Windows ME - root folder trashed

[Tannin]

I have a machine here that runs Windows ME. (Yeah, yeah, I know. ME is the worst of all possible Windows versions. But that's the version the customer owns, and the machine is too old and crap-ridden to run 2K or XP.)

The customer has deleted all the files in the root directory. Now, on a Win 95 or Win98 machine, I can fix that without reinstalling. Takes three minutes and it all runs off a batch file I wrote some years ago. Boot off floppy, run the batch file, job done.

But what about Win ME? Can I just replace a few files in the root folder and avoid reinstalling this sh*tbox yet again? If so, which ones and how?

Thanks guys.

 

[Sol]

I don't remember there being any difference between 98 and ME in the root directory department... Or none of significance anyway... But then I have always avoided the latter pretty vigilantly. At worst I can't see your batch doing any more harm than has been done.

 

[Tannin]

The trouble is, Sol, that WinME doesn't have the SYS command any more. So you can't "SYS C:" under ME. This, among many other good and sufficient reasons, is why we call it Moron Edition.

sigh

I could probably figure it out for myself in ... er ... about twice as long as it would take me to reinstall the bloody thing yet again .... but if someone here happens to already know, that would be great.

 

[Mercutio]

They didn't delete the boot sector; I can'r see why copying wouldn't work.

 

[Sol]

I was pretty sure that a SYS C: from a win98 boot disk would do the job... But obviously the copying option is a little lower risk...

 

[Tannin]

I was about to try copying as per Merc's suggestion. But then I remembered that I don't have a working ME install to copy from - so I'd have to take a spare system and do an install to save doing an install, and on the whole, it seems more sensible just to do the install. Or something like that.

God I hate ME!

 

[time]

Why don't you undelete the files?

 

[Mercutio]

bootdisk.com or, from XP, format a floppy with the "make DOS bootdisk" option checked.