WIN 98 - Blank screen on startup

[alfaholic]

Hi Folks.
I was given a computer today that doesn't boot to the desktop.

Starts up fine, goes to the win 98 screen and just as it's supposed to go to the desktop with all the icons, the explorer box comes up to indicate that an error has occurred and it will shut down.

From there I "x" out and i'm left with a blank screen. No icons, the start button doesn't work. Infact, none of the keys work. Mouse works great

I went into the setup to change how it boots as it wasn't recognizing the floppy....as it does now. It was set: cd-rom; ide-2; cd-rom. I changed it to: floppy; cd-rom; ide-2

Configuration:
Celeron 700mhz
20gig drive
313mb of ram
CD-rom
floppy disk

I have an original WIN98 CD along with a boot disk. I can also go into safe mode in DOS. No windows come up.

The guy who gave it to me said that it had been running very slowly since he hooked it up to his cable modem at home about 7 mos ago. Then it just stopped booting. I think it has so much spyware and adware in there, it can't run.

Any ideas on how I can get Windows working without formatting the drive?
Thanks

[Cricket]

Honestly, I think your best bet is to just do a nuke and pave (format and install) instead of trying to fix it.

But if you really do want to try and fix it, first thing I would do is get F-Prot for DOS and run it from floppies.

"Running F-PROT From Floppy Disks:

While the files necessary to run F-PROT exceed the capacity of a single 1.44MB floppy disk F-PROT can be run from

diskette using either a set of two disks (without Word/Excel macro virus coverage) or a set of three disks (with

Word/Excel macro virus coverage).

Instructions for F-PROT disks (two-disk set)
Copy the following four files to disk #1:

F-PROT.EXE
ENGLISH.TX0
SIGN2.DEF
NOMACRO.DEF

Rename the NOMACRO.DEF file on disk #1 MACRO.DEF

Copy the following file to disk #2:

SIGN.DEF

To run F-PROT insert disk #1 > Go to an A:\> prompt in DOS > Type F-PROT /LOADDEF and tap ENTER. Follow the

prompts, inserting disk #2 when requested.
NOTE: Disk #1 can be a bootable system disk (961kb free space required for F-PROT files) created on a

non-infected PC, allowing
F-PROT to be run from diskette bypassing possibly infected files on
the hard disk altogether.

Instructions for F-PROT disks (three-disk set)
Copy the following three files to disk #1:

F-PROT.EXE
ENGLISH.TX0
MACRO.DEF

Copy the following file to disk #2:

SIGN2.DEF

Copy the following file to disk #3:

SIGN.DEF

To run F-PROT insert disk #1 > Go to an A:\> prompt in DOS > Type F-PROT /LOADDEF and tap ENTER. Follow the prompts, inserting disks #2 and #3 when requested.

NOTE: Disk #1 can be a bootable system disk (853kb free space required for F-PROT files) created on a non-infected PC, allowing F-PROT to be run from diskette bypassing possibly infected files on the hard disk altogether."

Cricket

[rightcoast]

My advice is just format it. PC's can be hard enough to maintain without bringing in someone else's baggage too.

If it is the programs on there you want/need, let us know what they are. Odds are we can point you to a open source/freeware alternative.

[ROYP123]

I think you need to change the boot sequence from ide 2 to ide 0

[glc]

Originally Posted by ROYP123 I think you need to change the boot sequence from ide 2 to ide 0

I don't think this is causing the problem, because it *IS* booting from the hard drive. This is simply a trashed operating system issue, and with Win98, it's a lot faster and better just to nuke and pave when it gets this bad. If it won't even get to a desktop in safe mode, it's thoroughly trashed. I do this stuff for a living, and I've wiped 98 systems that aren't that bad.

[alfaholic]

Ok. So I'll nuke and pave as you call it. I've never actually formatted a drive before. I do have a couple of win 98 CD's along with the boot floppy, as well as WIN98 upgrade [from 95].

Would I go into safe mode and format c:\ from there. I was reading a couple of the posts that were on troubleshooting I think. I'm to avoid a low level format, but I can format c with an additional switch... I think it was /s

Sorry folks, I'm a whiz at fixing my cars, but I have to draw the line and ask for help on formatting drives.

Thanks again

[glc]

No, you have to format from a floppy or CD boot, you can't format a drive that's in use.

http://www.pcmech.com/show/harddrive/58/

[alfaholic]

It's that simple? Huh!

So, from the A drive [safe mode], i type in format c: /s ?

What happens afterwards? Do I just re-install Win98 with the floppy in drive A and follow the prompts?

Seems way too easy.

Thanks

[glc]

You can actually boot with the 98 CD and install directly. You don't have to use the /s switch, just format c: is fine.

[alfaholic]

I tried to format the c drive, and it doesn't accept the command.

Maybe I've missed something: I start in safe mode, goes to a:\; I've tried these commands:
format c:\
format c:
format c


On each one it comes back with command not recognized.

What if I changed the bios to only accept drive a & d: drive for the CD. That way I could boot right from the disk.

If I follow the prompts on the screen for CD support in safe mode, I can choose it, but it doesn't enable the drive, just starts from the c: drive anyway.

Thanks

[glc]

You do not boot to safe mode. You have to boot with a Win98 boot floppy or a Win98 CD.

[alfaholic]

Oh. Duh!
How do I get to "a" otherwise? It won't let me access that drive unless I'm in safe mode. Should I change the something in the bios?

[glc]

Set the bios boot order to floppy first.

[alfaholic]

Oh! Thats Logical!!! I'll try that first!!

Thanks

[alfaholic]

I did it!! I re-installed WIN98. Everything went well untill I turned it off and re-booted. Now here comes the fun part:

[a] On a cold boot [power off], it starts-up fine and then she screams like a banshee. The screen goes crazy and I get these horizontal lines jumping across the screen. After all the screaming stops, it's a blank [dark screen].
Is the hard drive on the way out? It detected the monitor and installed the drivers for it.

[b] Prior to shutting it off, I checked the properties and it's running in 16 colors. How [or more importantly, where] do I get the software to upgarde the colors?

Thanks again

[AlwaysUp]

You need the appropriate graphics drivers installed. Is your graphics card a PCI, AGP, or onboard the mobo? The amount of colors and screen resolution will be dependent on the vid card capabilities.

[alfaholic]

Gee, I dunno. I'll have to look and see. I guess I would be able to download the drivers from the appropriate site.

Thanks

[GaryRouth]

. . . and since you seem like you have an interest in keeping the older system running, it might be best to test as much of it as you can: so that you won't spend too much time trying to work with failing parts (which you might be able to cheaply replace & get on with enjoying using the computer).

I'd especially recommend testing the hard drive: you mention something making a lot of noise. This could be a fan having a problem, or could also be the bearings in an old hard drive getting ready to fail. While you have the case open for identifying your video, also look to see what brand/model hard drive is in there. To test the drive, visit the website of the drive's manufacturer: the diagnostics are usually available to download, and usually create a bootable floppy that you can start your computer with, and run the tests from DOS. Look, too, to see what motherboard is in there: as you may want to install certain drivers for devices onboard special to that model (usually available at the manufacturer's website).

If it's a fan causing the noise, you will likely want to replace it as quickly as possible, before an overheat causes damage.

To test the memory, you can use a free utility such as MemTest86, available at http://www.memtest.org

For even more testing modules, once the machine has Windows working well enough, you can try an overall testing suite such as SiSoft Sandra, available at http://www.sisoftware.uk.co

& Have fun with the computer once you have it humming along again.
. . . Gary