to make a long story short.  i deleted my boot.ini file.  its in my recycle bin.  i turned computer off and now have seemed to of lost everything.  i cant get back into windows 98 and i have access to dos.  can i open windows 98 from dos?  i am no computer expert but i have tried downloading boot files to no avail.  helpAt DOS prompt, type in:
scanreg /restore
Hit Enter. PICK up any date from before deleting boot.ini.Win98 doesn't have a boot.ini file, NT4/2k/XP use boot.ini when there is more than one operating system in use.Oooops. It's been a while.Having booted to the MS-DOS 7 prompt, in a Windows 98 system, you type WIN or c:\windows\win.com to start Windows, usually.

So what's with this boot.ini file, grace003? And why did you delete it?





Maybe, the above computer had dual boot, at some point.i have tried scanreg/restore and it says bad command or filename
i have tried typing in win and c:\windows\win.com it says "himem.sys is missing make sure that the file is in your windows directory.

this problem started when i was trying to install windows xp prof to update win98 and it wouldnt accept for some reason.  cant remember too long ago. then i tried to remove and accidentally hit enter to delete  boot.ini

does this all make a difference?That would explain boot.ini presence - XP installation leftover.
BTW, there is a space after "scanreg" in scanreg /restore command.
...and now I don't understand something...
You tried to upgrade to XP long time ago, but some problem started just last night?
no this problem happened a long time ago but was fortunate to have a loan of my sisters laptop so i didn't deal with the problem.  now she wants her laptop back and i need to get my computer fixed.  i did insert space but NOTHING..I believe, your ATTEMPT to install Windows XP messed things up. You may need to reinstall Windows.thank you for your help.  much appreciated..KEEP us posted