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First, thanks for taking the time to read my post. If you can give me any assistance, I'd be much obliged.
My PC at home is currently running a dual-boot of Linux Mandrake (Yay!=) and Win Me (Bleagh). After my most recent reformat (which involved a big fat lightning bolt eating my SB Live, my 56k modem, my power supply, my case fan, and of course my system too), I foolishly let my friend talk me into trying Win Me.
Before I say anything else, I must state categorically that Win Me is without doubt the most pathetic, useless, cretinous piece of trash that Microsloth has ever had the gall to label an "Operating System". I didn't like Win98 a ton, but Win Me makes Win98 look like HEAVEN.
For one thing, it really, REALLY hates LILO (the Linux program I'm using for my dual-boot), so much so that it hosed my master boot record the first time I tried to set it up. Plus, it has effectively NO backwards compatibility. I can't get anything that was written before 1996 to run on my PC under Win Me. No DOS applications except the most completely basic ones will work. Some come up with an error message that helpfully announce that they feel they'd rather function. Others simply lock up the system the instant they are run. I began collecting computer games back when Windows were something you had drapes on, and now 50% of them won't run. Neither will some older DOS tools which I still find useful.
Plus, I'm having the problem "Regy" mentioned in a post on the 27th: I have this hidden directory, "_RESTORE", in the root directory of my Windows partition. It is 551 megs in size (on a 6.4 gig disk), and whenever I install or uninstall a program, IT GROWS. I've searched the registry for references to "_RESTORE" and found a single key in the folder for WinZip, of all things. In this c:\_RESTORE directory are many files named "VxDMon" this or that, and one big directory called "ARCHIVE" with 500 some megs of .cab files. I have literally no clue whatsoever as to what this directory's purpose is. I tried renaming it so I could test if I could run without it (if I could, I intended to delete it), but Windows informed me that it is a protected system folder and prefers that I not bother it. Not knowing how vital it may be, I've not gone any further - YET.
Me, I'm preparing to go back to Win98 2nd edition. It may suck compared to a REAL OS like Linux, but at least it can play computer games competently, and Win Me can't even do THAT. If anyone has any suggestions for my DOS and "_RESTORE" problems, I'd love to hear them. Please, unless you think it would benefit others to see your response, email me your replies.
Thanks,
Kasreyn
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I suggest you also get a surge protector and insure that your outlet has a good earth ground. I also reccomend getting a lightning rod.
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Well, first of all I would like to say is welcome to Moore's Law....even though it was originally intended for semiconductors, it has evolved over to software as well. Now I do agree with you, that the System Restore feature is well ..........what can I say..I hate...but on the other hand I do love Win Me. I just don't like that feature...that feature is for newbies and I'm not one of them....I myself....started out with a Commodore 64....well Atari before that, but as far as computers are concerned the Commodore....anyway....I was messing around with trying to get rid of some stuff in that hidden _restore folder. First of all....if you want to disable the PChealth feature goto the run menu under the start button and type msconfig. Now goto the startup tab and uncheck the PChealth box and the program named *StateMgr. Now that alone will enable you to free up system memory a good deal. Now you can delete items from the protected _Restore folder but you'll need to boot using you Win Me Boot disk..if you don't have one use a 98 boot disk....I think that will work, but not sure. Now when you boot through that you can get to the directory through the Dos emulation and those files are no longer under Windows protection. Now I deleted all the files last night in there...only to find out that they begin rebuilding them after you do this. Now I don't know if this will work or not because I did delete the files and they did not come back but they did begin rebuilding as soon as I began installing more software. Now before you delete the directory you will need to delete the files. I have a PIII 800 256 megs of ram A Quantum UDMA 66 HD. It took like and hour for all those files to be deleted...so even on a fast machine be prepared to go do something else for a while..now after they are deleted then you can remove the directory. I don't know if it will stay removed but you can try. But at least when you disable the system recovery..that does stay disabled though.....sorry for the lengthy letter...but I'm not very good at posting how to short articles......try it and let me know what happened!
