|
Windows 98 Troubleshooting #2 |
If you accidentally delete the Show Desktop shortcut from the taskbar's
Quick Launch toolbar, you can restore it by going to C:\WINDOWS\Application
Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch.
Create a new text file with the following contents:
[Shell]
Command=
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop
Save the file as SHOWDESKTOP.SCF. This will restore the shortcut.
Assuming your CD-ROM drive is D, insert the Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to the tools\mtsutil folder, and copy the file pinball.inf to your hard drive (anywhere you want). Remove the Windows 98 installation CD and insert the Plus! for Windows 95 CD. (If necessary, click Cancel to close the dialog box stating that Plus! cannot be removed.) Right-mouse-click pinball.inf (now on your hard drive) and select Install.
Start, Programs, Accessories, Games, Space Cadet Table. Cool!
Note: If you're installing pinball from Plus! floppy disks or from a CD-ROM drive other than D, you'll need to edit pinball.inf before selecting the Install command.
Assuming your CD-ROM drive is D, copy pinball.inf from the Windows 98 CD's tools\mtsutil folder to your hard drive, replace the Windows 98 CD with the Plus! for Windows 95 CD, then right-mouse-click pinball.inf (on your hard drive) and select Install.
If you're installing pinball from a CD-ROM drive other than D, or from Plus! floppy disks, you'll need to edit the pinball.inf to point to the correct drive before you can complete the installation. Assuming you've just copied pinball.inf from the Windows 98 CD to your hard drive and then inserted the Plus! CD or floppy disk:
Right-mouse-click pinball.inf (on your hard drive), select Properties, deselect Read-only, and click OK. Open pinball.inf using Notepad, and under [Version], replace the letter D in the line:
layoutfile = d:\pluslayt.inf
with your CD-ROM drive letter or floppy drive (depending on the location of the Plus! files). So for example, if your CD-ROM drive letter is G, this line would now read:
layoutfile = g:\pluslayt.inf
Save your changes, close Notepad, and reattach the read-only attribute to pinball.inf.
Now you're ready to proceed with the installation. Right-mouse-click pinball.inf and select Install. (Click OK if asked to insert the Plus! for Windows 95 CD-ROM.) You'll now see a dialog box telling you the font.dat file can't be found. Type your CD-ROM or floppy drive letter, then click OK.
Your pinball game is back.
Pay attention to what you name the folder. Be sure to include at least one extended character, such as a space or a comma; or, use a file name with more than eight letters. Either way, those all-caps will stick like glue.
There are two ways to make Windows 95 allow all-cap folder names. Include at least one extended character, such as a space or a comma, in the folder name; OR be sure that the file name has more than eight letters.
Don't want to deal with name restrictions? Then opt for the second solution: Install IE 4.0 (surprise, surprise), including the Desktop Update. Then, inside any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options; click the View tab; select Allow All Uppercase Names; and click OK. Now you can use any all-cap folder name you want.
When you start your Windows 98-based computer, you may receive the following error message:
Windows encountered an error accessing the system registry. Windows will restart and repair the system registry for you.
If you then click OK, you may receive the following error message:
Explorer caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll at 015f:bff711be.
This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shutdown.
Also, if you then click Details, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Explorer caused an exception 6d007eh in module explorer.exe at 015f:<memory
address>
Error loading Explorer.exe. You must reinstall Windows.
Visual C++ Runtime Library Error. Program C:\<%windir%>\Scanregw.exe,R6016,
not enough space for thread data.
CAUSE
This behavior can occur if the disk that contains the Windows swap file does not have sufficient free disk space.
If this is what's happening see:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q193/9/03.asp
Win98 shuts down faster than Win95, but it achieves this dubious benefit
by pulling the plug on running applications without shutting them down
first. That just ain't right and it a known problem maker.
If you're uncomfortable with that, disable it. Launch the System Configuration
Utility (Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/System Information). Click
on the Tools menu and select System Configuration Utility. Click
on the Advanced button and check the Disable Fast Shutdown item.
First off shut down any programs you may have running in the background. Go to Start->Run and type msconfig then click Selective Startup and uncheck the Load Startup group items. Close and reboot.
Once Windows restarts double click My Computer go to View and then select Folder Options. Click on the View Tab and make sure the box "Remember each folders view settings" is checked. Then press OK.
