[Xeract]

Hi,

I have just got out my very old Tiny PC I used to run several years ago from my garage. To get it to work I need to reinstall Windows ME on it as I keep getting an error message "Explorer.exe - You need to reinstall windows" (or something along those lines) whenever I boot it up in Normal or Safe mode.

I have the old boot disc and ME CD, but when I put them in and start up the PC they aren't recognised because it goes straight throiugh to loading up Windows and I get the same error message. When I press F8 on startup I only get the 4 options:

1. Normal
2. Boot record / log (Something like that)
3. Safe Mode
4. Step-by-Step

Theres no option to start in MSDOS or anything like that.
If anyone has any ideas on how I can fix this please let me know, it's very frustrating!

Thanks in advance

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You need a bootable floppy with cd rom drive. You can get one here:

http://bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

or you can enter bios and set the boot sequence to boot from cd rom first.

At first start press delete key to enter bios, then look for the boot sequence. Use the arrow keys to navigate, and Enter key to open each section.

Edited by rameam, 02 January 2006 - 07:40 AM.

[rameam]

You need a bootable floppy with cd rom drive. You can get one here:

http://bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

or you can enter bios and set the boot sequence to boot from cd rom first.

At first start press delete key to enter bios, then look for the boot sequence. Use the arrow keys to navigate, and Enter key to open each section.

Edited by rameam, 02 January 2006 - 07:40 AM.

[Xeract]

Hi again, sorry for the delay in replying.

I managed to change the boot sequence in the BIOS to CD drive and that worked perfectly. I connected to the internet and downloaded IE6, installed it, restarted, and I got about 8-10 error messages in a row while windows ME was loading up followed by the PC shutting itself down.

When I turned it on again I got a black screen with a flashing _, windows dosent load at all. I tried reinstalling windows again and it seems to work - it gets too 100% complete and asks me to restart without the CD in. But when I restart I just get the same black screen.

I'm at a loss as to what to do next, if anyone has any ideas i'd be very grateful. Do you think installing a different windows would help? It's only a P3 800Mhz with 128Mb RAM so i'm not sure if putting XP on it would be a good idea. Maybe 98?

Thanks

[rameam]

Your computer is capable of handling winme. I can't help you any further, but I'm sure someone else can. Good luck!

[Murray S.]

Howdy and welcome to G2G:

Do you have a WinME boot floppy handy??

Murray

[Xeract]

Yep i've got a "System Restore Pack" which contains a floppy and CD. That's what I used to reinstall it the first time, now it dosent seem to work.

[Murray S.]

Okay.. set your boot options in BIOS to boot from the floppy drive first and the cd-rom second, hdd as third..

Put the floppy in the drive, press F10 to save the change to BIOS and reboot..

You should get a couple options when the system boots using the floppy.. pick either start with or without cd-rom support..

Once you get to an a:\ prompt, type in "format c:" (no quotes) and say YES to everything..

Once formatting has finished, reboot (leave the floppy in).. this time, make sure you choose the option to "Start WITH cd-rom support".. Watch the screen as your cd-rom drive letter will be changed and it will tell you what the new one is..

Once you get to an a:\ prompt again, put your ME cd in, change the drive to the cd-rom drive letter and type in "setup" (no quotes).. Windows should now do its thing !!

Murray

[Xeract]

Thanks for the reply, i'm having a few problems though.

I set the BIOS as you said, put in the floppy, restarted after saving the BIOS fine. A message about starting Windows ME emergency boot comes up but then I get the message:

CDR101: Not ready reading drive Y
Abort, Retry, Fail?

I don't get any messages about starting with CD support. If I choose fail, I get 3 options, ones "SecondChance" which if selected says it's not installed. The seconds "Restore" which takes me to the Windows Reinstall screen but then fails (like I described in my earlier post). The thirds Command Prompt. If I select command Prompt I get the A:/ prompt (or something similar to that) but when I type "format C:" or "setup" I get a "Bad command or file" error.

Is there anything else I could try now? Thanks a lot for your help so far.

[Murray S.]

Download a proper WinME bootdisk from the link given you on post #2.. This file is NOT the boot files so DON'T put it on the floppy..

Now, get a clean newly formatted floppy disk and put it in the a: drive.. When you have done this, double click the file you downloaded to start the extraction process to the floppy..

When finished, use that bootdisk and follow the instructions I gave earlier..

Murray