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Windows Forum / Windows Me / Setup / May 2006ME scrub and reinstall
I have a secondary computer running Win ME. It only has 6.4GB of hard disk but it is useful as an internet network machine for my family to access the internet/email. It is currently partitioned. It is a little unstable (every second boot it hangs and I have to restart + other annoying things) and I want to scrub everything off both partitions and reinstall WinME and I am not bothered if I have 1 partition or none. I would be grateful if someone could explain how to do this in easy steps as I am very unsure. Alternatively if anyone could point me to an article that would help I would also be grateful. Many thanks  SignatureAW If you want to do a clean install then as a starting point, take a look at (and print out) the "cleanhd.txt" file in the win9x folder on your WinMe CD. You can also view the "Windows Millennium Edition Cleanhd.txt File Contents" at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;271673 Study it carefully and be sure you have a note of your 'productid' code (the 15 digit code that is supplied with your CD) and - if your WinMe CD is an 'upgrade' version (rather than a 'full version') - some proof of a 'previous version'. - e.g. a Win98 CD (N.B not required for OEM) Also, remember that ALL data will all be erased when you format the disk. HTH and good luck Mart >I have a secondary computer running Win ME. It only has 6.4GB of hard disk > but it is useful as an internet network machine for my family to access [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > would help I would also be grateful. > Many thanks This might be helpful: http://www.windowsreinstall.com/install/winme/installme/index.htm Before you begin MAKE SURE that you have your Windows product Key! You need that to install Windows. I can't see much benefit having a small drive like that devided into 2 partitions. It's up to you but if you want to make it into a single partition use fdisk to delete and recreate the partition: How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;q255867 FDISK SIMULATION http://www.computerhope.com/sfdisk1.htm John > I have a secondary computer running Win ME. It only has 6.4GB of hard disk > but it is useful as an internet network machine for my family to access the [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > would help I would also be grateful. > Many thanks Mart and John John. Many thanks for your assistance with this thread - this will help me enormously. Regards SignatureAW > This might be helpful: > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > > would help I would also be grateful. > > Many thanks You're most welcome - remember to come back here if you hit any snags, there's always someone around to help you resolve most WinMe issues. Good luck Mart > Mart and John John. > Many thanks for your assistance with this thread - this will help me [quoted text clipped - 38 lines] >> > would help I would also be grateful. >> > Many thanks Mart I may not have to do the reinstall if you could possibly help with a problem using ME. Sometimes the machine locks up and I have to reboot. The boot starts normally but hangs in the middle of it. Then I have to switch the box off and restart which brings about the check disk/files and folders and I have to wait for this to finish and then it boots normally. Sometimes the machine hangs on the first boot of the day. Have you encountered this and can you offer any advice? Thanks SignatureAW > You're most welcome - remember to come back here if you hit any snags, > there's always someone around to help you resolve most WinMe issues. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > >> > would help I would also be grateful. > >> > Many thanks AW, could be a tricky one, but I have heard/seen 'similar' reports and symptoms. What happens if, at the 'first boot of the day' you boot from your floppy a couple of times and THEN boot normally? That you have a 6.4GB hard disk suggests a 'fairly old' one whose bearings *may* be beginning to dry out and a first-of-the-day 'cold boot' *might* be just enough for it to struggle to spin up to speed to load WinMe properly. That first (failed) boot *may* then be just enough to 'warm-up' the hard drive so that the next re-boot proceeds (a forced scandisk will result, due to you having to switch off and on again, without a 'proper' shutdown) and WinMe loads normally. I have come across this condition myself once with a HDD and several times with old CD-ROM's - and in the case of CD-ROM's, I have actually managed to put a spot of oil on the bearing, prolonging their lives slightly - not possible with HDD's of course. There is another condition (although not quite the same as yours) where the pc always boots straight into a 'forced' scandisk - even when it has previously shut down normally. This *may* be worth a look at and confirming that the patch has been installed/updated on your machine, perhaps even experimenting with. See :- "ScanDisk Runs Even Though Windows Shut Down Correctly" http://support.microsoft.com/kb/273017/en-us Take a look at the files bootlog.prv and bootlog.txt (in the root folder of the C: drive) using Notepad to read them. You *might* get a clue as to what is causing it to hang. It might also be worth trying Boot Log Analyzer (Freeware) from http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/pk29/ It