How about this for a problem..You aint gonna believe it..

[De_Bunk]

I bought some "Watch TV on your PC" software...

It was total garbage so i uninstalled it, returned it and got my money back..No problem...Everything seemed fine with my PC..

I then went and bought some PC games...and tried to install them..

Halfway through the installation process , i got this error message....."Data Process 117" and the input stopped...nothing happened from that point on...I cancelled the process.

"Data Process 117" is usually blamed on dirty CD's...but these were brand new...

I loaded the next game...same thing...halfway through i got "Component failure"...

After much thinking, i ended up copying the contents of the disc to a folder and then running the set up from there...Compressed to uncompressed...and i managed to load two of the games from folders i'd copied them to.....

But the third game was two discs...and running the set-up from a folder required me to insert "Disc 2"...

The problem seem to get worse..and i thought i'd do a partial re-format.....

Anyway...

Its seems that the "Installshield" has had a whole sh*tload of stuff removed...when i uninstalled the "TV / PC" software...

I cannot repair the Installshield...its missing loads of DLL's and various other bits....

Im no fool when it comes to PC's...but this has got me...I've been trying to fix it for two days...

I can't... I am at a loss...

Suggestions...( and i'll owe you..:D )

DB

( PS..it also has affected the way my D and E drives communicate when loading any software...Whats already loaded is safe...but i can't load anything new using either of these drives..)

[Andonyx]

Hmm it sounds like the installer created a path in the uninstall log that was too broad. Sierra On-line once did this with a path that erased the directory of their game plus any directory immediately above it.

For instance if the software default installs to c:\windows\programfiles\WinTV\

Somebody writes a bad installer that deletes c:\windows\programfiles\

That's really bad news obviously.

Unfortunately, other than that, I really can't tell you how to fix it unless ouy have the ability to find and un-delete files.

[De_Bunk]

Its the Installshield...its been totally corrupted..

I run Norton and it turned up a dozen missing files...all relating to Installshield..

Plus i've been told that Config.sys and Autoexec.Bat have been affected...

Everything else works just fine...Its just that i can't load anything in..and i can't see a way of fixing it...

DB

[Zep]

BASTARD when that happens! :mad:

Old computer fogey's question follows: Do you have a backup??? :)

It is possible (with fingers, toes, legs, and everything else crossed) to "repair" a Windows partition in place and put back missing system DLLs, etc. Depends on the Windows version as to which procedure you should use...time to start reading up!

Alternatively (NT systems only), create a new secondary boot partition, and then try to salvage what you can from the old one (there's a myriad good ways to do this). Then reinstall on your original boot partition and recreate your own paradise.

Good luck!

As I recall, Uninstallshield usually asks first if you want to leave/delete various DLLs, etc. The default is to leave things on your system just in case...

[Sindai]

Why not just reinstall whatever version of Windows you're running? I thought Installshield was part of the OS install, so that should fix things.

[De_Bunk]

I reformatted..and its still corrupt....

Back up....real men don't need no back up...i live life close to the edge..

Yeh..

Right..

Look where thats gotten me...:D


DB

[Zep]

Ummm, if you "reformatted" then the disk would be empty. Not only of missing DLLs but of the whole box-and-dice.

Which button did you push???

[AlienX]

Get Norton Ghost and shell out for a large drive to backup your main PC HDD to

The grief it saves is worth it. You can mess around as much as you like and you have a nice safety net.

Often in these circumstances it's time to bite the bullet - backup what you really want to keep and reinstall from a formatted drive.

I had your opinion about backing up - but with large HDD's being pretty cheap then it's foolish not to.

Currently i've got a 250gb drive that solely stores my machine images - had a main drive fail in a PC - took it back to the shop and got a replacement - came back- formatted the new drive. Stuck in the Ghost floppy and pointed it to the required drive image - 10 minutes later it was as though nothing had happened.

It's great especially if you want to try new versions of directX or gfx card drivers - no messing about - if it's worse go back to the image you made b4 u started - it's often quicker and at least you know 100% you are back to exactly the spot b4 u started. This isn't that rubbish windows rollback crap.

Just the other day my network stopped working on a PC as i'd been fiddling - XP just wouldn't play ball but it turned out a few files had got corrupted and couldn't be repaired - had a ghost image from a day or so b4 - woohoo sorted - restored image and left it to it ;-)

I've been doing PC's for 15 years or so - Norton Ghost is the number 1 must have app imo, people who end up in your situation I feel your pain, but the tools are there to protect you from this sort of thing - use em ;-)

AX

[Zep]

The old computer fogey says: AlienX is right. Backup pays off.

