We’ve decided that this flat has some kind of electronic death jinx. In the not-quite-a-month since I moved in, my iPod died (and then came back), Andrew’s monitor died, Marysia’s new computer shat itself and then her scanner blew up, and today, both Andrew’s new TV and his computer have choked.

I’ve spent the night fighting with his machine, which bluescreens whenever you try to boot in anything but safe mode. I have got somewhere, in that I’ve determined what doesn’t work. I suspect that something has gone bad in the registry after I installed an Alcatel USB modem, but I don’t know what – the one site I found that was any help was pointing me at keys that simply weren’t in his registry. I’ve uninstalled everything I can think of to do with the modem, and still it throws a wobbly.

Here’s a question, kids – I don’t know much about Win98: if I simply re-install Win98 over the top of his current installation, will that wipe all his files and bits and pieces, or is it bright enough to only write over it’s own system bits? Would doing this repair a damaged system? Would Andrew be left spending weeks replacing all his old shotcuts and gubbins?

Basically – how can I fix a fucked Win98 install without resorting to a complete wipe clean? Are there any tools out there to help me with the registry? Or anything?