Hey, I'm here trying to fix a computer and i am finally stumped. The problem is that she may have deleted some files that she shouldn't have and now when she reboots the boot sequence gets as far as the win98 splash screen, but after a 1/2 second or so, reverts back to DOS without any error or BSOD. Can't get into safe mode and checked autoexec.bat and config.sys for abnormalities. The only thing listed is the activation of essolo.sys and essolo.com. These are both references to her sound card (ES SOLO). I dont know what to do anymore and am not willing to format because she's a college student with her work on her HDD. (And she doesn't want to have to replace her 20 GB of MP3s and pictures). I would really appreciate any help. Thanks, eepok

You could try scanreg /fix at the DOS prompt, in an attempt to get at least an error message on which files may be missing. Scanreg /restore might restore a backed up working registry, but if files are missing that won't help much. Next option is to reinstall windows over itself to replace the missing files but save all program settings, programs and data etc. This requires a windows install disk not a proprietory restore disk that wants to automatically format the drive. See the "Install Guides" link on the side of this page for more info on install options.