Can't get past splash screen

[John]

A friend's laptop recently went faulty so he decided, as it's 7 years old,
to treat himself to a new one. However, he needs a couple of things off the
old one if at all possible, so he brought it to me.

It boots, completes the POST OK and then shows the Windows ME splash
screen - but gets no further, no matter how long you leave it. Pressing the
"Esc" key to get rid of the splash screen and see what's going on reveals
the following text:

"Please wait while setup updates your config files. This may take a few
minutes".

After about two minutes, it shows:

"Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
%1: %2"

and that message repeats at two minute intervals for as long as you leave
it. Any ideas what's wrong and how to get past it?

Thanks in advance,

John

 

[SSJ04 Mewtwo]

I think, and Mike can correct me on this, but if you've got a WinME boot
floppy you should be able to get to the A:\ prompt and that'll get you past
that. Further instructions will come later from those who know better.

John <replyingroup@notemail> wrote:

A friend's laptop recently went faulty so he decided, as it's 7 years old,
to treat himself to a new one. However, he needs a couple of things off the
old one if at all possible, so he brought it to me.

It boots, completes the POST OK and then shows the Windows ME splash
screen - but gets no further, no matter how long you leave it. Pressing the
"Esc" key to get rid of the splash screen and see what's going on reveals
the following text:

"Please wait while setup updates your config files. This may take a few
minutes".

After about two minutes, it shows:

"Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
%1: %2"

and that message repeats at two minute intervals for as long as you leave
it. Any ideas what's wrong and how to get past it?

Thanks in advance,

John

 

[Mike M]

> "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
> %1: %2"

Don't you just love Norton, the most common cause of this problem.

The %1 %2 problem you saw is usually quite easy to fix and is often but
not exclusively the result of having Symantec's LiveUpdate installed.

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: Windows Could Not Upgrade the File %1 from %2
%1: %2 (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:

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

c) Remove the floppy
d) Reboot your PC

Another problem is that the install/update you were doing will not have
been completely installed so your system may still be unusable and the
install/update will need to be repeated.

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 Windows
mike.maltby@gmail.com



John <replyingroup@notemail> wrote:

> A friend's laptop recently went faulty so he decided, as it's 7 years
> old, to treat himself to a new one. However, he needs a couple of
> things off the old one if at all possible, so he brought it to me.
>
> It boots, completes the POST OK and then shows the Windows ME splash
> screen - but gets no further, no matter how long you leave it.
> Pressing the "Esc" key to get rid of the splash screen and see what's
> going on reveals the following text:
>
> "Please wait while setup updates your config files. This may take a
> few minutes".
>
> After about two minutes, it shows:
>
> "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
> %1: %2"
>
> and that message repeats at two minute intervals for as long as you
> leave it. Any ideas what's wrong and how to get past it?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> John

 

[Mart]

It probably has Norton's System Works 2000 installed - because it doesn't
(work, that is!!)

See - You receive a "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2 %1: %2"
error message after you install a new program or update a program on a
computer that is running Windows Millennium Edition.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283069/en-us

Read (and print a copy of the Resolutions) and follow the instructions
carefully - and be sure to never let Norton near the PC again. Norton and
WinMe don't mix.

Mart


"John" <replyingroup@notemail> wrote in message
news:SZCdnbBifbWfDIXVnZ2dnUVZ8smgnZ2d@bt.com...
>A friend's laptop recently went faulty so he decided, as it's 7 years old,
>to treat himself to a new one. However, he needs a couple of things off the
>old one if at all possible, so he brought it to me.
>
> It boots, completes the POST OK and then shows the Windows ME splash
> screen - but gets no further, no matter how long you leave it. Pressing
> the "Esc" key to get rid of the splash screen and see what's going on
> reveals the following text:
>
> "Please wait while setup updates your config files. This may take a few
> minutes".
>
> After about two minutes, it shows:
>
> "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
> %1: %2"
>
> and that message repeats at two minute intervals for as long as you leave
> it. Any ideas what's wrong and how to get past it?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> John
>

