bootless

Howdy kind souls, I installed a WD2500JB as a slave to my primary internal h.d. I looked up how/where to set the jumper on the WDC website first. I set the jumper at the first row it's the default location actually. I formatted it with Fdisk and everything went well. Rebooted. It shows up as "D". However, the drive letter "D" is not associated as all the others drive letters are and i cannot access the drive at all. Now I am not sure what to do. thanks ahead of time! I'm using WIN98SE.

I have been able to complete ftp transfers for many years then since last week I am no longer to complete an ftp transfer. I can start the transfer but then the connection slows down until there is no longer any data transfer then dies altogether. I have used 3 different ftp prog's with same result. I have checked my sockets with LSPfix no issues. I don't have any malicious spyware of trojans. Those were what I focused on right away but now need some advice from the pro's. Any ideas folks? thanks in advance, bootless......no more!

Here is my 2 cents- I have been using external h.d's on my WIN98SE for many years as I now have over 30 full externals that I have been collecting the years. I have had my share of issues which were brought on by installing all the different drivers through the years until my system got driver over load, my low tech description. (check out my previous posts and for issues I have had with externals) The best advice I got was to remove ALL the existing external drivers and install maximus nusb3.3. Brilliant it was as all my problems went away and maximus nusb3.3 has recognized all the externals I have plugged in since. (Thanks to all those that helped me and maximus for his driver.) I had a Belkin USB2 installed already. I presently have a MyBook 650 gig external hooked up that works like a champ. I have never partitioned this nor any of the previous externals just plugged them in and started using them. I have a 1 ter as my next external once this M.B.-650 is filled. The box said the 650 was for WINXP and Vista with no mention of WIN98SE. The M.B.-650 is factory set for FAT32 by default so it's perfect for us WIN98SE users, no reformatting necessary just plug in and go.

keithwj, I forgot to mention that after the last rollback I no longer have the Microsoft Internet Explorer line in Add/Remove programs. Ain't that a bear. What to do now? It might be that in my registry the value where wininet is supposed to be that links to other programs is missing. Isn't that why all the programs say it's missing? This is extremely frustrating.

I found this in the runonce log- ------------------ Date: 08/28/2008 (mm/dd/yyyy) Time: 22:15:46 (hh:mm:ss) Section:500 File:wininet.dll; Function:DllInstall; Args:i,HKLM; Action:DllInstall() Unable to call the function "DllInstall" in the file "wininet.dll" because that function does not exist or is not exported. File:urlmon.dll; Function:DllInstall; Args:i,HKLM; Action:DllInstall() Unable to call the function "DllInstall" in the file "urlmon.dll" because that function does not exist or is not exported. File:C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\msdxm.ocx; Function:DllRegisterServer; Args:; Action:DllRegisterServer() Date: 08/28/2008 (mm/dd/yyyy) Time: 22:15:50 (hh:mm:ss) Dependency DLL unloaded: wininet.dll Dependency DLL unloaded: urlmon.dll ------------- Aalso, I checked the version numbers of the 2 wininet.dll in my system folder this one wininet.dll is 6.00.2800.1603 this one Wininet.dll is 4.70.1215 In DOS they have the same name or wininet.dll. Not sure if this is of any help or irrelevant. Lastly, when attempting to run a program I get the message, "a device attached to the system is not functioning". But, in properties of My Computer all the devices are working properly, none with a "?". Dencorso, thanks for the register info. I can't register the dll, I get this error message- "Get last error returns 0X00000002" thanks! I just found this post- http://www.msfn.org/board/lofiversion/index.php/t89077.html "The problem with just manually replacing files like you did, is as shown by this next screenshot of just the HKLM tab changes made by the install, that any of these ActiveX Compatibility registry entries that are also installed/needed for 925454, you are not getting them unless you had applied your own reg fix, otherwise if anything there points to any of the dlls then your new dll's references go nowhere." This seems to be my problem too, correct?

OK. I rolled back I.E. and it appears I got to 6.0.2600.000IS. Again I became bootless and i had to rename Wininet.dll AND wininet.dll to get back to my desktop. I can't remove Firefox just yet sicne then I will have no access to post. My associations came back somewhat, the incons are correct but when I attempt to open up a program it says wininet.dll is missing which it is. Can someone tell me how to re register a dll please? I think that might help out, maybe I am wrong. I remember now the 2 things I did before all this happened were upgrade flash and reset my winsock. Maybe resetting winsock screwed up wininet? Any ideas if that is possible? Lastly, I am getting an error message in I.E. now it says, "invalid syntax error" Seems better then before since before there was no error message at all just a blank window. thanks.

