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After listening to an "expert" from SBC I now have no cd rom in my computers registry.
The cd rom is completely removed from the registry. The drivers are still in the computer system but since the registry can not "see" the cd rom driver as being installed nothing works. I have tried many different things from scanreg /fix to a multitude of quick fixes that simply have not fixed the problem. I need a computer guru to tell me how to add cd rom to the REGISTRY of the computer. Right now the only thing that works is my A drive for floppy.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks,
Pam in Texas
Have you simply tried going into device manager, uninstalling your cd-rom device from there, then restarting? The Windows souhld automaticly detect the cd-rom "again" and re-install it, hence-fourth in the registry.
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If it hasn't been too long you could try scanreg/restore. Exit to dos like you would with scanreg/fix and type:
scanreg/restore
and enter and choose a registry to restore with a date that precedes the problem.
But are you sure it's a registry problem and not hardware? Is the cdrom showing up on the posting screen? Also go to 'performance' in 'system' in control panel and see if it might be running in msdos compatibility mode.
What was you original reason for editing the registry?
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Show us your autoexec.bat and config.sys files, so we can get you pointed in the right direction.
Open each file in Notepad, then use the copy - and - paste feature to post them here. So far, we just don't have enough information to work with, but there are plenty of techs here who'd like to help you resolve this.
Post again if you hit a snag copying your files, and give the collective mind the chance to attack this properly.
RogerDodger
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You might try this:
Boot the computer with a bootdisk, choose cdrom support. At the a:\> prompt type:
md c:\win98
and enter. If you get a message something like 'directory already exists' then skip down to 'Reboot the computer. . . '.
Then with the 98 cd in the cdrom type at the a:\> prompt:
copy d:\win98\*.* c:\win98
This copies the cab files from the 98 cd onto your HD.
Reboot your computer without the bootdisk. Run regedit. Expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. Right click on Enum and go down to 'delete'. Yes to delete the key.
This removes the hardware configuration from your computer. When you reboot windows will re-set up all your hardware including (hopefully) your cdrom. You may need the drivers for your modem, video adapter, sound card and possibly other added hardware.
While setting up the hardware the os will want the 98 cd to extract the drivers it needs. The cdrom may not be recognized right away so that although it asks you to insert the 98 cd it won't find anything because it doesn't see the cdrom. In that case direct it to look for the files in:
c:\win98
This may not fix your problem since there's no way to know where the original damage to the registry was. But without that information I think your best bet is to delete the enum key and reinstall the hardware.
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. . . Assuming of course the cdrom is OK otherwise and it's not running in msdos compatibility mode.
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DAVE IN CAPS gives excellent advice, but I feel obligated to make a few commments here in regards to Response Number 5.
First of all, to correct this suggestion:
> Then with the 98 cd in the cdrom type at the a:\> prompt:
> copy d:\win98\*.* c:\win98
> This copies the cab files from the 98 cd onto your HD.
If Pam in Texas boots with a Win 98 diskette, and the CD-ROM drive works with the bootdisk, the proper command would more likely be this:
copy E:\win98\*.* c:\win98
The CD-ROM drive will be the E: drive, because the Win98 bootdisk creates a two megabyte RAM-DRIVE (in memory), and assigns the letter D: to the RAM-DRIVE, which shifts all other drives further along alphabetically.
Not trying to confuse you, Pam in Texas; in fact, I'm trying to make sure you AREN'T confused by the advice you receive here.
I realize that MY advice (in Response 4) was not up to par, either; I SHOULD have advised Pam in Texas to copy her autoexec.bat and config.sys files onto a sheet of paper, take it to the library with her, and THEN post them here, but I'd forgotten that she can't get online from her home until her DSL installation problems are resolved.
Secondly, deleting the ENUM Key within the Registry is not always the best approach. There is no guarantee that the legacy drivers needed for this Dell 486 will be on the Win 98 CD, or that she'll be able to locate them on her hard drive. If the drivers are NOT available, Pam in Texas is going to have to chase drivers for the rest of her system, which can be difficult. Pam in Texas could be opening another can of worms by deleting the ENUM key, although every tech who reads these posts has done it countless times, because we KNOW the risks, and are willing to accept the possible consequences.
Again, DAVE IN CAPS gives excellent advice, and I don't want Pam in Texas to become gun-shy about following his suggestions, simply because of a typo. We simply don't know how comfortable Pam in Texas is with making any more edits to her Registry; seems to me Registry hacking is what started this problem for her in the first place.
I've lurked and posted here (under various names) for a few years now, as my work schedule permits, and I can attest to the quality of advice DAVE IN CAPS provides dozens of people each week. He posts here to help those who seek advice, knowing someone might disagree with him, and I agree with his advice 99.9% of the time.
Good luck with this, Pam; you have your work cut out for you, and not being able to get online with that Dell only compounds matters for you. Take your time, and if you happen to get advice you're leery of, there is a good chance someone will contradict that advice within hours. I did NOT write this to contradict anyone; my comments here were written to correct a typo, and to express an opinion concerning advice I thought was given somewhat prematurely, though I accept the fact that deleting the ENUM key, then rebooting and allowing Windows to re-detect all of the hardware, is often a highly effective method of correcting problems such as those Pam in Texas has encountered.
RogerDodger
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Thanks, I didn't even think about the ramdrive when I posted that.
I wasn't sure if the '486' in the cpu/ram description meant a 486 cpu or a cpu running at 486 mhz. I assumed the former since I'm not familiar with a 486 mhz cpu.
It's been awhile since I set up a 486 with 98 but I don't recall ever having any problems. Of course that doesn't mean Pam won't have problems.
When I reread Pam's original post provided by Dan, I realized this had been going on for awhile and that she must have tried everything else. I briefly searched my registry to see if I could locate my cdrom and didn't find anything specific. So I couldn't think of anywhere to edit the registry to add one. And since deleting the ENUM key usually works OK, I thought that may be the next thing to try.
Thanks for keeping me on my toes.
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DAVEINCAPS, we're all in this together; Pam in Texas has had this problem for a while. I killed my Win98 systems a few years ago, and I'm just glad you're available to help her with this. With any luck, she'll have that 486 cranking at full speed again soon.
To be honest, I have three 486s in my home network. All run Windows for Workgroups 3.11, and my nephews enjoy using them for old DOS games. The kids don't bother my heavy iron, so I don't mind letting them play and learn. Those 486s were powerhouse systems in their day, and they still work as well as ever. Pam in Texas might hit a snag with some proprietary Dell hardware, but I'm convinced that she's close to a solution.
In fact, when I couldn't find the "right" driver for a particular CD-ROM drive in one of those 486 systems, I simply used the OAKCDROM.SYS driver from the Win98SE boot disk, and haven't had a problem with it in the last four years.
Anyway, DAVEINCAPS, keep punching; Pam in Texas isn't out of the woods with this problem yet, and I'm sure a LOT of people are lurking here, waiting to see how this is resolved.
Roger
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I'm still wondering if the cdrom might be a proprietary drive. Many of them were in old 486's. I have one in my old 486DX2 66Mz machine. If she'd post either (or all);
the contents of autoexec.bat and config.sys or any backups of these that might still be on the system
the make/model of the drive
the name(s) of the driver(s) file(s)
or open the cover and see where the data cable goes
this could either be comfirmed or eliminated from the equation.
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