Boot straight to shutdown

sagacity99 · 04-28-2008, 03:17 AM

Got a hand-me-down Acer Aspire-6600 running winMe. It boots to the Startup Menu because it "did not finish loading the previous session." Choosing any of the four options will initiate boot process but it will always end up with "You can shut down the computer."

Step-by-step takes me up to msmouse.vxd.

I don't have Recovery CDs.

What could have caused the shortcut to the shutdown step? Remedies?

**OldGrayGary** · 04-29-2008, 12:00 AM

Hi sagacity99

If you just recently acquired the Acer, you'll want to determine if it's OK on a basic level -- both for hardware & software. The trouble you are seeing could have any of a number of causes: hardware failure (memory, hard disk), misconfiguration, malware infection, incorrect software setup ... etc. Unless you know that the PC was starting perfectly fine quite recently, it's generally best to check things out.

Check the Hardware:
Test the system memory --- http://www.memtest.org
Test the hard drive --- http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
Check in the system's Bios that the settings are OK.

Checking the Bios
Enter your system's Bios Setup by pressing the key mentioned in the startup banner or splash screen that appears immediately upon system power on --- "Press F1 (or F2, F10, DEL, etc.) to Enter Setup". Locate a manual for your system/motherboard & follow the recommendations for correct Bios settings (Google searches or vendor websites should yield a manual). For advanced Bios help (especially for those unlucky enough to have a not-very-helpful manual) you can consult Adrian's Bios Optimization Guide (I've recommended it for years) --- http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx --- Once in your system's Bios Setup, pay particular attention to the system time & date: if it has reverted backwards several years, it's time to replace the CMOS battery (instructions might be in your system manual). The battery is often a 3v coin-type battery, such as the popular CR-2032. A good generic guide for replacing batteries is available on the Hp/Compaq site (it applies to most any desktop, and should closely parallel the setup in your Acer) --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...&product=94878

Check for Malware:
If you or one of your friends has access to the tools necessary to create an "Ultimate Boot CD for Windows" -- create one that includes the latest antivirus updates available for the anti-malware programs, then boot the Acer with the UBCD4Win that you created, and scan for malware. All the details on what you need to make the disk are available on the UBCD4Win website --- http://www.ubcd4win.com
______________________________

Try An In-Place "Over-the-Top" Re-installation of Windows:

Over-the-top WinMe Reinstallation
--- from installation files on the hard drive:

Sometimes an over-the-top reinstallation of Windows can be a timesaver. On most recent computers the whole procedure can take as little as 30 or 40 minutes. A nice feature of this procedure is that your programs do not have to be reinstalled, and your data is not lost. You likely will need to visit Windows Update when finished, though, to download and reinstall some of the Security Updates. [Windows Update still works for Windows 98/Me, even though its period of active support by Microsoft expired in mid-2006 (all the updates up to that point can still be found there)].

Beforehand:

You may need to temporarily disable the Bios virus protection that is found on some motherboards (if your motherboard does not have this feature, you can skip this step). Enter Bios Setup by pressing the key displayed during startup, and somewhere on the first or second menu should be an item to Enable or Disable Bios Virus Protection (might be called BiosShield, or VirusGuard, or whatnot) ---> then, when you're finished with your reinstallation of Windows, re-Enable the Bios protection feature.

During the reinstall, it is also a good idea to be entirely disconnected from any networks, wired or wireless (unplug ethernet cables, disable wireless), and to be disconnected from printers, scanners, cameras, multifunction devices, fax machines, PDAs, memory card readers, USB flash drives, external USB/Firewire/eSATA drives, etc.

Over The Top ReInstall:

Boot with a bootable WinMe floppy, and from DOS rename the win.com file to win.bak. Like this

C:
cd \Windows
rename win.com win.bak

If you have the Windows Me installation files on your hard drive, switch to that location (which is often C:\Windows\Options\Install - by typing cd C:\Windows\Options\Install ), and start setup (by simply type the command: setup)

*** Important*** When Windows asks if you want to use the directory C:\Windows.000, instead choose Other and type in C:\Windows (without the .000 following).

Make sure that you have your antivirus, antispyware, and firewall running before you connect to networks afterward. Don't forget to visit Windows Update ASAP to get the Critical Patches the need reinstalling.

Note: should you not have a bootable WinMe floppy diskette, these are "redistributable", and you can download an appropriate diskette for your system from http://www.bootdisk.com
_______________________________________

Only try the over-the-top after you've found the hardware to test OK, and the files to be malware-free.

Best of luck!
. . . Gary

sagacity99 · 08-21-2008, 02:31 PM

OldGrayGary,

Thanks for a very instructive reply.

My apologies for not responding earlier. Had to attend to several more urgent matters before coming back to the Acer problem. Tried to followed through with the diagnostic approach. Ended up hunting down a 120 GB harddrive and installing winXP. It is running smoothly.

Want to explore the Ultimate Boot CD further, though.

