help. my laptop won't start. when I turn it on it says-the following files are missing or corrupted.windows\himem.sys
windows\DBLBUFF.sys
windows\IFSHOP.sys
I don't have a windows 98 installation disk.I do have a windows98 boot disk, no floppy drive.
I don't know anything about computers, so if you tell me to do something please give me step by step instr.
Thank you in advance.

If you had the W98 CD you could undertake a repair install!

"I don't have a windows 98 installation disk.I do have a windows98 boot disk, no floppy drive.
I don't know anything about computers"

Given all of that, what are your expectations?

For many types of repair, the CD is essential, and an alternate way to boot the computer can be a lifesaver

Saying that XP is the most stable MS OS is like saying that asparagus is the most articulate vegetable

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I agree with jboy. However, I can probably find dblbuff.sys for you but will need to know if you are on W98 first edition or second edition. If you dont know then type ver from DOS prompt (hit Return) and let me know what it says.

As for ifshop.sys then please check that you have that right (I don't recognise it). Is it ifshlp.sys perhaps?

What often happens when you replace odd files is it then reports even more missing (possibly removed by someone). With the W98 CD you can always resort to overlay. You sometimes see them on eBay.

Note: I can get your email addy by clicking on your name if need be. Don't put it on here in open text or the spammers engines will find it.

DerekW

Thank you all very much for helping me!!
Derek, when I typed ver it says "windows 98{version4.1022221}
as I said I have a boot disk, but I've tried it and it's not working, I put it in then shut the computer off, then started it back up, it just sounds like it's reading it ,{ the fan sound } but it comes up the same , it doesn't say anything about the disk at all. Am I doing this right?
And your right it's ifshlp.sys, {sorry}
Your a smart cookie,,ha-ha glad your on my side...
please do get my email, your an angel!!!
Thanks again,
Mill1788

4.10.2222A I reckon you mean. That's second edition. With a bit of luck I'll send them within the next half an hour. I'll explain what to do.

What you are doing with the boot disk sounds fine so something is screwed. We'll tackle the files first....

DerekW

your a doll!!!
I'll be looking for your email.
THANKS!

"no floppy drive" is considerably different than having a bootdisk that's not booting.

Saying that XP is the most stable MS OS is like saying that asparagus is the most articulate vegetable

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all I know is that the cd I have says "Windows 98 Boot Disk "
it's not a floppy disk.

Got your email saying you can't open attachment. It depends on what email client you are using. If it's Outlook Express you just go to File/Save Attachments and point it to wherever you want to save them.

Better clarify a few things tho. Is there no floppy drive fitted? If so, then there's no point putting those files on a floppy anyway.

Gotta go, early hours here in UK. If anyone else is around I sent the three files as attachments.

DerekW

Thanks Derek, I'll keep working on it.

Laura

... maybe someone else? I'm sure of nothing at this point

Saying that XP is the most stable MS OS is like saying that asparagus is the most articulate vegetable

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"cd I have says "Windows 98 Boot Disk "
it's not a floppy disk"

Could this be an IBM/HP etal recovery disk ?

Sorry I don't know.I got it off of Ebay.

My #9, 2nd para. Any comments?

DerekW

Hi Derek,
I do not have a floppy disk or drive(I don't know if that's what you call it or not,but there's no place to put a floppy), the only thing I can use would be a cd.
Even if I had a floppy drive, I still can't open the attachment.

OK, no floppy drive (which in fairness is what you said in your very first post - oops).

We'll need to work out a way forward and I'm more used to PC's (rather than laptops) with floppy drives.

You say you can't "open" the attachments. That sounds a tad odd because you are not supposed to be "opening" them. The intention was to "save" them onto a floppy. Obviously that is now pointless but you should be able to save them to some spare folder of your choice while we scratch our heads about what to do next.

The procedure for Outlook Express is given in my #9 1st para. If that applies then we need to know exactly what happens when you try. If you are using some other email client then let us know what it is.