Double click C drive and go to View and Arrange Icons by Name. All icons should now be sorted by name. Hold down the CTRL key and click the x in the upper right corner of the window to close it. This forces Windows to remember the setting. Now reopen C drive and see if your files are listed by name. Next select the first folder from C and open it. See if it is now arranged by name. If it is great if not go to View and Arrange icons by Name then hold down the CTRL key when closing the folder to force it to remember the setting.
Use msconfig to check box Load Startup group items again so you will have them in the background once more. Reboot.
Also if you have TWEAKUI installed go to the Explorer Tab and make sure
that the "Save Explorer windows settings" box is checked.
I suspect that there is some file corruption and have some reservations also about some of the files you have added during this MB upgrade. Instincts tells you to reload Windows 98 (easy task), let's try something first. Let's use the Windows 98 System File Checker.
System File Checker will verify the integrity of your system files. After scanning for altered files, it offers to restore corrupted files. If a file is found to be corrupt, you will be prompted to restore the original file. By clicking Settings, System File Checker can also be configured to notify you of changed and deleted files. If you choose to restore the file, System File Checker attempts to extract the file from your original Windows 98 installation CD. System File Checker (Sfc.exe) helps you do two things:
1. Scan system files for corrupt, missing, or changed files. Windows-based applications commonly install shared files that may not be compatible with another application in use. You can use System File Checker to track changes to your Windows configuration and identify the affected files.
2. Restore original Windows 98 system files.
To start System File Checker
1. Click Start, point to Programs, Accessories, and System Tools, and then click System Information.
2. Select the Tools menu and click System File Checker. A dialog box appears.
In System File Checker, click Scan for altered files, and then click Start. System File Checker scans the system using a default baseline contained in a file named Default.sfc. Default.sfc is copied from the Windows 98 installation CD and contains information about each system file.
To verify the integrity of your system files
1. In System File Checker, click Scan for altered files.
2. Click Start.
3. Note any files that display a dialog box requesting your action. When you uninstall a program, System File Checker reports that files necessary for that program (for example, files with .exe, .dll, and .ocx extensions) have been deleted. Select Update verification information to bring the baseline for System File Checker up to date.
If you know a specific system file is corrupt or missing, you can extract it from your original installation media using the following procedure.
To extract a specific system file
1. In System File Checker, click Extract one file from installation disk.
2. Enter the name of the file, and then click Start.
3. In Restore from, type the location of your Windows 98 installation media.
4. In Save file in, type the location where you want to put the file,
and then click OK.
When you try to view component information in the Microsoft System Information tool, you may see incomplete information in the Components branch.
This behavior can occur if Microsoft Intellipoint 2.0 or later is installed on your computer, and the Point32.exe program is running.
NOTE: This behavior can also occur if you are running third-party mouse software.
The Fix:
To work around this issue, quit the Point32.exe program before you try to view component information in Microsoft System Information. To do so, use the following steps:
1.Press CTRL+ALT+DEL, and then click Point32.
2.Click End Task.
To resolve this issue, uninstall the Microsoft Intellipoint software
using the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel. Windows 98 includes
drivers that support wheel functionality for both Microsoft Intellipoint
and Logitech wheel mice, and the mouse software is not required for wheel
functionality (some features may require that the software be installed).
For additional information, contact your mouse manufacturer.
If you've been experiencing system faults? Before you call a Windows 98 support technician, call Dr. Watson. Dr. Watson is a troubleshooting utility that takes system snapshots of the present state of your system that may be able to help solve a problem.
Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. In the System Information window, select Tools, Dr. Watson. Click the Dr. Watson icon that appears in the tray of your Taskbar, select Dr. Watson, and wait as this utility generates a system snapshot, resulting in (you hope) a diagnosis of the problem.
(Tip: To view nine tabs-worth of details captured by the snapshot, select View, Advanced View.) Name and save the log file. You now have a great resource for that support technician you're about to call.
But--Dr. Watson has to be running in order to take a snapshot.
To be sure that Dr. Watson is running all the time, place a shortcut
to Windows\Drwatson.exe in your Startup folder (likely in
C:\WINDOWS\Start Menu\Programs\StartUp). From now on, this utility
will load whenever Windows 98 starts.
First, disable fast shutdown if it's enabled.
To do so, use the following steps:
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System tools, and then click System Information.
2. On the Tools menu, click System Configuration Utility.
3. On the General tab, click Advanced.
4. Click the Disable Fast Shutdown check box to clear it, click OK, and then click OK again.
5. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.
Next, check your registry for problems.
=================
1. When you start your computer, touch the F8 key when you see the "starting Windows..." dialogue and choose MSDos prompt only.
