Restore folder

[slipe]

A friend is having computer problems and I’m going over to his house tomorrow to see if I can’t straighten it out. From his description over the phone he doesn’t have a restore CD but it is not a custom made computer. Smaller manufacturers often put a restore folder somewhere on the computer but I have never dealt with one. Where would I find it and how do I use it?

It is an older computer with the original Win98 installation. Lots of illegal operations and lockups but evidently not BSODs.

[jdc2000]

C:\Win98 or C:\Windows\Options\Cabs are places to look. Or, try a search for Win*.cab files.

[slipe]

Thanks for the reply. I know they often store the cabs files if they don’t include a Windows CD. This computer came with a Win98CD.

When I got my Win98 Mwave computer I screwed something up the first week and formatted and reinstalled Windows. One of their drivers was incorrect and I had no computer to download one. When I called support they asked why I hadn’t just used the restore folder to restore the computer back to the delivered condition. I replied that I had no idea it was there. I have seen discussion since about computers coming with such restore folders and didn’t pay much attention. I think it is different from the cabs files stored on computers without a Windows CD. This is something that might be on a computer without a restore CD but with a Windows CD.

[ski]

All of those illegal operation messages and freezes may be due to bad memory.

[slipe]

I put DocMem along with Sandra, AIDA32, AdAware, Spybot and the latest Norton AV on a CD to take with me. I would be surprised if it were hardware based. Sounds like a tired OS, but I’ll run the memory check before going the format and install route.

I guess if it has a restore file I’ll find it, but using it is another matter.

Is that an F86 in your avitar?

[Miz]

If it's an older computer, it's unlikely it will have a restore folder on the harddrive. That's a fairly new "feature" which has superseded the Restore/Recovery CDs some manufacturers have been using for quite a while....and which accessed the data on the hard drive, usually on a separate partition, to perform a recovery.

If it came with a Win98 CD, then it probably also came with various CDs and floppies with drivers on them so repairing it is most likely going to be done "the old fashioned way" with a boot floppy. Make sure you take a working Win98 boot floppy with you.

[ski]

Yep, it a Sabre Jet.

[slipe]

If it's an older computer, it's unlikely it will have a restore folder on the harddrive. That's a fairly new "feature" which has superseded the Restore/Recovery CDs some manufacturers have been using for quite a while....and which accessed the data on the hard drive, usually on a separate partition, to perform a recovery.

If it came with a Win98 CD, then it probably also came with various CDs and floppies with drivers on them so repairing it is most likely going to be done "the old fashioned way" with a boot floppy. Make sure you take a working Win98 boot floppy with you.

My MWave computer was bought in early 1998 and had a single partition and restore folder. I think it was common back then with small manufacturers and custom makers because I have seen discussion on the restore files over the years. I had no opportunity to try it because I formatted the hard drive before I knew the folder was there. According to MWave support the folder would have put the computer back to delivered condition. Ghost overwrites the entire partition with registry etc, but I have no idea how a single partition restore would work.

Yep, it a Sabre Jet.

The Baltimore Guard still had the things well into the Phantom era. They were the kings of the restricted area since it was over a populated area and nobody could go supersonic.