Windows 98 boot-up problem [Archive]

PCR

July 21st 04, 05:42 AM

How rapidly does it jump from 55% to 85%? How large is the partition? I
guess Scandisk may behave that way, if you've done more than one in a
row. It gets to be quicker, when little/nothing has been done between
them. The effect is even more dramatic in Defrag.

"START, Run, MSConfig" & turn off the Startup Group, Config.sys &
Autoexec.bat. (Note: when you later turn them back on, all items in them
will get checked. So, note what may be unchecked first.)

Can you boot to Normal Mode now? If so, there is some troubleshooting to
do, using MSConfig...

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;281965
How to Troubleshoot Using the Msconfig Utility with Windows 98
(281965) - This article describes how to use the Microsoft System
Configuration (Msconfig) utility to troubleshoot configuration errors in
Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition.

BUT BE CAREFUL-- better not disable System.ini & Win.ini, because that
can be trouble. Well, if you are sure of your Registry backups, actually
those two can be recovered this way...

(a) Boot to DOS. (Hold Ctrl for the Startup Menu, & select "Command
Prompt Only".)
(b) Scanreg /Restore
(c) Ctrl-Alt Del to Windows.

It will offer five dates. Choose the one of the last successful boot, to
start. These backups are done at boot, not at shut down. This should be
safe to do, if you haven't done anything to files in the mean time. This
will not restore files other than those .ini's & the Registry. It only
restores settings.

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"Cheryl Post" > wrote in message
...
| My system won't boot, I get the Microsoft Windows 98
| screen, the bar on the bottom cycles but then seems to
| freeze. The system will boot in 'safe mode', and when I
| shut down, says 'it is safe to turn off your computer'.
| When I restart my computer, the same non-boot happens
| again, seems that something isn't loading and/or the disk
| isn't being accessed to get everything in the start-up
| routine. If I do a 'scan disk', it goes up to 55%
| complete, then rapidly jumps to 85% and then incrementally
| to 100% (possibly missing the scan of a portion of the
| disk?)...I don't know enough about MS-DOS to go through
| the step-by-step process, and when I look under System
| Information-Software Environment-Startup Process, I don't
| know enough to know what should/shouldn't be there that
| may be causing this?

Gary S. Terhune

July 21st 04, 12:44 PM

First of all, it would be good to bring your system up to snuff, and =
make sure malware (malicious software) is not responsible. As an added =
bonus, the Clean Boot instructions I give will introduce you to =
MSCONFIG, a trouble-shooting tool that will help you find the culprit =
(if cleaning out junk doesn't fix the problem.) Why don't you take an =
hour or two to review the material, then use MSCONFIG in Safe Mode to =
disable optional items as discussed in the Clean Boot article. See if it =
will then boot to Normal Mode. If so, you can re-enable items in the =
MSCONFIG list, one by one, until you find the culprit.

Something you should understand is that as long as you are without =
antivirus and spyware protection, and especially if you're not behind a =
top-notch firewall, as soon as you go online you are exposing yourself =
to re-infection. For this reason, it's wise to disconnect (physically) =
from the internet until you get things figured out. Download necessary =
applications on someone else's computer, burn them to CD, for instance. =
Most, if not all, of these apps can be installed and run in Safe Mode. =
Problem is getting them from your CD to your machine (Safe Mode does =
*not* work for this.) Use a Windows Startup floppy boot disk to do that =
chore.)

The below includes everything I think is necessary, no more, and =
certainly no less. Yes, there are valid differences of opinion regarding =
which antivirus software to use, but the rest of my suggestions have =
fairly unanimous support among the cognoscenti. The initial suggestions =
go hand in hand with maintaining a clean and secure system.

See my article, "Clean Boot--What it is and why you need it"
. g=
bl

Because some of the more recent known invaders are capable of =
interfering
with the suggestions contained in the above, I suggest you also consider
first doing the following, though it may be necessary to set up a clean
boot, and even then manually kill a malicious process or two before you =
can
even get these accomplished. Many invaders are built to first detect and
disable protections that are in place, so that you might, for instance, =
have
to obtain and employ a DOS-boot antivirus like F-Prot. Repeated running =
of
scanners, booting back and forth from Safe Mode to Normal, or into DOS
Mode--a lot of gymnastics are often required to get to an error-free and
nasties-free condition. Once there, however, some user sanity and =
education,
plus regular "wetware" updating, will *keep* your system healthy.

Update your Antivirus, run a full scan. Then, if you haven't already,
obtain, update, and run any or all of the following
Trojan/Parasite/Adware/Spyware cleaners. I recommend getting and running
*all* of them. They each target slightly different things. Again, be =
sure
you update the definitions they are using to identify crap before =
running
them, each time you run them--which, depending on your surfing habits,
should be anything from once a month, to once a week, to once a day, to =
once
an hour if you're really into junkware sites (aka "Free goodies", game
sites, fun-places-to-be, etc.)

