computer won't start up

I have a zip drive and downloaded a free copy of Norton Zip Rescue. It
makes a small version of windows and stores it on the zip disk. As
badly damaged as my hard drive becomes, I can always boot up on the
zip drive. A few months ago, I had drive C: partition damage and was
able to run Partition Table Doctor from the zip drive and get running
again.

Shut down the machine.
Start the machine and immediately start tapping the F8 key, at worst you will
get a stuck key error which will present options to continue by pressing a key
or to enter setup by pressing a key. Press the key shown to continue and then
immediately start tapping the F8 key and keep doing so until you get a Startup
Menu.

If you get to the Start Menu select Safe Mode and follow the suggestions
mention previously by Gary and/or others.

--


Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375


"lutra" wrote in message
...
I tried this approach. I just started tapping the F8 key as soon as I saw the
Dell logo, then the screen went to black with the blinking cursor and I could
hear the "tap" each time I pressed the F8 key..... no luck yet with any
WELCOME screen appearing......how I would love to see it, though!

"Brian A." wrote:

lutra,

That sounds like your pressing/holding the F8 key down, that's not the
proper
way. You need to continually, not over-excessively, start tapping the F8 key
immediately when the Dell logo appears and before the Windows welcome screen
appears.

--


Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375


"lutra" wrote in message
...
I tried this........the computer makes a thumping noise when I press down
the
F8 key.....and there is no change on the screen....still just the cursor
blinking..............

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Restart the system. Repeatedly press the F8 key as it starts up until you
get the Startup menu. Choose Safe Mode. Uninstall Norton ENTIRELY. Restart
normally. Did that fix it?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"lutra" wrote in message
...
Hello. Yesterday I started up my computer quite normally. When I opened
OE
it
froze. This happened a number of times and so I restarted in SAFE MODE.
From
there I did a number of things like VIRUS CHECK, SPYBOT and did a delete
and
clean up of files. Scan disk, defrag, etc. Later I went into normal mode
and
tried again.......another freeze up. Did a restart and then disabled
NORTON
Internet Security and ANTIVIRUS. Then OE opened fine and I was able to
do
a
little more work online. Shut down normally.
Today I pushed the start button......did NOT notice any peculiar sounds
or
something out of the ordinary....the screen went just past the DELL
COMPUTER
SCREEN and then to a cursor on the top left, it made its usual starting
noise
and it stops there. Suggestions are welcome.........

All your Norton Tools are ALL your problems. Get rid of them, then see where
you stand.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"Fan924" wrote in message
...
I have a zip drive and downloaded a free copy of Norton Zip Rescue. It
makes a small version of windows and stores it on the zip disk. As
badly damaged as my hard drive becomes, I can always boot up on the
zip drive. A few months ago, I had drive C: partition damage and was
able to run Partition Table Doctor from the zip drive and get running
again.

Fan924 wrote:
| I have a zip drive and downloaded a free copy of Norton Zip Rescue. It
| makes a small version of windows and stores it on the zip disk. As
| badly damaged as my hard drive becomes, I can always boot up on the
| zip drive. A few months ago, I had drive C: partition damage and was
| able to run Partition Table Doctor from the zip drive and get running
| again.

Some have said the Norton utilities & tools were good, despite agreeing
with others that its virus checker has become overbearing &
unmanageable. I am in no position to take sides, because my machine came
with McAfee installed (which finally quit working for Win98 & I've
uninstalled for avast!). Therefore, I am content to let you fight it out
with Terhune & Brian A. what to do with your Norton tools-- but don't
get any blood on me! No, seriously, if they seem to work for you, I tend
to think you might continue with them-- but wait for me to put on my
bullet-proof vest!


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

I have a boot disk..............how do I proceed with it. I have never used
it before.

"PCR" wrote:

lutra wrote:
| Hello. Yesterday I started up my computer quite normally. When I
| opened OE it froze. This happened a number of times and so I
| restarted in SAFE MODE. From there I did a number of things like
| VIRUS CHECK, SPYBOT and did a delete and clean up of files. Scan
| disk, defrag, etc. Later I went into normal mode and tried
| again.......another freeze up. Did a restart and then disabled NORTON
| Internet Security and ANTIVIRUS. Then OE opened fine and I was able
| to do a little more work online. Shut down normally.
| Today I pushed the start button......did NOT notice any peculiar
| sounds or something out of the ordinary....the screen went just past
| the DELL COMPUTER SCREEN and then to a cursor on the top left, it
| made its usual starting noise and it stops there. Suggestions are
| welcome.........

I see you are having trouble getting to Safe Mode. Press & hold the F5
key during boot for Safe Mode. Or, press & hold the CTRL key during boot
for the Startup Menu, if continually pressing F8 won't work. If you
can't get to Safe Mode either way...

