Troubleshooting Windows 98 Startup Problems and Error Messages

ID: Q188867


The information in this article applies to:

This article describes troubleshooting steps that may help you solve problems starting Windows 98. This information is also available in our Windows 98 Startup and Shutdown Troubleshooting Wizard. We recommend using this wizard, but we have also created this text-based article for your convenience. The Windows 98 Startup and Shutdown Troubleshooting Wizard is located on the following Microsoft Web page:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/tshoot/default.asp

SUMMARY

This article lists troubleshooting steps you can use if your computer stops responding (hangs), or you receive an error message, such as a fatal exception error message or an invalid VxD error message.

This article describes troubleshooting steps using the System Information Utility (Msconfig.exe). After restarting your computer several times, this tool can help isolate a specific file or registry entry that is causing the problem. Once the specific entry that is causing the problem is determined, you should edit the appropriate file or registry key to remove the entry and then return the System Configuration Utility to Normal Startup mode.

For information about clean booting Windows 98 using the System Configuration Utility, please see the "Narrowing the Focus" section in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

ARTICLE - ID: Q192926
TITLE : How to Perform Clean-Boot Troubleshooting for Windows 98


MORE INFORMATION

Start Windows 98 in Safe Mode

If Windows 98 does not start normally, try to start it in Safe mode. Starting Windows 98 in Safe mode bypasses the current real-mode configuration and loads a minimal protected-mode configuration, disabling Windows 98 device drivers and using the standard VGA display adapter. To start Windows 98 in Safe mode, restart your computer, press and hold down the CTRL key until the Windows 98 Startup menu appears, and then choose Safe Mode.

If Windows 98 does not start in Safe mode, see the "Windows 98 Does Not Start in Safe Mode" section later in this article. If Windows 98 does start in Safe mode, see the "Windows 98 Starts in Safe Mode" section later in this article.

Windows 98 Does Not Start in Safe Mode

Any of the following conditions can cause Windows 98 not to start in Safe mode:

If you are still unable to start Windows 98 in Safe mode, run the Windows Registry Checker (Scanreg.exe) tool as there may be a problem with the system registry. To start Windows Registry Checker, restart your computer, press and hold CTRL, choose Command Prompt Only, type scanreg, and then press ENTER.

For information about Windows Registry Checker, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q183887
TITLE : Description of the Windows Registry Checker Tool (Scanreg.exe)

If you are still unable to start Windows 98 in Safe mode after using Windows Registry Checker, install Windows 98 into a new, empty folder. This step helps to establish whether the problem is related to a remnant of the previous operating system (such as a configuration setting) or a hardware problem.

Windows 98 Starts in Safe Mode

If Windows 98 starts in Safe mode, step through the startup process to see if any devices do not load properly. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. Click Selective Startup.


  3. Try different boot options. The following table lists several startup options. The options are labeled Boot A, Boot B, Boot C. To use a boot option, click the appropriate check boxes to select or clear them. Follow the instructions below the table to determine the cause of your problem.
    
                                              Boot A   Boot B   Boot C
          ------------------------------------------------------------
          Process Config.sys file             Yes      No       Yes
          Process Autoexec.bat file           Yes      No       Yes
          Process Winstart.bat (if available) Yes      Yes      No
          Process System.ini file             No       Yes      Yes
          Process Win.ini file                No       Yes      Yes
          Load Startup Group items            Yes      Yes      No
      
    NOTE: The Msconfig tool cannot disable a file that has the read-only attribute, although it behaves as though it can. To determine if the Msconfig tool has replaced the file you are attempting to disable with a copy of the file, text similar to the following text should appear at the beginning of the file:
    
          rem
          rem   *** DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE! ***
          rem
          rem   This file was created by the System Configuration Utility as
          rem   a placeholder for your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Your actual
          rem   AUTOEXEC.BAT file has been saved under the name AUTOEXEC.TSH.
          rem
      
    NOTE: If Windows 98 does not start normally under any of the following scenarios, see the "Troubleshooting Protected-Mode Driver Problems" section later in this article.

    First, try the Boot A option. If Windows 98 does not start normally under these conditions, try the Boot B option. If Windows 98 does start normally using the Boot A option, there is a problem in the System.ini or Win.ini file. To find which line in the System.ini or Win.ini file is causing the problem, follow these steps:

    1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box type, and then click OK.


    2. Click the Win.ini tab.


    3. Double-click the Windows folder.


    4. Click the load= and run= check boxes to remove the check marks.


    5. Click OK.


    6. When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.


    If Windows 98 starts normally using the Boot B option, there is a problem with a driver or terminate-and-stay-resident (TSR) program being loaded from the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file. See the "Troubleshooting TSR Problems" section later in this article.

    If Windows 98 does not start normally with the Boot A or Boot B options, try the Boot C option. If Windows 98 starts normally using the Boot C option, there is a problem with a program that is run during startup. See the "Troubleshooting StartUp Folder Problems" section later in this article.

    If you are still unable to start Windows 98 normally, use the System File Checker tool to check for damaged or replaced system files. To start System File Checker, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, click System Information, and then click System File Checker on the Tools menu.

    For information about how to use System File Checker to extract a file, please see the "System File Checker Tool" section of the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    ARTICLE-ID: Q129605
    TITLE : How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files
    For more information about System File Checker, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    ARTICLE-ID: Q185836
    TITLE : Description of the System File Checker Tool (Sfc.exe)


If you are still unable to start Windows 98 normally, see the "Troubleshooting Protected-Mode Driver Problems" section later in this article.

