Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not theD?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gumby
  • Start date Start date
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

that's a great idea, mike. It's a hell of a lot easier to find someone
who will let me remove their full size HD and connect a converter for
my laptop HD, than to find someone willing to let me OPEN their laptop
and take the HD out, simply because desktops are MADE to be opened and
worked on easily, and laptops are not.

As long as I wouldn't have to do arcane stuff like set jumpers or
whatever, and it's a simple matter of switching the 3.5 inch HD for a
2.5" one on a converter, that will be my second choice if Shane's idea
of getting a DOS prompt onto my HD by copying it over doesn't work.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

Mart No Spam,

Actually, on this laptop, the touchpad is broken, the keyboard is
broken, as well as the CD and floppy drives. And I don't use the modem
or any other stuff like PCMCIA or Ethernet, so don't need them to
function. All I need Windows to detect is the motherboard, serial
mouse, and to support an external PS2 keyboard, and the video driver,
which is pretty standard and should be on the install CD.

That wouldn't be too difficult for Windows to detect, in your scenario
of letting Windows install completely on the laptop HD in the other
fellow's computer, instead of only the "copying files" stage, followed
by transferral of the HD to my laptop for the rest of the install,
would it?

Sorry if that's rather awkwardly written...
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

Besides Shane and Mike's suggestions - elsewhere - which you could try, then
"in theory" no, it "wouldn't be too difficult for Windows to detect (new
hardware)" but see later.

If you don't mind me saying so, you seem to be going to a lot of trouble
trying to salvage this laptop. I take it that when you initially stated that
your laptop was unbootable due to a recent crash, then we should have taken
the word "crash" more literally. Jeepers! - Some crash, some disaster!

However, if you regard it as an exercise to relieve boredom, then you have
nothing to lose. There worst case is that it wont work - but there may be a
pot of gold there somewhere and you will be able to pat yourself on the back
if you do manage to get it 'working?' again.

So, back to my suggestion. You asked :-

> That wouldn't be too difficult for Windows to detect, in your scenario
> of letting Windows install completely on the laptop HD in the other
> fellow's computer, instead of only the "copying files" stage, followed
> by transferral of the HD to my laptop for the rest of the install,
> would it?

Personally, I would get the whole thing up and running on "the other
fellow's computer" first - at least you will know whether after the "crash",
the HDD is not damaged too. But it's up to you where you want to stop the
set-up process, you can always try again if it fails. I see no advantage in
stopping it early. Just "Remove" the unwanted drivers (for "the other
fellow's computer") in Device Manager.

You may also have to "disable" other odd items in either the BIOS or Device
Manager (e.g. touchpad) if they cause detection/driver issues when trying to
boot into Normal Mode on your own computer. Just suck-it-and-see. If
'special' drivers are needed, I'm not sure how you will be able to install
them (no CD-ROM or FDD) but cross that bridge if/when.

Good luck - you'll probably need some, but with a bit of patience, you
should get there - by whichever method of skinning the cat you care to
choose.

Mart


"Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9d70a002-841a-4589-b80a-524b5700b11c@1g2000prd.googlegroups.com...
> Mart No Spam,
>
> Actually, on this laptop, the touchpad is broken, the keyboard is
> broken, as well as the CD and floppy drives. And I don't use the modem
> or any other stuff like PCMCIA or Ethernet, so don't need them to
> function. All I need Windows to detect is the motherboard, serial
> mouse, and to support an external PS2 keyboard, and the video driver,
> which is pretty standard and should be on the install CD.
>
> That wouldn't be too difficult for Windows to detect, in your scenario
> of letting Windows install completely on the laptop HD in the other
> fellow's computer, instead of only the "copying files" stage, followed
> by transferral of the HD to my laptop for the rest of the install,
> would it?
>
> Sorry if that's rather awkwardly written...
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

Not always necessary to open up a desktop. I've got a cheap external box
that can be connected using either usb or firewire that can take anything
from a 5½" DVD writer, through a 3½" 1/3 height HD to a 2½" laptop drive.
My box comes with a basic IDE adapter which I then enhanced by buying at
around US$3 a pop an IDE/SATA adapter and an IDE/laptop IDE adapter. I
can drop virtually anything in the box and access it from a desktop, the
main drawback is if I need to test hardware is that due to the usb
interface the system cannot access the hardware directly and thus, for
example, is not able to see a disks SMART data/status or temperature.
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:

> that's a great idea, mike. It's a hell of a lot easier to find someone
> who will let me remove their full size HD and connect a converter for
> my laptop HD, than to find someone willing to let me OPEN their laptop
> and take the HD out, simply because desktops are MADE to be opened and
> worked on easily, and laptops are not.
>
> As long as I wouldn't have to do arcane stuff like set jumpers or
> whatever, and it's a simple matter of switching the 3.5 inch HD for a
> 2.5" one on a converter, that will be my second choice if Shane's idea
> of getting a DOS prompt onto my HD by copying it over doesn't work.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

If anyone else is interested, this is the zip I propose to send Gumby -
although now that I've uploaded it he might as well just download it from
here:

http://website.lineone.net/~shanebeatson/files/winmedos.zip

It is about 8MB. It contains a brief ReadMe but I should state here that
anyone who wanted to download this (for reference purposes) should scan the
zip with their up-to-date antivirus software before unzipping it.

