Installed Windows update ~ it killed mu PC

Today I was using my PC when I got a notice of a Windows update. I let the PC
update my Windows ME, after restart the pc couldn't find the CD ROM &
wouldn't boot. I replaced the CD ROM & now it gives a Secondary slave disc
fail. I use F! to bypass and windows asks to install new hardware. It will
not see the CD ROM drive so I bypass this & get error message :
Enum\HTREE\ROOT\0 "SURegCreateKey failed!" and the pc just stops here. This
old PC has been around a while and has served me well as mu upload/download
sustem. Yes, this is a Pentium 1 based system in AT case. Is there any fix?
Or should I just keep dumping Windows products and replacing them with Mac? (
I have 10 computers (3 windows XP, 1 windows ME, 1 Luniux, 5 Mac OSX)

A background process prevents registry modifications
http://support.microsoft.com/default...N-US%3BQ305668

It looks like a thorough article with some hope for your machine.

Windows ME was the first MS operating system to use System Restore, so
your old registry may be backed up. I'm just guessing.

Consider disk maintenance prior to updates. Run disk Clean Up and even
defrag the drive when needed. Microsoft operating systems will fail
Critical Updates, virus definition updates, and all sorts of changes if
disk space is low. You will not see a message unless you read the
System logs.

A background process prevents registry modifications
http://support.microsoft.com/default...N-US%3BQ305668

It looks like a thorough article with some hope for your machine.

Windows ME was the first MS operating system to use System Restore, so
your old registry may be backed up. I'm just guessing.

Consider disk maintenance prior to updates. Run disk Clean Up and
defrag the drive when needed. Microsoft operating systems will fail
Critical Updates, virus definition updates, and all sorts of changes if
disk space is low. There are usually no dialog boxes to report low
disk space, instead events are quietly written to the System Log.