Aeturnus, i have run into an issue at work with a straight 98 edition system. The VMM32.vxd file is missing off the drive, if i load that file back from another system i get a list of other files that are missing that will not allow windows to start up. considering the lack of having or being able to find a 98 cd, would it be possible that it will work if i sit and copy all the files from a 98SE system to a 98 system. this is just a question as we are looking into making it dump terminal. i know this is kind of a stupid question, but i have been asked to find out. personally the system is so damn old i don't thik it would be worth the time or effort to sit and transfer file by file from one system to another. It is just that i have been told to find out and this would be the only way i could think of doing it. i will check back in a bit and see if you have any questions.

Hmm. So basically you have a Windows 98 FE installation with some files missing, rendering the OS useless. If you wish, you could install Windows 98 SE right over the current installation, this should restore missing files... (Still, check why the files went missing/corrupt in the first place!)

You can use either a Win98 FE or SE disk to restore that system.

Btw, file-by-file transfer goes much easier if you simply take the harddisk out of the broken comp, and do the file copying on a correct system.

One big warning: If you 1 on 1 copy Windows from a working system to yours, it will most likely -NOT- work, because of hardware differences. Best thing to do is find, or borrow, an installation disk!

a tried the install of windows 98 se over or the files that were needed. it would not go as the system saw the other OS and refused to install over it. rather annoyed me, and well he lost his computer and is going to a dump terminal now. but thanks for the info

LOL hope your friend has fun Crypt.. I just reformatted the hard-drive and reinstalled everything..(4.6hours) It was easier than trying to fix the FE probs i had.. Now am running 98SE2 with tweakUI and a few other neato thingies that i haven't totally figured out..(when i find the printout of how to work them i'll try)
including PowerDesk. sweet little program *smiles*
A way to restore without whiping is to create a backup file(mine is ZBak) and store all the windows dat files and drivers files Basically it's a full copy of the windisk. Then we re-directed the comp to goto that file when looking for the win98 disk. The actuall disk now has over 1inch of dust on it..*grins*
You might want to try that. Oh, side note.. The file is on a second partition on the HD(it's my 'D Drive')

If you delete or rename Win.com it will install perfectly, provided that you go by these steps:

1: You start the computer with the CD, choosing the "Boot from CD" then the "Boot with CD drivers" option
2: Delete or rename C:\Windows\Win.com
3: Start setup by navigating to D:\Win98 and typing "Setup"
4: Use custom install. When prompted for a directory, enter C:\Windows and confirm its use.