Problem With Cleansweep 95

[prov]

A while ago I got a Compaq Presario 7240 handed down to me. The other night I used the Quarterdeck Cleansweep 95 floppy disks to clean out my hard drive. Since this was the first time I’d used CleanSweep 95, I followed the step-by-step directions of its manual very carefully, backing up everything I was uninstalling. However, when I logged off, then tried to log back in again, the computer kept telling me that Windows 95 wasn’t coming on, and kept recommending that I log on in Safe Mode. I had a Windows 95 reboot disk from my old HP computer, but when I tried to use it, I got the following message:

The recovery program has stopped. This is not an IBM computer. The “Microsoft Windows 95” CD and this diskette cannot be used to install Windows 95 on this computer.

Whatever I tried, I ended up getting the message “It is now safe to turn off your computer”. Is there any way I can download a Windows 95 disk that is compatible with the Compaq Presario 7240? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Thanks,
prov

[lgbpop]

No way to download Win95 legally. Why would you want to? Unless that old paperweight has the minimum RAM (8MB!) it should take Win 98 or 98SE. You can find SIMM memory sticks online to upgrade the RAM if necessary to the maximum 128MB. I found the stats here. Judging by the physical size, yours is a kissin' cousin to my old ProLinea 4/33s which I'm keeping only to donate to a museum in a few years. They're still good for something; if I could find an N2 or N32 bus I'd use mine to control the A/C and lighting in my home.

If you really prefer Win95, try eBay and buy a full retail version, not the OEM CD you have. Branded CDs are only useable for the particular brand.

[prov]

Dear lgbpop,
Thanks for replying so promptly to my cry for help. Reading your reply made me realize just how little I know about computers in general! These past couple of days I've been able to narrow myself down to three main objectives:

1. Get this particular computer of mine working again so I can retrieve any important documents stored on it.

2. Get this particular computer of mine working again while staying within the limits of the law.

3. Get this particular computer of mine working again without having to shell out a lot of money.

I'm going to try your suggestions. I appreciate you emailing the links to me!

Yours,
prov

[lgbpop]

Don't be bashful about asking the members here for help. Have fun!

P.S.--Welcome to VirtualDr.

[A31Chris]

Does anyone have any suggestions for this person besides BUY SOMETHING?

I'd try starting it in safe mode. When you do, then go to your waste basket(recycle) and have it RESTORE everything in it.

To do this, once you get to the desktop in SAFE MODE double click on the recycle bin with the left mouse button. A little Window opens up listing everything in the recycle bin. Go to the EDIT menu. Click on the SELECT ALL option. Then choose the UNDO DELETE option.

It should restore everything in your recycle bin to where it was before it was put in there.

[104456]

Can you actally get into safe mode as your post is unclear on this and is there a recovery procedure laid out in the Quarterdeck Cleansweep 95 manual i.e. recovery boot disk?

I had a Windows 95 reboot disk from my old HP computer

The result would seem to indicate its an OEM version tied to your old PCs motherboard.

[A31Chris]

She should be able to get into safe mode. My neighbor had a similiar problem with it 'shutting down' on startup, but interrupting startup to go into safe mode still worked.

But yes, you're right. She should look into Cleansweeps restore procedures.

[prov]

Thanks, A31Chris!
I will try both of your suggestions. By the way, How did you know I was a "she"? (Smile)
prov

P. S. Thanks for the Atari download!

[prov]

Though I still haven't had any luck getting my Compaq Presario 7240 up and running, I'd like to thank you all (lgbpop, A31Chris, and 104456) for your suggestions. I tried them all yesterday afternoon to no avail. Everything I try gets me to the same message:

Error loading GDI.EXE. You must reinstall Windows. It is now safe to shut down your computer.

Somehow, I've got to get a copy of the Windows reinstallation disk. I tried calling Hewlett Packard (who took over the Compaq company), but they said that they don't sell any of their software that's over 3 years old. Any suggestions on how I would go about legally buying a copy of this disk (or any disk that can get my computer working again)?

Yours,
prov

P.S. I will definitely let you all know if and when my problem gets resolved.

[lgbpop]

Still not clear here if you ever got into Safe mode--did you try tapping F8 after the startup screen to bring up the Startup menu? (Before the Win95 screen; if you get that you have to start over.)

If you get the Startup menu but Safe mode won't work, try starting in Command Prompt/MSDOS....I forget which one now, but 95 can be started in DOS. At the C:\ prompt, type scanreg.exe /restore. If the machine has any old restore points listed, you could try one of them and see if the computer boots. If nothing there, try scanreg.exe /repair and see if that helps any.

As far as any OEM CDs for that computer, bear in mind you're looking for something almost ten years old. You could try the users' forum at HP/Compaq, or eBay. I'm attaching two different GDI.EXE files in ZIP format that are on my retail Win95 disk. One was in Win95\mini.cab , the other in \win95_04.cab. Maybe someone here will know which one you need and where to install it using DOS. I'm guessing that if it's on my disk, it's not proprietary to any brand so it might work.

[104456]

A quick google suggests its could be a fonts file fault [ good error message MS ]
Err Msg: Error Loading GDI.EXE. You Must Reinstall Windows
This error can occur if the Fonts folder is removed from the Windows folder.

Method 1
Reinstall Windows.
Back to the top

Method 2
Boot the computer with a Windows 98 Startup disk with CD-ROM support. (Or, choose Command Prompt Only from the Windows 95/98 Startup menu if you have real-mode CD-ROM drivers installed, or if you have a copy of the Windows source files on your hard disk).

NOTE: These instructions assume that your CD-ROM drive letter is drive D and that Windows is installed in the C:\Windows folder. If this is not the case, adjust the following instructions accordingly.
Windows 95
Type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command:
md c:\windows\fonts
attrib +s c:\windows\fonts
extract /a d:\win95\win95_02.cab *.fon /l c:\windows\fonts
extract /a d:\win95\win95_02.cab *.ttf /l c:\windows\fonts
Reboot the computer. If the Fonts folder exists, just use the extract commands to extract the fonts into the folder.
Windows 98
md c:\windows\fonts
attrib +s c:\windows\fonts
extract /a d:\win98\win98_22.cab *.fon /l c:\windows\fonts
extract /a d:\win98\win98_22.cab *.ttf /l c:\windows\fonts
Reboot the computer. If the Fonts folder exists, just use the extract commands to extract the fonts into the folder.

[A31Chris]

Thanks, A31Chris!
I will try both of your suggestions. By the way, How did you know I was a "she"? (Smile)
prov

P. S. Thanks for the Atari download!

That's a good question, and I really don't know.I just knew. Now I'm baffled by it. I went and reread your post trying to figure out how I came to that conclusion.

I think it was the reading the directions part. Guys never do that. We just grunt and start pushing buttons.

[A31Chris]

Windows 95 on Ebay. Cheap.

http://computers.listings.ebay.com/W...istingItemList

[prov]

Thanks to everyone for all your time, help and advice. The other day, I finally managed to get my Compaq Presario 7240 up and running with a combination of a Master Boot floppy disk and a Windows 95 Upgrade CD-Rom. I even still had Microsoft Office still working!
prov

[A31Chris]

You're welcome.