DerekW

Deal with my #16 first otherwise we can't move on, but "just for info" I think this is what we are going to have to do:

1. Create a downloaded bootdisk onto CD on your working machine.
2. Save the attachments (somehow) to a spare folder on the C drive of your working machine then copy them onto another CD.
3. Boot laptop with new bootdisk (CD), swap CD's then copy files into c:\windows

A bit messy I'm afraid and plenty of scope for hassle on the way through. As I implied earlier, replacing those files might not do the trick anyway. Sometimes it's lack of a file called msdos.sys that causes Windows to report those files. Anyhow, one bridge at a time.....

If we can get to the stage where we can copy files onto the laptop HD without too much trouble then there is some chance of winning.

If anyone has any better ideas then let's have them.

DerekW

Hi Laura, dosser, jboy, Derek, hi everyone

Derek, your #9 2nd para:
Would it be a idea to have Laura write/burn the files you sent on to a CD-R/W since the laptop doesn't have a floppy drive but is equipped with a CD-ROM drive?
Preferable a Win98 SE bootable CD in order to be able to access the CD-ROM drive from DOS and copy the files to the appropriate directories/folders.

dosser, since the manufacturer and model are respectively: IBM Thinkpad, one would expect the Windows 98 Boot disk to be from IBM. Either a boot disk as mentioned or a recovery disk, however in the latter case I would aspect it to be labeled as Recovery Disk or Restoration Disk. :-/

Laura, it might be useful to provide us the exact machine type/model number of the laptop if possible including the serial number both to be found on the bottom side of the laptop to have a better understanding of the type of laptop we are dealing with, and thus narrow down the options.
(http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=0&uid=psg1MIGR-49QTT6&loc=en_US&cs=utf-8&cc=us&lang=en)

Duty calls early in the morning and I am one hour ahead of Derek so I expect to be calling off soon(er).

Best Regards and Wishes,
The Count, Co-webmaster of mesich.com

I have got the file saved,and I have also put it on a cd.Himem.sys, it's the only one right?
what about the boot disk (cd) I have, can we use it? we need to figure out how to get the laptop to even read the boot disk, it doesn't .. and I tried this Himem.sys cd in the laptop ...nothing....

Thank you again!

Laura

Hi,Count

Thanks for joining us!! the model type and # are,type 9547,,,,model #,U4H
I went on ibm.com to pull it up but couldn't find it.
maybe i'm not giving the right #s, so I'll wright the #s.........
on top of bar code says,,,,,,,,
Type 9547-U4H S/N 78-TNC63 96/08

sure hope this helps.
Laura

IBM Lenovo Thinkpad 760EL.

http://www.expresspartsdirect.net/9547-u4h.html

This post has been so far I ain't joining in
just trying to post some possibly helpful information.

The Count
Nice to hear from you again. Post getting a bit long but I've (sorta) covered your point later on in #17. CD-RW's often don't read between systems, so I prefer finalized CD-R's. The latter get wasted but they are pretty cheap these days.

Laura
You seem to be gettings stuck with us folk from wrong time zones. It's only 12.30am here but I was very late (early LOL) last night so I'm flagging a bit.

There are three files. In my first email there was Ifshlp.sys & Dblbuff.sys (I overlooked himem.sys and sent it in a 2nd email). Pop all three onto CD for now. We've a bit further to go before we try putting them into the laptop (needs bootdisk that works and a copy command).

Better let The Count come back sometime on the laptop details because he'll probably know more about them than I do. We seem to be thinking roughly along the same lines, subject to this. I see Street1 has just posted a link.

Have you tried booting up with that boot CD again? Just pop it in the drive, power off, then power on again. If "no go" we need to establish whether the CD is faulty or your CD drive. You could browse the boot CD with your working machine. Just hold down shift key (to avoid any chance of it running) and put it in the drive. Release key when it stops flashing. Look at the CD drive and see if you can see a list of files. If so then presumably it is OK.

If you can't browse it then it's probably dud so we can download a bootdisk to put onto a new CD instead.

If you can lay your hands on a full W98SE CD then obviously that would save fiddling about with files (which might not work out). You would still have to make a boot CD, if we can't make yours work, but overlaying Windows should then be fairly easy and more certain to fix your problems.

