Dale Nihiser,

Setting the A:\ drive as the first boot device in BIOS should allow you to use it to start in Safe Mode or (with the emergency boot diskette) boot to DOS.

In reading your post it sounds like the system will eventually complete the boot procedure and get to Windows, since you say the diagnostic lights are all green when it has booted to Windows but if that is the case you wouldn't need Safe Mode troubleshooting.

Denny

I tried walking my friend by phone through the problem he is having with his Dell.

When trying to copy the himem.sys file using DOS to his c: drive from his d: drive (cdrom & windows 98 se disc in the drive), he gets the message "file not found".   Presently he cannot boot into safemode using a boot disk in the a: drive because of the boot order in his bios.  He's not comfortable noodling around with the boot order in his bios.

My computer at work has the original Win98 operating system and I have a himem.sys file on the hard drive.  My boss on the other hand has Win98SE installed on his machine and no himem.sys file shows up on his hard drive.

So when I got home, I checked my old Dell that has WinME, it has a copy of the himem.sys file on the hard drive.  I also have a Win98 Upgrade disk & Win98SE Update disk.  After running a searching of both disks...no himem.sys file on either disk.

Is there another file I should be looking for on Window 98 SE machines?  Any ideas?

I'm going over to his house Thurs or Sat and have a look see for myself.  I can change the boot order in his bios and try booting from the A: drive with a bootable disk. 

Thanks for your help

Dale

 

Try this link.

http://www.cyberus.ca/~danpenny/

He's got himem.sys on there. Just not sure if it is for Win98 SE or not. Try it though. Microsoft has an article about this issue. Check it out:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=296636

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

Chris

zchris

Thank you very much.  I'm going over there tonight and try and get him going again.  This looks like it should work.  I'll post later to everyone know.  Again thanks.

Dale

I am using Windows 98 on a Dell Inspiron Laptop and have been experiencing the same problem with my screen going blank after flashing the taskbar at the bottom of the screen. I would love to hear about a solution that solves this. Keep us posted.

Thanks,

Harry

hwinsch@yahoo.com

I'm sorry to report that I couldn't fix my friend's Dell.

I was able to copy the himem.sys file to his c: drive in the windows directory via DOS but the machine will still not completely load into windows afterwards.  I was prompted if I wanted to overwrite the old file to which I replied yes. (btw the file is on the boot disk).

After reconfiguring his boot order in the bios to make the floppy drive 1st, the machine wouldn't boot into Safemode using the f5 command and a good boot disk. 

So his problem of windows not completely loading, leaving him with his background screen, no visible desktop icons, and no taskbar remains.

I recommended he take the computer to someone with more indepth knowledge before taking the next step:  reinstalling windows.  If there's any consolation, I found out tonight from him that Dell tech support couldn't fix it either.

 One final thought, could a virus incapacitate his machine in this fashion?  I'll post back the outcome.

Dale

Message Edited by Dale Nihiser on 01-15-2004 10:41 PM

Please keep us posted if there is a solution to this. If a re-installation is needed, I am personally considering upgrading to Windows XP. Is this a good upgrade from Windows 98? Are there any things I should consider? Will doing another installation wipe out any files on my computer?

Thanks.

Personally I think Xp is a good upgrade over 98.  Memory should be a consideration.  Xp likes 512Mb of memory as well as more hard disc real estate.  98 doesn't require as much.  Some of your software and older peripherals (sorry sp) may not run under Xp due to when the software was written and for what OS.  On the older peripheral side, its a matter of no driver support for Xp.  It is recommended that you do a clean install of Xp rather than install it over 98.  This can be done using a retail copy of Xp Upgrade and you'll need your copy of Win98 for validation.

I'll be talking to my friend on Monday to find out the outcome.

Good luck

Dale

Hello everyone, I am also in the middle of exact problem. After boot up and responding to Welcome window, the Task Bar flashes in a split second and disappears. The only thing on the screen is the cursor, otherwise it is a blank screen. Cnt/Alt/Del shows only Hidserv loaded). I got into this mess after running Windows Update on my computer (Compacq Praserio 1Ghz, 512MB, Win98SE). Pleeeeease post any solutions that you may find to resolve this problem. Meanwhile, I am constantly searching many forums and if I find s workable solution I will share it with you guys. Regards.

I finally got my computer working by re-installing windows via the Dell  Product Recovery CD ROM. After fixing the video driver and a few other drivers, everything was back to normal. Dell tech support talked me through everything and were really great about it.