Well... I think I must kill all data... right?

[Chuckwalla36]

Hi... could you please help me? My computer, after an encounter with a virus some months ago, acted all weird... well, I called the tech support guys and they walked me through the "formatting" process. I just followed instructions since I didn't (and still don't) understand any of it. The computer worked well again after that, except for two glitches: at the start, it tells me that I have a file missing: turbo.vxb or something, I searched for it and it's in there, somewhere, but it can't be accessed. Anyway, I press a key and windows starts and all acts normal. Second glitch: It won't let me install a printer, I tried installing my very ancient Star nx-1000 and no luck, then I tried installing a friend's brand new one and no luck still, it also won't let me stall certain software like desktop themes and such. I asked around and my friends tell me that I must "format" the computer, kill all the data. I don't know exactly what this means, let along know how to do it. Is it the same thing as formatting the hard disk? (as in MS-DOS format c:? )

Please, could you tell me how or where to find info on "formatting" whatever it's referring to? I am not the lazy kind of person who won't read instructions, I will read everything and I'll do it right. Thanks!

-Charles

[Paleo Pete]

First, let's see if some of the folks here have some better ideas, while you read up on formatting...

PC Guide's Hard Disk Partitioning and Formatting Procedure (http://www.pcguide.com/proc/setup/hdd-c.html) will surely help.
Quick Guide to a Win 98 fresh Start (http://www.hardwarehell.com/fdisk.htm) is very good too.
How to fdisk a Hard Drive (http://www.sybercom.net/jtmurphy/page11.htm) will walk you through the fdisk procedure, if that is necessary.

Before doing any of this, as usual I always recommend format/reinstall as a last resort only. Stay tuned, and see if we can get some ideas to solve the problem without going through all that. Then after we've tried everything these good folks can come up with, maybe we'll decide formatting is necessary, but I'd prefer it to be done with the agreement of several of us rather than on my advice or a friend's alone.

All I can think of at the moment is give us some system information and any error messages you might be seeing. Write down the exact error message and post it here. System info means CPU, motherboard, (if you know) BIOS brand and version, video and sound cards, memory type and amount etc.

The links I posted should keep you busy reading for a bit, and even if we manage to fix it, you might be able to learn how for next time it becomes necessary.

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My hairdresser charges me a finder's fee!!

Please post your questions on the forums, not in my email.

Computer Information Links (http://www.geocities.com/paleopete/)

[varissul]

Well, I'm no expert, but have you tried re-installing Windows? If it's just not recognizing a file, or missing one, you might just need to run windows setup again. You won't lose any information from your current setup and you can save the current configuration so you can always uninstall it if it doesn't correct the problem. Just a thought. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Chuckwalla36]

Hello! Thanks a lot for replying.

Yes, I've reinstalled Windows twice already and I still get the same message. It says something like this: "The file turbovbf.vxd is missing and is related to SYSTEM.INI. If you installed a program that used this file try uninstalling it and installing it again" (something along those lines) then it says "Press a key to continue", I normally press it and the computer starts up normally.

When I try to install a printer it asks me repeatedly to enter my Windows98 Second Version disk because some files are missing and then it can't find them there either. I choose "Omit File" and then it asks if I want to print a test page, I say yes but naturally, it doesn't work so it gives up saying that the printer cannot be installed.

Hmmm... about all that info... well... see, I know practically nothing about computers but when I got this one they gave me a sheet with the following information: The computer is an ACER.

Cache memory - Intel Celeron 333 Mhz
RAM memory - 32 Mb
Floppy Disk Unit - 3.5"
Hard Disk - 4.3 Gb
Video Card - 2 Mb
Cd-Rom - 40x
Fax Modem - 56 Kbps (3Com)
Power Source - 145 Watts
Monitor - 16" SVGA

I will definitely read all there is in those links because I really want to learn. It's awfully frustrating to be stuck and all confused when problems arise!

[cromwell]

I'm not an expert either, but I've seen the message "windows cannot find file" before. sometimes when you put the windows disk back in you have to direct it to the right folder, Look for Win98 or whatever you are running.

Crom

[Reid]

You can run sysedit and put REM in front of the line with turbovbf in SYSTEM.INI, or delete the line to eliminate that nuisance.

Have you tried installing a generic type printer in Windows to see if it will work with the Star?



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reido@my-deja.com