# Help: I broke my computer **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-broke-my-computer/330805 "2005-11-13T02:17:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-broke-my-computer/330805/1 "2005-11-13T02:17:02Z")
Compaq PII 233 MHz Win 98SE. A couple of months ago I removed my C drive to try to use it on another computer. I never did succeed. I probably screwed it up with msconfig because now it won’t work on the original. I can boot in Safe mode but it hangs in regular mode. So what do I need to have running in the msconfig tabs to get it running? Also, I removed the cabling from the C drive and attached them to a formatted larger drive, and stuck in a boot floppy, but it won’t let me install Win98 on it - it (presumably the Compaq startup sequence) says "not a system disk install a different disk and press any key. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-broke-my-computer/330805/2 "2005-11-13T02:36:47Z")
Wow. No fun. What exactly did you do to your C: drive, as best you can recall? If you can boot to it in safe mode, that’s an indication that your PC is at least reading it, which is a good first step. For the other, larger drive… if you don’t need the data on it, you can try to format it for an install from scratch. With a machine that old, you’ll probably need to get the Fdisk utility on a floppy to make that happen. Good luck. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-broke-my-computer/330805/3 "2005-11-13T04:38:23Z")
Turn on your computer, and hit \*\*F8 \*\* repeatedly until your see the boot menu. Select **Safe Mode Command Prompt Only** , and hit **Enter**. At the \*_C:\*_ prompt, type **cd\windows\command** , and then hit **Enter**. Then, type **scanreg /restore** , and hit **Enter**. If you have any saved registry entries left, you should see five save points listed by date. Choose one that looks like a date that the system last work well on, and hit **Enter**. When you get a message that your registry has been restored, hit \*\*Enter \*\* to reboot. Your computer should restart with a saved version of your registry, and hopefully it will boot into normal mode with no problems. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-broke-my-computer/330805/4 "2005-11-15T05:30:03Z")
Thanks for the ideas, even though they didn’t actually help. After two and a half days, I finally got things going. A reinstall of Win 98 on the original boot disk fixed it, and I kept most of my settings. Part of the problem was that the M$ installation process was leaving bits of the operating system **un** installed. Grrr. My plan is to use the original drive (with all of my idiosyncrasies) as the boot disk, and the larger one as a data storer. Give a holler back if you think that’s a bad idea. ---
**Author:** ![Kaotic\_Newtral](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@Kaotic\_Newtral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaotic_Newtral)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-broke-my-computer/330805/5 "2005-11-15T05:45:54Z")
> [@Oslo Ostragoth](#): > > Thanks for the ideas, even though they didn’t actually help. After two and a half days, I finally got things going. A reinstall of Win 98 on the original boot disk fixed it, and I kept most of my settings. > > Part of the problem was that the M$ installation process was leaving bits of the operating system **un** installed. Grrr. > > My plan is to use the original drive (with all of my idiosyncrasies) as the boot disk, and the larger one as a data storer. Give a holler back if you think that’s a bad idea. Oslo, the only thing I’ll holler back on is that I have a TON of equipment here that you may be able to build another computer out of…whilst still using your hard drive. I’m sure that there are others. 🙂 I’m not saying you don’t have the means to get your own, I’m saying that I have the stuff here lying around! 😉 I’ll send it if you let me know where. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-i-broke-my-computer/330805/6 "2005-12-13T05:18:48Z")
> [@Kaotic Newtral](#): > > Oslo, the only thing I’ll holler back on is that I have a TON of equipment here that you may be able to build another computer out of…whilst still using your hard drive. I’m sure that there are others. 🙂 I’m not saying you don’t have the means to get your own, I’m saying that I have the stuff here lying around! 😉 I’ll send it if you let me know where. How might I send you a private message?