Using System File Checker in Windows 98

Using System File Checker in Windows 98

You can use the System File Checker to verify the integrity of your operating system files, and to restore them if they are corrupted. The System File Checker also gives you a convenient way to extract compressed files (such as drivers) from your installation disks.

You can have System File Checker back up the existing files before restoring the original files. You can also customize search criteria based on folder and file extension, choose a different backup location, choose a different verification data file, or if you experience severe problems, you can Restore the default system information (System File Checker will prompt you about any system files that have changed since you installed Windows). You have also the ability to create/view a logfile.

You can start the System File Checker by clicking Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information, and then selecting Tools > System File Checker from the Microsoft System Information toolbar.

I recommend to enable Check for changed files and Check for deleted files, as well as selecting to Always back up before restoring.

Also recommended is to manually change the default settings to include the the missing sub-folders of C:\Windows and C:\Program Files. These folders are certainly important enough to deserve the modification in SFC.

To do this, select the Search Criteria tab, and select the C:\Windows and C:\Program Files in turn, pressing the Include Subfolders button on each of them.

To keep your files in good shape, run the SFC after installing new software.

Sometimes you will receive the following error message when you attempt to extract a new copy of a Windows 98 file using the System File Checker tool:

The file was not found. Verify that you have selected the correct
Restore from' location and try again.

This error message occurs when:

1. You specify the wrong path to the Windows 98 cabinet files
2. The file you are attempting to extract was created during Windows 98 Setup and is not located in a Windows 98 cabinet file
3. You specify a path to a shared Windows 98 CD-ROM on a network

Resolutions:

Error #1:

In the Restore File dialog box, click Browse, locate and click the folder in which the Windows 98 cabinet files are located, click OK, and then click OK again.

Note: The Windows 98 cabinet files are located in the \Win98 folder on the Windows 98 CD-ROM.

Error #2:

If you need a new copy of a file that was created during Windows 98 Setup, install Windows 98 again. You can install Windows 98 "on-top" of itself (run Setup from MS-DOS), without loosing anything. Some values might be reset to default values however.

The following files are created during Windows 98 Setup and are not located in the Windows 98 cabinet files:

Control.ini    Exchange32.ini    Msbatch.inf
Msmail.ini    Msoffice.ini    Ndislog.txt
Powerpnt.ini    Progman.ini    Protocol.ini
Qtw.ini    Ripaux.dll    Setup.old
Site.ini    Telephon.ini    Wavemix.ini
Wininit.ini    Index.dat    Mstask.cnt
Mstask.hlp    Drvidx.bin    Mstask.inf
Setup.inf    Classes.zip    Tclasses.zip
Computerinfo.ocx    Crypt32.dll    Icwscrpt.exe
Ie32dsw.ocx    Ie32dsw.txt    Intro.dcr
Javaee.dll    Javasntx.dll    Jsproxy.dll
M5drvr32.exe    M5drvr32.rst    M5if32.dll
Mstask.dll    Mstask.exe    Mstinit.exe
Rnaph.dll    Selectfiledlg.ocx    Swadcmpr.x32
Swastrm.x32    Sysagent.exe    Vmm32.vxd
Vsrevoke.dll    Winoa386.mod    Wintrust.hlp
Xobglu16.dll    Xobglu32.dll

Error #3:

System File Checker does not support extracting files from a Windows 98 CD-ROM shared on a network. For System File Checker to work properly, the Windows 98 files should be shared from a hard disk instead of the CD-ROM.

Also note that sometimes when you use System File Checker to restore a Windows 98 system file (for example, the Gdi.exe, Krnl386.exe or User.exe file) from a Windows 98 cabinet (.cab) file, the wrong version of the file can be extracted from the Mini.cab cabinet file. This can result in the inability to start Windows 98 or you will receive a Windows Protection Error error messages in normal and Safe mode.

This can occur when System File Checker prompts you to restore a corrupt system file during a scan or when you manually extract and replace a system file.

This problem is documented in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article No. 192832, which also gives you instructions on how to fix this problem.

This problem was fixed in Windows 98 Second Edition.

The following Microsoft Knowledge Base Article(s) may be of your assistance:

* Q188186 - How the System File Checker Baseline Is Determined
* Q264865 - System File Checker identified that the following file may be corrupted