DerekW

Laura

In your first post you said you know nothing about computers. I'm wondering therefore if all this is getting a bit much. You might be better off trying to find someone locally to give you hands-on help. Fixing these sort of problems from afar can get a bit tedious.

Happy to continue but will understand if your head is spinning and you prefer to call it off.

DerekW

Hi Hi Laura, dosser, jboy, Derek, hi everyone

Derek, great minds think alike!
You answered my #18 before I even had a chance to post it. :-)

Laura, I do hope I will be able to help together with the other great and helpful people around here.
Unfortunately I haven't managed to pull up the model number either, I clicked through all Thinkpad Family types and the closest to what resembles your model number would be a Thinkpad R60 or a Thinkpad 770 (770E/ED, 770X, 770Z).

Does your laptop shows either R60 or 770 somewhere? Perhaps on the lit, or at the bottom of your screen. I have a A31 and it's printed/shows at bottom right corner of the screen.

Based on my Thinkpad A31 when you fire up, turn on, the laptop hit the [F1]key to enter the BIOS setup.
Go to Startup => Boot and enable [Ins]key the CD-ROM drive and move it upwards [F6]key.
Place the boot disk (CD-ROM) in to the CD-ROM drive. Press [F10] to Save and Exit.

Hopefully the system will now boot from your CD-ROM, tab the [F8]key several times so that hopefully the Windows 98 Boot Menu appears. If the Windows 98 Boot Menu appears, you should see 3* or more options.

* It's a real boot disk and probably nothing scary we aren't aware off.

Let's see if we can get you this far, and than move on to the next steps to be taken.
Access the C: drive, your hard disk drive, and copy the file(s) kindly provided by Derek.

Sorry to say it at this point, but I have to call it the night. It's 01:35 hours over here.

For now good luck, and hopefully we will be around again tomorrow.

Best Regards and Wishes,
The Count, Co-webmaster of mesich.com

... yes, Laptop might not boot naturally from CD drive, so you will probably need to go into BIOS to get it to do so. Maybe your boot CD is OK after all.

We still have to get my files from your working machine HD onto the laptop, via another CD. Let's do one step at a time tho - that clock here is suggesting it's nearly time to go anyway.

DerekW

Hi,everyone,
I did what The Count said, I went to setup and then start up, but I can't figure out which ones to put up there, here's what is on the screen,,,,,,fdd-1 / hdd-1 / network / fkk-2 / hdd-2 / hdd-3 / hdd-4 / pcmcia.
which ones do I move up top?

And I also put the boot disk in my desktop computer and it's fine, it's got a big list of stuff.
Thanks Count, talk to you tomorrow.

Hi Derek, I only got the himem.sys file so I must not have gotten the others, can you please email them again.. :(
thanks.....again....talk to you tomorrow.
Laura

On the way.....

DerekW

Hi Count I forgot to tell you that the laptop says 760EL,sorry!

Laura

Let me know when you have all three files on their own on one or more CD's (without folders) and we'll take it from there - subject to any further input from The Count. Did you put them on CD-RW's or CD-R's?

Did you manage to set the BIOS so that the CD drive was first choice in boot sequence? If so did your boot disk start working?

DerekW

Derek, I haven't got your emails. I'll let you know when I get them. I'll be putting them on a CD-R.

What's the answer to my #26?
Thanks
Laura

Hi Laura, dosser, jboy, Derek, Street1, hi everyone

A short note before turning in for the night:
Good find, Street1!

Laura, I am trying to figure out what "...fkk-2..." in your boot startup order (#26) is and also I am looking for clues/manuals/faq etc. about your Thinkpad 760EL. Momentarily I am in doubt whether or not the laptop is able to boot from CD-ROM

Derek, if I am not mistaken Laura can boot to the DOS prompt, right?
Maybe the CD-ROM drive is accessible in DOS as well, or we might be able to make it work in DOS providing that there are some DOS CD-ROM drivers on the HDD.

