(Re) Loading Win98 From Cab Files

[grandslammer]

Hi all!

I have a problem. I really feel that my win98 is so fouled up that I need to re-load it to my disk. Now, I have lost my Win98 CD, but I have the cab files on my HD.

Is there a "best" way to accomplish this? Seems to me deleting the entire windows directory from DOS would be a start. That way, no previous "settings" should corrupt my new installation.

What are the two files that compose the registry, and where do they reside on the HD? I want to make sure they are deleted before I reload.

How do I go about saving files I want to keep? I was thinking about moving all files I want to save to one directory, then going to dos and going C:\del *.* /P and deleting everything except this new directory containing the files I want. If I do this, what other files do I need to keep?

I really want this to work. Frankly, I don't have the money to go out and buy another copy of windoze right now, but my current installation is unacceptable...

So, if anyone has reloaded win98 from the cab files on theri hd, PLEASE help me out here.

As always, any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all..

Mike P.

[Pantion]

Made the same with win95, win95 osr 2.x and win98.

Just copy all your files to a directory. Then use the attrib command to make sure those pesky hidden files on windows and other directories you don't want would be deleted.

Be sure to have a bootable floppy at hand. What I did was, after moving and deleting, booted from a floppy and ran setup. Or you can leave a autoexec and config and run setup without using a floppy.

[grandslammer]

So then, using the attribute command, the syntax should look like this?

C:\attrib *.* -r

would this be correct? And then would I type

C:\del *.* /P

Then, would I only leave the directory in which I chose to put my "good" files? Then boot using a bootable disk and then run the setup from the cab files? This makes sense to me, but I just want to make sure before I pull the trigger...

Thanks for the help....

Mike P.


[This message has been edited by grandslammer (edited 11-03-1999).]

[Pantion]

Yeap... and don't forget the attrib *.* -h too since on the windows directory there are hidden files.

[grandslammer]

thanks... I'll try this after everyone goes to bed tonight... That way, it should be operating fine when they get up tomorrow...

By the way, if I delete all files except the ones I want to keep, will the fat still be there? In other words, If I wipe everything by using del, will my computer still recognize the files I'm keeping? I need this to happen, since I have to reload win from the cab files - STILL ON MY HD... If the FAT doesn't recognize them, I'm scr*wed...

Thanks for all of your help. Any other tips, etc will, as always, be gratefully accepted.

Thanks again,

Mike P.

[Pantion]

Don't worry about that... you are only deleting files and the FAT isn't affected by. The only way the FAT would be affected would be by using a app that changes the format of the drive or formating the drive.