extracting files from installation disk

[jogartrago]

System File Checker (SFC) tool tells me I'm missing several files from my operating system (OS), Windows 98. When I try to extract those files one at a time from my Win98 installation disk with SFC I receive a message that the file can't be found. Is there anybody out there that can tell me what's going on?

[Paul Komski]

If there are problems with sfc then try using extract.exe from a command prompt or Extract Files by Using Startup Disk as per http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=129605

[ErnieK]

Are you trying to manually find the files or are you using SFC to find the files?

If manually you will need to know tha actual CAB file the individual files are in.

If using SFC just point the program (SFC) to your CD drive everytime it ask for it. You may have to drill down to the WIN98 folder.

(Make certain you have your Win98 CD in the drive)

[Sylvander]

BEWARE!

System File Checker will often tell you a file is missing...
...And [usually in my case] there's agood reason it's missing...
...Because it aught to be missing.

A typical reason is...
You have updated Windows and a number of files have been deleted and other files added.
Normally when I update sfc to take account of this new file set no problems are caused.

You should only be concerned if you KNOW FOR SURE those missing files aught to be there.

NEW TOPIC
1. Use the "Find" facility to search the folder holding the Windows installation files for files "Containing Text" that's the same as the name of a file[s] you're looking for.

1. Once the CAB file is found, if you right-click on that CAB file is the OPEN action included in the Context Menu?
"UltimateZip (http://www.ultimatezip.com/) " [free] opens mine.

3. Right-click the CAB file and OPEN to look for the file.
Once you have found the file, right-click it and choose EXTRACT.
[Again, "UltimateZip" does this for me.]

This is a simple matter of using a zipping/unzipping program to extract a file from a compressed archive.

[jogartrago]

Thanx to Paul, Ernie and Sylvander for responses. I'll consider all and will post results as they come about.
Bet you all will be waiting eagerly and anxiously to see them.

[mjc]

One other thing, going from Sylvander posted...

SFC should allow you the option to update its database when a file has been changed.

[jogartrago]

OK, ERNIEK,PaulK,Sylvander,MJC. Change my title from: jogartrago-Geek adept, To: jogartrago-Geek hopelessly confused.
1.Used SFC to check for missing files. Now SFC shows no files missing.
2.Proceeded to Internet Explorer repair tool and ran same. IE repair tool tells me MSHTML.tlb file is missing preventing IE from running properly.
3. Ran SFC again to extract MSHTML.TLB from installation disk. SFC says MSHTML.TLB
cannot be found
4. Went to find facility & searched the folder holding windows installation files for files "Containing Text". Find search revealed no such folder.

What's going on?

[mjc]

Ok, if it is really on your machine it should be in the system folder.

If you updated your IE at any time then the version on the included IE from the install disk likely wouldn't be compatable with the IE version now installed...and if you ran the web updater to update IE the install files won't be on your hardrive, just the installed ones. So you would need the full install version of your version of IE in order to actually have the file to replace it.

Also in the cab files, many of the items have one or more letters of the extension changed...so try your search for just mshtml (no extension).

[Sylvander]

I have my Win98SE installation files in a folder on my G: partition.
So I searched that folder for any files "Containing text" MSHTML.TLB, and got one hit inside Win98_52.cab [see image below].

Then searched my C: partition for a file of that name and it [an updated version mod: 29/08/02, 1,319 kB] was found in the "C:\Windows\System" folder.

[Sylvander]

Here's the result of the "Find files" named "MSHTML.TLB" on the C: drive search...

[jogartrago]

I used SFC to look for the MSHTML file both with and w/o the extension TLB in all CAB files on my Win98 installation disk. Came up with nothing, repeat n-o-t-h-i-n-g. I tried to open some of some of the CAB files to look for the missing file but was unable to do so.
The statement "You will need a full install version of your version of IE in order to actually have the file to replace it" baffles me.
When I updated my browswer from IE 5 to IE 6 I did it with a CD titled Windows Update Internet Pack. This included IE 6 w/ Service Pack 1. The disk was provided to me by Microsoft. I'm assuming it is a full version install disk but have no way of knowing for sure.

