Windows ME + MS-DOS 8.00
Tweaks + Secrets - Part 1

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See "BYPASS AUTOSCAN", also in OSR2TIPS.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE], for more details.

This may NOT work in Windows ME if using a default setup, or may work on a "modded" copy, ONLY IF native/real/true/pure MS-DOS mode is restored by installing Unofficial DOS Patch, which modifies COMMAND.COM + IO.SYS (from C:\Windows\Command\EBD) and REGENV32.EXE (from C:\Windows\System) to allow Windows ME to boot to native/real/true/pure MS-DOS 8.00 and use AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files, Windows 95/98 style.
But even if it doesn't work, there is another fix, described in this MSKB article.
To do this, run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem

Right-click in the right hand pane -> select New if absent or Modify if present -> click Binary Value if New -> name it "DisableScandiskOnBoot" -> click OK -> double-click on it -> type 01 -> click OK or press Enter.
Close the Registry editor.
Done.

UPDATE: "There is an easier way to do this: run MSCONFIG from the Start button -> Run... box -> click the Advanced button -> check the "Disable Scandisk after bad shutdown" box -> click OK twice."
[Thank you Peter!]

"To reduce the minimum and/or maximum hard disk space Windows ME System Restore uses, e.g. to go below the 200 MB minimum allowed, run Regedit and go to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\StateMgr\Cfg\ReservedDiskSpace

and also to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\StateMgr\ReservedDiskSpace

Change the "Max" and "Min" DWORD Values in the Decimal boxes to whatever you want."

"You are trying to setup the OEM release of Windows ME on a computer that already has an Operating System installed. Get the upgrade version and try again."

and Setup will abort. :(
But there is a workaround [:)]:

1. Make sure you are running Windows (whatever version you have).
   Pop in your "shiny" WinME Setup CD-ROM and copy the entire \WIN9X folder to your hard drive, either from a DOS box/session:

   MD C:\WIN9X
   COPY D:\WIN9X\*.* C:\WIN9X

   or by using Windows Explorer [or File Manager (FM) = C:\WINDOWS\WINFILE.EXE]: highlight and drag the D:\WIN9X directory to your C:\ drive.
   This requires at least 160 MB of free space on your target drive/partition.
   These examples presume that D is your CD-ROM/CD-R/CD-RW/DVD drive letter. Change it if different.

2. Reboot to the native/real/true/pure MS-DOS prompt: hold Shift and press F5 during the BIOS POST (Power On Self Test) bootup screen, or select the "Command prompt only" option from the Microsoft Windows 98 (95) Startup Menu if using Windows 95/OSR2/98, or REMark with a double colon (::) the WIN command (if any) from your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (edit it with Notepad in Windows or EDIT.COM in DOS), if using Windows/WfWG 3.1x.

3. Rename the WIN.COM and WINVER.EXE files located in your (old) main Windows directory (usually C:\Windows) to something like (example):

   REN C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM WIN.CO!
   REN C:\WINDOWS\WINVER.EXE WINVER.EX!

   The principle is to change these files' extensions (.COM and .EXE) to something else.
   If you have more than one Windows copies on your hard disk(s), make sure to rename ALL WIN.COM and WINVER.EXE instances!

4. Now run the WinME Setup from C:\WIN9X (see paragraph 1 above), preferably in GUI mode, from inside your old Windows copy.
   BEWARE that if your older Windows release was installed in C:\Windows, you may need to rename the target folder in which Setup will attempt to install WinME, from (typical case) C:\Windows.000 to C:\Windows (or whatever else you called it), to MATCH your existing Windows directory.
   To do this, hold Alt and press Tab BEFORE letting Setup proceed with the installation, and open Windows Explorer: highlight C:\Windows.000 -> right-click on it -> select Rename -> type Windows (or whatever folder name holds your existing Windows copy) -> press Enter. You can also do this from File Manager: highlight C:\WINDOWS.000 -> select Rename from the File menu -> type WINDOWS (or whatever directory name holds your existing Windows copy) -> press Enter.
   Now hit the Alt + Tab "combo" once again to return to WinME Setup, and resume the installation.

5. Over and out.

FYI: SU0168 Error During Installation.