[davidhorman]

Was it WinTV? You could try downloading the software from http://www.hauppage.co.uk/ and installing it again - maybe, just maybe, it will fix InstallShield.

David

[Underemployed]

You said you did a 'partial re-format' - can you expand on that a little?

Sounds like you need a full format or, at the very least, a reinstall of your OS.

[Jon_in_london]

<marquee behavior=alternate> YOU GOTTA RE-INSTALL WINDOWS!!!! </marquee>

[De_Bunk]

Ok then..

Being a smartass, i got the choice of loading all the WinMe OS again, without losing any files, Mp3, Mpegs,...downloaded software..etc..Hence a "partial reformat"

But that didnt work..

So i totally re-fomatted, lost everything but got the "Installshield" partially working again.

Im still getting the "data process 117" error message...but only on one game now...instead of everything i tried to load in..

I must have messed up deep, deep somewhere....

At least "The Sims" is working...

Compressed to uncompressed...

Ok...maybe its a problem with reading compressed files from disc...

So i copy the game to a new folder and run it from there....

I still get the error message....

But when the Installshield was corrupted....I could load this game using this method.. but none of the others

Now i've re-formatted...this game wont load and is giving me the same error codes as all the others did...

But now... they all the other games load...and this one game, don't..

Confused...

I am...

DB

[Zep]

Oh ship!

You said "Windows ME", DB.

Therein lies the problem.

The easiest cure is to take the ME CD, hold it in both hands, and...BREAK IT OVER YOUR KNEE AND THROW IT IN THE BIN.

Then go and get a REAL OS, or at least one that is more reliable and stable than ME. It has the reputation as the "most UNinstalled" OS in history, I gather.

No doubt many posters here will advise you on better/other choices - for myself, I would suggest Win2K or XP might be the OS best suited to what you seem to want to do (but do check your PC specs).

May your problems be superseded...

[evildave]

You DEFINITELY did not have to lose all of your files!

Job #1: BUY A USB HARD DISK. They're cheap, and downright handy. You should have backed everything else up onto that first.

In the future, make sure your system is partitioned. A "Windows" partition and an "everything else" partition. More, if you like. Windows and programs: C:. Documents, files, downloads, games, other junk, etc.: D:. fdisk isn't that hard to use, but there are packages like "PartitionMagic" that will do this without nuking your machine.

Try to keep the C: partition small. A lot of accessory stuff can be put on D:, including your mail folders, swap file and other such things.

Use a product like Powerquest's 'Drive Image' to back up the Windows partition to the USB HDD, your D: drive, and/or to a bootable CD. The bootable CD is nice, since you can bring the system completely back from the dead. The USB hard drive can be used for the same thing, if your BIOS treats it as bootable. My BIOS is only too willing to boot my USB2 HDD. It will boot it INSTEAD of my RAID array if I forget and leave it connected.

WHEN Windows is destroyed, or destroys its self, simply recover from the backup image. Five minutes, all is well. Or at least as it was when you backed up the system last time. Once I backed up a virus infection, but the backup before the backup before that wasn't infected.... anyway, No diagnostics. No guessing. All done. If it doesn't "come back", it's hardware.

Granted, Win2K and XP never really torch themselves like Win95/Win98/Me routinely do. 2K made a BIG stability difference on my old Athlon machine.

XP has some "built-in" recovery junk that I don't really trust, but it could "unroll" changes to a "snap shot" in a pinch.



The one game MIGHT have a bad disk, after all. Check it in good light for scratches and fingerprints. It also might have "copy protection" that your CD ROM doesn't like.

[Zep]

As a suggested addendum to evildave's post (which is all good!), create yourself a partition on your HD the size of the pagefile you want, format it, and then create a pagefile the maximum size you can in it. Then switch to using that as your system pagefile, not the system partition. Saves you getting a fragmented pagefile ruining the performance of your system.

Oh, and do defrag.

[evildave]

Another trick I heard of: Drop a "bad" CD or DVD in boiling water. (I don't think it should be continuously boiled or anything.)

Apparently, it works. Don't know why. Maybe it gets fingerprints and slime off.

Tacking a sandwich bag filled with water up will keep flies away.

Apparently, it works. Don't know why, either.

Microwaving a CD is still a major no-no (unless you like fireworks).

[a_unique_person]

Windows 2000, for sure. Windows ME was just "Windows, we want some cash coming in while Windows 2000 is delayed".

[Mauler]

http://consumer.installshield.com/kb.asp?id=Q108201

Sends you to here to get the installer -

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=CEBBACD8-C094-4255-B702-DE3BB768148F