[mjc]

That should be the full install...the exe (self extracting zip file) should be somewhere in the 80MB neighborhood. If it is around 10-20 MB then it is the web installer...it does a bare minimum install and fetches the rest of the needed files from MS as needed.

There is also a chance that your ability to look into/extract cab files is broken...

[Sylvander]

SEARCH WIN98 [not Win98SE]
Used "Find->Files and folders" to look among the Win98 ".CAB" files "Containing Text" MSHTML.TLB and found n-o-t-h-i-n-g.
So I looked for text MSHTML and found two dll files as shown below [no use to you I guess] inside WIN98_34.CAB.
If you need a copy of MSHTML.TLB [or any other files] from my Win98SE CAB file[s] or from my system folder, I could upload it to a hosting site and if you give me an email address [sent to me in a personal message] I could send you the link to that [or else just send it attached to an email].

I have a copy of the update exe file [that I used] for IE version 6, SP1 if you'd like to try that.

[Sylvander]

Here's the copy of the IE6 setup exe file that I have...

[jogartrago]

Last things first.
1. The properties of IE6 setup exe file matches poste exactly what's on my machine.
2. Used "Find>files & folders" and looked under MSHTML.TLB containing text and got 3 hits: 3D Text in Windows\System 119Kb Screen saver
Cstextt32.ocx " 390Kb OCX file
Quicktime internet " 811Kb QTime exe
3. Also looked for and found MSHTML.dll file but still no MSHTML or MSHTML.TLB
Don't know what all this means. Perhaps somebody can help me sort it out.

[Sylvander]

Did another search for "Files Containing Text" MSHTML.TLB, but this time on the C: drive and found [among others]...
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files\le_s1.cab
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files\le_s2.cab
Inside le_s1.cab was IE_1.cab
Used "UltimateZip" to "View" the contents of that and found a number of files probably related to the included IEXPLORE.EXE including MSHTML.TLB as shown below.

Do you have any C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files ?

[Sylvander]

Just noticed in passing that the only exe file inside
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files
is ie6setup.exe
And there is a text file named This folder is safe to delete.txt with the following info inside...
"This folder contains the information needed to install Internet Explorer 6.
Once Internet Explorer 6 is installed and functioning properly on your system, you may delete this folder to free up disk space.
If you delete this folder but later want to reinstall the product, you will need to download it again from the web site."

Needles to say, for some reason I have not yet deleted the folder and its contents, which may work to your advantage if you can use these.

Here's about a third of the files included...

[jogartrago]

Did another search for "Files Containing Text" MSHTML.TLB, but this time on the C: drive and found [among others]...
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files\le_s1.cab
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files\le_s2.cab
Inside le_s1.cab was IE_1.cab
Used "UltimateZip" to "View" the contents of that and found a number of files probably related to the included IEXPLORE.EXE including MSHTML.TLB as shown below.

Do you have any C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files ?


I do, indeed, have a folder in windows titles windows setup files. I wanted to inform you of this find immediately. I'll make a note of its contents and, if appropriate, pass the info. on to you for whatever it may be worth.

[jogartrago]

Just noticed in passing that the only exe file inside
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files
is ie6setup.exe
And there is a text file named This folder is safe to delete.txt with the following info inside...
"This folder contains the information needed to install Internet Explorer 6.
Once Internet Explorer 6 is installed and functioning properly on your system, you may delete this folder to free up disk space.
If you delete this folder but later want to reinstall the product, you will need to download it again from the web site."

Needles to say, for some reason I have not yet deleted the folder and its contents, which may work to your advantage if you can use these.

Here's about a third of the files included...



Please be advised that all these files are in my windows update setup folder. It doesn't seem necessary for me to have a duplicate set. Thanx for the info.

