Computer Problem Please Help!

[krazyaboutkatz]

Hi everyone.:) I'm posting this thread for my dad because he has a major computer problem and I'd like to help him if I can. I asked him to write down the problem because I really don't understand all of the computer vocabulary.

He has windows 98 and when windows starts it comes to a point where the wallpaper is there but there are no icons and no taskbar. If he uses CTRL+ALT+DEL the window it shows is empty. It shows nothing running. He needs to know how he can restore the icons and taskbar.

When he uses the emergency disk he can get into DOS and see the C: D: and E: drives but he doesn't know how to do anything to get back to where he was. He'd also like to know if there is a DOS command, similar to copy, which would copy all folders as well as files. If there is then he could copy all of his C: drive to his E: drive.

He's thinking about buying another computer but he still wants to copy all of his old information from his old computer and save it on disks. I sure hope that some one will be able to help him. Thanks in advance.:)

[Tubby & Peanut's Mom]

Hmmm....not sure how to get it all back, but the first thing I would do is right click anywhere on the blank screen. Check what the menu that pops up says. It might be that somehow the settings got messed up and I think W98 has something called "active screen" or something like that and it might either be active - if he had it not active - or it might be non-active - if he had it active. If there is nothing that says "make window active" or something like that, then click on properties and see what you can find in there. That's where all the controls are that control the screen.

If that doesn't work and you get no other suggestions that work, he can still save all his files. Right click on the start button in the bottom left corner. Then click on Explore and it will bring up everything he has on his computer and you can copy from there.

Also, even though nothing comes up on the screen, does anything show up when he left clicks start? That should bring up the start menu and you should be able to click on programs and that will bring up a listing of all the programs he has.

Not sure right now what to suggest, but give him these ideas and let us know how it goes.

[christa]

Before we got our new computer, we had an oldie and Windows 98. It started doing that (among other things) . . . and so we bought a new computer :)

[vinjashira]

It is easier to copy files from windows than dos, because with dos you can only copy files from one folder (not including sub-folders) at a time.

Have you tried using safe mode?
This link should tell you how to start your windows 98 in safe mode:

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2001052409420406?OpenDocument&src=sec_doc_nam

I hope this helps.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks. I'll tell this info to my dad and hopefully something will work. I'll let you know.:)

[jazzcat]

KAK, I copied your post and sent it to my husband at work. He's a computer programmer/analyst. Anyway he said your dad could probably reinstall Windows 98 and that would take care of it but f he wants to try saving his files in DOS first he can try this.

Go to e drive and make a directory called backup

C:\> E:

E:\> md backup


Return to c drive

C:

C:\>



Copy cdrive to e:\backup

C:\> copy c:\ e:\backup



Might also try c:\> copy c:\*.* e:\backup

Hope this helps.

[vinjashira]

that is the way to do it from dos, but as I mentioned earlier you can only copy what is on one folder (not including sub-folders) at a time.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone.:) I received an e-mail from him today and this is what it said:

After I "played around" some more with the DOS commands, I again
tried to do a "registry restore". (I had tried this initially, but it wouldn't
recognize the command.) I finally was able to find the command under
C:\Windows\Command\scanreg.exe . Then when I did the "scanreg /restore"
command, it gave me a choice of 4 dates to select. I chose the earliest,
which was 1/26/05. Then, when it rebooted, Windows 98 worked normally
with the Taskbar & Icons showing.
So far so good.

He's pretty good with computers so I was hoping that he'd eventually work it out on his own. I also copied the info about starting his computer in safety mode for windows 98 for future reference.:)

[vinjashira]

well done dad :)

[christa]

Awesome . . . glad he got it back! My dad barely knows how to turn his on! And then he has to be reminded every time how to sign onto the internet! (they still have dialup)