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Last night my computer worked fine. This morning I started it and walked off to let if finish and I heard the computer making a weird sound. So I rebooted it and then the Windows 98 Startup Menu came up. I chose SAFE Mode. Then it showed the Win 98 screen like it was about to start, but then it went back to the Windows Startup Menu. It started making that sound again and at the bottom it said:
"HIMEM is testing extended memory...done"then after doing that it flashed another screen very briefly. i had to go through all these steps about 5 times to pick it all up. it said :
"error loading GD1.exe. You must reinstall Windows."
is there anything i can do to restore what i have or does this mean i have to lose everything? this is really bad because i am a musician and have 5 years worth of song demos/ideas on that hard drive. any help would be appreciated. instructions probably need to be pretty simplistic as i am not very knowledgable about computers. i have already tried searching the forums for solutions, but what i've tried hasn't worked.
thanks!
"...this is really bad because i am a musician and have 5 years worth of song demos/ideas on that hard drive."
Add the word BACKUP to your vocabulary. ;>)
You can reinstall windows without loosing data or current settings, ~as long as it's not~ a RESTORE CD that you have. A full install CD is desirable.
Simply reinstall "over the top" of the existing installation. You'll need the install CD, the Product Key, and any non MS (MicroSoft) drivers which you utilize. For collecting drivers, see my post #4 here.
Remember, DON'T use a restore CD for this as these generally format the hard disk partition and load a factory "image".
I have to run but I'll look into the GDI error. Someone else will probably be along with further help.
It's a good day when you learn something
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Forgot to add; If you go the reinstall over the top route, windows will find the original install and want to install to c:\windows.000. REDIRECT it back to c:\windows.
It's a good day when you learn something
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I looked through all the CD's that came with my Gateway that I could find (it's 5 years old) and it looks like they're Restoring CD's. here are the titles:
System Restoration CD
Application Restoration CD
Operating System Backup CDI've been thinking about buying the latest Windows edition since this is pretty old now. If these CD's aren't what you recommend, then I guess that's what I need to do? I also will definitely start backing up files. I'll have to look into those thumb drives I have heard about.
thanks.
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Based upon your last post, definitely do not use those CD's. There are ways to get to your files in raw dos so they may be backed up onto different media. It may be an arduous, time consumming task based upon what you have for hardware, but it all boils down to how much you want those files saved. There are many here who can walk you through it. Post back if you need help or more information.
It's a good day when you learn something
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yes, they are definitely valuable.
would it correct the problem and save all my old files if i just went and bought Windows 2000 and installed it?
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yes, they are definitely valuable.
would it correct the problem and save all my old files if i just went and bought Windows 2000 and installed it?
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Don't install a new operating system, unless you know what you are doing. The new install might delete all the files you want saved. The safest way would be to copy all of the files onto a new hard drive.
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so should i buy a thumb drive and save it to that just to be safe then? i'm not sure i would even know how to do it through DOS.
by the way, what would even cause my computer to do this in the first place?
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I would expect a musician to be able to describe a sound a little better than wierd.
Was it a siren type sound? If so this would indicate that your processor is overheating. Most likely because the heatsink is clogged with dust.
It may be safer to transfer the hard drive to another working computer and copy the files off your drive before you try any software recovery.
A thumb drive will be of little use. You won't be able to install the drivers.
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Yes, that weird sound could mean a lot of things, from a problem reported by BIOS to the HD about to fail.
I don't generally regard it wise to try to "cure a problem" by putting in a new operating system. You have to find out what the problem is first, otherwise you might be wasting your time and money. Once it is fixed is the time to consider any thoughts about new operating systems.
Subject to information on that noise you could try restarting in MS-DOS and typing scanreg /restore (hit Return key) at the DOS prompt. You choose a registry date just before this happened. This often helps but will not do so if it is a hardware problem.
DerekW
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the sound doesn't come from the speakers, it comes from inside the tower itself, like the computer is trying to find something but can't. sortof a clicking sound. i don't know what to compare it to.
i tried scanreg/restore and clicked on yesterday's date. it did the same thing. i don't know enough about computers to probably tell you want you need to know. sorry.
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It's not beyond belief that the hard disk is dying. You could shut down to DOS and type scandisk. If you start getting a stack of errors then shut down. We would then need to work on the best way to backup your stuff before you loose it.