UPDATE:
"In case Windows Media Player 9.0 (WMP9) was previously installed this error will occur:
"SUWIN caused a general protection fault in module verx.dll"
and both Close + Ignore buttons will terminate the setup process. :(
The workaround is to rename the %windir%\SYSTEM\WMPLOC.DLL file [%windir% = usually C:\WINDOWS] AND the "C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player" folder to anything else.
At this time during setup a new %windir%\WIN.COM was also created, which MUST be renamed or deleted for setup to complete successfully."
[Thank you Michael!]

• Win98 retail:

  EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_41.CAB SYSEDIT.EXE %windir%\SYSTEM

• Win98 SE:

  EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_46.CAB SYSEDIT.EXE %windir%\SYSTEM

This presumes that your CD/DVD drive letter is D. Change it if necessary.
Type EXIT and hit Enter to close the DOS box.
Finally, you can create a shortcut for it, i.e. under Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> call it System Configuration Editor.
Done.

FYI: Alternatively, or if you don't have a Win98 or 98 SE Setup CD-ROM, try this freeware System Editor [31 KB, works with ALL Win95/98/ME releases].

"If you have removed, or installed WinME without PCHealth or/and System Restore [see the "UNINSTALL PCHEALTH + SYSTEM RESTORE" article further below], you have probably noticed that MS Info (MsInfo32.exe) is missing. :(
To get it back, you need to have a Win98 or 98 SE Setup CD-ROM. Pop it in, open a DOS prompt box, and run:

EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_24.CAB MSINFO32.CHM %windir%\Help

Then create this folder if not present:

MD C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo

Then run:

EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_46.CAB MSINFO32.EXE C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\MSInfo

This implies that D is your CD/DVD drive letter. Change it if necessary.
Type EXIT and hit Enter to close the DOS box.
Finally, you can create a shortcut for it under Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> call it Microsoft System Information.
Done.
Do NOT try to extract or run the MSINFO32.EXE file from the WinME Setup CD-ROM. It doesn't work!"

FYI:

• More MsInfo32 details.
• Alternatively, or if you don't have a Win98 or 98 SE Setup CD-ROM, try the free Hardware Info (C:\Windows\HwInfo.exe) tool bundled with WinME, which does a similar job.
  For HWInfo usage details see "HARDWARE INFORMATION", also in TIPS98.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

"WinME Regedit.exe added a new feature: always displays the last accessed Registry key [sometimes an annoyance :(] without a way of disabling it from within the GUI. But there are 2 workarounds:

1. First, rename WinME C:\Windows\Regedit.exe to RegedME.exe if you ever wish to use it again.
   For this you need to have a Win98 or 98 SE Setup CD-ROM. Pop it in, open a DOS prompt box, and run this command:

   EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_46.CAB REGEDIT.EXE %windir%

   to extract the Win98/98 SE version of Regedit.exe to your Windows ME folder.
   This implies that D is your CD/DVD drive letter. Change if necessary.
   Type EXIT and hit Enter to close the DOS box.

2. If you don't have a Win98 or 98 SE Setup CD-ROM, place this REGEDIT.VBS file [right-click to save!] into the folder of your choice.

   Finally, create a shortcut for either of these files above, i.e. under Start Menu -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> call it Registry Editor.
   From now on run this shortcut every time you want to edit your Registry, instead of WinME Regedit executable, to temporarily disable the "LastKey" feature."

   UPDATE: "This doesn't work if VBS (MS Visual Basic Script) file types are disabled (do NOT execute) when (double)-clicked. My Registry Editor shortcut points to:
   %windir%\WSCRIPT.EXE regedit.vbs
   in order to run the VBS script properly."
   [Thank you Gal!]

