can get past MS Windows 98 screen when I turn on the 'puter

Last time the system was running fine but when I went to log off I got a dialog box that gave me a few options. I think I checked "stand by" or something simular. The computer seemed to shut down normally. In the morning the computer was off and it restarted as usual but would not move past the MS Windows 98 screen.. If I boot up holding Control/Alt/Delete I get the Windows 98 screen for a few seconds thatn I tgoes to a DOS PCI Audio DEvise set up Utility but then it just sits there.

Try powering the pc off, then restart it and hold down the control
key.

Select 'Safe Mode' . If it starts OK in safe mode, then just do a
Shutdown and Restart.

This should get it out of standby mode.

"henry ostendorf" wrote in
message ...
Last time the system was running fine but when I went to log off I
got a dialog box that gave me a few options. I think I checked
"stand by" or something simular. The computer seemed to shut down
normally. In the morning the computer was off and it restarted as
usual but would not move past the MS Windows 98 screen.. If I boot
up holding Control/Alt/Delete I get the Windows 98 screen for a few
seconds thatn I tgoes to a DOS PCI Audio DEvise set up Utility but
then it just sits there.

Hey Alan,

Thanks for the suggestion but it didn't work. If I "power down and
resart holding the control key" as you suggest (below) the system only goes
to a Windows 98 screen then freezes up.

Somehow I pressed anohter series of keys (Control/windows I think) and
finally was able to get into a DOS set-up menu with an option of
selecting a Windows safe mode. This took me to an odd-looking Windows
environment (and made me feel I was on the right track). I did as you
suggested, chose the bottom left pull-up menu, then shut down and restarted.

When it restarted the same problem: I got a Windows 98 screen that
would not budge.
--henry

Anyone else have a suggestion?

There are three procedures I can suggest...

(1) Un/Re-install IE, if possible.
(2) Over-install IE, if not.
(3) Here is procedure three...

Can you boot to Safe Mode? Hold F5 as you boot, or hold CTRL for the
Startup Menu, & select Safe Mode from that. If you can get there,
then...

"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...b;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

"henry ostendorf" wrote in message
...
| Hey Alan,
|
| Thanks for the suggestion but it didn't work. If I "power down and
| resart holding the control key" as you suggest (below) the system only
goes
| to a Windows 98 screen then freezes up.
|
| Somehow I pressed anohter series of keys (Control/windows I think) and
| finally was able to get into a DOS set-up menu with an option of
| selecting a Windows safe mode. This took me to an odd-looking Windows
| environment (and made me feel I was on the right track). I did as you
| suggested, chose the bottom left pull-up menu, then shut down and
restarted.
|
| When it restarted the same problem: I got a Windows 98 screen that
| would not budge.
| --henry

Here is procedure one...

Explorer & IE are basically one & the same. Therefore, may as well try
this write-up, originally from a Gateway WEB site, which is a temporary
reversion to an earlier version of IE...

ONE THING: Do nothing more than stated here using Winfile, because, if
you move a file with it, you will lose that file's LFN (Long File Name)
in the destination.

Desktop Icons and Taskbar Are Missing

Affected Products: Software, System CDs
Affected Operating Systems: Windows® 98 , Windows® 98 SE,
Windows® Me

ISSUE: After starting Microsoft® Windows® 98 or Windows
Me, the taskbar is missing and there are no icons. When
starting Windows, the taskbar may flash on for a brief
second and then disappear. The only display visible is the
background wallpaper and the mouse cursor. Pressing
CTRL+ALT+DELETE brings up the Close Program dialog box,
but selecting End Task on the items on the list may not
have an effect. When the computer is started into Safe
mode, the issue still occurs. Running Scanreg /Restore
does not resolve the issue.

There have been several reports that the issue occurred
when restarting the computer after receiving a dialog box
that displays "Virus/spyware found. Do you wish to
remove?" or "Do you want to install Spyware Monitor?" The
dialog box only has Yes or No selections, and selecting
either can cause the issue. There is no X to close the
dialog box, however pressing CTRL+ALT+DELETE to bring up
the Close Program dialog box lists a "Remove found
spyware?" entry, which can be end tasked.

(1) Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, & click Shut Down.

(2) After the computer has been shut down, turn on the computer. Hold
CTRL as you boot for the Startup Menu, or begin pressing the F8 key in
one-second intervals. If you complete this step successfully, the
Microsoft Windows Startup Menu is displayed. If no menu is displayed and
Windows starts up normally, repeat this step.

(3) At the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu, use the ARROW keys to select
"Command Prompt Only", and then press the ENTER key.

