Win98SE boot problem

[magicdog]

Got a Celeron PC which after a recent shutdown it will not boot to Windows.
It just runs some dos and ends up stopped at a C:\WINDOWS> prompt.

I've run Norton Virus scan from dos and no problems there.

Anyone come across this one ?

TIA

[EzyStvy]

Did you install some new software before the shutdown?

[Markoman01027]

Check your IDE ribbon cable connection from IDE 1 to the hard drive.

Run a Hard Drive Diagnostics utility to make usre the hard drive is OK.

Have you tried maybe booting up into Windows with a bootable floopy disk? Try typing in "win" at the command prompt. You will probably have to change from your A drive to your C drive. Somebody correct me if I am wrong on this part. Thanks!

[TwoRails]

Hi magicdog,

Have you tried boot in Safe Mode?

TwoRails

[magicdog]

No new software.

I've run a full scandisk from DOS with no problems.

I'll check the ribbon and try safe mode next!

Thanks so far.

[GaryRouth]

Might also take a quick look in the Bios Setup to make sure the settings didn't all go a bit crazy. If the machine is getting older, the motherboard's battery might not be holding the settings.

If you're not sure what Bios Settings you need, you can always use "Save Defaults and Exit": an option that allows the motherboard's Bios to load default settings for all the hardware it detects (you can always tune for performance later).

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[magicdog]

Many thanks to you all on this one - Markoman01027 wins todays star prize!!

I typed WIN at the command prompt and then got the option to restart in Windows - BINGO!

What would have caused this ?

[GaryRouth]

The absolute simplest explanation is that the "Restart in MS-DOS" option somehow got accidentally checked in your shutdown menu. That would give the same behavior you describe.

Is the system back to normal now? Or is it still originally booting to the DOS prompt? That is an option you have (TweakUI makes it easy to do without changing an .ini file). Another option handy when troubleshooting is the "boot to menu" (Also available in TweakUI, & also in sysconfig under the "Advanced" tab, & finally if the CTRL keys are held down while booting).

. . . Gary

[magicdog]

Thanks Gary

I have used 'restart in DOS mode' from the shutdown menu many times and it always restarts to Windows after a DOS session.

I was confused as to why the PC locked into a DOS cycle ?

Thanks again.

[Dan]

magicdog-
I've a theory about glitches like this:
your pc, after a while, "learns" what p*sses you off and when...
then proceeds to do it!

[magicdog]

I think you may be close Dan!

[GaryRouth]

[Can't remember which thread it was (one of the recent ones), but it was a fair doozy, and most of the techs winded up voting for Gremlins as the likely cause :) ]

_____
Still curious, though, if it boots normally now?

My next guess for a likely cause would be that somehow the shutdown got interrupted so abruptly that it scrambled one of the .ini files. If the machine seems to shutdown in almost no time at all, and the hard drive is fairly recent & big - sometimes the contents of the hard drive's cache can't write quickly enough before the power's off. For some systems, this gets bad enough that Scan Disk runs each time the system boots. Microsoft ended up making a patch that disabled "Fast Shutdown" (it added an extra few seconds for the disk cache to write - among other things). . . .

But I'm just guessing
. . . Gary

[magicdog]

Thanks.