Computer will not start

[Jake]

My computer, running Windows ME, will no longer start. It
loads Windows to the ME logo, and says "Setup is updating
your configuration files. This may take a few minutes."
and after some time, it comes up with an error along the
lines of:

"Windows cannot upgrade %1 from %2.
%1%2"

What do I do to fix this?

[Noel Paton]

Your %1/%2 error is caused usually by Norton LiveUpdate, corrupting the
System Restore archive - although there are other possible causes. Do a
Search for the file WININIT.INI - if you find it, then rename it to
WININIT.JNK, and reboot - your problem should be gone.

If you don't find it, then try this - Start|Run - enter SCANREG /FIX into
the dialog box, and click OK - windows will reboot - see if that fixes it.
If not, then do a Search on your PC for files named '_RESTORE' (without the
quotes) - you should find the C:\_RESTORE folder - r-click on it, and select
Properties. How many files/folders are there? If it's around 64 thousand,
then LiveUpdate has been up to its tricks again, and you'll have to
completely remove the folder from DOS - use the following method, which
seems to be the easiest at present.

Reboot to DOS using your Startup disk enter the following commands at the
A:\> prompt.

ATTRIB -R -H -S C:\_RESTORE
REN C:\_RESTORE OLDREST

remove the floppy, and reboot to normal windows. - your error should be
gone, and you should now have a new, single restore point. Go to Windows
Explorer, and delete the C:\OLDREST folder

HTH


--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2004, Win9x)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's
or
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2001/Mar01/Mar27pmvp.asp
"Jake" > wrote in message
...
> My computer, running Windows ME, will no longer start. It
> loads Windows to the ME logo, and says "Setup is updating
> your configuration files. This may take a few minutes."
> and after some time, it comes up with an error along the
> lines of:
>
> "Windows cannot upgrade %1 from %2.
> %1%2"
>
> What do I do to fix this?

[Annette]

My computer started doing this exact same thing yesterday
afternoon. Have you had any luck in resolving the issue?

>-----Original Message-----
>My computer, running Windows ME, will no longer start. It
>loads Windows to the ME logo, and says "Setup is updating
>your configuration files. This may take a few minutes."
>and after some time, it comes up with an error along the
>lines of:
>
>"Windows cannot upgrade %1 from %2.
>%1%2"
>
>What do I do to fix this?
>.
>

[Mike M]

Annette,

It is always a good idea to look at and read previous replies to a post before
posting messages asking whether the original poster received an answer. Just
on the off chance that you will work out how to read replies to your post the
answer you are looking for is:

First boot to DOS using a floppy and check whether you have a WININIT.INI
file in your C:\WINDOWS folder. If present rename it to something like
wininit.old and try booting again. It is also probable that you will have to
repeat the last software install or update that you made. See MS KB283069 -
"Error Message: (http://support.microsoft.com?kbid=283069).

If you can't find a wininit.ini file then I suspect your problem is due to the
C:\_RESTORE\TEMP folder having around 64K files in it which is the limit
(2**16) for the number of files that can be located in a folder using the
FAT32 filing system. This then results in the "Cannot upgrade file %1 from
%2.." message when booting. I suggest you try deleting the _RESTORE folder
with the loss of any system restore checkpoints you might have (not that I
think they are now usable) and see if that solves the problem. Delete the
folder as follows:
a) Boot to DOS using a floppy. Do NOT choose "Minimal Boot" from the menu
when booting from a floppy but rather choose "Start computer with (or without)
CD-ROM support" otherwise the ATTRIB command will not be available.
b) At the DOS A:\> prompt, type:

A:\> ATTRIB -H -S -R C:\_RESTORE
A:\> REN C:\_RESTORE OLDREST

c) Remove the floppy
d) Reboot your PC

Another problem though is that the update you were doing was never completed
so your system may be unusable. If however it does manage to boot then:

e) Delete the folder C:\OLDREST
f) Check that an automatic system restore checkpoint was created.
g) Finally adjust the space allocated to the restore folder:
System | Performance | File System | Hard Disk and adjust the restore slider
to your preferred setting. A figure of 200MB is normally more than adequate
for day to day use allowing perhaps a week of checkpoints to be available
although increasing this to perhaps 400MB for a few days during periods of
large installs such Microsoft Office is advisable.
--?
Mike Maltby MS-MVP



Annette > wrote:

> My computer started doing this exact same thing yesterday
> afternoon. Have you had any luck in resolving the issue?
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> My computer, running Windows ME, will no longer start. It
>> loads Windows to the ME logo, and says "Setup is updating
>> your configuration files. This may take a few minutes."
>> and after some time, it comes up with an error along the
>> lines of:
>>
>> "Windows cannot upgrade %1 from %2.
>> %1%2"
>>
>> What do I do to fix this?
>> .