Unzipped to Windows Millennium's C: drive will unhide Real Mode DOS,
although being set up for British English keyboards, users of other layouts
would be required to edit autoexec.bat and config.sys first, instructions
for which are contained in those files and alluded to in ReadMe.txt, while
MS-DOS 6.22's Country.txt is included for further reference. Users of U.S.
or Canadian English keyboard layouts already have half the work done for
them.

Shane





"Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:9e164ba2-78bd-4055-ace2-83d44450b481@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> Really overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions. Shane sent me an
> email that, if I understood it correctly, might have a way to put
> WinMeDos on my laptop HD by copying it over from an XP desktop. And
> that this might enable me to get a DOS prompt when I boot the laptop.
> If I could get a DOS prompt, then I could run setup from the ME
> install CD that I previously copied to the D partition. That would be
> the easiest and cheapest of all options to get this machine running
> again.
>
> You know, I must correct something I wrote earlier. Actually, the
> fellow who previously installed Win ME on my laptop HD from another
> computer did not put the HD into another laptop, but installed ME from
> a laptop HD connector on an XP desktop. I wonder how he was able to do
> that? Was it that the laptop HD was connected in such a way as to be a
> slave to his desktop's C drive? I don't really know what "slave" drive
> means, but that occurred to me as a possibility.
>
> He did in fact install only the first stage of the install, the
> "copying files" stage, then disconnected the laptop HD and put it in
> my laptop, where it proceeded to detect my hardware upon restarting.
>
> Bart, thanks for the suggestion but my laptop's CD drive does not
> work, in addition to the nonfunctional floppy drive.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

So I'm Arturo Seis???

Not sure how that happened!

Anyhow, I should add, that there are two batches that govern which mode Win
Me is in. MFD.BAT and WINME.BAT. They depend on the presence or absence of
mfd_mode.dat in the Windows dir.

If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat is *not* present, it copies the modified
command.com (x2), io.sys, regenv32.exe (the three files the hack modifies),
autoexec.bat, config.sys and msdos.sys over, then reboots the system,
whereupon it restarts with the Real Mode boot menu and all that entails.

If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, all that happens is
autoexec.bat and config.sys in the root are copied over the archive copies
in %windir%\command, so that any edits may be easily saved to the copies
they are remade from the next time Real Mode is cycled off and back on
again.

If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat is not present, the batch exits without
doing anything. If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, the
original files mentioned above - except for config.sys, which is by default
empty in Me, therefore an empty file called config.sys is created - are
copied back over the modified versions and again the system is rebooted.

Both batches work fully whether in Windows or Real Mode. The reboot command
used depends on whether a command to delete the swapfile completes or fails
(in Windows it will be in use and fail, so C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE
SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx 2 is used).

While it is known that Microsoft wanted to wind down knowledge of the
existence of MS-DOS as they planned to phase it out, it is true what they
said about boot time taking longer when loading Windows via Real Mode DOS,
and with this hack it is still preferable to use Me in the default mode
except when access to Real Mode is specifically required. One doesn't really
have a need to boot to DOS on a whim, so having the menu there at every boot
is quite unnecessary.

Shane



"Arturo Seis" <sixpencedearturo@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:%23YkDcd2MJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> If anyone else is interested, this is the zip I propose to send Gumby -
> although now that I've uploaded it he might as well just download it from
> here:
>
> http://website.lineone.net/~shanebeatson/files/winmedos.zip
>
> It is about 8MB. It contains a brief ReadMe but I should state here that
> anyone who wanted to download this (for reference purposes) should scan
the
> zip with their up-to-date antivirus software before unzipping it.
>
> Unzipped to Windows Millennium's C: drive will unhide Real Mode DOS,
> although being set up for British English keyboards, users of other
layouts
> would be required to edit autoexec.bat and config.sys first, instructions
> for which are contained in those files and alluded to in ReadMe.txt, while
> MS-DOS 6.22's Country.txt is included for further reference. Users of U.S.
> or Canadian English keyboard layouts already have half the work done for
> them.
>
> Shane
>
>
>
>
>
> "Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:9e164ba2-78bd-4055-ace2-83d44450b481@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> > Really overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions. Shane sent me an
> > email that, if I understood it correctly, might have a way to put
> > WinMeDos on my laptop HD by copying it over from an XP desktop. And
> > that this might enable me to get a DOS prompt when I boot the laptop.
> > If I could get a DOS prompt, then I could run setup from the ME
> > install CD that I previously copied to the D partition. That would be
> > the easiest and cheapest of all options to get this machine running
> > again.
> >
> > You know, I must correct something I wrote earlier. Actually, the
> > fellow who previously installed Win ME on my laptop HD from another
> > computer did not put the HD into another laptop, but installed ME from
> > a laptop HD connector on an XP desktop. I wonder how he was able to do
> > that? Was it that the laptop HD was connected in such a way as to be a
> > slave to his desktop's C drive? I don't really know what "slave" drive
> > means, but that occurred to me as a possibility.
> >
> > He did in fact install only the first stage of the install, the
> > "copying files" stage, then disconnected the laptop HD and put it in
> > my laptop, where it proceeded to detect my hardware upon restarting.
> >
> > Bart, thanks for the suggestion but my laptop's CD drive does not
> > work, in addition to the nonfunctional floppy drive.
>
>
>
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