It installed with just 1 error message, "iuctl.dll did not install". But, no change with anything, same issues all the way around. I tried opening a program, I got error message "wininet.dll not found". Maybe I should re register the dll. Forgot how to do this, is it regsrvr32<wininet.dll>? thanks.

Howdy, Running WIN98SE> I have all the updates using autopatcher. (awesome proggie for making it easy!) I am using Firefox on my PC now, IE does not work. I can use my d.l. manager too so connection is not an issue. However, now Firefox does crash as error message pops up with errror message "Wm.exe"" Starting from the beginning- The first error message I got was- "Explorer caused an exception at C0000006H in module Wininet" I clicked OK and screen went blank. No access to anything except reboot button. I tried to reboot, got all the way to desktop but then got same message as above, clicked OK and screen goes blank again. So, I got out google on another PC and put in my error and got this which is almost an exact error message but no real help for me- http://www.nocrash.com/ncbbs/msgs/3460.shtml Then I found this page- http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=160158 I did this part using DOS- cd \windows smartdrv deltree tempor~1 deltree history I got confirmation message for delete so it worked. So, I then I did the part "ren wininet.dll to wininet.old" hit cntrl alt dlete, and rebooted and I was able to boot into my desktop again. I extracted the original wininet.dll from my WIN98SE CD and put it in Windows\System folder and rebooted. Got back into my desktop no problem. I was getting happy. Short lived. Now, I found I lost the associations with my .exe files. No programs will run except for Firefox, which I am using now. Windows Media Player won't run, IE 6.0 won't run and I can't reinstall it and "repair" option does not work either, actually I can't reinstall anything because I keep getting the error message- "error creating process.......system cannot find specified file." (The file is right where it should be so probably the association issue here?) and "The file wininet.dll cannot be found" I.E. will open with no error message but it is a blank window with no url in address. I can't go anywhere with it. So, I looked in my system folder saw 2 files with same name, Wininet.dll and wininet.dll. I went back into DOS and did the part "ren Wininet.dll to Wininet.old" hit cntrl alt dlete, and rebooted and I was able to boot into my desktop again. Still couldn't run any programs as now the error message said it was missing WININET.DLL. So, I went into System folder and renamed Wininet.old to Wininet.dll and rebooted. Got back into desktop but same problems exist. Can't run any programs. Maybe because I didn't re register the 2 wininet.dll's after rebooting? Not sure. So, I have exhausted google for ideas and I am posting looking for others wisdom since I can't seem to fix it myself. thanks folks!

Update- If I have any external plugged in now and try to boot it won't boot. If I have the external unplugged but don't remove all instances of it in Device Manager it won't boot either. Strangest thing. Once any instance to external is removed then I can boot normally. How can I get back to the USB default settings without doing a clean install of WIN98SE? Can I install certain files over the top to get back to default USB driver settings. I can see that Windows is loading the wrong driver for the new external h.d. I know which driver should be loaded with the external. Is there a way to manually install the driver to the associated external, like a DOS command? That might do the trick for my system being able to see a new external. Can I make a boot disk from the saved registry settings that do work when an external h.d. is plugged in and boot from it? There has to be a way to fix this usb issue. Any ideas? thanks.

What brand/model type of external is it? I know Western Digital has different drivers for USB-1 and USB-2. j7n, is the native USB driver for external h.d.'s too?, It says ..." support USB flash drives, digital photo and videocameras and other similar devices." If yes it's not clear to me since it says flash drives.

"The NEC disk drive should be checked as removable. Removable refers to the media itself." Oh, I thought it meant the drive could be removed, lol. Thanks. I screwed up with the driver info. They aren't in the same paragraph as the WD drives but rather the start of a new paragraph for that hardware. Sorry. My bad. I had to look at it again to realize it. I will fix the previous post but leave the info as maybe it has value or not.

