How to fix your computer in Windows 98 Startup Menu?

I really need someone's help my labtop is not functioning correctly, and my labtop has everything ive ever done on it and if it screws up my lifes work would be ruined so please i really hope someone knows whats wrong with my labtop. Well anyways heres whats wrong ok now i go to turn my labtop on and yes im using windows 98 anyways well i turn it on and a screen pops up saying Twinhead cause thats what kind of computer i have, after that it asks for a password ok i enter my password . then it shows the windows 98 screen, then in about 2 seconds it goes to a all black screen with white letters and the letters say Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu, then beneath that it has 7 choices it wants me to choose from the first one is 1. Normal 2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT) 3. Safe Mode 4. Safe Mode with Network Support 5. Step by Step Confirmation 6. Command Prompt only 7. Safe mode command prompt only. Thats the 7 choices i have wel l i go to pick one like normal lets say or if i pick safmode or safe mode with network support it always comes up to the windows 98 screen after that well about 10 mins. later it finally comes to another menu and tells me to push any key to continue k i push a key and it turns off my computer. Why wont my computer let me get to my desktop , it was working normally before and all of a sudden it does this, can someone please tell me what i have to do to fix this please!!

This question was answered on December 27, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Any of the following conditions can cause Windows 98 not to start in Safe mode: • Your computer is infected with a virus.For additional information about computer viruses, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

129972 Description of Computer Viruses

• Your computer's CMOS settings are not correct Check your computer's CMOS settings to make sure they are correct Note that you may need to contact the computer manufacturer to verify these settings

• There is a hardware conflict These conflicts can include, but are not limited to, PCI BIOS settings, IRQ conflicts, redundant COM ports (for example, two COM1 ports, or an internal modem set to use the same COM port as an existing serial port), and defective RAM chips

• A setting in the Msdos.sys file needs to be changed (for example, the Logo setting should be set to zero).For additional information about the Msdos.sys file, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

118579 Contents of the Windows Msdos.sys File

• You have a compressed drive that is unable to mount a compressed volume file (CVF).For additional information about how to troubleshoot DriveSpace issues, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

130018 Computer Caught in Reboot Loop After Using DriveSpace

133175 Troubleshooting DriveSpace in Windows 95

If you are still unable to start Windows 98 in Safe mode, run the Windows Registry Checker (Scanreg.exe) tool as there may be a problem with the system registry To start Windows Registry Checker, restart your computer, press and hold CTRL, choose Command Prompt Only, type scanreg, and then press ENTER For additional information about Windows Registry Checker, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

183887 Description of the Windows Registry Checker Tool (Scanreg.exe)

For additional information about receiving an error message that your registry is damaged after you run the Scanreg.exe, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

186909 Registry Checker Continues to Detect Registry Damage

If you are still unable to start Windows 98 in Safe mode after you use Windows Registry Checker, install Windows 98 into a new, empty folder This step helps to establish whether the problem is related to a remnant of the previous operating system (such as a configuration setting) or a hardware problem.

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Windows 98 Starts in Safe Mode

If Windows 98 starts in Safe mode, step through the startup process to see if any devices do not load properly: 1 Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK

2 Click Selective Startup

3 Try different boot options The following table lists several startup options The options are labeled Boot A, Boot B, Boot C To use a boot option, click the appropriate check boxes to select or clear them Follow the instructions below the table to determine the cause of your problem.

Boot A Boot B Boot C

------------------------------------------------------------

Process Config.sys file Yes No Yes

Process Autoexec.bat file Yes No Yes

Process Winstart.bat (if available) Yes Yes No

Process System.ini file No Yes Yes

Process Win.ini file No Yes Yes

Load Startup Group items Yes Yes No

NOTE: The Msconfig tool cannot disable a file that has the read-only attribute, although it behaves as though it can To determine if the Msconfig tool has replaced the file you are attempting to disable with a copy of the file, text similar to the following text should appear at the beginning of the file:

rem

rem *** DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE! ***

rem

rem This file was created by the System Configuration Utility as

rem a placeholder for your AUTOEXEC.BAT file Your actual

rem AUTOEXEC.BAT file has been saved under the name AUTOEXEC.TSH.

rem

NOTE: If Windows 98 does not start normally under any of the following scenarios, see the "Troubleshooting Protected-Mode Driver Problems" section later in this article

First, try the Boot A option If Windows 98 does not start normally under these conditions, try the Boot B option If Windows 98 does start normally using the Boot A option, there is a problem in the System.ini or Win.ini file To find which line in the System.ini or Win.ini file is causing the problem:

a Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box type, and then click OK

b Click the Win.ini tab

c Double-click the Windows folder

d Click to clear the load= and run= check boxes

e Click OK

f When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes

If Windows 98 starts normally using the Boot B option, there is a problem with a driver or terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program being loaded from the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file See the "Troubleshooting TSR Problems" section later in this article

If Windows 98 does not start normally with the Boot A or Boot B options, try the Boot C option If Windows 98 starts normally using the Boot C option, there is a problem with a program that is run during startup See the "Troubleshooting StartUp Folder Problems" section later in this article

If you are still unable to start Windows 98 normally, use the System File Checker tool to check for damaged or replaced system files To start System File Checker, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, click System Information, and then click System File Checker on the Tools menu For information about how to use System File Checker to extract a file, please see the "System File Checker Tool" section of the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

129605 How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files

For additional information about System File Checker, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

185836 Description of the System File Checker Tool (Sfc.exe)

About the author

Posted by Kareem of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on December 27, 2004

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