[Sylvander]

"2.Proceeded to Internet Explorer repair tool and ran same. IE repair tool tells me MSHTML.tlb file is missing preventing IE from running properly."
I wonder...If you ran C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files\ie6setup.exe, would that make sure the update was complete?
It has copies of mshtml.tlb inside its le_s1.cab & le_s2.cab files.

[jogartrago]

MSHTML.TLB has been transferred to folder windows\system.
I found file MSHTML.TLB by searching cab file Ie_s1
Why neither SFC or Find "files/folder" utility couldn't locate it is way beyond my understanding. Perhaps some Exalted Geek can come up w/ an answer to that.
Will try some other things that have been suggested and see how far it gets me.
I suspect, as others do, reason(s) for IE6 not running properly goes far beyond MSHTML.TLD.
BUT WHAT ARE THEY? Hmmmmm!

[jogartrago]

The installation of MSHTML.TLB into C:\Windows\System appears to have corrected a problem that I encountered accessing some (repeat some) links. I also seem to have stopped getting error messages informing me of script errors.
So, progress has been made. I would like to thank all who contributed info. responsible for that progress. Special thanks to that enthusiastic amateur "Sylvander" for his patience, interest and generosity in terms of time & resources.

[Sylvander]

Oh shucks, you've made me blush. :o :D

[jogartrago]

With the file MSHTML.TLB installed in the windows system folder, I, out of curiosity, ran Internet Explorer repair tool.
About a third of the way through its scan the following message appeared:
Version 5.0.2614.3500 of file MSHTML.TLB exists but the
version must be greater than 6.0.2800.1100
I don't know the significance of that message. I haven't reacted to it, other than by a bit of surprise, not do I intend to for at the moment my PC seems to be operating OK, though I still have to test whether I can download some files/programs that heretofore I could not.

If anyone has an informed comment about the message from IE Repair tool I, perhaps others, would like to hear about it.

[mjc]

That simply means the copy that you restored is an older version...you should, eventually get tthe correct version that matches the installed version of IE, installed.

[Sylvander]

My C:\Windows\System\Mshtml.tlb is version 6.00.2800.1106, which has the same version number as the copy I just extracted from...
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files\Ie_s1.cab and also
C:\WINDOWS\Windows Update Setup Files\Ie_s2.cab.

[jogartrago]

Things get curiouser and curiouser.
Before I ran the IE Repair tool I checked system information, it told me the version of IE on my system is 6.00.2800.1106.
Why I got the message about the version of the MSHTML.TLB file I do I don't know.
I can only tell you that my rig seems to be performing w/o problem now though I still haven't tried to avail myself of one of those free downloads that I thought I needed.
At his point they don't seem very important.

[Sylvander]

I wonder if something extracted that copy itself [from Ie_s1.cab or Ie_s2.cab] because he copy I sent you wasn't as up-to-data as that.

Nice to hear that all is now well.
Time to make image backups of your partition contents eh? :D

[jogartrago]

Image backups of your partition contents?

Good Grief!!!

What is that or what are they?

Why would I want to?

How do I do it?

[Sylvander]

"Why would I want to?"
Because they make you INVULNERABLE [so far as I can tell] to EVERY kind of software problem! :D
e.g. This problem that you've been working on would have been fixed quite routinely in double-quick time [15 min to restore the C: partition on my PC].

"What is that or what are they?"
The image backup file is a compressed cluster-for-cluster archive copy of the occupied portions of a partition.
You run an image backup program from a bootable floppy or CD [e.g. the free trial "Image for DOS" is supplied on the free "Emergency Boot CD" (EBCD)].
The program runs within its own environment [outside of the Windows environment]. It makes backup image files, which must be to a partition other than the one being backed up [the free trial "Image" on the EBCD can only save these to a FAT(32) partition, but the paid-for version can save them to NTFS and to a USB HDD].
They can also be restored from outside the Windows environment.
Hence, when Windows won't boot FOR ANY SOFTWARE REASON, you can easily restore a working system of software as it existed at the time the backup was made.
I've done this MANY times and never known it to fail. :D
Therefore this makes it possible to [not only go forward in time, but also to] go back in time to the way things were when all was well.
There are useful applications for this...
You might hold off making a backup until just before you intend to make some important change; like adding new hardware, or a new program, or a new configuration arrangement.
If you then want to go back to the way things were....
You just restore the appropriate backup [to match the hardware, or to eliminate an installed program].
You can also use the free TBIview within Windows to view the contents of an ".img" file and restore any number of selected folders/files.

