[thelist] IE Service Pack Updates v Full Browsers

[Ken Schaefer]

On Sun, 2 Jan 2005 03:58:03 -0800, MedStarWriter
<medstarwriter at prodigy.net> wrote:
> Thank you for responding. Whenever I reinstall Windows Me, it's from the DOS
> level. I use a Windows Me startup disk and then the LIST utility
> (www.buerg.com) to browse to my installation path on my hard drive where my
> WinME CD is backed up in its entirety.
> 
> C:\ADMIN\WinMeOem\setup.exe
> 
> This method helps in the event that my CD drives are not available for some
> reason, and it prevents me from having to put the CD in during Windows
> Updates or adding new hardware.
> 
> I always replace my existing OS, as you suggested, but this does not replace
> ALL the files. It replaces most Windows files but may not replace those put
> in by other programs.

Well, you should *delete* your existing Windows directory before
running setup. This will remove all those old files.

As suggested you should have two partitions (eg c: and d:). Put the
installation files onto the d: partition. Then, when you run setup
again, you can simply format the c: partition, removing all files in
c:\windows c:\program files etc

> It is not always possible to uninstall IE 6 SP1 or WMP
> 9 before reinstalling Windows. Read my initial post for a description of
> potential problems I face when IE 5.5 overwrites IE 6 SP 1 during the
> reinstall.

If you formatted c: as Peter and I have suggested, there would be no
traces of IE6 remaining.

> Reformatting the hard drive is PRECISELY what I'm trying to avoid. I can't
> be doing that every month or every few months. It's too much work, and it
> causes activation problems with Norton and other software. It's time I
> learned some workarounds for babying Windows Me, since I'm going to be stuck
> with it for a while.

Well, I suggest you learn how to look after Windows ME (can be
difficult, I know). There is a System Restore tool that you can use to
rollback to a previous state if you notice something going wrong.

That said, if you are getting corruption in things every month, then I
would suggest that something else is up:
a) you have faulty hardware
b) you have a virus
c) you have some kind of malware/spyware installed on your machine

I can understand Windows ME going bad every so often, but every other
month is ridiculous.

Cheers
Ken