Mart No Spam,

No, it wasn't a "crash" like dropping the laptop on the floor. Those
hardware items have all slowly broken over the years. I used "crash"
rather loosely. What actually happened, I think, is that a tear
developed in the laptop's internal HD connector ribbon, severing
several of the conductive thingies. This happened due to my habit of
removing the HD from the laptop every day when I went out, in order to
keep it from being stolen, as it was the only piece of hardware in my
dilapidated laptop that anyone would want to steal, had lots of
personal info on it (this was a concern before I learned recently to
encrypt) and for several years I've lived in hotels in various Third
World countries where hotel rooms are not safe places to leave
valuables. My laptop's been "open" for several years...i.e., the top
cover is removed and the HD would be simple to steal.

One day, after about 20 attempts to boot my computer which resulted in
"no operating system found" errors, it suddenly booted. But then after
an hour or so I got a blue screen. I think what happened is those torn
conductive thingies must have touched briefly, long enough for me to
start the computer, and then came apart again. Anyway, after that, I
could not boot it, and Windows apparently went bonkers as there were
all sorts of crazy files in my HD's Windows folder with bizarre names.
I fixed these with Scandisk on an XP computer. Then I found someone
who claimed he could actually fix the ribbon connector. He soldered
it, and I think it works now, but still the system will not boot, it
says that it can't find various essential files...so Windows was
fatally damaged by the incident, I suspect.

So...that's the "crash" ... you see why I tried to simplify a rather
involved story... :o)

And it is a lot of work researching this, but it would be very helpful
to me if I had my computer for the last 2 months of the year. I
suppose it is a bit of a challenge as well.

And before someone asks, yes, if I can get the computer to work, I
will leave the HD in it and risk its theft, in order not to damage the
delicate HD ribbon connector. Now the HD has all my important stuff on
encrypted virtual drives, so its theft wouldn't be a great loss.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, notthe D?

On Oct 21, 5:02 am, "Mike M" <No_Spam@Corned_Beef.Only> wrote:
> Not always necessary to open up a desktop.  I've got a cheap external box
> that can be connected using either usb or firewire that can take anything
> from a 5½" DVD writer, through a 3½" 1/3 height HD to a 2½" laptop drive.

Yes Mike, but I don't think you could install an OS to it through USB,
it needs to be the C drive in most cases (or the D, as you mentioned),
to allow OS installation, right? USB external boxes usually show up as
G, H, I, J, etc. drives in my experience.

I read somewhere that it's possible to rename the External Box as the
C drive, but I imagine that would make Windows go nuts.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

I'm sorry but you don't appear to have taken in what I said. Nowhere did
I say in my previous post anything about "installing", instead I simply
stated how to access a laptop drive using a desktop and an external usb
box and laptop IDE/full size IDE converter. In my case I did "install" an
OS but this was by first imaging the existing system from the old drive
and then restoring that image to the new drive. Nowhere did I say or
suggest that that was something you should consider.

> I read somewhere that it's possible to rename the External Box as the
> C drive, but I imagine that would make Windows go nuts.

Why do you want to do this? Not that it isn't a simple job with a modern
desktop but I can't think why you should want to do this. I've in a
number of posts made a suggestion as to how to clean install Win Me on
your laptop drive by copying the DOS boot files from the Win Me boot
floppy and the Win9x folder from the Win Me CD to the laptop drive using a
desktop and then restoring the drive to the laptop, booting to DOS and
then running setup. Shane has also made some suggestions.

May I make one final suggestion and that is that you now try some of the
various suggestions that have been made.
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Gumby <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Oct 21, 5:02am, "Mike M" <No_Spam@Corned_Beef.Only> wrote:
>> Not always necessary to open up a desktop. I've got a cheap external
>> box that can be connected using either usb or firewire that can take
>> anything from a 5" DVD writer, through a 3" 1/3 height HD to a 2"
>> laptop drive.
>
> Yes Mike, but I don't think you could install an OS to it through USB,
> it needs to be the C drive in most cases (or the D, as you mentioned),
> to allow OS installation, right? USB external boxes usually show up as
> G, H, I, J, etc. drives in my experience.
>
> I read somewhere that it's possible to rename the External Box as the
> C drive, but I imagine that would make Windows go nuts.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,

This thread is getting confusing. It seems the problem has been solved if the
responses had been tried.
--
I mastered Wordstar graphics!