2. Change the directory to C:\Windows\Command
3. Type SCANREG/FIX <enter>
4. Follow the dialogue and let Scanreg fix the registry if need be.
5. Reboot the system when this has completed.
Next, check your Win 98 files:
=============
1. Click Start, Run and type in SFC and click okay.
2. This will run the System File Checker.
3. In the setting tab, Check:
"Check for changed files"
"Check for deleted files"
4. Have your Windows 98 CD handy so you can replace any bad files.
If the protected-mode driver is not initialized properly, an error message will be displayed and the NOIDE registry entry will be re-created. Windows 98 will use the MS-DOS compatibility mode file system the next time you start the computer.
Problems with Hard Disk Controller After Upgrading to Windows 98
To solve problems with your hard disk controller after upgrading to Windows 98, see Microsoft's Knowledge Base Article No. Q189518.
If your computer contains a PCI-IDE hard disk controller that employs serialization between the two IDE channels, you may experience the following problems:
32-bit file system access and 32-bit virtual memory are not available
Device Manager displays an exclamation point in a yellow circle for the primary and secondary IDE channels
Removing and reinstalling the hard disk controller does not resolve the problem.
This can occur if the protected-mode driver for the hard disk controller was not properly initialized when you started Windows 98 previously. When this occurs, a NOIDE entry is placed in the registry, preventing Windows 98 from making future attempts to initialize the protected-mode driver.
This problem can occur with an IDE controller that requires serialization between the primary and secondary IDE channels. The protected-mode drivers for these IDE controllers can fail to be initialized if one of the following situations occurs:
1.One IDE channel has a supported hard disk, and the second channel has a CD-ROM or other type of drive that requires real-mode drivers to be loaded. Because of the serialization between the two IDE channels, it is impossible to access the hard disk in protected mode and use the other device in real mode. This causes the protected-mode driver to fail initialization, and the NOIDE switch is placed in the registry to prevent future errors. Both disk devices then operate in real-mode
2.The driver for the IDE controller is manually removed from Device Manager and then reinstalled, or the protected-mode driver is disabled and then re-enabled. Some PCI controller drivers are not designed for dynamic enabling and disabling, and can cause the protected-mode driver to fail initialization
To force Windows 98 to attempt to reinitialize the protected-mode IDE driver you'll have to remove the NOIDE entry from the registry:
1.Select Noide.inf found in the \Tools\MTSutil folder on the Windows
98 CD
2.Right-Click Noide.inf or hold down the Shift key and press the F10
function key
3.Choose Install from the context menu to remove the NOIDE entry
After you update the registry, restart Windows 98. Windows 98 will then attempt to initialize the protected-mode driver for the controller. If no problems are encountered, the file system and virtual memory will operate in 32-bit mode, and Device Manager will not display an exclamation point in a yellow circle for the IDE channels.
Remove Version number from the Desktop
To remove the version number from the Desktop, install TweakUI (you
can find it on your CD-ROM in the \tools\reskit\powertoy folder), on the
General tab in the Effects box is an option to troggle Show Windows version
on desktop.
The new Windows 98 System Configuration Utility allows you to turn off
any annoying auto-start programs using simple check boxes. Select Start,
Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information. In the resulting
window, pull down the Tools menu and select System Configuration Utility.
Select the Startup tab, and you'll see a list of all programs that start
whenever Windows 98 starts. Deselect the one(s) giving you grief, click
OK, and they won't bother you again (unless you select them again in this
dialog box).
So, You've lost your Previews::((
The good news is you can get them back. The bad news is you'll need to do some Registry editing, and quite a bit of it. (Warning: As always, we recommend backing up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, idden files on the root of your hard drive--before continuing.)
Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type
regedit
and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\, where is the type of file you want to preview, such as .gif. With that key selected, click the plus icon (+) in the left pane to expand all keys within it. In order for preview mode to work for that file type, the following entries need to be there:
Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx]
Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-
11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
Value: (Default)="{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC}"
If any or all of these entries aren't there, you'll need to create them.
Apparently, after installing certain third-party software programs that mess around with your file associations, these previews disappear. To fix the problem, open the Registry Editor (after backing it up, of course) and navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\, where is the type of file you want to preview, such as .gif. With that key selected, click the asterisk key (*) on your numeric keypad to expand all keys within it. In order for preview mode to work for that file type, the following entries need to be there:
Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx]
Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-
11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
Value: (Default)="{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC}"
Are you missing any or all of these entries? Then you'll need to create them, as follows.