If the CD-ROM drive is accessible in DOS, we could have Laura copy the files from CD-ROM to the HDD.

The Count out at 02:46 hours.

Best Regards and Wishes,
The Count, Co-webmaster of mesich.com

hey every one,
ha-ha-, sorry for the confusion, my # 26 is the eairlier response number above this...
I ask a ? and got no answer..
don't get tired of me yet. I really appreciate all that you all have done and are doing!!!!!

Laura

Don't know why you are not getting my emails. All three are in my Sent Items box:
First with two attachments (Ifshlp.sys & Dblbuff.sys).
Second with himem.sys, which I gather you received.
Third was a new email with the first two attachments again.

I suspect you will need your boot CD (or a replacement) in order to get to your CD drive in DOS. Just the same you can always try - maybe laptops are different.

Make sure you can see himem.sys on the CD using your working machine. It should be on it's own and not inside a folder. It won't try to load it or anything so it's fine to look.

Go to the C prompt in your laptop.

Pop in the CD with himem.sys on it.

Change to the CD drive letter. To do this you type X: (then hit Return key)

If all goes well then you should see the himem.sys file if you type dir X: (note the space) then hit Return.

NOTE. X is your CD drive letter (often D). If this doesn't work there's no harm trying other letters such as the next higher one or even A.

Sorry, I got called away on other things tonight and I must go shortly (past 3am).

DerekW

... sorry, I must be getting tired.

Firstly you don't need upper case in those commands (either is OK). Let's assume your CD drive is D

To switch to it you type is d:
(hit Return key).

To look at the CD in D once you've switched to it all you need to do is type dir and hit Return.

What I said before was OK but this might be clearer and simpler.

DerekW

Derek

At c prompt, when I type x:or e: it says 'invalid drive specification'
when I type b: it says 'insert diskette for drive b: and press any key when ready'
(that donen't work)
when I type a: it says ' not ready reading drive A abort,retry,fail?'
I've tried them all and it doesn't work.
Still haven't got emails.

Laura

What it said for A & B makes sense. Forget "X" also (that was just my poor attempt at explaining things).

Assuming you tried d: too, then it seems that you don't get CD-ROM support in DOS which is quite normal on PC's (just wondered if laptops without floppy drives might be different - obviously not).

As your boot CD still doesn't work then I would go to www.bootdisk.com and download one on your working machine. Choose a W98SE OEM boot disk.

This bootdisk has to be "created" by running the program (you don't just copy the download files). It normally puts it onto a floppy so I'd let it do just that, assuming your working machine has a floppy drive. Use a good clean empty floppy.

You will then have to burn the full contents of the floppy onto a CD-R (finalized if possible). Make sure your machine is set to show all files and their extensions, otherwise you might miss some off.

Try booting your laptop with this CD then go through the d: & e: stuff once more and see if that gets you anywhere. Watch the screen because it might give you a clue which drive letter to use. E is most likely (because it tempoararily uses D for it's own devices). If that doesn't help I would also try R because some downloaded boot disks use that.

The main problem with all this is there is plenty of scope for finger trouble and misunderstanding, so it can be tricky for a novice. This is why hands-on help is much better. It's not so difficult to do but it takes lots of words to explain each step.

Strange that you only got my 2nd email but we can try again later if need be. If we can get that one file onto your system then it will be no problem to add the other two (assuming I can get them to you).

DerekW

Lets see if he has the Win CAB files on his hdd.

At the Prompt C: type in DIR C:\Windows\Options\Cabs /p and press enter - do you see a lot of WIN***.cab files ?

You may find helpful software utilities at the below site.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-59734#preload_recovery

Hi Laura, dosser, jboy, Derek, Street1, hi everyone

Laura, forgive me. I am going to call it a early night today, I am to tired, have been making (to) long days recently. |-(

I have been a way for (quite) awhile, here at Computing.net, but the way I know the people like Derek, jboy and many others around here they/we don't have a tendency to give up or get tired of someone quickly. Unless...
We are with you and try to get you going at the best of our abilities. :-)

The answer to your #26, see your #33, is within my #32. "I am trying... ...boot from CD-ROM"

Derek, as far as I know laptop's don't differ from desktop's as for the boot sequence/order/procedure.
What I hoped for was that maybe the CD-ROM drive was included in Config.sys and Autoexec.bat. Maybe it still is but remarked. :-|
With the CD-ROM drive available in DOS, we could ignore the error messages (OP) and push on to the DOS-prompt and copy the files to their appropriate directories/folders.