"Arturo Seis" wrote:

> So I'm Arturo Seis???
>
> Not sure how that happened!
>
> Anyhow, I should add, that there are two batches that govern which mode Win
> Me is in. MFD.BAT and WINME.BAT. They depend on the presence or absence of
> mfd_mode.dat in the Windows dir.
>
> If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat is *not* present, it copies the modified
> command.com (x2), io.sys, regenv32.exe (the three files the hack modifies),
> autoexec.bat, config.sys and msdos.sys over, then reboots the system,
> whereupon it restarts with the Real Mode boot menu and all that entails.
>
> If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, all that happens is
> autoexec.bat and config.sys in the root are copied over the archive copies
> in %windir%\command, so that any edits may be easily saved to the copies
> they are remade from the next time Real Mode is cycled off and back on
> again.
>
> If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat is not present, the batch exits without
> doing anything. If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, the
> original files mentioned above - except for config.sys, which is by default
> empty in Me, therefore an empty file called config.sys is created - are
> copied back over the modified versions and again the system is rebooted.
>
> Both batches work fully whether in Windows or Real Mode. The reboot command
> used depends on whether a command to delete the swapfile completes or fails
> (in Windows it will be in use and fail, so C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE
> SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx 2 is used).
>
> While it is known that Microsoft wanted to wind down knowledge of the
> existence of MS-DOS as they planned to phase it out, it is true what they
> said about boot time taking longer when loading Windows via Real Mode DOS,
> and with this hack it is still preferable to use Me in the default mode
> except when access to Real Mode is specifically required. One doesn't really
> have a need to boot to DOS on a whim, so having the menu there at every boot
> is quite unnecessary.
>
> Shane
>
>
>
> "Arturo Seis" <sixpencedearturo@googlemail.com> wrote in message
> news:%23YkDcd2MJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> > If anyone else is interested, this is the zip I propose to send Gumby -
> > although now that I've uploaded it he might as well just download it from
> > here:
> >
> > http://website.lineone.net/~shanebeatson/files/winmedos.zip
> >
> > It is about 8MB. It contains a brief ReadMe but I should state here that
> > anyone who wanted to download this (for reference purposes) should scan
> the
> > zip with their up-to-date antivirus software before unzipping it.
> >
> > Unzipped to Windows Millennium's C: drive will unhide Real Mode DOS,
> > although being set up for British English keyboards, users of other
> layouts
> > would be required to edit autoexec.bat and config.sys first, instructions
> > for which are contained in those files and alluded to in ReadMe.txt, while
> > MS-DOS 6.22's Country.txt is included for further reference. Users of U.S.
> > or Canadian English keyboard layouts already have half the work done for
> > them.
> >
> > Shane
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > "Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:9e164ba2-78bd-4055-ace2-83d44450b481@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> > > Really overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions. Shane sent me an
> > > email that, if I understood it correctly, might have a way to put
> > > WinMeDos on my laptop HD by copying it over from an XP desktop. And
> > > that this might enable me to get a DOS prompt when I boot the laptop.
> > > If I could get a DOS prompt, then I could run setup from the ME
> > > install CD that I previously copied to the D partition. That would be
> > > the easiest and cheapest of all options to get this machine running
> > > again.
> > >
> > > You know, I must correct something I wrote earlier. Actually, the
> > > fellow who previously installed Win ME on my laptop HD from another
> > > computer did not put the HD into another laptop, but installed ME from
> > > a laptop HD connector on an XP desktop. I wonder how he was able to do
> > > that? Was it that the laptop HD was connected in such a way as to be a
> > > slave to his desktop's C drive? I don't really know what "slave" drive
> > > means, but that occurred to me as a possibility.
> > >
> > > He did in fact install only the first stage of the install, the
> > > "copying files" stage, then disconnected the laptop HD and put it in
> > > my laptop, where it proceeded to detect my hardware upon restarting.
> > >
> > > Bart, thanks for the suggestion but my laptop's CD drive does not
> > > work, in addition to the nonfunctional floppy drive.
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,not the D?

Arturo Seis wrote:

> So I'm Arturo Seis???
>
> Not sure how that happened!
>
> <snip>
> Shane
>

Anything is possible with OE ... even a personality transplant. <w>

MG
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

Perhaps a bit late in the day now, but - and I don't want to burst the
bubble - maybe another 'lateral solution' (yet another skin of the cat!)
would have been to simply obtain a 2.5 inch IDE to USB enclosure and put
your 'original laptop' HDD in it to make and add a portable drive to your XP
box. (Self-powered [USB buspowered]) Secure too. And forget the laptop!