3. This workaround courtesy of Carlo.

   "Use Notepad to create a Registry file to contain the text below (between the Cut & Paste lines), and name it for example LASTKEY.REG:

   -----Begin cut & paste here-----
   REGEDIT4
   
   [HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Regedit]
   "LastKey"=""
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Regedit]
   "LastKey"=""
   
   ------End cut & paste here------

   This canNOT be done directly using Regedit.exe, because this way it WILL "remember" this Reg key as the last accessed one. :(
   Then create a DOS batch file in Notepad (e.g. REGEDIT.BAT) with these lines:

   @ECHO OFF
   START/W REGEDIT.EXE
   REGEDIT.EXE /S %windir%\LASTKEY.REG
   CLS
   EXIT

   and place it into your main Windows ME folder (usually C:\WINDOWS).
   Then create a new MS-DOS shortcut: right-click on a Desktop empty spot -> select New -> Shortcut -> type REGEDIT.BAT in the "Command line:" box -> click Next -> type Registry Editor in the "Select a name for the shortcut:" box -> click Next -> choose a suggestive icon -> click Finish -> place your newly created PIF (MS-DOS Program Information File) shortcut into the C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\System Tools folder (see above).
   From now on run this DOS shortcut instead of Regedit.exe to wipe out its last accessed key every time upon exit."

"These are 10 modifications I have made to Windows ME to gain SIGNIFICANT increase in speed, performance and security. I have tested these settings for over a month and haven't encountered any problems. After applying these tweaks my free resources increased from 95% to 99%.

Before you decide to actually give up these WinME features for the extra speed, you should read this page.

NOTE: After you read that info keep in mind that the developers and testers for these features never encountered a worm or trojan, or they would have known that PC Health and System Restore will usually reinstall a trojan, because they take your system back to the previous state, before your "cleaning" modifications were made. Their ideas are good, but unfortunately they don't live in the real world, and they can probably afford 1+ GHz processors and fast hard drives and don't notice the deterioration of speed compared to Win9x.

1. Disable System Restore + Floppy Check:

   Open Control Panel -> System -> Performance Tab -> File System -> Troubleshooting area -> uncheck the "Disable System Restore" box -> reboot.
   While there, click the Floppy Disk tab -> untick the box so the system doesn't check for a NEW floppy drive every time it starts.

   UPDATE: System File Protection (SFP) is a feature implemented in Windows ME which ensures that files critical to system operation are not replaced by older versions or versions not approved by Microsoft.
   This means that even applications developed by Microsoft cannot replace "protected" files with older versions. It also means that a 3rd party product can replace system files, but only if the file ships with a catalog signed by Microsoft that references the newer file. It is important to note that SFP cannot be normally turned off without altering the Registry: see "UNINSTALL PCHEALTH + SYSTEM RESTORE", also in TIPSME.TXT, part of W95-11D.EXE, for details!
   I thought this was going to create problems, and sure enough this Microsoft report came out:

   "We did a couple of things with Windows ME that really helped solve a bunch of other issues but ended up creating temporary issues with 8 applications," said Greg Sullivan, product manager for Windows ME at Microsoft. "The good news is virtually all of them have updates available, or will shortly." Basically, the problems are caused by a new feature in Windows ME: System File Protection.
   This feature "prevents core files from being overwritten," according to Sullivan. In the past, many outside applications overwrote certain system files, an action that Microsoft says results in a more crash-prone PC. By eliminating the ability to overwrite system files, Windows ME is less likely to crash, Sullivan says. But some application developers have not yet updated their programs to recognize this change."

   I have not experienced this myself, although I do run programs from Symantec and Adaptec that are listed as having such problems.

2. Uninstall Pc Health:

   Start -> Run -> type:

   %windir%\Pchealth\Support\Pchsetup /UNINSTALL

   This also REMOVES the Help engine (uninstalls Windows Help), no longer available in the Start Menu or anywhere else. There is no way of restoring Help (that I'm aware of), short of reinstalling WinME. :( But few people have found Help useful anyway. :)
   See also "UNINSTALL PCHEALTH + SYSTEM RESTORE", also in TIPSME.TXT [part of W95-11D.EXE].

3. "Normal" AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files still canNOT be used [WinME overwrites/deletes them upon EVERY (re)boot :(], unless one applies the Unofficial DOS Patch, which modifies COMMAND.COM and IO.SYS (from C:\Windows\Command\EBD) and REGENV32.EXE (from C:\Windows\System) to allow Windows ME to boot to native/real/true/pure MS-DOS and use DOS mode startup files (AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS), Windows 95/98 style, to be able to use your (old) MS-DOS based apps/games that do NOT work from within a Windows DOS session/box, and tweak your CUSTOM AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files to free MAXimum conventional DOS memory. :)
   See MEMORY.TXT (part of W95-11D.EXE) for complete memory management guidelines.