Thanks fishindude, "Has your machine ever worked with the new drives attached?" Yes, it has worked with every external I have used except for the last one I bought but I am sure it is related to the driver issue at hand now. "If they came pre-formatted from WD, I gotta believe it would be in NTFS, which 98 can't see." Actually, they come pre-formatted to FAT32 and if one uses XP then one has to reformat to NTFS. Yes, I have a HP 895C, it plugs into the normal printer location. I also have a generic NEC floppy disc drive. On the NEC under disk drives the box that says "removable" is checked, that shouldn't be checked, correct? I haven't had any problems with Autopatcher in the past either. First time I've ever seen that message. Coincidence? Well, I have been thinking about removing the registry settings for the Western Digital USB External HDD and trying that device again. It can't hurt can it? That has the wrong drivers associated with it to start with. Could it be causing the other problems too? In one of my log files from the day I got the windows protection error message, I saw a line, the BIOS was not compatible with my OS. Same BIOS I've been using from Day 1 with this OS, lol. I've booted since that error message with no problems so it might have been related to the updates and the screwed up drivers, not sure. Hopefully, the wizards that hang out here can shed further light on my issues. Thanks fishindude for sure! thanks,

Thanks for the info and words of support dencorso. Since I was bootable again I proceeded with the WIN98 updates, December of 07, and after the second boot I got a new to me message and basically the blue death screen, "Windows protection error". I had to manually reinstall older registry and stop with the updates. Also, I during the installation of the updates I got the message, ...this update is looping the USB devices may not work in Windows.... update q253697. Also, Hotfix for USB Driver q281533 was looping and was not installed. Does this further support the issues I am having with my usb devices or is it normal. thanks. I went into System Information,Components,Storage to check out what drivers were listed for each hardware device and I think I may have found the issue. System Information-components-Storage, Advanced Information and History tabs- WD 5000AAKS Externa DiskDrive Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\enum\SCSI\WD______5000AAKS_EXTERNA1\OXUMSS&DISK&0000USB&VID_1058&PID_0902&MI_00&57442D57434150573339393336333300 Alloc resources: None Forced resources: None Boot resources: None Filtered resources: None Basic resources: None Current Driver Letter Assignment: F Driver: DiskDrive\0014 Driver Date: 4-23-1999 Western Digital USB External HDD HDC Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\enum\USB\VID_1058&PID_0902&MI_00\57442D574341505733393933363333 Alloc resources: None Forced resources: None Boot resources: None Filtered resources: None Basic resources: None Driver: HDC\0005 Driver Date: 11-18-2005 Driver: MXOIOSTB.PDR File Size: 4700 (0x125C) File Date: 10/10/2003 4:23 AM Western Digital USB External Hard Drive HDC Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\enum\OXUMSS\DISK\0000USB&VID_1058&PID_0902&MI_00&57442D574341505733393933363333 Alloc resources: None Forced resources: None Boot resources: None Filtered resources: None Basic resources: None Driver: HDC\0008 Driver Date: 11-18-2005 Driver: MXOIOSTB.PDR File Size: 4700 (0x125C) File Date: 10/10/2003 4:23 AM Driver: OXUMSS.PDR File Size: 18913 (0x49E1) File Date: 10/17/2005 5:16 PM ------------------ WD 5000AAKS Externa Original Configuration Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 to Date Alloc resources: None Western Digital USB External HDD Last Change Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 Alloc resources: None Original Configuration Tue Jan 24 10:38:06 2006 to Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 Driver: MXOIOSTB.PDR 10/10/2003 4:23 AM Size: 4700 GENERIC NEC FLOPPY DISK Original Configuration Fri May 24 00:20:04 2002 to Date Alloc resources: None Western Digital USB External Hard Drive Last Change Sun Mar 02 23:30:00 2008 Driver: OXUMSS.PDR 10/17/2005 5:16 PM Size: 18913 Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 to Sun Mar 02 23:30:00 2008 Alloc resources: None Original Configuration Mon Mar 26 14:30:02 2007 to Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 Driver: MXOIOSTB.PDR 10/10/2003 4:23 AM Size: 4700 Under Complete History- Western Digital USB External HDD Last Change Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 Alloc resources: None Original Configuration Tue Jan 24 10:38:06 2006 to Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 Driver: MXOIOSTB.PDR 10/10/2003 4:23 AM Size: 4700 Hewlett-Packard DeskJet 895C Original Configuration Fri May 24 00:20:04 2002 to Date Alloc resources: None --- Western Digital USB External Hard Drive Last Change Sun Mar 02 23:30:00 2008 Driver: OXUMSS.PDR 10/17/2005 5:16 PM Size: 18913 Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 to Sun Mar 02 23:30:00 2008 Alloc resources: None Original Configuration Mon Mar 26 14:30:02 2007 to Mon Jan 28 20:00:18 2008 Driver: MXOIOSTB.PDR 10/10/2003 4:23 AM Size: 4700

