Which I did numerous times. SCANREG would > open in a blue screen, it would say something like "Checking system files . > . . " at the bottom of the screen, then that would be replaced by "Backing > up system files . . ." and then a "C:\>" prompt would appear at the > upper-left of the screen (with the SCANREG blue screen and the "Backing up > system files . . . " still on-screen). I waited a while to see if anything > else would happen with that screen, and when nothing did, I tried typing > "win" at the prompt. It would start and get as far as the splash screen > before informing me: > > > "While initializing device VKD. > > Windows protection error. You need to restart your computer. > > Press any key to continue . . . " > > upon which the same sequence would repeat itself, as would my > verbalizations of annoyance. (Though the latter would rise in volume and > intensity with each iteration.) > > > A couple of times I tried selecting "4. Single step mode" (or whatever it > says). After executing the AUTOEXEC.BAT file but before getting to the > above, it would inform me: > > > "Registry file not found. Registry services may be unavailable for this > session." > > > The next command it would try to run would be "scvmd.386", and after I > pressed "y", it would then display the above sequence starting with "While > initializing device VKD." and then require restarting. > > > Options 1., 2., and 3. all failed to work, and option "6. Safe Mode > Command Prompt Only" led to a message informing me that I could not use > that option because the computer needed HIMEM to run and that was not > available in that mode. ?? > > > > > > It > > > comes with Windows 98. I have included a MS KB article that describes > > how to > > > repair or revert to older registries. Sometimes this works. > > > > And sometimes curly-tailed barnyard animals spontaneously become airborne . > . . ;-) > > > > > > > > > Feel free to tap me for help offline. > > > Nerd From Hell > > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > > > SUMMARY > > > This article describes how to restore a backup copy of the Windows 98 or > > > Windows Millennium Edition (Me) registry. > > > > > > MORE INFORMATION > > > Under normal circumstances, Windows is capable of detecting and recovering > > > from registry errors automatically. > > > > Obviously, _that_ ship sailed Sunday night, leaving me in abby-normal > circumstances . . . > Perhaps. Perhaps, not. > > > > If Windows is incapable of this, a > > > previous copy of the registry can be restored manually. Windows makes and > > > stores a backup of the registry when you start your computer successfully > > > each day. By default, five previous copies or the registry are stored. > > > > If this means it makes and stores a backup *once each day* when & if the > computer is successfully started, then I might be in luck. Once each time successfully stated I believe. > If it means that it makes and stores a new backup *every time the computer > is restarted* and only keeps the most recent five, then I all it has is > five copies of the new one, since every time I tried to change the display > settings to the correct values it said "You must restart your computer for > the new settings to take effect," and I tried that far more than five times > (although the result every time, whether it displayed an error message or > not, was that it was still set to 640x480, 16 colors). > > (Yeah, I know it probably means the second one. I can check, anyway.) Your mixing apples and orangutangs here. Specifically the 'new' installation would not affect the old installation. > > >To > > > restore one of these previous copies: > > > > > > Start your computer, press and hold CTRL, and then choose Safe Mode Command > > > Prompt Only from the Windows 98 Startup menu. If you are running > > Windows Me, > > > start your computer with the startup disk. > > > > > > At the MS-DOS prompt, type cd\windows\command , and then press ENTER. > > > > > > Where windows is the name of the folder in which Windows is installed. > > > > > > At the C: prompt, type scanreg /restore , and then press ENTER. > > > > > > Select the previous registry you want to restore, and then press ENTER. > > > > > > NOTE : A properly working registry has the word "Started" next to the date. > > > > > > When you receive notification that you restored a properly working > > registry, > > > press ENTER to restart your computer. > > > > > > > > At 00:12 15-02-02 -0600, you wrote: > >The Fool wrote: > > > > > > ---------- > > > > From: Nick Arnett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > > > > Ugh. I just had a laptop fail and I've copied its drive onto a > > > different > > > > machine, so I'm facing some of the same ugliness. > > > > > > > > There's no good way to fix the registry, in my experience (and I have > > > far > > > > too much). If you don't have very many things installed (unlikely), > > > you > > > > could go through the painful and tedious process of copying the > > > application > > > > keys from the old registry (if you can open it) into the new one, then > > > > swapping as you suggest. But without the application keys, swapping it > > > will > > > > just make your life miserable. And it won't know where the correct > > > Windows > > > > directory is, so you'd have to fix that in the registry. > > > > > > > > You could try and find a registry tool that would tell you the > > > differences > > > > between your new one and the old one, so you could decide what to copy. > > > > > > He would be lost trying to do that. > > > > Not necessarily. I've just never done it before (obviously). It can't > necessarily be a lot harder in principle than some of the things I've done > on mainframes, back when the only possible meaning of "PC" was a spring > break destination in Florida . . . > It is never wise for even the experts to just go FSCKING around the registry. That's how people get into your situation in the first place. I edit things with caution, and care and knowing that my system has multiple backups of backups if I really fsck up. > > > > > The only important keys in this case > > > anyway would be under hkey_current_user.software and > > > hkey_local_machine.software, avoiding the mircrosoft subkey. > > > > > > Even then it would be painful, things wouldn't be right, and would still > > > be simpler to just reinstall all the programs from scratch. > > > > Ass�u�me-ing that I had the disks from which to do so . . . Well you are just screwed in that ain't ya. > > > > > > The real problem is that some programs like to install stealth GUIDs that > > > are hard to pin down. > > > > > > > You can export a whole registry tree at a time, so it's not really, > > > really > > > > horrible. Just really. > > > > > > > > It probably can't find drivers because there's an incorrect registry > > > key > > > > telling it where to look for them. The registry is an abomination, by > > > the > > > > way. > > > > > > No. The new install / registry would have no information about > > > non-default microsoft supplied drivers. These are ussually contained in > > > the windows/inf directory, AND some bits in the registry. > > > > Is that also where the non-Micro$oft drivers would be found? Yes. It should be where all the drivers are. > > > > > > > > > > > > You're certain you don't have the registry backed up somewhere?
