Topic: PC Anywhere uninstall problem

[Simon]

My cousin has just uninstalled PC Anywhere, from his W98 desktop.  When the uninstall was complete, he rebooted, as instructed, and received the following error message:- C:\PROGRA~1|\PCANWY~\aw_host.386  press any key to continue.  The machine then booted into Safe Mode.

I referred him to the manual uninstall instructions on the Symantec website (here), which he carried out, and now the PC will ONLY boot into safe mode.  Any ideas?  By thw way, that is a really slow link, but persevere and you'll get through eventually.

[Sandra]

I havent time to wait for that link to open Simon as I am pushed for time at the moment  
If he can get into safe mode but not normal windows get him to try running scandisk or chkdsk in safe mode and see if that sorts it. Failing that disconnect any peripherals, especially usb devices and see if that works. It sounds like some program or driver isnt loading properly so uninstalling pc anywhere may have removed some files necessary for his progs or equipment to load  

[chorleydave]

Hi, Simon.

I might be stating the obvious here, but has your friend looked in MSCONFIG > STARTUP to make sure that the PC isn't trying to start PC Anywhere, even though it is uninstalled?  I've had similar messages in the past when I have removed a program that loaded on startup.  The uninstaller hadn't removed the entries for the bit of the registry that loads programs on startup, so Windows was still looking for it.

[Simon]

That's one of the first things I suggested, Dave, but thanks.  PC Anywhere seems to be connected to Norton / Symantec, so maybe he needs to re-install his AV and Firewall in safe mode?

That link is hopeless isn't it?  It does open eventually, but I don't know why it takes so long.

[Simon]

OK, this has now escalated.  Scandisk and chkdisk apparently didn't work, so he's tried scanreg.  This is, I believe, supposed to come up with a list of registry backups, and you are able to select a date, similar to System Restore in XP.  Trouble is, the latest date in the list is 30/06/2003!  Is it worth trying this, or is that likely to cause even more problems?  At the moment, he can only boot into safe mode, but can reach the desktop doing so.  Any ideas, anyone?

[Sandra]

It should autorun scandisk if he just switches pc off from safe mode and then starts the pc again Simon  

[Simon]

Yes, things are a bit confused there - I'm not sure if he's run scandisk and it came up with nothing, or he couldn't run it.  I'll find out later.

[Simon]

Update:-  He's tried to run scandisk and it apparently gets about 75% through and then hangs.  He also says that his CD Rom drive is dead in safe mode, and that when he cold starts, he gets a brief message saying 'Install Windows', which then goes, and the PC reboots into safe mode.

Any ideas, before I suggest he re-installs Win98?  He desparately doesn't want to lose some stuff on his hard drive, but he can install 98 over the top, yes?

[chorleydave]

I have installed Windows98SE "over the top" many times without losing other stuff on my hard drive.

Just one thing, if he is a Microsoft Updates zealot, he might find that he has to install some of them again, because Windows 98 doesn't protect critical files like later versions do, so a reinstall causes some files to revert to the original.  Also, he might find that with 98 he has to reinstall some newer hardware, such as any USB 2.0 PCI card he might have added etc. as 98 doesn't always auto detect and set up everything from it's own drivers database.

It goes without saying that he will back up any really important documents, spreadsheets etc. even if it has to be to floppy disk in Safe Mode, although I have never lost anything.  Also, if he uses Outlook Express as his mail client, he might want to move the Store Folder to somewhere other than the default location as Windows might overwrite it, although as I always use my own location I am only surmising.

[Simon]

Thanka Dave, I'll pass that on.

[Sandra]

Update:-  He's tried to run scandisk and it apparently gets about 75% through and then hangs.

Does it really hang or is it just taking its time fixing things at that point Simon ?
It should really be able to finish a scandisk eventually and that may be all it needs to do  

[Simon]

He says he actually left it overnight, and it was still at the same plece in the morning!