Howdy, I'm back. When I read your last instructions I was a little a lot nervous. I looked at the future issues I might have in what could go wrong when activating all the things I disconnected. So, I punted then regained motivation in the need to move forward. So, I started with removing the things that initially caused the problem, -Human Interface Device. No boot. Then moved on to- -Human interface devices and -All Western Digital devices. Booted. Yippie. Then, once rebooted I plugged in both the external storage devices working prior but system could not see them. Big bummer. Got one of the externals working. The other just wouldn't work. Worried I had lost the data, 400 gigs, still don't know since I haven't been able to get it to work. Restarted, no boot. Punted again, gave up. Bought 2 more externals. Neither of those work presently, either. Both are same brand,USB 500 gig WD. (I can't get a 750 gig to work so i stick to the 500 gig) Today, tried again. This time removed: -Human Interface devices. -All Western Digital devices. -Two "USB storage devices" adapters, one is for the Western Digital firewire option external (from add remove programs). -Tried to remove the USB/Firewire combo driver from Add remove programs but wouldn't allow me to, message was, I was hooked up to a network and it couldn't find the msi to remove it. (Maybe this has been the boot problem all along since maybe it was looking for a network something or other to boot from??????) Restarted and REBOOTED. Yippie. Plugged in one of the new externals but no go. Windows loaded 2 generic storage drivers instead of loading 1 generic then the Western Digital driver. Arggggggggggg. Something happened had to reboot. Crossed my fingers, unplugged the external, restarted and REBOOTED. Double yippie. Fishindude, you were right, hardware problem indeed. Now, how do I get my system to recognize a usb external h.d. in loading the correct driver? Then, how do I gt my system to boot with them plugged in as it had done previously for the last few years? Lastly, a new question. I have been using external h.d.'s with WIN98SE all FAT32. Can I plug these externals into an XP machine and be able to get to the data? Will it read them? If no how can I make that happen? thanks again, now bootless only when externals are plugged in..........

Fishindude, Following up: I went into my BIOS and there are 4 options in this order presently, -first boot- hardrive, with subcategory-a)hardrive and b)bootable addin card -second boot- ATAP CDROM drive -third boot- Network boot -fourth boot- Removable devices, subcategory a) floppy drive I tried to find something with which to "disable" but that is not an option. So, I went in and switched the 3rd and 4th positions,BIOS look like above now, disabled the splash screen, saved and exit and what do you know my system booted on it's own. I am having problems with my Nero as it keeps freezing on me. Anyway, it rebooted, and I ran Nero again and it froze again and I had to cntrl-alt-delete to unfreeze it then the system was frozen so I had to restart. This time no reboot. Darn. I went back into the BIOS to see if any of the settings had changed, and found no changes. Again I had to do manual reboot. Re: drivers- When I installed the first external I had to go to the site to get the driver. The second external initially did not have a folder with the driver in it so again i went to the site and found the driver and installed it. The system still did not recognize the external. Windows did not find any new hardware when it searched for plug and play, I was frustrated so I went with the option, pick hardware from a list. I went with hard disk controllers, looked down the list found Western Digital, but there were 3 options so I did them all. One thing thing that was corn-fusing is that one option with 2 choices says Western Digital USB External hardrive or Western Digital external HDD. That is when I looked at the boxes and saw that the first external had a USB and a firewire option and the second was just a USB. Maybe why there are two different drivers? The second Western Digital choice says, Storage Adapter Bridge Module, (WDC). Still didn't work. I think at some point after this on a reboot Windows somehow decided the new external was a human interface device as the found new hardware mini screen appeared and it installed the driver for the h.d. for a h.i.d. Can I just delete the 2 human interface device options that exist from the device manager? I just saw there was a ? in the list from install new hardware. Maybe that's always there not sure. I also have a bevy of other external h.d's that I have used in the last 5 years. A list of them for sure. What I found is that I couldn't have 2 different manufacturer external's hooked up at the same time. One wouldn't work unless I unhooked the other. Fine, did that. That is why I thought by using only the MyBook h.d. I would solve that problem until I figured out I had purchased the same MyBook but one with USB/firewire and one with just USB where the drivers are definitely different for both. Knucklehead I am. To answer your newest question, Yes, I can boot to safe mode. Never has been an issue to go to safe mode. No, this is not the original OS install from 1998 but this OS install is from approx. 2001. I had 2 internals die within the first 3 to 4 years. I am on my 3rd internal "C" h.d. with this one on it's 7th year (approx). I have backed up whatever is important so ifn' it does die have a nice trip to heaven. Since I am talking about it here it too will probably die any second now, lol. So, bottom line is I think I screwed up the driver association if that makes sense. That is all I know. thanks,