Right-click HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\, select New, Key, type
ShellEx
and press Enter. Right-click the new ShellEx key, select New, Key, type
{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}
and press Enter. With the key you just created selected, right-click (Default) in the right pane and select Modify. On the Value data line of the Edit String dialog box, type
{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC}
and click OK.
Oh, and one last reminder: You'll need to repeat these steps for each file type you want to be able to preview.
I don't know if you're old enough to remember Jimmy Durante who used
to say;
"What a revolt'n development dis turned out to be".
After you upgrade to Windows 98, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
Device Manager reports resource conflicts with your hard disk controller.
Your computer runs very slowly.
You cannot gain access to your CD-ROM drive in Windows 98 or in MS-DOS
using real-mode drivers.
This behavior can occur if Intel Bus Mastering drivers are installed before you upgrade to Windows 98.
To resolve this behavior, follow these steps:
1. Restart your computer, press and hold down the CTRL key until you see the Windows 98 Startup menu, and then choose Safe Mode.
2. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click Windows Explorer.
3. If it exists, rename the Ideatapi.inf file located in the Windows\Inf folder.
For information about how to rename a file, click Start, click Help, click the Index tab, type "renaming" (without the quotation marks), and then double-click the "Renaming files" topic.
NOTE: The Ideatapi.inf file is a hidden file. To view hidden files, click Folder Options on the View menu in Windows Explorer, click the View tab, click Show All Files, and then click OK.
4. Rebuild the Windows 98 driver information database by renaming the Drvdata.bin and Drvidx.bin files located in the Windows\Inf folder.
5. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double- click System.
6. On the Device Manager tab, double-click the Hard Disk Controllers branch to expand it.
7. Click the hard disk controller, and then click Remove.
8. If more than one hard disk controller is listed, repeat steps 6-7.
9. Click OK.
10. Restart your computer.
Windows 98 should enumerate the hard disk controller and install the
correct drivers.
You may need to go into the SYSTEM.INI file and replace shell=Explorer.exe
with shell=Defrag.exe and reboot. When done defragging, reboot again but
this time hit F8 on bootup to get the boot menu, go into Command Prompt
Only, edit C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM.INI and change the line back to EXPLORER.EXE.
I know that sounds like a lot of hassle, but it's the surest way to do
it without disk writes during the process.--Dan Zimmerli
When you attempt to shut down Windows 98, you may receive the following error message:
TASKMON caused an invalid page fault in module KERNEL32.DLL
This behavior can occur if log files in the Windows\Applog folder are damaged. When you shut down Windows 98, the Task Monitor tool attempts to update these log files. When it cannot do so, the error message occurs.
The Fix:
To resolve this problem, follow these steps:
1. Double-click My Computer on the desktop.
2. Double-click the drive containing the Windows folder.
3. On the View menu, click Folder Options.
4. Click the View tab. Under the Hidden Files section, click Show All
Files.
5. Click OK.
6. Double-click the Windows folder.
7. Right-click the Applog folder, click Rename, type a new name for
the folder (such as Applog2), and then press ENTER.
8. Restart your computer. The Applog folder and log files are re-created.
The Task Monitor tool included with Windows 98 records the disk access
patterns of programs when they are started and stores this information
in log files in the Applog folder. Task Monitor also records the number
of times you use a program. Disk Defragmenter uses this information to
optimize your hard disk so programs you use frequently are loaded faster.
When you attempt to run Disk Defragmenter (Defrag.exe) or ScanDisk (Scandskw.exe), you receive one of the following error messages:
Your computer does not have enough free memory to defrag the drive.
Quit one or more programs.
ID# Defrag009
ScanDisk could not continue because your computer does not have enough available memory.
This can occur if you are running Windows on a hard disk that is larger than 8 gigabytes (GB) in size and has a cluster size less than 8 kilobytes (KB). This configuration may be created if you use a third-party disk tool to create a partition on a hard disk that is larger than 8 (GB) in size and has a cluster size less than 8 KB.
To resolve this issue, contact the manufacturer of the third-party hard disk tool to inquire about a possible update to the software that resolves this issue.
The standard FAT32 cluster size of 4,096 bytes only applies for hard disks smaller than 8 GB. The third-party hard disk tool may change the cluster size to 4,096 bytes per allocation unit.
The default cluster sizes are listed in the following table.
Hard disk size Cluster size
-------------------------------
512 MB to 8 GB 4 KB
8 GB to 16 GB 8 KB
16 GB and larger 16 KB