Hi - plenty already some excellent advice on this subject(link refers) some time) ago which is why I have started again because nothing has worked. http://www.computing.net/windowsme/wwwboard/forum/38931.html I have tried ALL the advice offered on the associated MS papers and thread(s) but none of the solutions work. I still cannot start windows and get the message "the MS Installable File System Manager cannot find the helper driver. Please ensure that IFSHLP.SYS has been installed”. I tried the advice on the MS paper 279736 and the above link other users and found that the DISPLAY.SYS file is the probable cause. I have tried configuring prog man to start the system restore tool at C: but prog manger does not start and its back to the blue screen. I have checked the winBootDir is correct and it is. I have also tried to extract the corrupted files from my recovery disk but i get a "cant install from location (null)". I have tried all diff permutations inc poss locations on the HDD just in case the files were still intact in the "options folder". This still did not work. I hope someone can help me because I have only just got the pc back after the original HDD failed and mashed up all my data and really dont have the stomach for having it recovered again in the space of 4 months! Please help me before I chuck the flippin thing out the window!

If you've tried all of the above with every link mentioned and nothing works then your struggling because you've covered most ground. However. One thing that doesn't quite make sense to me is .. "I have also tried to extract the corrupted files from my recovery disk but i get a "cant install from location (null)" This would imply you've only tried extraction from the recovery CD. Depending on what you mean by that, ie, an OEM recovery CD (manufacturers CD), then I'm not surprised you've got that message. Before I type anything else. Questions. 1) Did you try extracting the files from your cab files via the Windows msconfig tool at some point ? 2) Did you try extracting the files from your cab files via the DOS extraction tool (use bootdisk) at some point ? See the iDiOt walk See the idiot TaLk WaLk IdIoT WaLk

Hi Viking, In answer to your questions; (1) I can't start windows and so havent been able to use the MSCONFIG facility. It halts at the blue screen above. I can only start it with a boot disk and perform (or not) at command promt. (2) After many attemps immeditately after writing my message, I managed to use the cab extraction tool in DOS. I didnt know exactly which path the original cabs were in but it finally accepted c: windows options cabs (note my backslash doesnt work!). When i selected y, it scrolled all the cab files and then asked if I wanted to overwrite files y/no/all. I selected all. I also selected extract to folder as 'current' since i couldnt be sure what it was. I did this for both corrupt files DISPLAY.SYS & IFSHLP.SYS. However when I attempt to restart in safe mode, the system hangs and still says the two files are corrupt and then it goes to the blue same blue screen system halted message "ISMGR Initialising, INSTALLABLE FILE SYSTEM MANAGER blah blah". In step by step bootup, it does mention an error about display code page faults if this makes any sense? Presume this is related to the DISPLAY.SYS file? Any ideas?

Let's make sure you've done this right. Boot with your ME startup disk and get to the A:\> prompt and type.. ext or extract run through the routine again and extract the files FROM either ... c:\windows\options\install or c:\windows\options\cabs whatever works. Make sure both files go in c:\windows Say Yes to overwriting them. See the iDiOt walk See the idiot TaLk WaLk IdIoT WaLk

I did exactly this - the last time I used the default directory but I have installed into the c:/windows/systems directory. I will try this one more time just to be sure. But am not hopeful of success!

....I re-tried the ext ensuring that windows system was the extration directory with the same results. Two things I have noticed though followed by 2 others bits of system info; 1) when the boot disk starts the pc, the page info has a line "One or more CON code pages are invalid" 2) if use CABs plural rather than CAB in the extract from line, it comes up with a message that there has been an error opening the CAB BASE2 file. Could this be the rogue file? I am not using the original monitor on the problem pc because - it is an LCD - would this cause basic display problems?

IFSHLP.SYS and DISPLAY.SYS both live in the c:\windows directory (so extract them to there) not >> c:\windows\system. (Unless I've read you completely wrong). You will get those errors because everything is jumbled up to F. There is no cabs plural. It's .cab. And Base2.cab is legit. And Yes, it would cause problems with DISPLAY.SYS. Very much so. See the iDiOt walk See the idiot TaLk WaLk IdIoT WaLk