windows 98 desktop big probem

mr_accountant

my windows 98se desktop has a problem after running super-anti spyware- its normally fine then today i used the program super anti spyware, let it run and the allowed it to quarantine the files as it recommends- only thing is the were over 2000 files which is much higher than normal from this program, but still i allowed it.

Now when I start the computer up the following message appears

Cannot find a device that may needed to run windows and windows application

The windows registration or SYSTEM.INI files refers to this device file but the device file no longer exists

If you delete this file on purpose by uninstalling the associated application using uninstall or setup program

If you still want to use that application associated with this device file try reinstalling that application to replace the missing file

c\win\sys\VMM32\ifsmgr.VXD

Press a key to continue

Then when I press a key it comes up as VMM32/ios.VXD
then \IFSMGR.VXD
then /IOS.VXD

Then something about using the config.sys and autoexec.bat to use less resources, but after 6 presses of any key the computer shuts down. then when i start her up again it gives me 7 options-normal, safe mode etc.

Can anyone help many thanks?

fwor

You'll be lucky to find any significant number of people here who can remember much about Win98. If they are techies they will have moved on a decade ago.

Do you have an installation disc and a backup? If so this article would help, but I'm just getting that from Google. All the brain cells that held my knowledge of Win98 have long since died.

andytheit

.VXD files are virtual device drivers Windows used to use them for controlling hardware like your mouse and keyboard. IFSMGR.vxg controls file system access, so that's why your pc will not start. The only answer is a rebuild. If you have files on their you will need to boot up from a boot cd or build disk like Barts's PE and it and use it to transfer the files to a USB stick. It looks like SUPERAntiSpyware wrongly detecked them as spyware. It is only designed to run on Windows 2000, XP, Media Center, Vista, Windows 2003 and Windows 7. not Windows 98. Good luck

mr_accountant

ah thats really is a big problem- i have used SAS for years on this computer with no problems - what a disaster this is. i do have windows 98 installation cd disks- if i loose some work than so be it- is there a step by step guide how to reload win 98 as ive tried intalling the disk but it keeps coming back to the 7 options

marleyboy

Have you tried rebooting in safe mode and doing a system restore?

macman

Assuming you have a back up of your data (which I hope you do), the simplest course of action will be to do a clean install of W98 (if you must). But this operating system is obsolete, unsupported by Microsoft and insecure online (also very little available by way of AV protection for it), so maybe at ths point you ought to move on to something a little newer.

andytheit

are system restore marleyboy. didn't come in until Me and didn't work then. They only got it to work in XP...

closed

You don't need to lose any data, or do a clean install (which will lose data) at this stage.

Go into DOS from the boot menu, and see if the files are there first.

mr_accountant

im not too bothered about lost work its mainly music which i have copies of, so a full reinstall is ok- can anyone show how to go about it- the computer kepps going in a loop.

The_Grandmaster

Could it be possible that the start up file itself was infected thus quarantined by super antispyware?

marleyboy

fwor wrote: »

Did system restore exist in Win98? I thought it originated from NT and everything derived from NT, but I may be remembering that wrong...

There are two different types of restore that you can do with Windows 98:

* Restore Windows 98 using System Recovery Wizard
* Restore the Windows 98/Me Registry

---

To restore Windows 98 on your computer, use the following steps.

IMPORTANT: You can use these steps only to restore data to the same hardware on which it was backed up. If your computer hardware has changed since the backup was made, you can use these steps to restore your data, but you will need to reinstall all of your Windows-based software after the process is complete.
1. Insert your Windows 98 Startup disk into the floppy disk drive, and then start your computer.
2. On the Microsoft Windows 98 Startup menu, choose Start Computer With CD-ROM Support.
3. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after each line

<cdrom>: cd tools\sysrec pcrestor

where <cdrom> is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.

NOTE: The Pcrestor.bat batch file starts an automatic version of Windows 98 Setup. After Windows 98 Setup is complete, the System Recovery wizard is automatically started.
4. After Windows 98 Setup starts, remove the Windows 98 Startup disk from the floppy disk drive.
5. In the System Recovery wizard, click Next.
6. Type your name and company name, and then click Next.
7. In the System Recovery wizard, click Finish. The Microsoft Backup Welcome screen appears.
8. In the Microsoft Backup dialog box, click Restore Backed Up Files, and then click OK.
9. In the Restore wizard, use the following options when you are prompted:

Restore From: Select the location where your backup is stored.

Select Backup Sets: Select the most recent full system backup.

What To Restore: Click to select the check box next to each local drive.

Where To Restore: Click Original Locations.

How To Restore: Click "Always replace the file on my computer."

How to Manually Restore the Windows 98/Me Registry

1. Start your computer, press and hold CTRL, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Windows 98 Startup menu. If you are running Windows Me, start your computer with the startup disk.

2. At the MS-DOS prompt, type cd\windows\command, and then press ENTER. Where windows is the name of the folder in which Windows is installed.

3. At the C: prompt, type scanreg /restore, and then press ENTER.

4. Select the previous registry you want to restore, and then press ENTER.NOTE: A properly working registry has the word "Started" next to the date.

5. When you receive notification that you restored a properly working registry, press ENTER to restart your computer.

This is assuming the OP still has Win98 on cd - (I still have all the disks for 95 -I have no idea why)