4. Turn off Automatic Updating:

   This will hog your modem for up to 30 minutes every day the first time you go on line if not turned off.
   Start -> Settings -> Taskbar -> Advanced -> check Expand Control Panel -> close it -> click Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Automatic Updates -> turn OFF Automatic Updating.

5. Disable these Start menu settings:

   Start -> Run -> type Msconfig and press Enter. Click the Startup tab -> UNCHECK PcHealth, StateMgr, SchedulingAgent and TaskMon. Finally reboot, so all these changes can take effect.

   UPDATE: "TaskMon is VITAL for monitoring the loading of programs so that they can be optimized during Defrag for faster loading. Therefore I recommend NOT disabling it."
   [Thank you Guy!]

6. Run Windows Explorer -> click on Tools -> Folder Options -> View -> select "Show hidden files and folders" -> browse the C: drive -> delete the _Restore folder. Hold your Shift key so it doesn't move it to the Recycle bin while you press Del. This folder can have hundreds of megs of Temp files if you have been running WinME for a while with the system Restore and PC Health on. If you get a "Sharing violation" error message or if the _Restore folder reappears again in the future, you haven't successfully turned off Pc Health and System Restore.
   NOTE: If you update MS IE 5.5 to enjoy the advanced Cookie control, it may (re)create the _Restore folder.

7. See if anything unnecessary is running all the time:

   Press Ctrl + Alt + Del at the same time, after you have first booted up and see what programs are loaded. You may find several programs running that don't need to run all the time. Most of them, if actually needed, can be loaded from the Start -> Programs menu.

8. Don't let Windows run HTA, SHS, VB and Windows Scripts automatically:

   These file associations allow viruses (like "ILOVEYOU" and its "clones") to infect your system.
   Open Windows Explorer -> click Tools -> Folder Options -> File Types -> go to: HTA (HTML Application), SHS (Scrap Object), VBE, VBS (VB Script), JS, JSE (Java Script), WSF and WSH (Windows Script). Highlight each File Type above -> click the Advanced button -> click the Edit button -> click the New button -> add a new action called (for example) Run -> type this command line (including the quotes) in the "Application used to perform action:" box:

   C:\Windows\Notepad.exe "%1" %*

   Click OK -> click Set Default to make Run the default action -> click Close.

9. EVERY week:

   Backup all modified files, Defrag the system, Update virus definitions and scan the whole system with Norton AntiVirus AND AntiViral Toolkit Pro. Run Ad-Aware to fight spying that at least 100 programs are known to perform. I do this mainly to save wasted bandwidth for data and ads passing back and forth.
   I'm running ZoneAlarm Pro to monitor all programs and report if anything tries to access the internet. I don't like programs "calling home" without my permission. :)

10. WinME does not use C:\COMMAND.COM or %windir%\WIN.COM.

    I have found that deleting these files (which are NECESSARY for Win95/98) does not make any difference for WinME.
    BACK THEM UP FIRST!
    Many trojans and viruses target these 2 programs in order to take control and spread.

BONUS! Cool DOS feature:

DOSKEY.COM runs automatically from C:\Windows\Command\CMDINIT.BAT when a DOS box/session is started. This allows recalling the past commands you have run from the DOS prompt by pressing the up arrow or Page Up keys.
See this MSKB article for more info."

"Here is how to permanently uninstall the PCHealth and System Restore tools from Windows ME, to be able to prevent System Restore from making new backups, AND unprotect ALL "_Restore" folders and files, to allow their deletion (to rid your disk of bloat files), which would be otherwise impossible.
The only disadvantage is that the Help item from Start Menu and the Windows Help system has to go too [:(], but you can still access Help from your applications' Help menu, or if you hit F1. :)

WARNING: COMPLETELY uninstalling PCHealth + System Restore may IMPAIR the WinME capability of UPDATING certain system files that depend on these tools, e.g. from Microsoft automatic Windows Update web site!
More info @ MSKB.

