JRH1029

I am running win98 se and bootup stops at various places, normally it stalls at the screen that ask for password. That screen is only partially loaded and will take the click command but will stall. Sometimes it will go all the way to loading the icons and will load all of them but will quit before it labels the icons. Computer will bootup in safe mode and icons will load and identify.
What should I do.
Thanks
JRH

OldGrayGary

Hi JRH


If the system was working fine until just recently, a quick-fix try is to use the scanreg /restore command from a DOS prompt. (Boot the PC with a bootable Win98se floppy and at the command prompt, type scanreg /restore --- then choose a restore date - up to five saved Registries are stored by default). [You can also use a bootable Win98se CD - if you have one - and choose "Start Computer with CD-ROM support" to get to a DOS command prompt].


Should that not help,
1) Scan for malware (you can use a bootable CD with antimalware programs to accomplish this, or attach the hard drive to another PC - internally or externally, so long as you don't boot from the troubled drive & scan the problem drive using the antimalware programs on the host PC). Of course, if you have up-to-date antimalware programs already installed, try a few scans from Safe Mode.
2) Run some diagnostics on the hardware (just to be sure the parts are still OK).

If this is a driver issue, you would usually expect to see an error message. If you see any, post those here.

If the issue is mainly password-related, we can't offer advice on how to crack or get around passwords. If you recently acquired this system from a seller, contact them for password information. If the seller provided a "Recovery Disk" set with the PC, you can use those to restore the system to factory-original (if the hardware is the same, and is OK). But a lengthy process of updating Win98se will be necessary, & the installation of more current antimalware protection.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

JRH1029

Thanks for the reply Gary. I had already ran the scanreg/restore and it did not help. I had the resource cd from Dell and ran the trouble shooting part of it. All went well on the computer with no errors found in memory or any other part of the system but it had 22 errors found in video. I am wondering if that is not my problem because the computer loads in safe mode with no problem and I can run from safe mode but whenI try to load in normal mode the monitor has vertical lines through it and when it gets to the icons they are all black.

I did remove a harddrive from an older dell and installed it yesterday and saved all my data over to it. After that I reinstalled Win98 but still have the same trouble.

I also removed the videocard from the other dell but my system did not like the card and gave me some kind of memory message. The card did not install in the same slot as my card came out of but I used a slot below to put it in. It did bootup to the win98 screen and had no vertical lines but shut itself down due to the error. The error I got was "memory parity error system halted". Can I reconfigure and make this video card work? Can that be my problem?

Thanks
JRH

TheOutcaste

This indicates an error with the memory. Might try removing and re-inserting the memory sticks.
Running a Memory Diagnostic might be a good idea as well.
Download one of these, burn the ISO to a CD or use the floppy version if the system has a floppy drive. Run several passes.
Memory Diagnostics:

Memtest86
memtest86+

OldGrayGary

Hi again


Might as well run as many diagnostics as you can, just to see what's working and what isn't. The memory diagnostics the TheOutcaste recommended are more extensive than those on the Dell Resource CD (and tend to take a little more time, too ... so be prepared to let the tests run for a while: perhaps two or three "passes" through the set of tests = note that the MemTest diagnostics keep running until you give the command to stop).

Since you've added a hard drive to the equation, you might want to run a quick diagnostic on it as well. Hard drive diagnostics from the hard drive manufacturer are the most thorough --- http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287

And here's another tool to use to test the video. It's an older version (still compatible with Windows 98) of the "Video Card Stability Test" --- http://download.cnet.com/Video-Card-...-10427138.html
_______________

Some questions:

Does the Dell test give any details for the video errors? If so, can you post those here?

Was the video you tested with the Dell Diagnostics an AGP video card or "onboard graphics" (a video chip integrated onto the motherboard)? And is the card that you added from the older Dell a PCI card?

Did the memory parity errors start only after you added the hard drive and video card from the older Dell?

When was the last time the problematic system ran without errors? Did you recently acquire the system - and is its prior working state unknown?