See a UK example - (do your own Google for a US version) - here :-
http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?...PATA+HDD+Case+inc+display,+USB2.0,+buspowered

You could then access any/all your partitions and preserve their data or
delete any unwanted files (including your broken WinMe installation files).
Make life easy for yourself and could even save us all a lot of trouble too
<g>

Update (just before I press the Send button) - Seems Mike and others are
pointing you in this direction too.

Mart


"Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:159cf26c-8fca-4d3c-ac82-cb3e8dd8d5b9@a29g2000pra.googlegroups.com...
> Mart No Spam,
>
> No, it wasn't a "crash" like dropping the laptop on the floor. Those
> hardware items have all slowly broken over the years. I used "crash"
> rather loosely. What actually happened, I think, is that a tear
> developed in the laptop's internal HD connector ribbon, severing
> several of the conductive thingies. This happened due to my habit of
> removing the HD from the laptop every day when I went out, in order to
> keep it from being stolen, as it was the only piece of hardware in my
> dilapidated laptop that anyone would want to steal, had lots of
> personal info on it (this was a concern before I learned recently to
> encrypt) and for several years I've lived in hotels in various Third
> World countries where hotel rooms are not safe places to leave
> valuables. My laptop's been "open" for several years...i.e., the top
> cover is removed and the HD would be simple to steal.
>
> One day, after about 20 attempts to boot my computer which resulted in
> "no operating system found" errors, it suddenly booted. But then after
> an hour or so I got a blue screen. I think what happened is those torn
> conductive thingies must have touched briefly, long enough for me to
> start the computer, and then came apart again. Anyway, after that, I
> could not boot it, and Windows apparently went bonkers as there were
> all sorts of crazy files in my HD's Windows folder with bizarre names.
> I fixed these with Scandisk on an XP computer. Then I found someone
> who claimed he could actually fix the ribbon connector. He soldered
> it, and I think it works now, but still the system will not boot, it
> says that it can't find various essential files...so Windows was
> fatally damaged by the incident, I suspect.
>
> So...that's the "crash" ... you see why I tried to simplify a rather
> involved story... :o)
>
> And it is a lot of work researching this, but it would be very helpful
> to me if I had my computer for the last 2 months of the year. I
> suppose it is a bit of a challenge as well.
>
> And before someone asks, yes, if I can get the computer to work, I
> will leave the HD in it and risk its theft, in order not to damage the
> delicate HD ribbon connector. Now the HD has all my important stuff on
> encrypted virtual drives, so its theft wouldn't be a great loss.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

> would have been to simply obtain a 2.5 inch IDE to USB
> enclosure and put your 'original laptop' HDD in it to make

Something I've suggested at least twice although as a means of getting the
OS installation files on to the disk rather than as a permanent solution
since the reasons for getting the laptop working again hadn't been made
clear at that point. :-)
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com


Mart <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote:

> Perhaps a bit late in the day now, but - and I don't want to burst the
> bubble - maybe another 'lateral solution' (yet another skin of the
> cat!) would have been to simply obtain a 2.5 inch IDE to USB
> enclosure and put your 'original laptop' HDD in it to make and add a
> portable drive to your XP box. (Self-powered [USB buspowered]) Secure
> too. And forget the laptop!
> See a UK example - (do your own Google for a US version) - here :-
> http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?...PATA+HDD+Case+inc+display,+USB2.0,+buspowered
>
> You could then access any/all your partitions and preserve their data
> or delete any unwanted files (including your broken WinMe
> installation files). Make life easy for yourself and could even save
> us all a lot of trouble too <g>
>
> Update (just before I press the Send button) - Seems Mike and others
> are pointing you in this direction too.
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,

Corday <10Swinner@net.net> wrote:

> This thread is getting confusing. It seems the problem has been
> solved if the responses had been tried.

Indeed, and as far as I can tell to date, not one of the suggestions has
yet been tried.
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,

Apart from the doubt as to whether *anything* has been tried, seeing some
questions that are being asked and the frankly unknown condition of the file
system, as opposed to the assumed condition, I would prefer to have the
means to perform a number of different tasks. But that aside, I'll continue
to post to this newsgroup the way I have for the last eight years, if it's
just the same to you. We made this group different to those of the other
Windows versions where the uptight, limited thinkers dominate. This thread
is only confusing if you find straying from the script disturbing. Lateral
thinking is what makes our world turn, not sticking to the straight and
narrow. Have you downloaded the zip? How do you know the responses solve the
problem? Do you cross your fingers when you read them?

