A few nights ago my laptop slid off the couch and hit the floor lightly.. Harddrive stayed in securely, I continued using the machine, then about 30 minutes later the screen just blanked out, so I rebooted and was given some error messages... The same ones found in this thread from last Sept.. ibm laptop,windows 98 won't start..

Now it had been a while, so I figured what the hey I will just reinstall windows and that will fix these error messages... except now when I try reinstalling windows it tells me that it cannot update, that I need a different version of windows...
As far as I knew before this happened I was running Win98SE (that was the last version I updated at least) except now, somehow, mysteriously it tells me the version of windows is an FE version
Command prompt Ver reports as: Windows 98 version 4.10.1998.

I have an SE Full version disk,and also an SE Upgrade disk...
I tried downloading and using a win98 FE disk, but get the same error message about needing a different version of windows.

Im completely in the dark on this, I dont know how it converted itself from a 98SE to a FE?
As I suggested I read the entire post mentioned above. Those steps (which are good Btw)dont work on this end though, even though its the same files missing (Himem.sys and Dblbuff.sys)

In any case, I do have floppy (3.5) access and also CD Drive support and like I said a bootdisk, Win98SE full, Win98Se Upgrade,and even the downloaded win98 FE.

I can also pop out the Harddrive, put it in an enclosure I have and read it from another computer(as in like a flash drive or other removeable storage).

Im open for suggestions, comments (however nothing rude telling me up grade to a new OS..LOL) and anything else y'all can think of.

Im in the US, CST timezone. Will probably be up and around the next three hours

Thanks in advance

If you have a full version of Win98SE. Boot from a win98 startup floppy, format the drive and install win98SE.

Well yeah thats an option... but I guess my point was I didn't want to reformat.
I will just leave that as it is the easy way out, and I have some issues with always doing something easily, when someone may have an answer that takes some work but solves the problem (no more rants I promise)

Your problems started with the laptop sliding off the couch. That could have knocked something loose even if it didn't actually physically harm anything.
- Remove the AC adapter and the main battery. Make sure your hard drive and ram are properly seated.
Re-install your main battery, and the AC adapter if you want to use that.
- Hard drives are fairly tough, and by the sounds of it, it was probably not damaged by sliding off the couch, but your should check the hard drive to make sure -
See the latter part of response 1 in this:
http://www.computing.net/windows95/...
- After you do those things try your computer - if it works, try it for a while - it may then be there is nothing wrong and you don't need to re-install Windows.

"Command prompt Ver reports as: Windows 98 version 4.10.1998."

Yes, that's the original version of Win 98, not 98SE. My 98SE version is 4.10.2222A (I got it in Dec. 1999).
The original version was never and is not now called 98FE by Microsoft - that's something that has been tacked on, shorthand, when others describe it to differentiate it from 98SE.

"As far as I knew before this happened I was running Win98SE (that was the last version I updated at least)"

You can update many components in the original Win 98, but you can't update it to the point it is the same as 98SE, or to the point it has the SE version number. You have to install from a 98SE CD for the operating system to be 98SE.
Also, many drivers for 98 are in the same form and are the same or very similar to those for Win 95 - 98SE often uses differently composed drivers.

If you are using an update CD rather than a full version CD to install Windows from scratch, you must by default have a previous operating system on the computer that qualifies for the update, or at least have a CD with a qualifying operating system you can point Setup to - e.g. if you have a Win 98 original version Upgrade CD, you must have Win 95 on the computer or available for Windows to examine on a CD.

By default you can't install Windows from scratch from an Upgrade CD if you don't have a qualifying previous operating system available, but you should be able to run an "overtop" Setup.
With the Upgrade CD in a drive, boot the computer with a Startup disk for the same operating system, let it load CD drive support, and when the disk has finished loading, type: Setup at the prompt, and have it install Windows in the SAME directory it is in now - by default that's C:\Windows. If you do not delete or wipe the existing partition(s) or format the drive partition(s), if you install it to the SAME directory you will not lose anything in Windows or on that partition it is on, and you will not have to re-install any programs.

The Win 98SE full version CD should work fine, and you can use it to replace the Win 98 original version, but it is meant for and expects an empty hard drive. You can get around that and not lose anything on the hard drive by running an "overtop" Setup.
Same goes for a 98 original version full version CD.

This "overtop" Setup is straight forward and perfectly safe to do if the operating system on the Win 98 or 98SE Upgrade or full CD is the same version already on the hard drive.
However, you will probably have to re-install some hardware and device drivers if they are not built into Windows and you use a 98SE Upgrade or Full CD to run Setup "overtop" a 98 original edition Windows installation, or visa versa, since the drivers for 98 and 98SE are often different.

If you are trying to correct problems with your existing Windows, an "overtop" setup can only fix things Windows detects as wrong, and/or replace corrupted or missing Windows files that are on the Windows CD. In the case of drastically changed hardware (e.g. you changed mboards), it will set Windows to the new hardware situation.
If running it doesn't cure enough of your problems and/or the problems are caused by things not on the Windows CD, you will probably have to make a clean install of Windows from scratch.

If you do an "overtop" Setup and change operating systems from 98 to 98SE or visa versa, it is advisable to load all the drivers for your mboard again after Setup is finished.

