how can i fix my win98 computer?

One option you can do is to boot to a command prompt (when you see the "Starting Windows 98" dialog, press F8 repeatedly until you see a boot menu come up. Use the arrow keys to select Command Prompt Only. At the C:\ prompt, type cd windows (space between cd and windows) and hit enter. This will bring you to a C:\Windows prompt. Type dir system.* and hit enter. This will show you a direcory listing of all files in the Windows folder that are named System.*something*. System.ini would normally show up here. Windows sometimes will make a backup of the System.ini file during an installation, and you may see other files named system, but with other suffixes (.prv, .---, etc). Look for one of these files that has a file length in the 40,000-80,000 byte range (the directory listing will give the file size as well, and it may fall outsie this range, depending on the content of the file). I'll use "system.xxx" as an example. Then type copy system.xxx system.ini (substitute whatever filename you choose in the file listing for the .xxx) and hit enter. Then type win and hit enter, and, barring any other issues, Windows should load. One note, if you see any files named System.dat or System.da0, do not use those as your source, as those are the Windows registry files (normally these files are hidden from view, and you may not see them...don't worry about that). Good luck

John
July 2006

system.ini is fairly vital as it contains information on how to start your PC. Assuming that you di not get around to making a recovery diskette you could try to get a friend to make a generic W98 one and try with that. Alternatively you may need to reinstall W98. This is don eihter by pressing the correct keys when your system is booting or by going into the BIOS setup and bootoinmg from the recovery CD that came with your system. If non of this makes much sense you may need to seek professional help. As I said, system.ini missing is a real problem. I can't think how it alone could go missing - very odd.

Terry
June 2006