might help you to pin down the cause of the slow boot-ups. (NB - Although it says Win95/98, it also works on WinME) Look at the 'Duration' column and look for an event (or events) taking several 'tens' of seconds, instead of fractions of seconds. Also see "Load Failures Listed in the Bootlog.txt File" http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;127970 If you not sure how to decipher the results, you might need to seek the assistance of your local PC repair shop. See their note :- " ... interpreting the results requires in-depth technical knowledge." Plenty to go at and I hope that it helps Mart > Mart > I may not have to do the reinstall if you could possibly help with a [quoted text clipped - 64 lines] >> >> > would help I would also be grateful. >> >> > Many thanks Mart Nine times out of ten the first boot of the day is OK. The machine has been locking up at times recently (for no apparent reason) and if I switch it off at the box and start it up again the boot starts but hangs. If I switch it off at the box again it boots normally. I have recently had trouble with Liveupdate from Norton for my Firewall and AV software (i.e it wouldn't update). I then took the decision to remove Norton Firewall 2003 and Norton AV 2004 but I had problems removing these (i.e they wouldn't uninstall - that's when I considered a clean install). Finally I managed to remove Norton AV 2004 correctly (Control Panel\Add or Remove Programs) but I had to access the Symantec site for a tool to uninstall Norton Personal Firewall 2003. All components are now uninstalled. Do you possibly think it was the Norton products that were causing the problems? I network the ME machine with my main machine (XP) and I have reconfigured the XP machine so that everything should now go via Norton Personal Firewall on the XP machine. I will give it a few days and see what happens. If everything is OK I will download the Grisoft AVG software for the ME machine instead of Norton. If not I will read the links/bootlog files that you provided and if I can't find an answer I may yet do a clean install. Do you know of any free tools that would check the software status/stability of the computer running ME that offers fixes? Thanks again SignatureAW > AW, could be a tricky one, but I have heard/seen 'similar' reports and > symptoms. [quoted text clipped - 114 lines] > >> >> > would help I would also be grateful. > >> >> > Many thanks Wow!! - That puts a completely different complexion on the whole story - so much so that you can probably ignore my previous posts. Far be it for me to comment on (any) Norton (product) - others who visit these pages are far better qualified <vbg> but I'm sure that it would be 'helpful' to remove ALL Symantec/Norton utilities and find (free) alternatives. Let Google be you friend! Although not an endorsement, I use AVG (free) and have for quite some time and it's kept me clear of virii (famous last words!). Avast is also 'approved' by many of the visitors to these pages. ZoneAlarm (free) is often regarded as a reasonably good Firewall, although I now use the one integral to my router for WinMe. Mart > Mart > Nine times out of ten the first boot of the day is OK. The machine has [quoted text clipped - 166 lines] >> >> >> > would help I would also be grateful. >> >> >> > Many thanks Well, I'm quite shocked to say the least. I had no idea that Norton products could interfere with the smooth running of a machine. You would expect such high profile, fairly costly products to be trouble free. I have also Norton AV 2004 and Norton Personal Firewall 2003 running on my main XP machine and they don't (yet) appear to cause any problems but I take your (sort of) advice and may exchange them if problems do occur. I will watch the ME machine and report back if there are still problems. Thanks again for all your help SignatureAW > Wow!! - That puts a completely different complexion on the whole story - so > much so that you can probably ignore my previous posts. [quoted text clipped - 182 lines] > >> >> >> > would help I would also be grateful. > >> >> >> > Many thanks me is an unstable programme as well as 98 and 95,i recommend reinstall this will not fill up your hard drive and you will still be left with a decend amount of free space aprox what you have now.as 4 partitions there is no need to make a partition there is one automaticaly made by the pc programme format disk.partitins are only realy recommended for a slave drive or when you have a large gig hard drive so you dont loose stuff on the large drive so then you make a secondry partition and also if you are making several partitions then you need to make enough raids also.i would recommend installing a new drive of 80 gig this will cost £45 then xp home the computer.this will in the long run save you a lot of time and effort. Would you like to say that again - in English, so that we can actually form an opinion as it it's validity? - at the moment it looks like total rubbish! SignatureNoel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2006, Windows) Nil Carborundum Illegitemi http://www.crashfixpc.com/millsrpch.htm http://tinyurl.com/6oztj Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's > me is an unstable programme as well as 98 and 95,i recommend reinstall > this [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > long > run save you a lot of time and effort. |
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