Problems after failed install - win not starting

[billkruse]

I duped this from the end of another thread - working on a new and unfamiliar machine, so apologies.

My old machine - hoo boy! Problems!

Since this seems to be the home for the sesp21a maybe you guys can help. I installed this over my functioning 98se setup and I can't get back into it now. I boot, avg boot scanner runs, thats ok, then the windows screen appears, as it should then eventually it goes into the registry checker screen and starts backing up system files, this is without any prompting at all, then restores them, it says from a previous backup as there was an error in the system files, as you'd expect, then says to restart, and when I do I just cycle through the whole thing again. I can get into safe mode only by pressing F5 during boot, everything looks ok when I'm in there but I can't see anything to fix! It looks ok, no glaring errors or anything. So I'm at a bit of a loss now. there's no sign of the sp in control panel so I can't unistall it, what to do, mes amis? I can only think to sfc everything but that seems laborious!

I'm managing to send this via my new and unfamiliar XP machine, so I'm a little hamfisted!

BB

[CLASYS]

Since you can get into safe mode, use MSCONFIG to turn off everything that starts. See if that breaks the cycle; sleuth until you find the looping culprit [likely sfc-related].

Hope that helps.

cjl

[PsycoUnc]

-sfc related, in w98se? during all my [sometimes quite nefarious] experimenting, I've never had any sfc-interferences...

(of course, I never use sfc, nor have seen a use for it;

I make quick copies of the 2 sys dirs regularly (and b4 installing anything much); on today's fast/big hard drives [$40, 120gb/8meg cache], it only takes a couple minutes, and it's easy to switch between 3, 5, 8, etc copies (just renaming 4 dirs in DOS MODE, 30 secs; I made tiny (yet safe) dos batch file to do it for me), when necessary, during those rare times that scanreg/restore [going 1-3 days back] doesn't do the trick...

[i keep 1-3 copies on "C", and other copies on other "BACKUP" partitions, 7z-ing em 6 at a time into an amazingly small file, once/month or so, which fits on a regular 700mb CD, or 6/12 times those 6 (up to 72 OS copies/backups per single 35 cent DVD!) on my new $39 16x DL DF DVD-burner...] )

Edited May 11, 2006 by PsycoUnc

[billkruse]

See, you guys know a lot more than me. I got it back ok as someone in another thread did me a walkthrough, which happily I managed to figure out.

I was thinking maybe I should get Acronis, any opinion?

BB

[erpdude8]

-sfc related, in w98se? during all my [sometimes quite nefarious] experimenting, I've never had any sfc-interferences...

(of course, I never use sfc, nor have seen a use for it;

system file checker [sFC.EXE] is located in the 'Windows\System' folder. double-click on the SFC.EXE file to run it. I use this to extract system files from the Windows 9x setup files or replace corrupted system files with clean ones. sfc does a good job detecting what files are corrupted and what files are ok.