"How do I do it?"
Make the following 2 disks...

1. How to make a free “Smart Boot Manager” floppy
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41498
This makes it easier to boot a chosen drive [particularly the one holding the EBCD].

2. How to make a free EBCD bootable CD
http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=41485
This has a number of useful utilities included including "Image" [for DOS, by Terabyte] & "File Manager".

Before I go further...
Do you have anywhere you can save large backup files?
Do you have a FAT32 partition you can use on your internal HDD?
A second internal HDD?
An external USB HDD?
A DVD or CD burner with a burning program.

Here are my image backups of C: held on G: with copies on my external USB HDD N:
Notice the file names...
06 is the year.
05 is the month.
27 is the day.

So 060527 is year 2006, month of May, day 27.

[Sylvander]

I keep a handwritten log of all of this on A4 lined sheets [a line to each entry].
Here are the latest entries...

2006
May 24 : Image of C: to G: = ok.
May 24 : Installed Cahoot Webcard version 1.3.0.3.78 = ok.
May 27 : Image of C: to G: = ok.
June 5 : Installed "Macromedia Flash Player v7,0,63,0 = ok.
June 7 : Image of C: to G: = ok.
June 7 : Image of E: to G: = ok.

These help me decide which backup to restore, and what will be the effect.

Notice that if I were to restore the C: backup of May 27, then "Macromedia Flash Player" would be....
Gone without a trace that it had ever been installed.
If I restored the C: backup of May 24, then the Flash Player AND the Cahoot Webcard program would be gone.

By the way...
I use coloured pens [red & black +] as above to highlight the differences.

[jogartrago]

Sir: I think,maybe from something in my postings, (What else??), you must have figured out my psyche. That being: "I cannot resist a technical challenge". But then I'm such a 'nerd' around computers.
Let me think about your suggestion.
Even though I doubt that I'd ever encounter a future need for the image backups having this "tool" (I guess you'd call it) might be worthwhile.
I do have a CD burner and appropriate software related to its use. But come to think of it. The last time I used it---to make some audio CD's from my considerable library of old vinyl records----is when I got into software problems.
Thanks for your interest. You'll probably see a post from me in the near future about deep trouble making image backups.

[Sylvander]

"Even though I doubt that I'd ever encounter a future need for the image backups having this "tool" (I guess you'd call it) might be worthwhile."
I use this all the time and would not think of being without it.
It is probably the single most worthwhile thing I do with my PC.
All the time at the PC Guide I see people with terrible software problems causing them a lot of trouble and I know that if they used the system I use they would fix such things with ease.
I am open mouthed in astonishment that people fail to immediately see the value of this, and that it is not more widely used.
It seems only the knowing few have the wisdom to use this.
I was pushing this years back before Microsoft brought out XP with its "Restore Points".
But my system works better than that so far as I can tell.
I can restore ANY KIND OF PARTITION to the way it was when all was well.
This means that if the OS won't boot [any kind of Linux or Windows], it could be back up and running with ease.

I beg you to work toward this end, you will bless the day you did. :)

[jogartrago]

Sir: Your arguments all are valid. And at some point in the not too distant future I'll get started on creating the "tool" of your advocacy. But I fear you've created some intrusions into your time for I can foresee that I'll have some problems with the project and I'll be posting pleas for help that I'm hoping you will see and find time to answer.
Thanks, still another time for your interest.

[Sylvander]

See you then. :D