1. Launch Notepad, and cut & paste this:

   -----Begin cut & paste here-----
   REGEDIT4
   
   [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
   "NoSMHelp"=hex:01,00,00,00
   
   ------End cut & paste here------

   Save this text file as NOHLP.REG. Double-click on it to merge this information into your Registry. Reboot.
   You may also have to delete the "VXDMon" value from the Registry before going any further (and then reboot). Run Regedit and go to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VxDMon

2. To remove PCHealth from your system, copy the text below, paste it in the Start Menu -> Run box, and then click OK:

   rundll.exe setupx.dll,InstallHinfSection Uninstall 132 %windir%\INF\PCHealth.inf

   This text string is found under this Registry key:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\PCHealth

   This should suffice, but some PCHealth strings are left in the Registry. They won't do any harm, but you might want them out anyway. :)

3. With Regedit open, find and delete these strings:
   • "PCHealth" from:

     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft

   • "PerUser_PCHealth" from:

     HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components

     and:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components

   Then go to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\CLASSES\CLSID\{273380E8-1438-4B2C-95B0-713284FBC302}\ToolboxBitmap32

   and delete the text content in the right hand pane.

4. Finally search in Regedit for StateMgr.exe and delete all matching keys.

5. After uninstalling PCHealth, System File Protection will stop working!
   But if you have a Win98 retail or Win98 SE Setup CD-ROM, you can regain some security by running System File Checker (Sfc.exe).
   Pop in the Win98/98 SE CD-ROM (drive letter D used here, change if different), open a DOS box, and run:

   EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_46.CAB SFC.EXE %windir%\SYSTEM
   EXTRACT D:\WIN98\WIN98_40.CAB SFCDLL.DLL %windir%\SYSTEM

   Now run Sfc.exe and update all system file versions manually!
   Finally, check your file versions (using SFC) on a regular basis, especially after you have installed new software or a system update.

6. After uninstalling PCHealth + System Restore, Windows ME insists on creating the (empty) C:\_Restore folder every time upon startup. :(
   SOLUTION: Replace your WININIT.EXE file located in C:\Windows with this one [42 KB].
   This way you can say goodbye to C:\_Restore for good! :)

7. See this ArsTechnica article for another method.

8. Done!

   This hack works fine for me and hopefully it will do the same for you, with or without any modifications to the steps above."

UPDATES:

1. PCH-KILL (freeware) also removes PC Health + System Restore, but disables WinME Help. :(

2. "System Restore Remover Pro (freeware) safely removes System Restore and PC Health without breaking WinME Help."
   [Thank you Rick!]

   FYI: You can also use Beta 10 OppCommME (freeware) to add/remove/restore ANY Windows ME optional components at will, including PC Health and System Restore.

3. "There is a simpler way to disable System Restore alone, but this will NOT stop System Restore from creating further backups, you won't permanently get rid of this tool, and you won't be able to delete the protected "_Restore" directories and files. To do this: open Control Panel -> System -> Performance Tab -> Troubleshooting area -> check the "Disable System Restore" box -> reboot."
   [Thank you Ken!]
   More info @:
   • MSKB.
   • McAfee.

4. "If you uninstall PCHealth as described above, System File Protection will stop working. Therefore to disable PCHealth AND System Restore do as follows:
   1. Open Control Panel -> System -> Performance Tab -> Troubleshooting area -> check the "Disable System Restore" box -> reboot.

   2. Open Regedit and change the RunServices State Manager item from:

      "*StateMgr"="C:\WINDOWS\System\Restore\StateMgr.exe"

      to read:

      "Stmgr.exe"="C:\WINDOWS\System\Restore\Stmgr.exe"

      either manually (don't type the quotes), or by running this REG file:

      -----Begin cut & paste here-----
      REGEDIT4
      
      [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices]
      "Stmgr.exe"="C:\\WINDOWS\\System\\Restore\\Stmgr.exe"
      "*StateMgr"=""
      
      ------End cut & paste here------

      This will allow System File Protection ONLY to run AND protect system files from being overwritten.

   You can also configure WinME to notify you when it restores replaced system files by changing the "ShowPopups" DWORD Value from 0 to 1 in the Decimal box, or by running this REG file:

   -----Begin cut & paste here-----
   REGEDIT4
   
   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SystemFileProtection]
   "ShowPopups"=dword:00000001
   
   ------End cut & paste here------

   This allows the display of a dialog prompt whenever a protected file is restored or a security catalog is added/removed.
   By default ("ShowPopups" set to 0) replaced system files are restored silently, without prompting."
   [Thank you Marc!]
   More info @ MSKB.

