If you are not getting as far as selecting the OS you want to boot to, then
the problem is in the boot manager. Perhaps there is some disk damage that
prevents the boot manager from finding the systems on the drive. My
preference would be to start with a hard disk drive diagnostic. Suitable
diagnostic programs are supplied by the manufacturer of your hard disk
drive. Once you have confirmed that the hard disk drive is functioning
properly you can examine the settings for the boot manager to determine
whether or not it can identify your operating systems.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"John" wrote in message
...
I have an HP desktop system for many years and ISTR it has a Pentium 400
processor with a 40GB HDD and I run Win98 on it.

The configuration I've got has run for years. But recently something
seems to have happened.

Now I find that when I boot, the BIOS startup seems ok and then my
bootmanager starts. I use "BootIt" and it lives in a tiny partition at
the end of the hard drive. But after about a minute (during which I see
only a blank screen) the system switches itself off.

Can I refresh the system files on the hard drive by using the Win98SE
cd? It's been so long since I'v had to deal with this that I would
welcome any useful tips or things to watch out for.

After doing this Win98 CD refresh then I guess I need to get the Win98
fixes up to the right level and to make any customisations I want to the
systems's apearance .

Is there any other technical work I should do?