Shane


"Corday" <10Swinner@net.net> wrote in message
news:F8C4ED4D-0EFE-4698-AB8B-93A68BF1A24F@microsoft.com...
> This thread is getting confusing. It seems the problem has been solved if
the
> responses had been tried.
> --
> I mastered Wordstar graphics!
>
>
> "Arturo Seis" wrote:
>
> > So I'm Arturo Seis???
> >
> > Not sure how that happened!
> >
> > Anyhow, I should add, that there are two batches that govern which mode
Win
> > Me is in. MFD.BAT and WINME.BAT. They depend on the presence or absence
of
> > mfd_mode.dat in the Windows dir.
> >
> > If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat is *not* present, it copies the
modified
> > command.com (x2), io.sys, regenv32.exe (the three files the hack
modifies),
> > autoexec.bat, config.sys and msdos.sys over, then reboots the system,
> > whereupon it restarts with the Real Mode boot menu and all that entails.
> >
> > If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, all that happens is
> > autoexec.bat and config.sys in the root are copied over the archive
copies
> > in %windir%\command, so that any edits may be easily saved to the copies
> > they are remade from the next time Real Mode is cycled off and back on
> > again.
> >
> > If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat is not present, the batch exits
without
> > doing anything. If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, the
> > original files mentioned above - except for config.sys, which is by
default
> > empty in Me, therefore an empty file called config.sys is created - are
> > copied back over the modified versions and again the system is rebooted.
> >
> > Both batches work fully whether in Windows or Real Mode. The reboot
command
> > used depends on whether a command to delete the swapfile completes or
fails
> > (in Windows it will be in use and fail, so C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE
> > SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx 2 is used).
> >
> > While it is known that Microsoft wanted to wind down knowledge of the
> > existence of MS-DOS as they planned to phase it out, it is true what
they
> > said about boot time taking longer when loading Windows via Real Mode
DOS,
> > and with this hack it is still preferable to use Me in the default mode
> > except when access to Real Mode is specifically required. One doesn't
really
> > have a need to boot to DOS on a whim, so having the menu there at every
boot
> > is quite unnecessary.
> >
> > Shane
> >
> >
> >
> > "Arturo Seis" <sixpencedearturo@googlemail.com> wrote in message
> > news:%23YkDcd2MJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> > > If anyone else is interested, this is the zip I propose to send
Gumby -
> > > although now that I've uploaded it he might as well just download it
from
> > > here:
> > >
> > > http://website.lineone.net/~shanebeatson/files/winmedos.zip
> > >
> > > It is about 8MB. It contains a brief ReadMe but I should state here
that
> > > anyone who wanted to download this (for reference purposes) should
scan
> > the
> > > zip with their up-to-date antivirus software before unzipping it.
> > >
> > > Unzipped to Windows Millennium's C: drive will unhide Real Mode DOS,
> > > although being set up for British English keyboards, users of other
> > layouts
> > > would be required to edit autoexec.bat and config.sys first,
instructions
> > > for which are contained in those files and alluded to in ReadMe.txt,
while
> > > MS-DOS 6.22's Country.txt is included for further reference. Users of
U.S.
> > > or Canadian English keyboard layouts already have half the work done
for
> > > them.
> > >
> > > Shane
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > "Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
> > >
news:9e164ba2-78bd-4055-ace2-83d44450b481@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> > > > Really overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions. Shane sent me an
> > > > email that, if I understood it correctly, might have a way to put
> > > > WinMeDos on my laptop HD by copying it over from an XP desktop. And
> > > > that this might enable me to get a DOS prompt when I boot the
laptop.
> > > > If I could get a DOS prompt, then I could run setup from the ME
> > > > install CD that I previously copied to the D partition. That would
be
> > > > the easiest and cheapest of all options to get this machine running
> > > > again.
> > > >
> > > > You know, I must correct something I wrote earlier. Actually, the
> > > > fellow who previously installed Win ME on my laptop HD from another
> > > > computer did not put the HD into another laptop, but installed ME
from
> > > > a laptop HD connector on an XP desktop. I wonder how he was able to
do
> > > > that? Was it that the laptop HD was connected in such a way as to be
a
> > > > slave to his desktop's C drive? I don't really know what "slave"
drive
> > > > means, but that occurred to me as a possibility.
> > > >
> > > > He did in fact install only the first stage of the install, the
> > > > "copying files" stage, then disconnected the laptop HD and put it in
> > > > my laptop, where it proceeded to detect my hardware upon restarting.
> > > >
> > > > Bart, thanks for the suggestion but my laptop's CD drive does not
> > > > work, in addition to the nonfunctional floppy drive.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

> since the reasons for getting the laptop working again hadn't been made
> clear at that point. :-)

Quite so Mike, hence the 'lateral solution' - but I'd already written it
before I saw your other response and though I'd send it anyway :-))

