I have a win98 Dell desktop computer. I have never had any problems with it until I listened to an "expert" tell me what to do to get my DSL to work. (by the way DSL still does not work) "Expert" had me remove a file from the registry and it had attached itself to the cd rom drive. Cd rom drive is still showing as having all the nec. drivers to run BUT the registry removed it totally and now drive E shows as having nothing in it. I already tried the registry restore trick to no avail as it restored what is there and not what was removed. Does anyone know how to add cd rom to the registry so I can use my computer or am I now the sad owner of a huge doorstop thanks to the "expert" at SBC??? Any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks, Pam :)

could you clarify a little. Files do not reside in the registry. What enrty did you remove from the registry and what do you mean the file had attached itself to the cd rom drive? The more details you can provide, the better we can help you.

One of the main issues with some registry cleaners is that they remove registry entities that contain pointers to drives or files that are not accessible when they run. The problem is often that when they remove that pointer, there are other entities that depend on that file and then you can get Windows startup or Run errors. Usually, a SCANREG /RESTORE to an earlier date will cure the problem, but not always unless there are enough saved registry backups. The default is 5 which may not be enough. Don

It's a long shot but you might try removing the cdrom from device manager in system in control panel and see if it works right when windows reboots and sets it up again. You might also try an 'add new hardware' search from control panel. There is a key you can delete in the registry that will force windows to reinitialize all the hardware but if the entry you deleted didn't reside there that probably wouldn't help. So, as Tom asks, what exactly did you delete?

What is the make/model # of the cdrom? This is a 486? Is the cdrom data cable connected to a sound card or other small (8bit) interface card? Do you have backups of your config.sys and autoexec.bat in case they were changed recently? On an old system the cdrom may be a proprietary drive as opposed to an IDE drive.

Hi and thanks for your emails. I appreciate you fella's taking time to write. I am now having to come to the Library for computer time. I tried scanreg restore.....did not work as the cd rom was removed from the registry. It can not restore that which is removed. scanreg fix was no help as it too can not restore/fix that which is removed. The SBC man told me to go into the registry and remove the Zone alarm. Somehow when that was done the cd rom disappeared as well. The cd rom drivers are still in the system but the computer a Dell win98 486 does not recognize the computer as having any cd rom. Asking the computer to look for new hardware did not accomplish anything either. I think I need a computer guru that knows the code that needs to be reinserted into the registry. The computer no longer "see's" my E or D drives as valid. Claims both have been moved or removed from the system. Any thoughts? I will try to give you more information. Right now that is what I did and the outcome of the SBC "expert" advice. Wishing my huge Dell door stop was a computer again. :) Thanks, Pam