5. "To change the "_Restore" directory location, run Regedit and go to:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VxDMon

   Change ALL directory listings there: "LogDir", "TempDir", "VxdCfg" and "VxdDat" to point to the path of your choice.
   Then open C:\Windows\System\Restore\Datastor.ini in Notepad and change the System Restore target directory location to match the one in the Registry values above."
   [Thank you Roger!]

6. "I've made this custom "tweaked" SETUPPP.INF file [10 KB, zipped] to avoid installing System Restore, PcHealth, MovieMaker and Windows Media Player 7 during a clean WinME Setup.
   The only condition is that you need to run Setup from the C:\WIN9X directory, where you also need to copy ALL WinME Setup files from D:\WIN9X (substitute D with your CD/DVD drive letter if different).
   Necessary steps:
   1. Boot from a MS-DOS 6.xx or MS Win9x Startup floppy with real mode MS-DOS cd-rom support.
   2. Change directory to C root (C:\):
      C:
      CD\
   3. Create the new WIN9X directory on C:
      MD C:\WIN9X
   4. Copy all files from D:\WIN9X (WinME Setup CD-ROM) to C:\WIN9X:
      COPY D:\WIN9X\*.* C:\WIN9X
   5. Copy the custom made SETUPPP.INF file (saved on the same floppy) to C:\WIN9X:
      COPY A:\SETUPPP.INF C:\WIN9X
   6. Change directory to C:\WIN9X:
      CD\WIN9X
   7. Run Setup.exe from there:
      SETUP

   No need to worry about the SETUPPP.INF inside the CAB installation file, as this file will overwrite it. :)
   The only disadvantage is that the WinME Help Engine will NOT work!
   However, ALL application Help files still work: hit F1 or click Help from inside any 32-bit (Win32) program with built-in Help menu.
   NOTES:

   • The System Restore "Disk space use" slider is now grayed out.
     
   • The "C:\_Restore" and "C:\Windows\Pchealth" folders are still created by Setup, but can be safely removed: see paragraph #6 above for the solution!"
   [Thank you Dfushtor!]

7. "I followed your suggestions about disabling/removing PCHealth and System Restore. However, I have discovered one side effect: some people (myself included) were not able to install the latest MS Java Virtual Machine (JVM) Update.
   After some experimentation, we found out that one cannot install the MS JVM build on WinME unless these two "features" are enabled. I have yet to find another MS patch/upgrade that insists on having them enabled."
   [Thank you Randy!]

8. "Here's how to remove PCHealth without losing the Windows ME Help system:
   1. Install the shareware jv16 PowerTools.
   2. Run PowerTools -> go to Options -> Uninstall Menu -> select "Show all software".
   3. Click the Uninstall Menu tab and place a check mark in the "PCHealth" box.
   4. Click the "Uninstall" button at the bottom.
   5. Reboot.

   Now you should be able to delete the "_Restore" folder, and it shouldn't come back.
   WARNING: After doing this I'm getting "Error in Jit.dll" messages with web pages and apps that use Java Scripting. :("
   [Thank you Dave!]

9. "Another way to get rid of System Restore while preserving Windows Help:
   Turn off System Restore while in WinME.
   Reboot to MS-DOS. Then run:
   DELTREE /Y C:\_Restore
   to delete the System Restore folder. Then run:
   EDIT C:\_Restore
   to create a 0 byte file named _Restore. Then run:
   ATTRIB +H +R +S C:\_Restore
   to make the file hidden, read-only and system.
   I've had System Restore set like this for about 2 months with no problems, except when I install a program or system update, I get some errors with this notice:
   "Please wait while Windows updates your configuration files."
   The errors don't seem to be causing any problems, so I figured WinME is trying to write to the read-only _Restore file.
   The _Restore file on both my hard drives stays at zero bytes and the _Restore directory is never rebuilt."
   [Thank you Chuck!]
   More info.

10. More info:
    • Disable SFP + WFP in Windows 2000/ME/XP/2003.
    • Uninstall + Reinstall PCHealth in Windows ME.
    • Windows ME Help + Support Troubleshooting.