--B O W E N--
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Kas,
First of all Me doesn't suck as bad as you think....I have been running ME for over a month now with no problems. Yes it has a hard time runnin dos apps but you knew this before setting it up on your puter right? If not you shold have read revies or mess boards like this one. Im not "Flaming" you, I am simply saying that with a little effort Win ME CAN run smoothly if set up properly and tweak a lil. Ok now, on to your System Restore issue....this is very simply, just turn it off as I have. Go to Device Manager/Performance/File System/Troubleshooting and you can disable it there! I REALLY wish people would stop saying ME sucks....If you have a problem that you didn't have with 98/98se then just ask. I have been running rock solid and am enjoyin ME very much. Please people no more I HATE ME posts...instead ask for help or suggestions..those of us who are having a good time with ME would be glad to help. :) cheers
TheWiz
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I was able to remove the _RESTORE folder over two weeks ago. Even though it reappeared twice the following day, now I've been able to remove it again forever. The last time it reappeared I was able to remove it from within Windows Explorer very easily, and it hasn't showed up again.
Before removing the _RESTORE folder, you have to follow the steps below. My instructions may sound like "baby talk", but I want to help not only those people who may know a lot, but also those who have very little experience and may need a detailed explanation.1. Go to Start/Run, write msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the "Startup" tab and remove the checkmarks in the *StateMgr and PCHealth boxes. Click on OK, then restart Windows as required.2. Next right-click on My PC and go to Properties/Device Manager/Performance/File System/Troubleshooting. Uncheck the System Restore box. Click on OK, then restart Windows when you're asked to do so.
3. In order to remove the _RESTORE folder from your hard drive, you'll need to start your machine in real DOS mode. To do so, insert a Win Me or Win98 boot disk before turning on your computer.
After a couple of minutes you'll see a menu with three or four options, depending on whether you're using a Win98 or Win Me boot disk. Choose any option except "Help", and when you see the A:\ prompt write c: and press Enter.4. The files and folders inside the _RESTORE folder are hidden and read-only ones, so you'll need to change their attributes.
To do so, type attrib -r -a -s -h *.* and press Enter (be careful to leave a blank space before each "-" sign and before the first "*").5. Change to your _RESTORE folder by typing cd _RESTORE and press Enter.
6. If you type dir and press Enter again, you'll see those sub-folders contained in the _RESTORE folder.
7. There are usually five folders there.
First you must empty each of them, before you can delete them one by one. After that, you'll be able to remove the _RESTORE folder.8. The folders normally found inside the _RESTORE directory are called Archive, Extract, Logs, SFP, and Temp.
9. Change to Archive (type cd archive and press Enter). Type del *.* and press Enter again in order to delete all the files contained in that folder. This may take from a few seconds to several minutes, depending on the number of files to be deleted.
10. Type rd archive and press Enter. That folder inside the _RESTORE folder will be deleted.
The process will continue in the same way for the other folders:
11. Then type cd extract and press Enter. Type del *.* and press Enter again. This folder will also be emptied. When this is done, write rd extract and press Enter. The Extract folder will be gone.
12. Type cd logs and press Enter. Type
del *.* and press Enter again. A few seconds later type rd logs and press Enter. Another folder has gone!13. Next type cd sfp and press Enter. Type del *.* and press Enter once again. A few moments later type rd sfp and press Enter, and no more logs folder!
14. Next type cd temp and press Enter. Type del *.* and press Enter again. This folder is usually the biggest, so the deletion process may take from several minutes to an hour or more. When the deletion process has finished, type rd temp and press Enter.
14. Write dir and press Enter to see if there may be any other folders that might need to be emptied and then deleted following the above method.
15. If there are no more folders in the _RESTORE directory, now change to you root directory (type cd.. and press Enter).
