ME startup problems

[huh2010]

Greetings;

I am having problems when starting up my WIN-ME machine and looking for pointers as to what the cause might be. The machine started doing this since last month when I had some infection.

Machine:
HP Pavilion 6830
700 MHz, P3
512 RAM
128 video memory
20 GB HD

When I start the machine, one of the following 3 scenarios happen

1) Machine starts normally with everything loaded

2) Desktop loads, Task bar icons show up, nothing shows up in the Sys Tray. The hour glass doesn't go away, and when I move the cursor around the screen the machine beeps continuously. I have to do a hard shut down.

3) Everything loads except Zonealarm Pro icon in Sys Tray shows up with an X on it and the Zonealarm screen tells me System Error and to re-boot.

I have to cycle through these scenarios # 2 & 3 a few times before I hit #1 above and get the machine to boot normally.

Even then, often the HD goes on like crazy for a good while. Is there a clue there? How can I find out what my HD is doing when it goes crazy like that? I have System Restore on.

Any ideas?

TIA

[glc]

With WinME, you either love it or hate it. When it starts falling apart like this, the best thing to do is wipe it and get a fresh start.

However, there are a few things to do as long as you are positive it is now virus and spyware free - disable system restore, delete the stored restore points, delete all the saved Zone Alarm logs, uninstall Zone Alarm, and run a temp and registry cleaner such as CCleaner.

[huh2010]

glc, thanks for the reply;

I have been wanting to run Ccleaner and have already downloaded it. What has kept me is that I have read the default settings out of initial install are too aggressive. I don't know what that means and I haven't found out what the conservative settings should be? Is this true and should I run Ccleaner with the default settings? If not, what are the safe settings?

As to being malware free, I can't be sure since I am no expert by any stretch of imagination. I have run numerous scanners and cleaners and I am not getting any more nasty finds.

[glc]

I've never had CCleaner get rid of TOO much. Defaults are fine. You aren't going to mess it up any worse than it already is.

[Disgrace]

I had WinME for 5 years and it was a nightmare but it was a good lesson and I must be one of the most computer-patient people ever since there was a 90% chance of the machine not booting properly at the beginning. I could tell because the num lock would flash a bit and stay off permenantly. If it flashed, went off and came back on again within 5-6 secs, it was OK.

When it didn't boot, I had to reboot, go into save mode and shut down again and boot up again hoping it would work. Normally it would after that 10 minute delay but not always. Have you ever had such issues?

Couple this up with a useless i-net modem, plasticy monitor, Middle Eastern logistics and a semi-broken CDROM and you have the worst PC of the 20/21st century. (5 years!!!)

I always thought the problems were 'just' WinME as it was poorly rated all round.

[huh2010]

Originally Posted by Disgrace Have you ever had such issues?

Never.

I have had this PC for only 2.5 years (hand me down) and never had any problems with it. This is the first time it is acting up.

[huh2010]

Status

I installed Ccleaner and liked it right away. I cleaned everything. Then I checked the option called "issues" and Ccleaner identified a boat load. I held my breath, backed up the reg, and went ahead and told Ccleaner to fix everything. I have cleared the ZA logs but have not uninstalled it since I can't find the CD yet. I don't know how to clear Restore points.

After a few restarts, the machine starts normally. Keeping my fingers crossed.

I went to MS site to check for updates and I got the following message

[glc]

Oh, isn't that special.........

Run CCleaner again - you have to do issues a few times till it's fully clean.