Troubleshooting StartUp Folder Problems:

The problem may be a result of a program that is run during startup. To determine which program is causing the problem, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. Click the Startup tab, and then click each check box to clear it.


  3. Click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.


If the problem is resolved, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. On the Startup tab, click the first check box in the list to select it.


  3. Click OK. and then restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.


If the problem is still resolved, repeat steps 1-3, but click the next check box in the list to select it. When the problem returns, the last check box you selected is loading a program that is preventing Windows 98 to start normally. Contact the program's manufacturer for further assistance.

There may also be a problem with a TSR being loaded in the Winstart.bat file (if the Winstart.bat file exists). If the Process Winstart.bat File check box is available on the General tab in System Configuration Utility, click the check box to clear it, click OK, and then restart your computer.

The Winstart.bat file is usually located in the Windows folder, and is used to load TSRs that are required only by Windows-based programs.

Troubleshooting TSR Problems:

The problem may be a driver or TSR being loaded from the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat file. To determine if this is the case, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. Click Selective Startup, and then click the Process Autoexec.bat File check box to clear it.


  3. Click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.


If the problem is resolved, the problem driver or TSR is being loaded from the Autoexec.bat file. If the problem is not resolved, the problem driver or TSR is being loaded from the Config.sys file. To determine which line in the Autoexec.bat or Config.sys file is loading the driver or TSR, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. Click the Autoexec.bat or Config.sys tab, and then click the check boxes for all non-essential drivers and programs to clear them.


  3. Click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.


If the problem is resolved, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. On the Autoexec.bat or Config.sys tab, click the first check box in the list to select it.


  3. Click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted to do so.


If the problem is still resolved, repeat steps 1-3, but click the next check box in the list to select it. When the problem returns, the last check box you selected is loading the driver or TSR that is causing the problem. Contact the manufacturer of the program for further assistance.

If the problem is not resolved, run the Windows Registry Checker as there may be a problem with the system registry. To start Windows Registry Checker, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, click System Information, and then click Registry Checker on the Tools menu.

Troubleshooting Protected-Mode Driver Problems:

The problem may be a Windows 98 protected-mode driver. To determine if this is the case, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.


  2. On the General Tab, click Advanced.


  3. Under Settings, click a check box to select it.


  4. Click OK, click OK again, and then restart your computer.


If the problem is not resolved, repeat steps 1-4, but click a different check box to select it in step 3. When the problem is resolved, the last check box you selected is causing the problem. For more information about advanced settings, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q181966
TITLE : System Configuration Utility Advanced Troubleshooting Settings

If the problem is not resolved, disable PCI bus IRQ steering in Windows. To do so, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q182628
TITLE : How to Disable PCI Bus IRQ Steering in Windows

If the problem is not resolved, follow these steps to disable devices in Device Manager:
  1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.


  2. Double-click System.


  3. On the Device Manager tab, disable all devices under the following branches:

    To disable a device in Device Manager, follow these steps:

    1. Double-click the branch containing the device you want, click the device, and then click Properties.


    2. On the General tab, click the Disable In This Hardware Profile check box to select it, and then click OK.


    3. Restart your computer.




  4. If the problem is resolved, enable the devices you disabled in step 3, and then verify that no devices are conflicting.

    NOTE: Enable devices in the following order:

    To enable a device and check for possible conflicts, follow these steps:

    1. Double-click the branch containing the device you want, click the device, and then click Properties.


    2. On the General tab, click the Disable In This Hardware Profile check box to clear it.


    3. Click the Resources tab and verify that there are no conflicts listed under Conflicting Device List. Note that the Resources tab does not appear for each device.


    4. Click OK, and then restart your computer.




If the problem is not resolved, run the Automatic Skip Driver Agent tool to enable any device that has been disabled. To start Automatic Skip Driver Agent, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, click System Information, and then click Automatic Skip Driver Agent on the Tools menu.

For information about how to use Automatic Skip Driver Agent, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID : Q186588
TITLE : Description of the Automatic Skip Driver Agent (Asd.exe) Tool

If the problem is not resolved, check for a damaged static virtual device driver (VxD) by following these steps:
  1. Restart your computer, press and hold down the CTRL key until the Windows 98 Startup menu appears, and then choose Step-By-Step Confirmation.


  2. Press Y at each prompt up to and including the "Load all Windows drivers?" prompt, and then press N to everything else. Note that you should make a list of all the items trying to load after this point. This prevents VxDs from loading and VxDs in the Windows\System\Vmm32 folder from overriding Windows internal VxDs (VxDs built into the Vmm32.vxd file).


Additional Notes

For information about known hardware issues, view the Hardware.txt file in the Windows folder.

For additional troubleshooting assistance, view the Bootlog.txt file in the root folder. The Bootlog.txt file lists the loading status of all real- mode and protected-mode drivers. If Windows 98 does not start properly, the Bootlog.txt file lists the last driver that loaded successfully, and lists a "LoadFail" entry for each driver that failed to load before the problem occurred.

NOTE: Some "LoadFail" entries in the Bootlog.txt file are normal entries. For a listing of normal "LoadFail" entries in the Bootlog.txt file, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: Q127970
TITLE : Load Failures Listed in the Bootlog.txt File

If the problem is not resolved, contact Microsoft Technical Support.

Additional query words: 98 first boot fail hang setup noboot no-boot start up


Keywords          : kberrmsg kbtshoot winboot win98 win98se 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb 

Last Reviewed: August 3, 1999