04-28-2008, 03:17 AM	#1 (permalink)
sagacity99 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 OS: win xp sp2	Boot straight to shutdown Got a hand-me-down Acer Aspire-6600 running winMe. It boots to the Startup Menu because it "did not finish loading the previous session." Choosing any of the four options will initiate boot process but it will always end up with "You can shut down the computer." Step-by-step takes me up to msmouse.vxd. I don't have Recovery CDs. What could have caused the shortcut to the shutdown step? Remedies?

04-29-2008, 12:00 AM	#2 (permalink)
OldGrayGary Mentor, Microsoft Support Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Woodland Hills, CA Posts: 2,240 OS: Windows 98se/2000/XP/Vista	Re: Boot straight to shutdown Hi sagacity99 If you just recently acquired the Acer, you'll want to determine if it's OK on a basic level -- both for hardware & software. The trouble you are seeing could have any of a number of causes: hardware failure (memory, hard disk), misconfiguration, malware infection, incorrect software setup ... etc. Unless you know that the PC was starting perfectly fine quite recently, it's generally best to check things out. Check the Hardware: Test the system memory --- http://www.memtest.org Test the hard drive --- http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 Check in the system's Bios that the settings are OK. Checking the Bios Enter your system's Bios Setup by pressing the key mentioned in the startup banner or splash screen that appears immediately upon system power on --- "Press F1 (or F2, F10, DEL, etc.) to Enter Setup". Locate a manual for your system/motherboard & follow the recommendations for correct Bios settings (Google searches or vendor websites should yield a manual). For advanced Bios help (especially for those unlucky enough to have a not-very-helpful manual) you can consult Adrian's Bios Optimization Guide (I've recommended it for years) --- http://www.techarp.com/freebog.aspx --- Once in your system's Bios Setup, pay particular attention to the system time & date: if it has reverted backwards several years, it's time to replace the CMOS battery (instructions might be in your system manual). The battery is often a 3v coin-type battery, such as the popular CR-2032. A good generic guide for replacing batteries is available on the Hp/Compaq site (it applies to most any desktop, and should closely parallel the setup in your Acer) --- http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/d...&product=94878 Check for Malware: If you or one of your friends has access to the tools necessary to create an "Ultimate Boot CD for Windows" -- create one that includes the latest antivirus updates available for the anti-malware programs, then boot the Acer with the UBCD4Win that you created, and scan for malware. All the details on what you need to make the disk are available on the UBCD4Win website --- http://www.ubcd4win.com ______________________________ Try An In-Place "Over-the-Top" Re-installation of Windows: Over-the-top WinMe Reinstallation --- from installation files on the hard drive: Sometimes an over-the-top reinstallation of Windows can be a timesaver. On most recent computers the whole procedure can take as little as 30 or 40 minutes. A nice feature of this procedure is that your programs do not have to be reinstalled, and your data is not lost. You likely will need to visit Windows Update when finished, though, to download and reinstall some of the Security Updates. [Windows Update still works for Windows 98/Me, even though its period of active support by Microsoft expired in mid-2006 (all the updates up to that point can still be found there)]. *Beforehand:* You may need to temporarily disable the Bios virus protection that is found on some motherboards (if your motherboard does not have this feature, you can skip this step). Enter Bios Setup by pressing the key displayed during startup, and somewhere on the first or second menu should be an item to Enable or Disable Bios Virus Protection (might be called BiosShield, or VirusGuard, or whatnot) ---> then, when you're finished with your reinstallation of Windows, re-Enable the Bios protection feature. During the reinstall, it is also a good idea to be entirely disconnected from any networks, wired or wireless (unplug ethernet cables, disable wireless), and to be disconnected from printers, scanners, cameras, multifunction devices, fax machines, PDAs, memory card readers, USB flash drives, external USB/Firewire/eSATA drives, etc. Over The Top ReInstall: Boot with a bootable WinMe floppy, and from DOS rename the win.com file to win.bak. Like this C: cd \Windows rename win.com win.bak If you have the Windows Me installation files on your hard drive, switch to that location (which is often C:\Windows\Options\Install - by typing cd C:\Windows\Options\Install ), and start setup (by simply type the command: setup) * Important* When Windows asks if you want to use the directory C:\Windows.000, instead choose Other and type in C:\Windows (without the .000 following). Make sure that you have your antivirus, antispyware, and firewall running before you connect to networks afterward. Don't forget to visit Windows Update ASAP to get the Critical Patches the need reinstalling. Note: should you not have a bootable WinMe floppy diskette, these are "redistributable", and you can download an appropriate diskette for your system from http://www.bootdisk.com _______________________________________ Only try the over-the-top after you've found the hardware to test OK, and the files to be malware-free. Best of luck! . . . Gary __________________

08-21-2008, 02:31 PM	#3 (permalink)
sagacity99 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 5 OS: win xp sp2	Re: Boot straight to shutdown OldGrayGary, Thanks for a very instructive reply. My apologies for not responding earlier. Had to attend to several more urgent matters before coming back to the Acer problem. Tried to followed through with the diagnostic approach. Ended up hunting down a 120 GB harddrive and installing winXP. It is running smoothly. Want to explore the Ultimate Boot CD further, though.