When I get to my desktop I get a error message that pops up, "invalid page fault in module explorer.exe 015f:00402349", I read a post on here that directed me to microsoft's site which told me to type
ren c:\explorer.exe explorer.old
and press enter, It just kept saying bad command. The kicker is that my cd-rom drive isn't working either. So I can't use my windows 98 disc. What else can I do to fix this? Will running scanreg work for this instance?

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I can't install that program because I can't even get to the start menu, the background shows up, the windows startup sound plays, then the box comes up saying that explorer has crashed and I have to restart. Any other ideas?

If you boot up with a win98 startup floppy and select `with cdrom support', you should be able to run a windows install. Type:
e:\setup
That's assuming that e: is your cdrom drives address.

What error message do you get when you try that?

my cd-rom drive doesn't even show up under "my computer", it use to be my e: drive, but all that shows up is my a: and c: drive.

If you are booting up in safe mode, the cdrom drive will not show up. The cdrom drivers are not loaded in safe mode.

If you boot from the win98 startup floppy it will load the cdrom drivers and you should be able to access the drive. That is if the drive is not broken or an antique.

By the way, Scanreg will not fix your problem.