Window,amp,#39,Startup,Modes,f computer Window's Startup Modes for Troubleshooting
----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the below article to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes a Gone are those times when the companies and the organisations didn't need a hi-tech system to handle them. Owing to the considerable increase in the business sector and thus, an enormous increase in the complexity of the organisational struc
----------------------------------------------------------Permission is granted for the article below to forward,reprint, distribute, use for ezine, newsletter, website,offer as free bonus or part of a product for sale as longas no changes are made and the byline, copyright, and theresource box below is included.----------------------------------------------------------Window's Startup Modes for Troubleshooting By Stephen BucaroTroubleshooting a Windows problem is a bit difficult whenthe system freezes up or the display becomes unintelligible.You need a way to get Windows to bypass some of itscomplexity and bloat so the system can start, allowing youto perform troubleshooting. Windows provides severalalternate startup modes just for that purpose.To access these alternate startup modes, start yourcomputer and immediately after the startup beep, press the[F8] key. The startup menu will display as shown below.1. Normal2. Logged (BOOTLOG.TXT)3. Safe mode4. Step-by-step confirmation Enter a choice: 1Press the number key for your choice and then press the[Enter] key.1. Normal allows you to get out of the startup menu andresume starting Windows normally if you pressed the [F8]key accidentally.2. Logged causes Windows to log its startup activity ina file named bootlog.txt in the drives root directory.Bootlog.txt will be a very long file. Open bootlog.txt withWindows Notepad or DOS Edit and search for a line thatcontains the word "failure".If Windows freezes before completing startup, the last linein bootlog.txt might give you a clue to the cause of theproblem. You may find that one or more steps fail duringthe startup process. Don't assume those are the cause ofyour current problem. Those steps may have been failing allalong and you didn't know it.3. Safe mode. This mode bypasses most startup configurationfiles, including most of the registry. It starts windowswithout most of the drivers. It loads only generic mouseand keyboard drivers and a standard VGA video driver.Safe mode lets you work with "bare bones" Windows. You haveaccess to your drives, so you can copy or delete files. Youcan use the Registry Editor to inspect or edit the Registry.But Control Panel | System | Device Manager will returnthe message "Status is not available when Windows isrunning in Safe Mode" for the properties of every device,so you can't troubleshoot the area that causes the majorityof Windows problems.4. Step-by-step confirmation performs the startup processone step at a time. Before each step a message is displayedon the screen letting you select to run or bypass the step.This lets you bypass the steps that returned "failure" inthe bootlog.Windows 95 and 98 may provide you with several additionalstartup options, for example "Command prompt only","Previous version of MS-DOS", or "Safe Mode with NetworkSupport". Windows Me does not contain an independent DOScommand processor so these modes are not available.Windows 2000 and XP also provide you with severaladditional startup options, for example "Enable VGA mode","Last Known Good Configuration", and "Debugging mode",whichcan be used for specific troubleshooting purposes.If Windows freezes up or the display becomes unintelligible,you can bypass some of Windows complexity and bloat bychoosing an alternate startup mode. One of these alternatestartup modes may provide you some clues as to the sourceof the problem, or permit you to troubleshoot.---------------------------------------------------------- Resource Box:Copyright(C)2002 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintainyour computer and use it more effectively to design a Website and make money on the Web visithttp://bucarotechelp.comTo subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blankemail to mailto:bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com---------------------------------------------------------- Article Tags: Startup Modes, Safe Mode
Window,amp,#39,Startup,Modes,f