Can you boot to DOS? Can you boot a Startup Diskette...?...

Get a Startup Diskette from...
http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have one from "Control
Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Take either one that
applies to your system. Test the Startup Diskette. Put the diskette in &
turn on the computer. Put in a CD and "DIR" the CD. That is, "DIR X:",
where "X:" is the CD-ROM letter. The Startup Diskette will say which
letter is the CD during boot. (Note: It may be necessary to enter BIOS
Setup & set it to boot the floppy drive above the hard drive, before the
Startup Diskette will boot.)


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

"PCR" wrote in message
...
Fan924 wrote:
| I have a zip drive and downloaded a free copy of Norton Zip Rescue. It
| makes a small version of windows and stores it on the zip disk. As
| badly damaged as my hard drive becomes, I can always boot up on the
| zip drive. A few months ago, I had drive C: partition damage and was
| able to run Partition Table Doctor from the zip drive and get running
| again.

Some have said the Norton utilities & tools were good, despite agreeing
with others that its virus checker has become overbearing &
unmanageable. I am in no position to take sides, because my machine came
with McAfee installed (which finally quit working for Win98 & I've
uninstalled for avast!). Therefore, I am content to let you fight it out
with Terhune & Brian A. what to do with your Norton tools-- but don't
get any blood on me! No, seriously, if they seem to work for you, I tend
to think you might continue with them-- but wait for me to put on my
bullet-proof vest!

Hey!!! AFAIK I don't work for the OP, if I do I want my salary paid up. I'll
take that in (50) 30 packs.

--


Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

Are there any instructions about how to use a start disk...... ?? I have
never used it before and would appreciate if anyone can give me the
procedure. ??????????????????????

"lutra" wrote:

I have a boot disk..............how do I proceed with it. I have never used
it before.

"PCR" wrote:

lutra wrote:
| Hello. Yesterday I started up my computer quite normally. When I
| opened OE it froze. This happened a number of times and so I
| restarted in SAFE MODE. From there I did a number of things like
| VIRUS CHECK, SPYBOT and did a delete and clean up of files. Scan
| disk, defrag, etc. Later I went into normal mode and tried
| again.......another freeze up. Did a restart and then disabled NORTON
| Internet Security and ANTIVIRUS. Then OE opened fine and I was able
| to do a little more work online. Shut down normally.
| Today I pushed the start button......did NOT notice any peculiar
| sounds or something out of the ordinary....the screen went just past
| the DELL COMPUTER SCREEN and then to a cursor on the top left, it
| made its usual starting noise and it stops there. Suggestions are
| welcome.........

I see you are having trouble getting to Safe Mode. Press & hold the F5
key during boot for Safe Mode. Or, press & hold the CTRL key during boot
for the Startup Menu, if continually pressing F8 won't work. If you
can't get to Safe Mode either way...

Can you boot to DOS? Can you boot a Startup Diskette...?...

Get a Startup Diskette from...
http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have one from "Control
Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Take either one that
applies to your system. Test the Startup Diskette. Put the diskette in &
turn on the computer. Put in a CD and "DIR" the CD. That is, "DIR X:",
where "X:" is the CD-ROM letter. The Startup Diskette will say which
letter is the CD during boot. (Note: It may be necessary to enter BIOS
Setup & set it to boot the floppy drive above the hard drive, before the
Startup Diskette will boot.)


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

Instead of the F8 key, tap the Ctrl key.

--
Regards

Ron Badour
MS MVP 1997 - 2008


"lutra" wrote in message
...
I tried this approach. I just started tapping the F8 key as soon as I saw
the
Dell logo, then the screen went to black with the blinking cursor and I
could
hear the "tap" each time I pressed the F8 key..... no luck yet with any
WELCOME screen appearing......how I would love to see it, though!

"Brian A." wrote:

lutra,

That sounds like your pressing/holding the F8 key down, that's not the
proper
way. You need to continually, not over-excessively, start tapping the F8
key
immediately when the Dell logo appears and before the Windows welcome
screen
appears.

--


Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375


"lutra" wrote in message
...
I tried this........the computer makes a thumping noise when I press
down the
F8 key.....and there is no change on the screen....still just the
cursor
blinking..............

"Gary S. Terhune" wrote:

Restart the system. Repeatedly press the F8 key as it starts up until
you
get the Startup menu. Choose Safe Mode. Uninstall Norton ENTIRELY.
Restart
normally. Did that fix it?