If the BIOS doesn't support the CD-ROM drive as a boot device, which I haven't been able to figure out yet, the boot disk (CD-ROM) Laura has or any other bootable CD-ROM is useless as far as being a boot disk for the laptop. :-(
It still isn't clear to me what "...fkk-2..." is in ",,,,,,fdd-1 / hdd-1 / network / fkk-2 / hdd-2 / hdd-3 / hdd-4 / pcmcia." (response #26). Do you have any idea what "fkk-2" could be?

I guess that's all I am able to contribute today/tonight. :{

Best Regards and Wishes,
The Count, Co-webmaster of mesich.com

Hey Guys,

well nothing is working.
TOP FARMER---I did what you said(win cabs) and it comes back 'path not found
STREET1-------great site, thanks.
DEREK------I did a new boot disk just like you said and it dosen't work. I'm sure the disk is good.The laptop is not picking up on any cd or any letter except the a:,b:,c: (I tried them all)(which is no good)
I put the cd in just like you said, I'm about ready to throw the damn thing in the dump........
something is terribly wrong here...
Laura

Interesting idea LOL.

"Path not found" is an odd message, unless you did a typo. If the folder named Cabs was missing it would assume it to be a file and say "File not found".

Back to basics. Just go to the C prompt and type in:

dir c:\windows /p

Hit Return (note there are two spaces).

You should get a list of files page at a time. Assuming you do (and something is well screwed if you don't) then work your way through the path given by Top Farmer in stages, like this (one at a time):

dir c:\windows\options /p

dir c:\windows\options\cabs /p

You have to be exactly right with DOS commands or they won't work. Spaces and back/forward slash cases are important, so make certain they are as shown.

We need to know, in each case, whether you get a list of files. If you get an error message then say "exactly" what it says.

One other thing you could try is:

dir c:\win98

because some kind soul might have loaded the Windows setup files there.

DerekW

HEY GUYS,
Here's what I got so far. when I type--dir c:\win98 a big list of stuff comes up and the setup is in it.

dir c:\windows /p------list of stuff

dir c:\windows\options\cabs /p-------volume in drive c has no label, volume serial number is 3A40-0CE2, path not found.

First two make sense, less sure about last one. What matters is that the Windows CD appears to have been loaded into c:\win98 so that's real good news. Before we get too excited, did you see a stack of cab files in c:\win98? The reason for this question is so that we know whether they have put the lot in or just the main sub-folder. Either will do but it makes a difference to any commands we use.

What I think we should do is try replacing the three missing files first. If this fails to cure the problem then because the boot disk problem is not solved I think it would be better to risk reloading Windows (if you are game).

Pop back with the info and I'll then tell you exactly what to do.

DerekW

On c:\win98 , it comes up so fast that I can't see the first list, but on the page that it stops on there is a MINI CAB.
Hope this helps.
yes I'm game!!! Lets reload.!!!

Laura

Yes, should have said use:
c:\win98 /p
(then you'd have got them page at a time).
There should be 101 files in total.

Sounds promising but we'll try replacing the files first. If that doesn't fix things (or there is other sign of hope) then we'll risk the reload rather than messing around any more.

I'll pop off for a while and prepare the instructions for getting the files back. If you pop back before I've finished let me know what you find (see para 1 & cab files).

DerekW

Here is what to do.

Go to a DOS prompt.

Type this:

extract c:\win98\base5.cab himem.sys /L c:\windows

It should copy himem.sys over. It might say it exists, if so let it replace it (keep a note of what happens).

