Tools for Fixing Serious Windows 98 Problems

If Windows 98 is up and running but missing a system file (an error message about a .vxd file or .dll file being either missing or damaged), you can restore that system file using System File Checker, but that only works if Windows 98 is able to start. System File Checker is installed in Windows 98 by default. The System File Checker tool can be run from the Tools menu of System Information (Programs | Accessories | System Tools) or by running the executable file c:\Windows\System\Sfc.exe. System File Checker can be used to scan the system for damaged or missing system files or to extract a specific file from the Windows 98 CD.

The Registry Checker (Scanreg.exe)

The real-mode scanreg.exe program is the non-Windows version of the Registry Checker (the Windows version is scanregw.exe). If Windows detects a problem with the registry during startup, it will automatically run the Registry Checker and try to replace the damaged registry with a backup copy (by default, there are 5 backup copies).

There are occasions where the restoration from the backup copies fails and Windows gets caught in a loop trying to restore the registry each time and requiring a shutdown. One possible way out of this loop is to start the computer using a Windows 98 Startup Disk and run scanreg with the command parameter "/fix".

  1. Put the Windows 98 Startup Disk in the disk drive of the computer.
  2. Turn the computer on.
  3. When the menu appears regarding CD-Rom support, choose to enable CD-Rom support.
  4. After loading the CD-Rom drivers, you should see the "a:\" prompt. Type "c:" and hit the Enter or Return key.
  5. At the "c:\" prompt, type "cd windows" (without the quotation marks) and hit the Enter or Return key.
  6. Type "scanreg /fix" (again, without quotes) and hit the Enter or Return key. The registry checker program will then attempt to fix the registry.
  7. When the program has completed, press the Enter or Return key to exit the program and restart.

If this technique fails to fix the registry, it is possible that the memory chips in your computer are defective and are causing errors in the registry when the registry is loaded into memory. To investigate this problem, please consult Microsoft support article Q186909.

If it does not seem to be a memory problem, it is suggested that you reinstall Windows.

The Extract Tool (Extract.exe)

When Windows will not start and displays an error about a system file being missing or corrupt, you may still be able to restore the system file from the Windows 98 CD-Rom by using the Extract tool (extract.exe). You can find the extract.exe file in either the \Windows\Command directory on the hard drive or on a Windows 98 Startup Disk. It is often better to use the Windows 98 Startup Disk because the disk also loads the CD-Rom drivers needed to access the CD-Rom.

The Extract tool can only be run from a MS-DOS prompt. Here are the instructions for using the command (you can also view these instructions by typing simply "extract" and the command prompt: 


      Microsoft (R) Cabinet Extraction Tool - Version (16)
      1.00.603.0 (08/14/97)
      Copyright (c) Microsoft Corp 1994-1997. All rights reserved.

      EXTRACT [/Y] [/A] [/D | /E] [/L dir] cabinet [filename...]
      EXTRACT [/Y] source [newname]
      EXTRACT [/Y] /C source destination

        cabinet - Cabinet file (contains two or more files).
        filename - Name of the file to extract from the cabinet.

                  Wild cards and multiple filenames (separated by
                  blanks) may be used.

        source - Compressed file (a cabinet with only one file).
        newname - New filename to give the extracted file.

                  If not supplied, the original name is used.
      /A        Process ALL cabinets. Follows cabinet chain
                starting in first cabinet mentioned.
      /C        Copy source file to destination (to copy from DMF disks).
      /D        Display cabinet directory (use with filename to avoid extract).
      /E        Extract (use instead of *.* to extract all files).
      /L dir    Location to place extracted files (default is current directory).
      /Y        Do not prompt before overwriting an existing file.

...For example, to extract the himem.sys file from the Windows 98 CD-Rom (the CD drive being, let's say, the E drive) to its usual location (C:\Windows), you would type:

extract /a /l c:\windows e:\win98\win98_21.cab himem.sys

Use the /a parameter to search through all of the cabinet files numerically, starting with the first cabinet file (in the case of Windows 98, the cabinet files are located in the \win98 directory and the first cabinet file is win98_21.cab).