ME won't boot: IFSHLP.SYS, WININIT.EXE Missing

I found this at support.microsoft.com:

RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, restart the computer with a Windows Millennium Edition Startup disk, and then perform each step until the problem is resolved: 1. Modify the WinBootDir entry in the Msdos.sys file to point to the correct location of the Windows folder.
2. Extract a new copy of the Ifshlp.sys file to the Windows folder and extract a new copy of the Imagehlp.dll file to the Windows\System folder.For additional information about extracting files, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files 
3. If you determine that the Vmm32.vxd file is missing or corrupt, you must rename the file to Vmm32.old in the C:\Windows\System folder, and then reinstall Windows Millennium Edition to re-create this file.

http://support.micro...-US;q258471#kb1

I'm still lost, I have an emergency recovery cd, not a startup disk (although they might be the same thing) I'll see what I can try...

I put in the recover cd and it says "Are you sure you want to recover the data from the recover CD?"

I'm not 100% sure what that means, it could mean if i want to format which i don't want to do. what I'm supposed to do according to support.microsoft.com is to extract stuff and modify stuff

it does give me a command prompt I:\ if i say no

Edited by MNOB07, 30 April 2005 - 12:48 PM.

I need that file inside the C:/windows folder, it's mising somehow and that's the whole problem it seems. I SEARCHED EVERYWHERE and could NOT find a windows cd I could download with the ifshlp.sys file on it, or the ifshlp.sys anywhere.

BUT given 30 seconds on a P2P I found and downloaded one, the exact size and everything it's supposed to be. I don't know if it'll work, but I sure as [bleep] will try.

I'm telling you this problem has been posted too many times on different message boards, and they either go unsolved or they explain how you need the dumb Windows ME disk to extract the file from the cabinet file inside the windows folder using the startup disk... blah

well i got the file i downloaded, put it in a .cab file, burned it to a cd

started up ME with startup disk, enabled the cdrom thing, ran the extract program off the floppy, tried to extract from the cd and it "ERROR: cannot open file: e:\Untitled(null)" as if there isn't anything there.

I've tried everything too, I know i should be doing it right, please someone help! if you know exactly how to create a .cab file that'll work and i could extract this ifshlp.sys to the windows folder please step me through it! don't know what time zone all yall are in, but it's late here. I'll be on a little longer, go to sleep and be back on later this morning, hopefully I can fix this problem *holds razor to wrist*

I found a different way to extract .cab:

http://www.modem-hel...k/help/cab.html

so i type in e: to go to the cd drive

type:

extract /a Untit.cab ifshlp.sys /| C:\Windows

Bad command or filename

("Untit.cab" is the .cab file, and the "ifshlp.sys" is the file i want to extract)

I take out the weird | in there, and i get the cabinet extraction tool, but it says " ERROR: Could not create file in directory:"

I'm not sure what that means, there's nothing after the colon, I've tried a bunch of different directories... does anyone see if I'm doing something wrong?

Edited by MNOB07, 01 May 2005 - 12:32 AM.

n/m I got it to work! although i couldn't transfer it off a cd, it worked when i put it to a floppy, then transferred it from there via DOS! unfortuneatly i was also missing the wininit.exe file, but i found it really quick and transferred that. a little while later my computer is (almost) running as good as it was before. some minor problems like program assosiation, and i doubt all the drivers for stuff are installed but its cool. what i really want to do is make a new partition and install windows 2000

Edited by MNOB07, 01 May 2005 - 11:13 AM.