 

[John]

Mart wrote:
> It probably has Norton's System Works 2000 installed - because it
> doesn't (work, that is!!)
>
> See - You receive a "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
> %1: %2" error message after you install a new program or update a
> program on a computer that is running Windows Millennium Edition.
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283069/en-us
>
> Read (and print a copy of the Resolutions) and follow the instructions
> carefully - and be sure to never let Norton near the PC again. Norton
> and WinMe don't mix.
>
> Mart
>
>
> "John" <replyingroup@notemail> wrote in message
> news:SZCdnbBifbWfDIXVnZ2dnUVZ8smgnZ2d@bt.com...
>> A friend's laptop recently went faulty so he decided, as it's 7
>> years old, to treat himself to a new one. However, he needs a couple
>> of things off the old one if at all possible, so he brought it to me.
>>
>> It boots, completes the POST OK and then shows the Windows ME splash
>> screen - but gets no further, no matter how long you leave it.
>> Pressing the "Esc" key to get rid of the splash screen and see
>> what's going on reveals the following text:
>>
>> "Please wait while setup updates your config files. This may take a
>> few minutes".
>>
>> After about two minutes, it shows:
>>
>> "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
>> %1: %2"
>>
>> and that message repeats at two minute intervals for as long as you
>> leave it. Any ideas what's wrong and how to get past it?
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>>
>> John

Wow, that's brilliant. Thanks everyone for your replies, it's much
appreciated.

John

 

[John]

Mike M wrote:
>> "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
>> %1: %2"
>
> Don't you just love Norton, the most common cause of this problem.
>
> The %1 %2 problem you saw is usually quite easy to fix and is often
> but not exclusively the result of having Symantec's LiveUpdate
> installed.
> 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: Windows
> Could Not Upgrade the File %1 from %2 %1: %2
> (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:
>
> ATTRIB -H -S -R C:\_RESTORE
> and then
> REN C:\_RESTORE OLDREST
>
> c) Remove the floppy
> d) Reboot your PC
>
> Another problem is that the install/update you were doing will not
> have been completely installed so your system may still be unusable
> and the install/update will need to be repeated.
>
> 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.
>
>> A friend's laptop recently went faulty so he decided, as it's 7 years
>> old, to treat himself to a new one. However, he needs a couple of
>> things off the old one if at all possible, so he brought it to me.
>>
>> It boots, completes the POST OK and then shows the Windows ME splash
>> screen - but gets no further, no matter how long you leave it.
>> Pressing the "Esc" key to get rid of the splash screen and see what's
>> going on reveals the following text:
>>
>> "Please wait while setup updates your config files. This may take a
>> few minutes".
>>
>> After about two minutes, it shows:
>>
>> "Windows could not upgrade the file %1 from %2
>> %1: %2"
>>
>> and that message repeats at two minute intervals for as long as you
>> leave it. Any ideas what's wrong and how to get past it?
>>
>> Thanks in advance,
>>
>> John

Renaming wininit.ini to wininit.old did the trick - and yes, once I got it
up and running one of the first dialog boxes to come up was Norton saying
that an update hadn't completed. Thanks ever so much,

John

 

[Mike M]

John,

I'm pleased to read that you managed to fix the problem. I would now very
strongly urge you to clear the C:\_RESTORE folder as explained in my
previous post otherwise you are likely to hit the same error next time the
wininit.ini mechanism is invoked by an update. I think you will find that
there are currently over 32,000 items in the C:\_RESTORE\TEMP folder,
perhaps even 64,000 (I can't remember the trigger number).
--
Mike Maltby
mike.maltby@gmail.com



John <replyingroup@notemail> wrote:

> Renaming wininit.ini to wininit.old did the trick - and yes, once I
> got it up and running one of the first dialog boxes to come up was
> Norton saying that an update hadn't completed. Thanks ever so much,