computer malfuntion

[Peter Edward]

I have Windows ME. Both Scandisk and Disc Defrag. have stopped working. Does anyone know the cure for these two problems?

[stevie21]

A flippant answer would be to get a better operating system.

A more honest answer would be "no - get a better operating system".

[Buenchico]

I'm not too sure what Stevie21 means by 'a better operating system'. If he means Windows 2000, I'd agree that it might have some advantages. If he means Linux then I'll agree that it's far, far better. I just hope that he's not referring to Microsoft's biggest joke ever (at least until Longhorn comes out), the dreaded XP!

The first thing to try has to be System Restore. If this doesn't work then you need to do an on-top reinstall of Windows ME. This retains all of your documents plus all of your programs with the exception of your antivirus software which you just need to re-install. If you need instructions, just post again.

Chris

[Peter Edward]

Thanks Buenchico for your interest in my problems and for your suggestions. I will try System Restore. I have never used it before and I may well be in touch again for your guidance.

Thanks, Peter Edward.

[Peter Edward]

System Restore won't progress beyond selecting a restore date. Any ideas. Is this problem connected with the other two?

Peter Edward

[Buenchico]

It seems that your PC's registry is damaged in a way that can only be fixed by an on-top reinstall of Windows. It's dead easy and doesn't affect your documents or software. (Just one exception: You'll have to re-install your anti-virus program).

You'll need your Windows disk and a startup floppy. If you haven't got a startup floppy you can make one by putting a blank floppy in the drive and following this route: Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Startup Disk > Create Disk.

With your startup floppy in the drive, re-start your PC and hold down F8.

Use the arrow keys to select 'boot from first floppy' and press 'Enter'.

Use the arrow keys to select 'boot with CD support' and press enter.

After a short delay, the screen will show which letter has been allocated to your CD drive. This will probably be E.

When the screen returns to the flashing cursor, put your Windows disk in the drive and type E:setup (That assumes that your CD drive has been designated as E).

Put the kettle on. The whole process will take about half an hour (including several automatic restarts). There are various prompts to acknowledge but it's all fairly straightforward. (If you have to choose between options from a DOS screen just use the arrow keys and hit Enter).

Eventually your PC should return to a fully-working state. Just reinstall your antivirus software and everything should be fine.

Chris

(PS: The first time I did this I was really nervous. There's no need to worry though - it really is dead easy! I've done it several times now - the last time was yesterday! - and never had a problem).

[stevie21]

If your registry IS totally smashed then there's a quicker way of fixing it than reinstalling all of Windows. In a sense you can redo just the registry and leave everything else as is.

This would, however, mean that you need to reinstall every other program on your PC (a list of what's installed and the settings to go with each program is often in the registry) so really, it amounts to the same thing. The only difference is that you get to the "reinstall all my programs again" stage much much much more quickly.
Whether you do this (and I'm not yet convinced that something this drastic is necessary) or reinstall Windows, either way you'll need to reinstall every program again. Probably every last one, without fail.

A much quicker solution is to use commercial software in place of scandisk or defrag. e.g. in place of Windows' degrag, I use one called "Diskeeper"

Good luck!