Windows 7: Help with restore disc and older PC

Shadowfax1776 · 12 Aug 2010

I gave my 88 year old mother an old PC for her to check her email once a week. Yahoo is the ONLY WEBSITE that she uses. She has a dialup ISP and Windows 98. The computer's date reverts to 1999 everytime it's turned on so the "security certificate" for Yahoo is "out of date" and the date must be changed. There is also a lot of "junk" on the PC that she doesn't need. She is computer illiterate and drives me crazy!

I have only a "bootable restore disc" so my question is: Can I uninstall or delete everything on the PC and then put the restore disc in to get rid of the problems and sluggishness of the PC?

DocBrown · 12 Aug 2010

Maybe the CMOS battery is dying that holds the date in the Bios setup. & that is why it reverts back to 1999. Can you give us more specs on the computer ? Make & Model, Motherboard, etc ? I have several win98 computers still running fine with Yahoo.

DeaconFrost · 12 Aug 2010

It sounds like a faulty CMOS battery, like mentioned above. It would revert the data back to the original date of the motherboard. Those are usually $2-3 and can be found in grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.

You just have to pull it from the system to get the correct 4 digit number, and then make sure the new one goes in the same way...face down or up.

Shadowfax1776 · 12 Aug 2010

Thanks Doc Brown (love the avatar)
eMachine 466id, Intel Celeron, 256k RAM, 8GB HD

If I uninstall everything but the Win98 second ed., and use the Restore CD, will that help? (assuming it's not the battery?)

Shadowfax1776 · 12 Aug 2010

Also thanks to Deacon Frost

Assuming the battery is replaced, and the date problem is solved.....the PC is terribly slow, and sometimes the website takes 2-3 minutes to come up. Will the Restore disc and deleting/uninstalling unwanted software help the speed?

bjproc · 12 Aug 2010

i think the speed of the website will be due to the dial-up

DocBrown · 12 Aug 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by Shadowfax1776

Thanks Doc Brown (love the avatar)
eMachine 466id, Intel Celeron, 256k RAM, 8GB HD

If I uninstall everything but the Win98 second ed., and use the Restore CD, will that help? (assuming it's not the battery?)

I just powered up my eMachine e400. It has 160mb ram & win98 se, 20gb HD.
Loaded with a lot of old programs, but I connect to the internet via cable connection.
So I don't think restoring will make much difference, it's basically the Dial-Up connection that is the slowest thing causing the problem. Plus if you restore with the disc, you will not be able to get any Windows Updates for Win98, that may already have been installed / updated currently, since Microsoft NO longer supports internet update of Win98.

Here is a link on the CMOS battery :

How to replace the CMOS battery.

grizzlybear · 12 Aug 2010

If changing the battery doesn't work, you could always add DATE and TIME commands to the autoexec.bat file. This would allow her to manually set the perameters and would hold it for as long as the computer is powered up. Granted it's not the best fix, but it is an option. Grizzly Bear

bjproc · 12 Aug 2010

Quote: Originally Posted by DocBrown

Quote: Originally Posted by Shadowfax1776

Thanks Doc Brown (love the avatar)
eMachine 466id, Intel Celeron, 256k RAM, 8GB HD

If I uninstall everything but the Win98 second ed., and use the Restore CD, will that help? (assuming it's not the battery?)

I just powered up my eMachine e400. It has 160mb ram & win98 se, 20gb HD.
Loaded with a lot of old programs, but I connect to the internet via cable connection.
So I don't think restoring will make much difference, it's basically the Dial-Up connection that is the slowest thing causing the problem. Plus if you restore with the disc, you will not be able to get any Windows Updates for Win98, that may already have been installed / updated currently, since Microsoft NO longer supports internet update of Win98.

Here is a link on the CMOS battery :

How to replace the CMOS battery.

is there not a way to save the updates already installed to disc then restore the system, place the updates back into the folder and it'll update the OS?

gregrocker · 12 Aug 2010

Do you have an extra retail copy of XP you're not using?

Otherwise, I'd uncheck everything that doesn't absolutely have to start up with computer (Google each to see) in msconfig if there is one on Win98, then clean and defrag the HD to see if it becomes more responsive.

Windows 7: Help with restore disc and older PC

Help with restore disc and older PC problems?