cannot find ifshlp.sys - windows me

Question

Booted our pc today and it comes up with error message 'Cannot find ifshlp.sys'  I am unable to boot from the cd drive for some reason.  What is the key sequence on startup to get the pc to boot in DOS ?   Dimension 4300.

Denny Denham · Answer

njtjt, The only way to boot to DOS in ME is to use an emergency boot diskette. If you don't have one you can download one from here.

njtjt · Answer

Thanks for the link. I was able to use a Norton Recovery disk to boot the PC but cannot get it to boot on its own. I can access all the files on my hard drive, but it seems to be missing many key items like the registry :smileysad:. I need to buy an external drive to copy all to contents to and reinstall ME. Any recommendations on sw for doing the disk copy?

Tim

njtjt · Answer

As mentioned earlier I can boot from Norton Recovery disk on 250MB zip drive.  And I can see my hard drive but the pc will not boot from the hard drive.  I am now tryng to copy the hard drive contents to an external usb hard drive.  The sw recognized a USB device connected but is looking for a driver (running windows me).  It tried to copy a driver from SimpleTech SimpleDrive CD but ran out of space on recovery zip disk.  Now the USB driver Device status is 'Windows stopped responding while attempting to start this device, and therefore will never attempt to start this device again (Code 11).    Any ideas on next steps so I can copy to external drive?   The SimpleTech manual says that Windows ME should be plug and play and no sw installation necessary.  I guess that might be the case if everything was working.

sleeplesman · Answer

do you have the original me disk? if so why not look in the config.sys file to see where the file should be located. Likly in the windows folder.then boot with the diskette and extract the file from the ME disk to the correct folder. get a boot disk from a win 98 machine or win ME machine. then use this to extact the file.
Extract Files By Using Startup Disk
To start your computer with CD-ROM support, and then extract files, follow these steps:
1. Insert the Windows Millennium Edition startup disk into drive A, and then restart your computer.
2. When the Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition Startup menu appears, click Start computer with CD-ROM support.

Note If you purchased your computer with Windows Millennium Edition installed, the cabinet files may be installed in the Windows\Options\Install folder: If these files are on your computer, you do not have to have CD-ROM support at this step, and you can extract the files that you must have from the Windows\Options\Install folder. Click Start computer without CD-ROM support, and then continue to step 4 without using step 3.
3. Insert the Windows Millennium Edition CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive.
4. At the command prompt, type ext, press ENTER, and then follow the instructions on the screen.

Windows General

cannot find ifshlp.sys - windows me

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