re: Please help!! deleted icons return
Wednesday, December 3, 2003 at 11:00 am
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by worm
(792 messages posted)
Hi Glen,
Very wise. Make sure you contact your Internet Service Provider too and obtain
a new network password after you've reformatted and reinstalled Windows. Your
current passwords are most certainly compromised and the last thing you want to do
is to recreate the problem by using the old ones again.
Also, if you've bought anything on the Internet and have used your credit card, there's
a possibility that that information has been found on your hard drive too. So you
should also contact your credit card companies and obtain statements which you should
check for purchases you know you didn't make. If you find any, arrange to have the
card(s) blocked and obtain replacements.
To format your hard drive, I'd recommend using a Windows boot disk. You can create
one of these via Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Startup
Disk (tab) > Create Disk (button).
Now for reasons best known to Microsoft, the
"Format.com" utility is located in the folder called "EBD.CAB" on that floppy. What
you need to do here is to double click the "EBD.CAB" file to open it and then right
click the "format.com" file and choose "Copy" from the menu. Go back to the main
folder on the floppy, right click and choose "Paste" from the menu. You should now
be able to see "format.com" in the main window where you can also see "EBD.CAB".
Make sure you've got the Windows ME CD and your Product Key handy because you
will need to enter that in order to reinstall Windows.
Leave the floppy in the drive and reboot the machine. You'll get a message that says
"Preparing to start your computer...please wait". The next thing you'll see is a
menu. Choose to "Start the computer with CDROM support".
You'll then get a message
telling you that the diagnostic tools have been loaded to drive "E:" You can ignore
that.
At the "A:" prompt, type format c: and hit Enter. You'll get a warning
message telling you that all data on drive C: will be lost. Type the letter "Y" (without
quotes) and hit Enter. This will start the formatting process.
Once that completes, you'll be asked if you want to create a label. Just hit
Enter.
This will return you to an A: prompt again. Insert the Windows CD in the
drive and at the A: prompt, type setup and hit Enter to start the reinstallation
process. At a given moment, you'll be asked for the Product Key. This is a set of
alpha-numeric characters in five distinct blocks which you have to enter in sequence
(the cursor automatically springs to the next field each time you enter a five letter/numeral
combination). At a given point Windows will ask you to remove all disks. Remove the
boot floppy at this point.
At some further point onwards, you'll be asked if you want to install the most often
use menus or a custom menu. I always select the custom option, but for a novice like
yourself, it'll be best to choose the default installation. I can show you what to
get rid of once the installation completes.
So to summarize briefly.
1. You need to make sure format.com is copied from the EBD.CAB file to the
main window of the boot floppy.
2. You need to make sure you've got your Product Key handy because you can't
install Windows without it.
3. You need the Windows ME CD.
A note about the Product Key. You might find it located on a label stuck to one of
the sides of your computer, possible underneath it even.
If you can't find it, go to Start > Run > type regedit and click OK.
Go to Edit > Find > type ProductKey as one word and then click "Find Next".
The Registry editor will find it for you.
Let me know if you get stuck. :)
On Wednesday, December 3, 2003 at 9:00 am, glen wrote:
>Thanks for he help worm I really appreciate it
>I will take the format and reinstall option
>
>I have never formatted and reinstalled an operating
>system
>
>Can you tell me how I can do that?
>
>
>
>thanks again
>
>glen
>
>
>
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