Windows 95 Boots Directly to "Shut Down" Screen

 Last reviewed: March 20, 1998
Article ID: Q141898
95 WINDOWS kbsetup

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you start your computer, you may see the "Starting Windows 95" message, followed by the "It's now safe to turn off your computer" message. This behavior can occur in any mode.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if the Vmm32.vxd or Wininit.exe file is missing or damaged.

RESOLUTION

To re-create the Vmm32.vxd file, follow these steps:

  1. Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

  2. Type the following line to change to the Windows\System folder: 

          cd \windows\system

  3. Type the following line: 

          ren vmm32.vxd vmm32.old

  4. Reinstall Windows 95.

NOTE: If you installed Windows 95 from a CD-ROM, you may need to enable the Mscdex.exe line in the Autoexec.bat file or reinstall the real-mode CD-ROM drivers included with the CD-ROM drive before you can reinstall Windows 95. After you enable the real-mode CD-ROM drivers, repeat step 1 to restart the computer.

To obtain a new copy of the Wininit.exe file, follow these steps:

  1. Extract a new copy of the Wininit.exe file from your original Windows 95 disks or CD-ROM. The Wininit.exe file is located in the Win95_11.cab cabinet file on the Windows 95 CD-ROM or disk 11 of your original Windows 95 disks.

    For information about using the Extract tool, type "extract" (without quotation marks) at a command prompt, or see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

          ARTICLE-ID: Q129605

          TITLE     : How to Extract Original Compressed Windows Files


  2. Restart the computer.

    

NOTE: If you installed Windows 95 from a CD-ROM, you may need to enable
the Mscdex.exe line in the Autoexec.bat file or reinstall the real-mode
CD-ROM drivers included with the CD-ROM drive before you can reinstall
Windows 95. After you enable the real-mode CD-ROM drivers, repeat step 1
to restart the computer.



MORE INFORMATION

 


A Vmm32.vxd file is included on the Windows 95 disks and CD-ROM.
Extracting this version of the file will not solve the problem, as it
is an incomplete version of the file. You must run Setup to re-create
a system-specific Vmm32.vxd file.



	
	

	















	






KBCategory: kbsetup

KBSubcategory: win95 winboot

Additional reference words: 95 shutdown

Keywords          : win95 winboot kbfaq

Version           : 95

Platform          : WINDOWS








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	Last reviewed:  March 20, 1998
	

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