Tradition had it that Firewalls were generally not needed when using =
simple
dial-up modem connections. Alas, this is no longer the case. *Everyone*
needs a firewall! Also, I make no bones about it--Norton, McAfee and
Trend-Micro products (and probably a few others) are ABOMINATIONS!,
particularly when it comes to Win9x systems. They are massive suites =
that
intrude into basic functions where they simply do not need to go. For
freeware solutions, I suggest AVG or AVAST (based upon the =
recommendations
of others, though each has it's minor drawbacks) and ZoneAlarm Firewall. =
But
for really good, inexpensive, and trustworthy protection, you simply =
can't
beat eTrust Armor. Antivirus and Firewall combined, very non-intrusive =
upon
the system itself (I've *never* seen a crash caused by EZ Antivirus, and
there's hardly any impact whatsoever on Resources, etc.) eTrust is from
Computer Associates Inc.--the antivirus is a version of their corporate
product usually known as Inoculan, and they got smart recently and =
switched
to using a version of ZoneAlarm for their firewall.

You can get a one-year free trial of eTrust EZ Armor at
http://www.my-etrust.com/microsoft/. This offer was initially slated to =
end
this June, but has been extended through February 2005. The trial offer =
is
also included in at least some versions (not sure about all languages) =
of
Microsoft's Windows Security Update CD, an item *everyone* should own.
(However, do *not* just run the Update CD on your system without a =
proper
analysis of where your system stands with regard to Updates. Might do =
more
harm than good.) EZ Armor would normally cost $50 for the first year (a =
deal
in itself), and yearly renewal subscriptions only cost $25--an absolute
steal when compared with other offerings. Order the Windows Security =
Update
CD directly from MS, totally free, including S&H, at
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/cd/order.asp

In addition to Antivirus and Firewall protection, I consider the =
following
items to be indispensable protection and clean-up utilities. My judgment =
is
based upon their being free, good, accurate, and safe, if handled =
correctly.
See, also, suggestions from MVP Mike Burgess on his site,
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/, particularly the general Windows/IE
Security page, http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/security.htm. More =
current
discussions of Security issues can be found at the Windows Support =
Center
(provided by MVP Jim Eshelman, a true Saint!) at http://www.aumha.org

(SpyBot S&D =3D "SpyBot Search & Destroy")

Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/
SpyBot S&D http://www.safer-networking.org/index.php?page=3Ddownload
HijackThis http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/HijackThis.exe
CWShredder http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/files/cwshredder.zip
Spyware Blaster http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

PLEASE! Before doing any of these, see also,
http://www.mvps.org/inetexplorer/Darnit.htm for suggestions and =
cautionary
information about internet surfing, and some important hints about using =
the
above. ESPECIALLY, be aware that HijackThis scans result in a LOT of =
stuff
that you *don't* want to delete. The admonishment to save a log and show =
it
to an expert is critically good advice. Not following that advice can =
really
do some damage to your system. SpyBot S&D, too, is capable of similar
problems, especially if you change default scan settings, or "Immunize".

An additional tool that is very helpful in protecting your machine is a
HOSTS file. Microsoft MVP Mike Burgess maintain a frequently updated =
list of
bad sites. They may be sites that provide most of the junky =
advertisements
you see in other places, or sites that install spyware/adware, or that, =
for
whatever reason, you shouldn't allow into your system. Using the HOSTS
file, you can redirect such addresses to a site that's guaranteed will =
fail
to load on most machines--your own computer.
HOSTS Overview -- http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm

After using it for some time, now, I also consider MVP George Geyde's =
HOSTS File Manager an indispensable tool. I've been amazed at how well =
this one tool stopped most of the crap from getting in in the first =
place. You can find it at the bottom of this page:
http://www.mvps.org/PracticallyNerded/Software.htm

--=20
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP for Win9x
=20
"Cheryl Post" > wrote in message =
...
> My system won't boot, I get the Microsoft Windows 98=20
> screen, the bar on the bottom cycles but then seems to=20
> freeze. The system will boot in 'safe mode', and when I=20
> shut down, says 'it is safe to turn off your computer'.=20
> When I restart my computer, the same non-boot happens=20
> again, seems that something isn't loading and/or the disk=20
> isn't being accessed to get everything in the start-up=20
> routine. If I do a 'scan disk', it goes up to 55%=20
> complete, then rapidly jumps to 85% and then incrementally=20
> to 100% (possibly missing the scan of a portion of the=20
> disk?)...I don't know enough about MS-DOS to go through=20
> the step-by-step process, and when I look under System=20
> Information-Software Environment-Startup Process, I don't=20
> know enough to know what should/shouldn't be there that=20
> may be causing this?