Mart


"Mike M" <No_Spam@Corned_Beef.Only> wrote in message
news:OGAzdR8MJHA.2044@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> would have been to simply obtain a 2.5 inch IDE to USB
>> enclosure and put your 'original laptop' HDD in it to make
>
> Something I've suggested at least twice although as a means of getting the
> OS installation files on to the disk rather than as a permanent solution
> since the reasons for getting the laptop working again hadn't been made
> clear at that point. :-)
> --
> Mike Maltby
> mike.maltby@gmail.com
>
>
> Mart <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote:
>
>> Perhaps a bit late in the day now, but - and I don't want to burst the
>> bubble - maybe another 'lateral solution' (yet another skin of the
>> cat!) would have been to simply obtain a 2.5 inch IDE to USB
>> enclosure and put your 'original laptop' HDD in it to make and add a
>> portable drive to your XP box. (Self-powered [USB buspowered]) Secure
>> too. And forget the laptop!
>> See a UK example - (do your own Google for a US version) - here :-
>> http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?...PATA+HDD+Case+inc+display,+USB2.0,+buspowered
>>
>> You could then access any/all your partitions and preserve their data
>> or delete any unwanted files (including your broken WinMe
>> installation files). Make life easy for yourself and could even save
>> us all a lot of trouble too <g>
>>
>> Update (just before I press the Send button) - Seems Mike and others
>> are pointing you in this direction too.
>
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,

Mike, Gumby has downloaded the zip, and asked for some clarifications. I
have said that I can give him instructions on what to do with the files I've
supplied, but until the hdd is back in the laptop with said files on it, he
should ask here anyway, not ask me, as I have never taken an hdd out and
connected it up to a different computer by usb enclosure as is being
proposed. I have said for him to go ahead and unzip the files to the hdd,
but one question I await the answer to is whether the disk is still
bootable, let alone the Windows installation. Not much point copying DOS
files to it if it isn't bootable. As I have said to him, Win Me's Sys.com is
such a pita imo it's easier to run Setup (except that's what putting the DOS
files on there is meant to achieve!).

Possibly there is some dodge with Win Me's Sys.com I've overlooked all these
years.

When I have Sys-ed Win Me I am sure I have always done it from a floppy or
(floppy-emulating) cd-rom. Even if you can run Me's Sys.com from the D:
drive you have to have a lot of components in place, don't you? As for this
usb enclosure, can you Sys to that as though from a floppy? Would it be
better to put Win 98 ERD files on and Sys from those, then 'upgrade' - if
the Me setup allows upgrading?

I used to have a routine - possibly still on my Win Me Repair cd - that
formats the disk from the ramdrive, before running Setup. As you know I am
very fuzzy about all this ol' Me stuff these days but I believe I have
initiated Setup using a Win 98 ERD before. So perhaps one could Sys the
drive with that then, when back in the laptop, run it from ramdrive, format
the disk and then initiate Setup from D: to a blank disk?

Shane



"Mike M" <No_Spam@Corned_Beef.Only> wrote in message
news:%23XnXMS8MJHA.456@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Corday <10Swinner@net.net> wrote:
>
> > This thread is getting confusing. It seems the problem has been
> > solved if the responses had been tried.
>
> Indeed, and as far as I can tell to date, not one of the suggestions has

> yet been tried.
> --
> Mike Maltby
> mike.maltby@gmail.com
>
>
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition, not the D?

Mart <mart(NoSpam)@nospam.nospam> wrote:

>> since the reasons for getting the laptop working again hadn't been
>> made clear at that point. :-)
>
> Quite so Mike, hence the 'lateral solution' - but I'd already written
> it before I saw your other response and though I'd send it anyway :-))

And I'm pleased that you did since it is a much cleaner and more elegant
solution.
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,

Arturo,

your tolerance amazes me and it is absolutely admirable.
To me you seem like a different person than the one from the 'distant past'.
I surely like what I see now and hope it's a postive sign of your 'status
quo'.
To not have you around would be a substantial loss.
We definitely need your 'input'.
Please, don't ever consider 'moving'.
Thanks for being here,

Harry.