DerekW
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ok. i typed in "scandisk" and this came up:
Scandisk is unable to check a drive because there is no extended memory driver loaded on your computer.
To check this drive, make sure that you have a HIMEM.SYS file of the disk from which you are starting your computer, and then restart using the 'command prompt only' option (not 'safe mode, command prompt only'). Depending on the location of the HIMEM.SYS file, you may need to add a line such as DEVICE = A:\HIMEM.SYS or DEVICE = C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS in the CONFIG.SYS file on your boot drive.
so what does that mean in layman's terms?
thanks everyone for taking the time to read and trying to come up with a solution.
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What are you booting from when you attempt to run scandisk? A bootdisk should have himem.sys on it.
When booting from the hard drive, start tapping F8 before the OS starts to load. Choose 'command prompt only'. At the c:\> prompt try running scandisk again. If you get the same error type edit c:\config.sys and enter. Type in the line device=c:\windows\himem.sys. Then hit ALT to access the toolbar, and ENTER to open it and then S to save it. Then ALT and ENTER again and x to exit edit. Then reboot to 'command prompt only' and try scandisk again.
Since the noise corresponded with the data problem there's a really good chance you have a problem with the hard drive. You should look into getting that replaced ASAP.
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spencerjay
Sorry, I should have given more explanation about how to get to DOS as you can't start Windows. Glad to see DAVE has clarified this.
DerekW
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Daveincaps, i did as you said. it started scanning, but when it got to 9% it started making that sound again.
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Sounds like your HD is on the way out.
As you are not too conversant with computers you are probably best advised to take it to a repair shop to get the HD replaced.
Emphasise to them that you want your important data saved and they will be able to use programs to get it across to the new HD.
I would avoid using the machine until then otherwise it could die completely and prevent access to your data.
DerekW
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Daveincaps, i did as you said. it started scanning, but when it got to 9% it started making that sound again.
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oops. i sent the last post again. i have some people that may be able to help.
thanks everyone.
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i had a friend's dad suggest this, what do you think about this advice?
"I can't find much info about the GD1.exe file other than it has
something to do with graphics. However, what concerns me is the
clicking noise you heard on startup. Most of the time that is coming
from the hard drive and that is bad. It usually indicates that there
are some bad cylinders or sectors on the drive and files in those areas
have probably been destroyed or corrupted. It could be that some of the
files needed to load Windows are no longer any good and that is why the
system says reload Windows. If you have the Windows 98 original disk,
you can try to reload and see what happens. If it won't reload, then
you probably have a bad hard drive and it needs to be replaced. If you
know the brand of hard drive that you have, (like Western Digital,
Seagate, etc) you can go to their websites and download (on another
computer) diagnostic files for free (they will fit on a floppy). You
boot up the unit with the floppy and follow the instructions for running
some disk diagnostics. If you have a bad drive, the program will try to
fix it and if it can't, it will tell you. If the drive is bad, you can
still recover data from it even though it won't load up Windows.
Without having the computer here in front of me, that is about the best
I can come up with."
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That's all very similar to what you have been told here. The only issue it does not address is that of recovering your files.
Be very careful with the reload windows one as that often requires a reformat.
As I mentioned earlier, your best course of action at this point is to transfer your hard drive to another computer and see if you can copy your music across and then record to another media, such as cd. Once this is safe, you can run diagnostic disks or even reformat if you wish.
I don't believe that saving the drive is the primary concern. It's easy to buy another drive. Recreating five years work takes more effort and may not even be possible.
Final word, BACKUP!
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The more ideas you try the more you risk not being able to access your data due to damage. This is why I suggested not using your machine from now on. To my mind your HD is running out of time.
I consider the best advice is to follow my #18. If you feel confident enough then you can do this yourself, but from what you said in your original post the repair shop is the best bet.
Mechanical noises cannot normally be cured by fiddling with software but its your machine so its your decision. Happy to be proved wrong but I am simply taking your 5 years of data seriously.
DerekW
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ok. thanks everyone. i turned it off and i'm going to let someone who knows about computers mess with it. the main reason i wanted to try it myself is that i don't like the idea of someone i don't know having access to my music, etc. i'm probably being too paranoid, but that's just how i am.
i'll go ahead and ask for suggestions on how i should back up my files once i (hopefully) get the problem solved.
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