(4) At the command prompt, type:
EDIT C:\Windows\System.ini
Press ENTER.

(3) In the C:\Windows\SYSTEM.INI file, locate the line of text under the
[boot] section that lists "Shell=Explorer.exe". This is typically the
third line in the file.

(4) Edit the "Shell=Explorer.exe" line by deleting the "Explorer.exe"
text and replacing it with "Winfile.exe". The line should list the
following:
Shell=Winfile.exe

(5) To save the changes, press the ALT+F keys.

(6) A menu displays in the upper left corner of the screen. Press the X
key to exit.

(7) Press ENTER to save the changes and return to the command prompt.
(TAB would move you to the next button.)

(8) At the command prompt, restart the computer by pressing the
CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys. Once Windows has restarted, it starts into the
Windows File Manager (Winfile.exe).

(9) In the File Manager window, double-click "progra~1" in the left hand
window to open the Program Files folder.

(10) Double-click "intern~1" in the left hand window to open the
Internet Explorer folder.

(11) Double-click "setup" in the left hand window to open the Setup
folder.

(12) In the File Manager window, double-click "Setup.exe" in the right
hand window to launch Internet Explorer setup.

NOTE: If the setup folder is not available, Internet Explorer has not
been updated and a previous version of Internet Explorer cannot be
restored. You cannot use this method. Close "Winfile", shut down, & post
back, or try the URL at the very bottom of this post, which is an
over-install of IE.

(13) In the Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Tools Setup window, click
OK.

(14) In the Setup Message dialog box, click Yes to restore the previous
version of Internet Explorer.

(15) Internet Explorer setup removes components.

(16) In the Internet Explorer 6 and Internet Tools - Restart Windows
dialog box, click Restart Windows.

When the computer is restarting, hold CTRL for the Startup Menu, or
begin pressing the F8 key in one-second intervals. If you complete this
step successfully, the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu is displayed. If
no menu is displayed and Windows starts up normally, repeat this step.

(17) At the Microsoft Windows Startup Menu, use the ARROW keys to select
Command prompt only, and then press ENTER.

(18) At the command prompt, type:
EDIT C:\Windows\System.ini
Press ENTER.

(19) In the C:\Windows\SYSTEM.INI file, locate the line of text under
the [boot] section that lists "Shell=Winfile.exe". This is typically the
third line in the file.

(20) Edit the "Shell=Winfile.exe" line by deleting the "Winfile.exe"
text and replacing it with "Explorer.exe". The line should list the
following:
Shell=Explorer.exe

(21) To save the changes, press the ALT+F keys.

(22) A menu displays in the upper left corner of the screen. Press the X
key to exit.

(23) Press ENTER to save the changes and return to the command prompt.
(TAB would move you to the next button.)

(24) At the command prompt, restart the computer by pressing the
CTRL+ALT+DELETE keys

(25) Windows starts to a blue screen, but will still be
accessing the hard drive for a period of time. When
finished, Windows is on the desktop with icons, but an
older version of Internet Explorer is installed. You
should update your antivirus software, and then perform
Windows Update to install a new version of Internet
Explorer again.

....snip

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];249191
Blank Desktop or Illegal Operations Error Message After You Install
Internet Explorer. This is a temporary reversion to an earlier IE, IF
that option is present.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=293174
Over-Install IE in Progman. This is an over-install of IE. I have a
detailed write-up for it, if you want.


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

"Alan C" wrote in message
...
| Try powering the pc off, then restart it and hold down the control
| key.
|
| Select 'Safe Mode' . If it starts OK in safe mode, then just do a
| Shutdown and Restart.
|
| This should get it out of standby mode.
|
| "henry ostendorf" wrote in
| message ...
| Last time the system was running fine but when I went to log off I
| got a dialog box that gave me a few options. I think I checked
| "stand by" or something simular. The computer seemed to shut down
| normally. In the morning the computer was off and it restarted as
| usual but would not move past the MS Windows 98 screen.. If I boot
| up holding Control/Alt/Delete I get the Windows 98 screen for a few
| seconds thatn I tgoes to a DOS PCI Audio DEvise set up Utility but
| then it just sits there.
|
|

Restart to the Startup Menu (that DOS menu you mentioned) and choose Command
Prompt Only. Then run the following two commands:

SMARTDRV
SCANREG /RESTORE (space after SCANREG)

Choose a backup from before your problem began. Pray it works. If not, there
are other things that need trying.

--
Gary S. Terhune
MS MVP for Win9x

"henry ostendorf" wrote in message
news
Anyone else have a suggestion?