Why would I want to do it?

There is only one reason to uninstall the PCHealth system - because it's broke, and you've tried everything else!

So first - which part of it is broken? - have you trawled through the rest of this site to see what you can find? - have you asked around  the ME newsgroups? (is it them that pointed you here?) Have you searched Google for any similar problems (and Google Groups, particularly)?

Without the PCHealth system, all your hard-earned safety-nets in Windows ME are gone - Help, System Restore, System File Protection, System Information are the most obvious, and most valuable. Once you start the process below, you MUST complete it, or you're doomed to a life without assistance from F1 or System Information.

What do I need to do first?

Print out these instructions for reference before you even think about using them!!!!!!!!!!!! (it would also be a good idea to copy/paste them to a TXT file on the desktop, since there's a couple of commands that are rather complex, and you can copy/paste them from there to the relevant area).

The first thing is to ensure that the registry that we have currently is a 'good one' - by running 'SCANREG /FIX' from the Start | Run dialog box (windows will reboot - and you should be 'good to go')

Also a good idea is to check that you know where to find the file PRECOPY1.CAB on your PC - do a search on your PC for the folder containing the PRECOPY1.CAB - it's probably either C:\Windows\Options\CABS or C:\Windows\Options\INSTALL (depending on whether your system is OEM or a clean install from an MS disc) so that you can point MSCONFIG to the right folder at the right time.

How to uninstall

This should in theory completely remove System File Protection, System Restore, and the Help and Support system, of which System Information is part.

This can be done from a normal mode windows boot, using the following
command (from the Start | Run dialog box)

rundll.exe setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection Uninstall 132 C:\WINDOWS\INF\PCHealth.inf


this (single) line and the similar one in the reinstall section are case-sensitive, and very prone to corruption in typing - so use copy/paste if possible. There are four spaces in the line - e to s, n to U, l to 1, and 2 to C

Reboot to Windows

OK - it's out - Now what?

Use MSCONFIG to extract a new copy of the PCHealth.inf file (from PRECOPY1.CAB) to C:\Windows\INF (this puts the correct installation routine back into the C:\Windows\INF folder)

Reboot again

How to reinstall

Start | Run, and copy/paste the following line into the dialog box, and click OK

C:\windows\rundll.exe setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection PCHealth.Install 132 C:\WINDOWS\INF\PCHealth.inf


(There are four spaces in the line - e to s, n to P, l to 1, and 2 to C)

Reboot again

How to check it out

With any luck, you should now have at least a functional System Restore, a functional System File Protection, and a functioning System Information - whether Help & Support works properly depends on a couple of other updates - to the JET engine, and to the MDAC engine.

To check this, try the following
 
  1. check the version of C:\Windows\System\SMGR.DLL - it should be 4.90.0.3003
  2. Look to see whether there is a single Restore Point available - dated the time of the last reboot
  3. Check the size of the C:\_Restore folder (it shouldn't be more than about 20MB)
  4. Check that SR is enabled in System Properties | Performance | File System | Troubleshooting
  5. Check that *Statemgr is ticked in MSCONFIG
  6. Create a desktop shortcut to anything (even a blank one should do), and then try to restore back to the new restore point - what happens?
  7. Can you create a new manual restore point?
  8. What happens when you try to open System Information?
  9. Try opening Help&Support - what happens? - what's the EXACT error message
     

What next? - I still have problems

If your System Restore isn't working - check through the other pages at Millennium PCHealth and System Restore

If Help&Support isn't working, (particularly if errors 2147143679 or 2147024891) show, then try the page Help & Support troubleshooting

If System Information is failing, then email me - I don't have an answer for you (yet), but the more information I get, the closer we can come to a resolution.

If there's any other problem, then I'm afraid it's back to searching out solutions in the newsgroups - at least this time, you'll know that the PCHealth system itself is OK, so the solution must lie outside it. Unfortunately, that could also mean that the error may take a long time to discover and solve:(

Other sources of help......

The newsgroups - this one is probably the best (just click on the link, if you use OE - it should open and create an account for you to start posting and reading the past posts. Outlook Express's Help files are pretty good, and it's my newsreader of choice for the MS groups)

news://msnews.microsoft.com/microsoft.public.windowsme.systemtools

Jim Eshelman's Aumha.org - www.aumha.org/win4/ for general assistance with Win9x problems - and a good jumping-off point for elsewhere in the support world.

MSKB articles (see Millennium PCHealth and System Restore for a full list)

267952 - Description of PCHealth in Windows Millennium Edition

267951 - Description of the System Restore Utility in Windows Millennium Edition

325296 - Support WebCast Overview of PCHealth in Windows Millennium

Copyright © 2003-2007, Noel Paton

This page was last updated 16/03/2009

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