If all goes well then repeat the procedure for each of the other two files (one command at a time). Here's what you type:

extract c:\win98\win98_52.cab dblbuff.sys /L c:\windows

extract c:\win98\win98_52.cab ifshlp.sys /L c:\windows

Some important notes about above:
Make sure you type them exactly (although the L can be left in lower case, I used capital to make sure you didn't think it was an I or a 1).

In each case there are spaces as follows:

One after the word extract

One between sys and /L

One between /L and c:\windows

Make sure you get your back and forward slashes right and hit Return after each command as usual. If you make a mistake you can backspace it out before hitting Return.

If you manage to get through that lot without a hitch, try a normal reboot to see if it has helped.

DerekW

that's better, here's what I got with the CAB....
base4-6
catalog3
driver 11-20
format
net 10
net 7
net 8-9
win98 21-74
win98 OL
CHL99
NINI
THERE ARE 101 FILES...

oops, last one is MINI.......NOT NINI

Yep, that's the last page of files I guess.

Definitely good news. Try my #47 first and if we don't start winning fairly soon we can reload Windows.

DerekW

ok that's done and now when I turn it on it says cannot find win.com uable to continue loading windows.

Hey I think this is a good thing because before when I started it , it would have a hole list of stuff come up....
Laura

OK, now try this little lot:

From a C prompt type:

ren win.com win win.co-

(with usual Return). This disables any win.com file you might have present. It may not find it, if so don't worry.

Next, with spaces just like before, type this:

extract c:\win98\win98_25.cab win.cnf /L c:\windows

When you hit Return you should now have win.cnf in c:\windows but this has to be renamed to win.com

To rename it type this:

ren c:\windows\win.cnf win.com

Hit Return and if all looks OK try rebooting again and cross your fingers.

DerekW

DARN IT

This bit was wrong:

From a C prompt type:

ren win.com win win.co-

You should type this instead:

ren c:\windows\win.com win.co-

If you've already gone past it then forget it.

DerekW

ok I did all that rename stuff and now when I turn it on it goes to the windows98 screen then flashes a sentence saying---you need to run setup again to replace the files.

then it turns off.
I also tried the disk and it does the same.

Laura

OK, this is where we give up and reload Windows over the top.

At least we know that all the Windows CD files appear to be in c:\win98 and that the missing files have been put back. So it was not entirely wasted.

So, it's easy peasy (to do at least).

Go to C prompt and type:

cd c:\win98

after that type:

setup.exe

Hit return after both commands and note the space between cd and c:\ in the first one.

Yes, it's that easy!

Follow the prompts, it will probably take up to 45 mins.

A couple of points:

In the unlikely event that it asks you if it should put Windows anywhere else other then c:\windows then don't let it (we don't want two copies).

If it says something about do you want to replace a newer file then don't let it. Tell it to keep the newer one, otherwise it will backdate everything to square one.

Good luck

CU later.

DerekW

OK, the setup is going to work,!!!!!
but now it askes for the windows product key. and I don't have one, so what do I do now.
Laura

I've just emailed you about this (hope you get it this time). It should be on the system but I'm not sure if it still will be now - we shall see.

DerekW

Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DEREK YOUR THE BOMB!!!!!!!!!
ALL YOU GUYS ARE ALLSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
THANKS SOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LAURA

Great news. As you say, a team effort. It's just as well Top Farmer came up with that idea that the cab files might be on there. OK, so they wern't in one favorite place he mentioned but were in the other.

Good luck with it.

DerekW

Hello all. I am Steve from Tassie Australia. I was reading this entire thread, due to IDENTICAL issue on HP Pavillion WIN98 (I am fixing for a Work colleague) . I had done all the steps until the last resort of a reload, to no avail. Eventually, I popped the recovery cd in (Fortunate to have one) run setup.exe and I am now underway (CD Drive issues inhibited this process until now). Along with Laura, I would like to say thanks to you all for all your input. You have probably helped more people along the way than just a couple of us.

All the steps and instructions posted we're fantastic and easy to follow, and it was pleasant to see the Net etiquette amongst you all.

Many thanks from Oz