16. Type rd _RESTORE and press Enter.
17. You can restart you computer now. If the _Restore folder reappears (which is unlikely to happen), you should be able to delete it from Windows Explorer in the future.
18. If you ever have to reinstall Windows ME, the _RESTORE folder will reappear, but you won't be able to delete it from Windows Explorer. You'll have to repeat the above process all over again.
Hope this has been of help.
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Hi,
I would say that all your complaints are valid, except Win ME isnt at fault here, you are. You clearly didnt do enough research on the new features of WIN ME, as system restore, you can limit its size, disable it, or just remove it with ease.
You should've also known that they took away the DOS support, in case you didnt know before, people cursed when windows 9x came in loading DOS first, degrading its title of a true '32bit' operating system blah blah blah, MS did it for compatibility, and it has caused them headaches, WIN ME would be considered a step in teh right direction to make windows more stable, and you will find that most casual users will not miss DOS programs at all. Sure, Bill Gates could stop windows and write a whole new OS from the ground up, but without compatibility he is going to get exactly the flame you are giving out. THere IS a patch to enable real dos mode before booting into win me, which means you CAN run your old dos programs again........
THe whole thing involving removing the restore folder...... its quite simple: windows wont let you delete it, so you do it in DOS where it wont get int the way (that is if you get rid of the attributes), windows already backsup your current registry and keeps it for like 4 days (I think), it also prevents you from damaging critical system files, so you wont boot up one day and find a bsod without even getting to desktop saying some file was not found. If you want something better, go with Windows 2000, with the SP1, of course
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I like ME......it works perfectly on my machine.........rareeeeely crashes....I consider it a enhanced version of 98.
Its not as rock solid as Windows 2000, but on my machine it is a improvement over 98 in most regards.
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I agree with Jeff, if you people would have read, studied even, checked out Microsofts compatibility list, READ THE ME BOX UNDER REQUIREMENTS, you would have had an idea of what to expect. Get off this mess about dos programs not functioning right. Keep your old junk 486 computer to run your dos apps on if you cant depart from them, thats what I did. You people grow more ignorant by the minute. READ UP ON THE OS BEFORE BUYING IT TO SEE IF IT WILL FIT YOUR NEEDS. Like Jeff said, WinME is not at fault, YOU ARE so quit your bitching.
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You don't seem to quite understand. I mentioned the problems with it so any poor fool here who's lucky enough to have never run Win ME won't make the same mistake I did. I had a sinking suspicion before I put it on that it would be full of bloat and fluff, but I was misinformed by a friend who SHOULD have known what he was talking about. He told me it was the same as '98, just basically brought up to date. My mistake was not in failing to research Win ME, it was in listening to the wrong source.
Oh and by the way, Win ME *is* at fault for its failures. You can go on saying that "this is how M$ said it would be" until kingdom come, but that doesn't reduce the simple fact that as a serious OS, it breaks its teeth biting the bag.
Besides, if no one mocks and attacks Microsolth, how will everyone know to run Linux? =P
Kasreyn
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If you want rid of the _RESTORE folder, just delete or disable the PC health restore point from the task manager and then delete the _RESTORE folder and it will never come back again. It stores everything that changes on your PC for days so you can undo it at a later time. It's like the software "Go back!" It's a good thing in most cases and it it worth the space. I mean most people have 5+ gig drives and don't have that full. What is 500 megs if it keeps your PC from dying? You can delete half your system and it brings it back mostly.
I agree that Win ME is a piece of crap but so was Win 98 SE and Win 98 and Win 95 and Win 3.1..need I go on? They are digressing and Win NT is getting better and Win 2k is even better. It's a marketing strategy to get you to buy more expensive Microsoft software. As for not being able to run DOS programs, most older 16 bit and DOS programs have been being phased out since 1995. You have had 5 years to prepare. I upgraded Win ME because my Win 98 SE was the most unstable OS I have ever had. Now i have somewhat more stability and a nifty _RESTORE point thing that you seem to hate. I hate to say this but RTFM lol
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