Hi...i already did this post but i dunno where it went sorry if i doubled up ;) i posted earlier about doing sys c: and then having the computer only boot to the c:\> prompt. I was told many helpful things but none worked. i dont seem to have a windows directory (well to my knowledge - i did cd c:\windows and it said invalid directory) and i also created a MSDOS.SYS file on a floppy and tried to copy it to C:\ but...i dont have permissions to overwrite it and as i dont have attrib.exe (located in the win directory) i cant change the file permissions :( when i turn on the pc..just before it lands at the prompt c:\> i see the win98 startup cloud graphics.....and also at the top of the command prompt i see Microsoft Windows 98..blah blah..so it gives me confidence that win98se is still there...does anyone know how to fix this....i have a full win98se setup disk and have read that i can just reinstall win98 (oh btw the setup disk says it detects another os..and that its not recommended to write over the top...) but this certain post i got also gave an indications that i could only reinstall win (not destructively) if i had a windows directory....which i don't seem to have...i only need to save a few files....outlook address list and a couple of word docs located in MYdocs...if i reinstall win98se will all this be gone (considering i dont seem to have a win98 directory) thanks for any help..much appreciated Tomo

Double posted. I spent 20 minutes answering the first one!

Hi y'all What do you get when you enter C:\dir/p ? beansoup

If you wanna check what directories & files you have on your hard drive, at the C:\ prompt, type "dir /p" & hit "enter"...then hit any key to continue to the next page. Look for the C:\Windows directory... Otherwise, just boot off the startup floppy, select "with CD-ROM support", pop in the Win98 CD, change directory to the CD-ROM drive, type "setup" & hit "enter"...make sure it installs into the Windows directory, not Windows.000, if it defaults to C:\Windows.000, it means there already is a C:\Windows directory...just backspace to remove the ".000" & let it overwrite the existing C:\Windows

It's difficult to keep up with all the threads and responses so I don't know it you've done this: You need to get a copy of msdos.sys from another 98se system that boots windows from the c:\windows folder. If you have a machine there then boot it with a bootdisk. At the a:\> prompt type: attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys and enter. Then put a blank, formatted disk in the floppy drive and type, at the a:\> prompt: copy c:\msdos.sys and enter. When it's copied the file, take the disk out and put the bootdisk back in and type: attrib +s +h +r c:\msdos.sys and enter. Then boot the ailing machine with the bootdisk and at the a:\> prompt type: attrib -s -h -r c:\msdos.sys and enter. Take the bootdisk out and put the disk with the copied msdos.sys in. At the a:\> prompt type: copy msdos.sys c: and enter. Yes to overwriting the existing file. When it's done, put the bootdisk back in and type: attrib +s +h +r c:\msdos.sys Now you've got the correct version of msdos.sys on your hard drive and, if everything else is OK, it should boot to windows. If you don't have another machine with 98se on it, I can email you my msdos.sys.

could you not try re-installing over the top then? you will need to boot a c:\ prompt, and cd into windows type rename win.com win.old (or something like that) then you should be able to install from the cd, and do what jam says and make sure you install in c:\windows, it will ask you to install in c:\windows.000 so just delete the .000 and this should work fine.