system restore help!
 

ok i had a computer that messed up a long time ago and i couldnt find my system restore cd's that came with it (Windows ME) then i uploaded it with windows 98 , but it stills reads as windows ME when i use it and it starts up. But the problem is i just found the system restore cd's that came with it and now they wont work. so i made a start up disk and wanted to know what command to use with the startup disk to use the system restore cd's. thx to anyone that helpes

Just reformat.. it sounds very cluttered and screwed up.

System restore cd's shouldn't require a startup disk.

well how do i reformat, and the system restore cd's did work before i used the Win98 cd's on the computer , they used to just automaticall ask me if i wanted to restore but now they dont and i have to do it manually and when i DO do it manually it says something like "These System Restore are for (my computers model and stuff) only." So i just wanted to know if i can do it with the startup disk. cuz thats what i did with the windows 98 cd's i just used the startup disk. but i forgot how to use em.

Ok I'm gonna type out the whole procedure.

Introduction:

Physically installing your hard drive is only the first part of the process of installing a hard drive. Once you've made the proper physical connections, you have to tell your computer to recognize the hard drive, partition it (divide it into pieces), and finally format it so that it can be used. On the other hand, you can keep it as one large drive and skip the partitioning step. If your computer comes with special software, use it and skip these next steps.

Step 1: Run CMOS to Recognize Drive

Press whatever key you need to for entering CMOS information. Often, CMOS will recognize your new hard drive and you won't have to do anything more to the BIOS. If it doesn't, you have to choose the hard drive in CMOS, and then enter information about the hard drive's cylinder, heads, and sectors. Check the hard drive's manual or manufacturer's Web site for this information. Save and exit the CMOS menu in order to put the settings into effect.

Step 2: Boot from a Floppy

When you exit CMOS, the computer should restart if you're replacing your hard drive. Put in the boot floppy that you've prepared before it restarts. If you are using Windows 95, Windows 3.1, or DOS, you see a prompt that looks like this: A:\>. If you're using Windows 98, you get a startup menu, asking you if you want to start the computer with or without CD-ROM support. Choose CD-ROM support. In Windows 98, a RAM drive will be created. Write down the letter of the RAM drive; you'll need it later on.


Step 3: Format Your Hard Drive

If you're replacing an old hard drive with a new one, you will need to restart your computer, so leave in your boot floppy. After it reboots, type Format C: /S at the DOS prompt to format your new hard drive, and put the DOS operating system onto it. With Windows 98, the operating system files are copied to your new hard drive from the RAM drive that win 98 previously created. Assuming that the RAM drive was letter D, type the following to format your hard drive and put basic operating system files onto it: D:\Format C: /S. If you're not replacing your old hard drive from the DOS prompt, type Format D: (or whatever letter your second drive will be). If you've created separate partitions instead of just one, format each of them in turn.

Step 4: Re-Install Operating System

If you're replacing an old hard drive with a new one, you have to reinstall your operating system. to do that, get your Windows disks and reinstall Windows onto your new hard drive. If you're not replacing your old hard drive, and are only adding a second one,, you won't need to put the operating system onto it.

Step 5: Copy Backed-Up Data and Files

After you've confirmed that the hard drive is working properly, copy all the data and files that you've previously backed up to your new hard drive.

well that should do it. whew, fingers hurt......

ok d3v are u talking about re-installing a new hard drive as in physically or with files ans shit cuz i want to just reinstall my winodows me files. but i'll do wat you said and see where i get. thx

hmm, try this professional guide.

Now to begin, you will need a MS Dos6.xx or Windows9x boot disk.

STEP ONE
You first need to decide what operating system you intend to load after formatting the hard drive. It is best and easiest to use a boot disk for that Operating System, such as MS Dos6.2 or Windows95b or Windows98SE. You will need the proper Windows95/98 boot disk in order to load the these operating systems on the computer, else it will reject loading due to the wrong Operating System on the computer.

STEP TWO
Insert your boot disk in the floppy drive and start the computer. Once the system has completed booting and an A: prompt appears we are ready to start.