Tubesandwires:

I appreciate your long response and information.
But until 4 days ago when I downloaded it, I never had a Win98 original cd.
I was running windows 98SE. I know this sounds weird and impossible, but I have found at least one reference of a similiar situation happening to someone else.
I have not made any recent major hardware changes so there shouldnt be any conflicts, and at this point yeah all I want to do is to have Windows install the "missing files". I will tell you what exactly happens when I try to do a Windows Set-up now.

Windows 98SE:
I boot up with the CD in, it asks me if I want to Boot from CD or Boot from HardDisk.
I choose boot from Cd.

it then asks me if I want to run Set-up from CD.
I say yes.
I get a Blue Screen: Welcome to Setup:
This program will install... Enter, f1 or Quit f3.
I choose Enter (go ahead and set-up)

Then I get another blue screen:
Your Computer already has an operating system installed on it. This version is for computers that do not yet...
It is recommeneded that you exit, reboot from HD, and run setup from there.
If you contime your current autoexec.bat and config.sys will be replaced with basic versions.
Two options to choose:
Exit Set-up (recommended)
continue setup and replace current OS.
I choose setup & replace.

Another BS:
Setup is preparing to install, please wait while it intializes, Setup is now going to perform routiune check. Enter

Then it goes to a Scandisk function and runs all its checks (Media descriptor, File Allocation Tables, Dir. Structure, FIle System, Free space, Surface scan) that all passes and I get the
WINDOWS 98 Setup.
Welcome to Windows 98 Setup....... To begin Setup Click continue.
I click it
Setip is preparing the Wizard which will help you through the rest of the process, Please wait, it scans through then I get a Pop Up Window...
Your Computer already has an operating system installed, which cannot be upgraded by this version of Setup. You need to Obtain the Windows 98 Upgrade.
Message SU0168, then an OK to click on. I click on the OK.
exits out of setup and goes to a black screen, tells me to remove and floppies and press any key to restart.
What happens with the next CD I try in the next post.

Okay well in inserting the Upgrade CD, this time it seemed to take it without issues and let me setup Windows 98SE.
I am now in the process of trying to get it back to normal though, still seems very off (my settings and all, never had much problems with this happening in the past.)

One issue I have noted is that it does say that CD1.sys is now missing and that my Config.sys Line 3 has some error in it?

Also on the HardDrive now(C:\) I am showing several folers that were not there before all with the names of Directory and then a Number

DIR0002-DIR0013 they all have some files in them, but all different some files I seemingly recognize, others I do not...
Wondering if somehow my computer was taken over? (even though I run pretty regular virus scans)

Ya coulda fixed it with a Boot Disk, now, who knows what you got.

BTW you cannot download a Legal copy of Win98 from the NET.

There is nothing to learn from someone who already agrees with you.

Regarding response 4:
- you may have had 98SE on the computer at some time, but according to your version information you have the 98 original version on it now. The ONLY way that can happen that I have EVER heard of is for Windows to have been installed from a 98 original version CD.
- are you sure you are identifying your CDs properly? 98SE CDs always have Second Edition printed on the CD if it has no hologram, or if it has a holgram that's in the hologram on the CD somewhere - the 98 original edition CDs don't have that, and do not have "original version" or FE or anything like that. As far as I have been told you can't use a 98 original version upgrade CD to reinstall Windows from scratch on a computer that already was 98 original edition Windows installation, or use a 98SE Upgrade CD to reinstall Windows from scratch on an existing 98SE windows installation, unless you provide the CD for a previous operating system for Setup to examine.
- it sounds like you didn't actually wipe the partition with your choices because it still found an operating system on the hard drive, or you copied and pasted the first message when it was actually something along the lines of "you must have a qualifying operating system on the hard drive in order to use this Upgrade CD."
- Why do you do that again when it didn't work before? That was a complete waste of time. You should have tried booting with a Startup disk instead, as I described.

Regarding response 5:
If you ran Setup from the CD in Windows rather than booting the computer with the the CD, and if you installed Windows in the default C:\Windows directory, then that's not a "from scratch" Windows install, and what you did is the same as what I described - an "overtop" Setup. The same files other than those the Setup may have replaced that were on the drive before you started are still there, and any mistakes or problems that running the "overtop" Setup could not fix are still there.
The only malware that can survive reformatting the partition are boot sector viruses, because they are in the MBR on the hard drive but not in the partition itself. They are relatively rare these days, and they don't make "DIR0002-DIR0013" etc. folders . Those folders were already there - you just didn't notice them previously.

CD1.sys is a CD driver, but it isn't one built into ME. Some boot disks have it - e.g. it's mentioned here: http://www.bootdisk.com/readme.htm#... .
oakcdrom.sys is the one on a ME Startup Disk that works with almost all IDE CD drives, but you don't need to load it, or any other CD driver, in ME itself - ME uses another CD driver in Windows automatically for IDE drives. There are also other common CD drivers on the ME Startup Disk, and Windows has built in support for those too.

When you get that message about there being an error in config.sys, you can often click on something to get the details, or you can look at the file by starting Notepad, select File, Open, change it from Text files to All Files, select config.sys. If the line mentioned loads cd1.sys and it isn't on the computer or the path to it (location of where it is) is wrong, the two messages are about the same thing. You do not need to load a CD driver in Config.sys in Windows.