Windows 98 issue PLEASE HELP (i-doser hosed my system!)
Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2008 8:09 am
I have a Windows 98 (16 Bit!!!) system, and I downloaded and installed the latest i-doser software (4.5 I think) having seen it say it was compatible with Windows 95/98/etc. My apparently incorrect assumption was that it would be compatible with 16-bit operating systems (I.E. my pre-SE Windows 98 or Windows 95) and expected that it could be loaded without any issues, like doing damage to the file system for example.
When I encountered an error message after a reboot upon start-up indicating a certain .DLL file (cannot recall the name but it had "32" in it) could not be opened, I immediately guessed that the software was just incompatible with a 16-bit system. No sweat, right? And so I went to Control Panel to add/remove programs and de-installed it. I used windows rather than the deinstall executeable....I figured that's always the safer bet from past experiences.
...What I did NOT realize is that the i-doser software has somehow gotten my system to THINK that it is now FAT32 (32-bit instead of 16). I say *think that it is FAT32* because I never ran "Drive Converter - (FAT32)" option in the start-up menu.
Long story short. After rebooting the system I can see my desktop and my system appears to run fine EXCEPT for the following symptoms:
-while I *can* see the folder and folder structure of my C drive while in windows explorer, I *cannot* seem to see any of the actual files in any of the folders in the C drive (they just don't display in the explorer window)
-I cannot open my Email browser and get the error message "Outlook Express could not be started because MSOERES.DLL could not be found. Outlook Express may not be installed correctly"
-internet browsers don't open properly now
Those are the most obvious symptoms at this point.
In MSDOS mode I appear to be able to see the files in the directories. I have no idea if they have format problems, but I can see them listed when in any folder and doing a "DIR" command I see the list of files, their attributes, etc. I am hoping that this is a good sign.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED to my system? My uneducated guess is that there were some '.DLL' files created upon the installation of i-doser which somehow got my system thinking that it is a 32-bit system. I desperately need to fix this problem as I have 9 years worth of files which at this point I don't know if I can salvage without some kind of fix to this dilemma.
PLEASE someone help me. PLEASE.
If I sound desperate it's because I am. I am on my spouse's computer, which thank God I had access to since mine is a lame duck at the moment.
When I encountered an error message after a reboot upon start-up indicating a certain .DLL file (cannot recall the name but it had "32" in it) could not be opened, I immediately guessed that the software was just incompatible with a 16-bit system. No sweat, right? And so I went to Control Panel to add/remove programs and de-installed it. I used windows rather than the deinstall executeable....I figured that's always the safer bet from past experiences.
...What I did NOT realize is that the i-doser software has somehow gotten my system to THINK that it is now FAT32 (32-bit instead of 16). I say *think that it is FAT32* because I never ran "Drive Converter - (FAT32)" option in the start-up menu.
Long story short. After rebooting the system I can see my desktop and my system appears to run fine EXCEPT for the following symptoms:
-while I *can* see the folder and folder structure of my C drive while in windows explorer, I *cannot* seem to see any of the actual files in any of the folders in the C drive (they just don't display in the explorer window)
-I cannot open my Email browser and get the error message "Outlook Express could not be started because MSOERES.DLL could not be found. Outlook Express may not be installed correctly"
-internet browsers don't open properly now
Those are the most obvious symptoms at this point.
In MSDOS mode I appear to be able to see the files in the directories. I have no idea if they have format problems, but I can see them listed when in any folder and doing a "DIR" command I see the list of files, their attributes, etc. I am hoping that this is a good sign.
DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED to my system? My uneducated guess is that there were some '.DLL' files created upon the installation of i-doser which somehow got my system thinking that it is a 32-bit system. I desperately need to fix this problem as I have 9 years worth of files which at this point I don't know if I can salvage without some kind of fix to this dilemma.
PLEASE someone help me. PLEASE.
If I sound desperate it's because I am. I am on my spouse's computer, which thank God I had access to since mine is a lame duck at the moment.
No, excuse me, but in addition to being incorrect, that was also incredibly rude. The website indicated that I-Doser is compatible with Windows 98. It did not specify 98SE, but in fact said Windows 98. My system uses Windows 98.