Type: format C: /s [press Enter]

This statement tells the system to format your "C" drive and when it is finished to copy the system files to the drive, (the /s switch for 'System'). You can format a different drive this way by using a different drive letter.

Format should display: WARNING, ALL DATA ON
NON-REMOVABLE DISK DRIVE C: WILL BE LOST!
Proceed with Format (Y/N)? Type [Y] [Press ENTER]

Your screen should display the size of your drive and a countdown in percentage of formatting completed. Depending on your computer's speed and the size of the drive it can take from a few minutes to over 15minutes.

STEP THREE
When it reaches 100% complete, you will see a new message:
FORMAT COMPLETE. SYSTEM TRANSFERRED.

This indicates that the files required to boot your computer from the hard drive have been copied from the floppy to the hard drive. The computer can now boot from the hard drive without a boot disk in the floppy drive.

You will see one last message:
Volume label (11 characters, ENTER for none)?
Type anything you like or leave it blank - [Press ENTER]

You can now begin to load your Operating System.

Special Note:
You may receive the error message:
"insufficient memory to load system files"

This is caused by the lack of a memory manager loaded at boot and your PC can only access the first 1mg of ram memory. There are two possible solutions:

1) Omit the /s switch when formatting. This is done by typing this:
FORMAT C: [press enter]

Then when the format is complete, manually add the system files to your hard drive by using this command:
SYS C: [press enter]

2) You will need to load a memory manager in order to overcome this issue. Not knowing what operating system boot disk you are using is an issue here. However, Windows98 boot disks load a memory manager, so let us assume it is either Windows95 or earlier.

You need to add the file HIMEM.SYS to your boot disk and then modify your Config.sys file on the boot disk.

Download HIMEM.SYS 10k

Unzip the file to your boot disk and add this line in the Config.sys, (make this the first line):

DEVICE=himem.sys

Now, reboot your computer with the boot disk and it should work fine.

You will find that the boot disks we offer for download are all configured with a Memory manager and contain the file: HIMEM.SYS

can i be able to use my comp after the format cuz how am i gonna dload the .sys file?

after you format your computer, it sets it up for you to install windows. you shouldn't have to dl anything, just pop in your windows cd.

oh ok cool,i might do that or just install a winXP pro, which i forgot i had and just rememberd

Yes you should do that, because ME is full of errors. :-\, I do think however win 98 is better for gaming, because It doesn't use as much processes to run, and it doesn't have any errors, at least it didn't when I had it. XP and ME are good if you want new features, but XP still runs pretty fast, so you should just go ahead and install XP pro, works fine for me.

winXP wont work , rigght now i can only install an OS using the A:\ thing when i put in the system disk and when i type a:\ d:\setup.exe it says that winxp cant run in DoS mode and when i take off the system disk it says invalid system disk :(

well, You can change drives, hit CTRL+ENTER and it should go to a blank prompt, then type d:\setup.exe

you should do that because its looking for a file on the A drive, not the D.

thats what i did in the above posts

hmm, Maybe something is wrong with your windows CD, it is supposed to execute windows on its own, ( on startup, it will search for a boot sector) I'm not sure, I'll ask some people I know for some help, try searching google.com for some help on formatting and installing windows.

Boot your system from the XP CD.

Btw you said "it says invalid system disk" , sounds like you havent formated your HD.

no it said that after i formated hd and tried to run my comp without the startup disk

But you have to install windows

...thats teh problem

IT WONT LET ME!!:(!!!

I assume that you got a Win XP Pro CD in the CDROM.

Boot from CD:
Go to the bios settings. Go to "Advanced Bios Features". On the menu calld 1st Boot Device change it to CDROM. Quit BIOS by pressing ESC and ESC again. Press Y as Yes when asked to save or not. Wait for comp to reboot. Follow the instructions on screen.

Start the system through a boot disk. ( This require a boot disk that installs drivers to the cd roms.
When at the dos-promt, write this:

X:\ [Change X to your letter/drive]
cd i386 [Enter]
winnt [Enter]

Follow the instructions on screen.

The 1st method is the best one.