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS-MVP Shell/User
www.grystmill.com

"lutra" wrote in message
...
Hello. Yesterday I started up my computer quite normally. When I
opened OE
it
froze. This happened a number of times and so I restarted in SAFE
MODE.
From
there I did a number of things like VIRUS CHECK, SPYBOT and did a
delete
and
clean up of files. Scan disk, defrag, etc. Later I went into normal
mode
and
tried again.......another freeze up. Did a restart and then disabled
NORTON
Internet Security and ANTIVIRUS. Then OE opened fine and I was able
to do
a
little more work online. Shut down normally.
Today I pushed the start button......did NOT notice any peculiar
sounds or
something out of the ordinary....the screen went just past the DELL
COMPUTER
SCREEN and then to a cursor on the top left, it made its usual
starting
noise
and it stops there. Suggestions are welcome.........

Brian A. wrote:
| "PCR" wrote in message
| ...
| Fan924 wrote:
| | I have a zip drive and downloaded a free copy of Norton Zip
| | Rescue. It makes a small version of windows and stores it on the
| | zip disk. As badly damaged as my hard drive becomes, I can always
| | boot up on the zip drive. A few months ago, I had drive C:
| | partition damage and was able to run Partition Table Doctor from
| | the zip drive and get running again.
|
| Some have said the Norton utilities & tools were good, despite
| agreeing with others that its virus checker has become overbearing &
| unmanageable. I am in no position to take sides, because my machine
| came with McAfee installed (which finally quit working for Win98 &
| I've uninstalled for avast!). Therefore, I am content to let you
| fight it out with Terhune & Brian A. what to do with your Norton
| tools-- but don't get any blood on me! No, seriously, if they seem
| to work for you, I tend to think you might continue with them-- but
| wait for me to put on my bullet-proof vest!
|
| Hey!!! AFAIK I don't work for the OP, if I do I want my salary
| paid up. I'll take that in (50) 30 packs.

I never said you were a workman. Therefore, you must already have had 17
packs too many!

| --
|
|
| Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Windows Desktop User Experience }
| Conflicts start where information lacks.
| http://basconotw.mvps.org/
|
| Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
| How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

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

lutra wrote:
| I have a boot disk..............how do I proceed with it. I have
| never used it before.

Did you try to get Safe Mode by holding the CTRL or F5 key during boot?
The CTRL key gives the Startup Menu. It would be best, if you can get
back into Safe Mode. But, if you can't... did you try selecting the
option to boot to a Command Prompt Only (DOS)? Even that is a tad
preferable to the Startup Diskette.

To try the Startup Diskette, I said... put it into the drive & turn on
or reboot the computer. It will boot to DOS running off the floppy. (If
not, you must enter BIOS Setup & set it to boot the floppy before the
hard drive.)

Once the floppy is booted, try a simple command like...

DIR C: /a

Did you get the contents of C: on the screen? Did it show a Windows
folder? Next try...

FDISK /Status

Did it show the state of your partitions? After that, maybe browse
through the Readme on your Startup Diskette...

EDIT Readme.txt
ALT-F-X pressed separately will exit EDIT. TAB will traverse requestor
buttons.

BUT... don't do anything rash. Post back with results & a plan.

| "PCR" wrote:
|
| lutra wrote:
| | Hello. Yesterday I started up my computer quite normally. When I
| | opened OE it froze. This happened a number of times and so I
| | restarted in SAFE MODE. From there I did a number of things like
| | VIRUS CHECK, SPYBOT and did a delete and clean up of files. Scan
| | disk, defrag, etc. Later I went into normal mode and tried
| | again.......another freeze up. Did a restart and then disabled
| | NORTON Internet Security and ANTIVIRUS. Then OE opened fine and I
| | was able to do a little more work online. Shut down normally.
| | Today I pushed the start button......did NOT notice any peculiar
| | sounds or something out of the ordinary....the screen went just
| | past the DELL COMPUTER SCREEN and then to a cursor on the top
| | left, it made its usual starting noise and it stops there.
| | Suggestions are welcome.........
|
| I see you are having trouble getting to Safe Mode. Press & hold the
| F5 key during boot for Safe Mode. Or, press & hold the CTRL key
| during boot for the Startup Menu, if continually pressing F8 won't
| work. If you can't get to Safe Mode either way...
|
| Can you boot to DOS? Can you boot a Startup Diskette...?...
|
| Get a Startup Diskette from...
| http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have one from
| "Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Take either
| one that applies to your system. Test the Startup Diskette. Put the
| diskette in & turn on the computer. Put in a CD and "DIR" the CD.
| That is, "DIR X:", where "X:" is the CD-ROM letter. The Startup
| Diskette will say which letter is the CD during boot. (Note: It may
| be necessary to enter BIOS Setup & set it to boot the floppy drive
| above the hard drive, before the Startup Diskette will boot.)
|
|
| --
| Thanks or Good Luck,
| There may be humor in this post, and,
| Naturally, you will not sue,
| Should things get worse after this,
| PCR
|

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