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Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Page Web Tech Support!
Part 3 - Startup Modes

 

 

 

More software downloads

 

* Page 1 - Troubleshoot a Windows Computer Tips Page
* Part 1 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page, The Windows XP Setup Wizard
* Part 2 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page, The Boot Floppy Disk
* Part 3 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page, Startup Modes

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Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page: Tech Support Page!
By Raymond Garcia
WebTechGeek.com

 

Usually Windows XP works quite well, and even though it is more stable than its predecessors, it still can hang and crashes on occasion. Fortunately, Windows XP comes with a number of diagnostic tools that can help. Microsoft has also added one new tool, Remote Assistance, which allows Microsoft technicians to fix your computer over the phone.

Before you call a computer repair tech service and pay big money for help, you should take a look at your computer yourself. Just a little common sense may help you solve some simple hardware and software problems, like loose cables. If you do decide to call technical support, remember to write down the problem and what you were doing when it occurred. And also take note of any error messages.

You should try to be as specific as possible when talking to the tech support or Pc repair person. For example: the OS Windows ME or XP, Whenever I try to start up my PC, I see an error message box, whenever I run this program. Computers tend to crash or hang when their hard disks become too fragmented or full. You should free up space by deleting unnecessary files and emptying the Trash or Recycle Bin. Also run Scandisk and disk defragmenter in system tools. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!

When an application crashes in Windows XP, Windows will displays a box telling you about it. There's not much you can do, just click OK. It's a good idea to restart Windows the program may have damaged files or Windows' internal operations. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!

If a Windows program hangs, you can force Windows to stop the hung program. Just press CTRL-ALT-DEL to open the Windows Task Manager dialog box.

Look on the Applications tab of the Windows Task Manager, a hung program will usually has the notation "Not responding" in the Status column. All healthy programs are designated as "Running." Now select the name of the hung Windows program and then click End Task. The program should then exits.

If all else fails, press CTRL-ALT-DEL to display the Windows Task Manager and then choose Shut Down > Restart on the menu bar: Windows XP should restart. Windows may runs ChkDsk so that all disk errors can be repaired, this is normal for Windows. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!

Startup Modes Part 3

 

Startup Modes Part 3;
By Raymond Garcia,
Web TechGeek

Startup Modes: The most worst problems prevent Windows from starting up at all. If the Windows installation on your hard disk is intact, you can start Windows in one of several special startup modes that provide limited function and will help you diagnose the problem. Windows XP, however, brings its legacy from Windows 2000/NT, a more complicated operating systems than Windows 98 and Me. Because of this sophisticated lineage, Windows XP has a number of more challenging options than Windows 98/Me. Every mode has a purpose and the added options give you more recourse when disaster hits. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!

Press F8 during Windows startup (when you see the boot menu, if you have a dual-boot system) to see a menu of startup modes:

Safe Mode Windows starts by using the simplest possible set of drivers and hardware devices. If Windows still doesn't start, try Safe Mode With Command Prompt or the Recovery Console.

Safe Mode With Networking Windows starts by using the simplest possible set of drivers and hardware devices but also includes simple networking components. If Safe Mode works and you need information from a network, try this mode.

Safe Mode With Command Prompt Windows starts by using the simplest possible set of drivers and hardware devices. It further reduces the overhead by not loading the Graphical User Interface--you communicate with it by typing DOS-style commands. This mode works the same way as the Recovery Console.

Enable Boot Logging Windows starts normally but logs all the drivers it loads in the file Ntbtlog.txt (usually stored in C:\Windows). Use this mode if you think that a device driver might be the problem.

Enable VGA Mode Windows loads the standard, super-compatible Microsoft VGA driver, which can often assist in reducing conflicts until you can fix the problem. Use this mode if your video driver isn't working.
Last Known Good Configuration Windows starts using the last configuration that did not to have any known problems. It uses backup copies of your Registry and device driver files.

Directory Services Restore Mode This mode is not used in either Windows XP Home Edition or Professional: it is used on Windows servers.

Debugging Mode Windows starts normally but sends debugging information through a serial cable to another computer (rarely used except by Windows system programmers).

Selective Startup This mode isn't displayed on the Windows startup menu that appears when you press F8. Instead, you enable it by using the System Configuration Utility. Windows prompts before loading or running each driver or program. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!

 

Normal Mode Windows starts normally.

Note: Windows XP does not support DOS, with the exception of a DOS Virtual Machine, to run legacy applications. Because of this, Windows can not start up in DOS mode. Of course, you can still start up DOS from a floppy disk, Zip drive (if your BIOS supports it), or bootable CD-ROM disc. When running DOS, you can't read disks formatted with NTFS. Remember to come back to WebTechGeek.com for more How to tips!

Related Links:

Part 1 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page

Part 2 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page, The Windows XP Setup Wizard

Part 2 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page, The Boot Floppy Disk

Part 3 - Troubleshoot a Windows XP Computer Tips Page, Startup Modes - This Page!

Computer Help Page # 1.

Troubleshoot a Computer!

See windows Tips page Resolving Hardware Conflicts Tips!

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The Boot Floppy Disk; Tech Support
By Raymond Garcia
WebTechGeek

one of the steps in the Windows installation process created a startup floppy disk, or boot floppy disk. The general idea was that if the file system on your hard disk was damaged, you could often start your computer from the startup floppy disk and repair the damage enough to make the hard disk bootable.

You can still make a boot floppy in Windows XP, but Windows now includes System Restore, a sort of time traveling utility that can take your Windows machine back in time to when it actually worked. WebTechGeek.com

To make a boot floppy in Windows XP, you need a single 1.44MB floppy disk. Follow these steps:

1. Write-enable the disk and put it in the disk drive.
2. Choose Start | My Computer.
3. Right-click the 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) icon and choose Format from the shortcut menu that appears. You see the Format 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) dialog box.
4. Select the Create An MS-DOS Startup Disk check box.
5. Click Start. Windows creates a bootable startup disk.
6. Remove the disk from the drive, write-protect it, label it, and put it in a safe place.

If you use this floppy disk to start your system, you see the DOS command prompt. No drivers are loaded, so you can't use your CD-ROM or other hardware, and you can't see your NTFS disks, only disks formatted as FAT or FAT32.

 

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