"Arturo Seis" <sixpencedearturo@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:u2N62b8MJHA.5232@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Apart from the doubt as to whether *anything* has been tried, seeing some
> questions that are being asked and the frankly unknown condition of the
file
> system, as opposed to the assumed condition, I would prefer to have the
> means to perform a number of different tasks. But that aside, I'll
continue
> to post to this newsgroup the way I have for the last eight years, if it's
> just the same to you. We made this group different to those of the other
> Windows versions where the uptight, limited thinkers dominate. This thread
> is only confusing if you find straying from the script disturbing. Lateral
> thinking is what makes our world turn, not sticking to the straight and
> narrow. Have you downloaded the zip? How do you know the responses solve
the
> problem? Do you cross your fingers when you read them?
>
> Shane
>
>
> "Corday" <10Swinner@net.net> wrote in message
> news:F8C4ED4D-0EFE-4698-AB8B-93A68BF1A24F@microsoft.com...
> > This thread is getting confusing. It seems the problem has been solved
if
> the
> > responses had been tried.
> > --
> > I mastered Wordstar graphics!
> >
> >
> > "Arturo Seis" wrote:
> >
> > > So I'm Arturo Seis???
> > >
> > > Not sure how that happened!
> > >
> > > Anyhow, I should add, that there are two batches that govern which
mode
> Win
> > > Me is in. MFD.BAT and WINME.BAT. They depend on the presence or
absence
> of
> > > mfd_mode.dat in the Windows dir.
> > >
> > > If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat is *not* present, it copies the
> modified
> > > command.com (x2), io.sys, regenv32.exe (the three files the hack
> modifies),
> > > autoexec.bat, config.sys and msdos.sys over, then reboots the system,
> > > whereupon it restarts with the Real Mode boot menu and all that
entails.
> > >
> > > If you run 'MFD' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, all that happens is
> > > autoexec.bat and config.sys in the root are copied over the archive
> copies
> > > in %windir%\command, so that any edits may be easily saved to the
copies
> > > they are remade from the next time Real Mode is cycled off and back on
> > > again.
> > >
> > > If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat is not present, the batch exits
> without
> > > doing anything. If you run 'WINME' and mfd_mode.dat *is* present, the
> > > original files mentioned above - except for config.sys, which is by
> default
> > > empty in Me, therefore an empty file called config.sys is created -
are
> > > copied back over the modified versions and again the system is
rebooted.
> > >
> > > Both batches work fully whether in Windows or Real Mode. The reboot
> command
> > > used depends on whether a command to delete the swapfile completes or
> fails
> > > (in Windows it will be in use and fail, so C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL32.EXE
> > > SHELL32.DLL,SHExitWindowsEx 2 is used).
> > >
> > > While it is known that Microsoft wanted to wind down knowledge of the
> > > existence of MS-DOS as they planned to phase it out, it is true what
> they
> > > said about boot time taking longer when loading Windows via Real Mode
> DOS,
> > > and with this hack it is still preferable to use Me in the default
mode
> > > except when access to Real Mode is specifically required. One doesn't
> really
> > > have a need to boot to DOS on a whim, so having the menu there at
every
> boot
> > > is quite unnecessary.
> > >
> > > Shane
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > "Arturo Seis" <sixpencedearturo@googlemail.com> wrote in message
> > > news:%23YkDcd2MJHA.1156@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> > > > If anyone else is interested, this is the zip I propose to send
> Gumby -
> > > > although now that I've uploaded it he might as well just download it
> from
> > > > here:
> > > >
> > > > http://website.lineone.net/~shanebeatson/files/winmedos.zip
> > > >
> > > > It is about 8MB. It contains a brief ReadMe but I should state here
> that
> > > > anyone who wanted to download this (for reference purposes) should
> scan
> > > the
> > > > zip with their up-to-date antivirus software before unzipping it.
> > > >
> > > > Unzipped to Windows Millennium's C: drive will unhide Real Mode DOS,
> > > > although being set up for British English keyboards, users of other
> > > layouts
> > > > would be required to edit autoexec.bat and config.sys first,
> instructions
> > > > for which are contained in those files and alluded to in ReadMe.txt,
> while
> > > > MS-DOS 6.22's Country.txt is included for further reference. Users
of
> U.S.
> > > > or Canadian English keyboard layouts already have half the work done
> for
> > > > them.
> > > >
> > > > Shane
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > "Gumby" <gumbygum@gmail.com> wrote in message
> > > >
> news:9e164ba2-78bd-4055-ace2-83d44450b481@f40g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
> > > > > Really overwhelmed by all the helpful suggestions. Shane sent me
an
> > > > > email that, if I understood it correctly, might have a way to put
> > > > > WinMeDos on my laptop HD by copying it over from an XP desktop.
And
> > > > > that this might enable me to get a DOS prompt when I boot the
> laptop.
> > > > > If I could get a DOS prompt, then I could run setup from the ME
> > > > > install CD that I previously copied to the D partition. That would
> be
> > > > > the easiest and cheapest of all options to get this machine
running
> > > > > again.
> > > > >
> > > > > You know, I must correct something I wrote earlier. Actually, the
> > > > > fellow who previously installed Win ME on my laptop HD from
another
> > > > > computer did not put the HD into another laptop, but installed ME
> from
> > > > > a laptop HD connector on an XP desktop. I wonder how he was able
to
> do
> > > > > that? Was it that the laptop HD was connected in such a way as to
be
> a
> > > > > slave to his desktop's C drive? I don't really know what "slave"
> drive
> > > > > means, but that occurred to me as a possibility.
> > > > >
> > > > > He did in fact install only the first stage of the install, the
> > > > > "copying files" stage, then disconnected the laptop HD and put it
in
> > > > > my laptop, where it proceeded to detect my hardware upon
restarting.
> > > > >
> > > > > Bart, thanks for the suggestion but my laptop's CD drive does not
> > > > > work, in addition to the nonfunctional floppy drive.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
>
 
Re: Can I get the ME install CD to only reformat the C partition,not the D?

MowGreen [MVP] wrote:
> Arturo Seis wrote:
>
>> So I'm Arturo Seis???
>>
>> Not sure how that happened!
>>
>> <snip>
>> Shane
>>
>
> Anything is possible with OE ... even a personality transplant. <w>
>
> MG

What if it gets rejected???


Arturo
 

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