You mention adding a hard drive from an older Dell, and reinstalling Windows. Did that older Dell also have Windows 98 (of the same version)? Did you install the system to C:\Windows, or did you accept a default location such as C:\Windows.000? What sort of Windows installation disk did you use to install? Was it a Windows installation CD, or a Recovery Disk?
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Since so much has been coming & going - the diagnostics will help a lot to let you know what to do next. Whether the older video card will work inside the newer system depends on just how old it is. There are a few different versions of the AGP and PCI slots that older graphics cards fit into. If you can locate a system manual for both Dells, the "specifications" info will help you determine what parts might be compatible.

Quick fix try (if the memory, hard drive, & video pass diagnostics) ---
1) Check the specs on the video card, & download a good win98se driver from Dell. Save it where you can find it.
2) Boot to Safe Mode.
3) Go to Device Manager & remove all "display adapters" listed.
4) Reboot into Safe Mode again & install the downloaded driver.
5) Reboot normally & test.
_______________

Best of luck
. . . Gary

JRH1029

Downloaded and ran the video test. All I got was a message that said "expect newer version of Windows. Upgrade Windows Version. OK" also said " a drive attached to the system is not working properly."

I have removed the extra harddrive. I only hooked it up to get my data copied over to and accomplished that.

I also removed the other video card. It gave me the memory error mentioned earlier. The card was a Maxtor Millenium PCI card. I put it in the pci slot but it did not like it.

This computer giving trouble has been my home desktop for 10 years. No trouble until this started.

The disk I used to reload win 98 was the original disk that came with the computer. It was not the resource cd.

Anymore help appreciated.
Thanks
John

OldGrayGary

Hi again


If you have an extra AGP video card lying around, or a different PCI card (something other than the problematic Matrox Millenium card), you can try things with a different video card. This time, though, once the new card is in the system, boot the PC into Safe Mode, and remove all previous "display adapters" that show in Device Manager. Should any video software for the video card show in Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, remove (or uninstall) those as well. Then reboot. If Windows doesn't recognize the new card, you'll have to find a good video driver for it & install it. Windows 98 2nd Edition ("Win98se") is more widely compatible with hardware than Win98 original - so let's hope you have the later edition.
_______________

If you have, or have a friend who has, a Windows XP installation CD, you can create a UBCD4Win to run some antivirus/antispyware scans from. You create the CD, boot the problem computer with it, and scan for malware using the updated antimalware programs. Here's their homepage, with all the step-by-step instructions on how to make the disk --- http://www.ubcd4win.com

To run more diagnostics on the hardware, an easy way is to make a UBCD disk. So long as you have a CD or DVD drive and some recording software (like Nero or Roxio), you can create a UBCD. You can boot the computer with the CD, and run diagnostics from the CD for the hard drive & memory. Here's the homepage for the UBCD project --- http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

Another thing to check might be the CMOS battery for the Dell's motherboard. The CMOS battery is usually a little 3v coin-type battery (often of the CR-2032 type...which only costs about $1.50. Of course you take static precautions when working inside the case. The little coin batteries usually need replacing after five or six years. You can tell it needs to be replaced if you enter the Bios Setup screens for the motherboard, and notice the system date and time have slipped backwards to 1980. A badly weak battery can't hold the correct system settings - which can lead to all sorts of problems. To enter Bios Setup, press the function key or key-combination mentioned on your display screen as the computer is powering on. The message will show on either a "splash screen" or a "banner message" such as "Press F1 (or F2, F10, etc.) to Enter Setup". Once the new battery is in, enter Bios Setup again, and enter the current date/time - as well as the other necessary settings. A quick option that can alternatively work for the rest of the settings is "Save Defaults & Exit".

Especially check that the memory timings, cpu timings, and hard drive types are set correctly. If "Auto" is an available setting for these, you can try that -- this will allow the motherboard to auto-detect the other parts of the system. When a CMOS battery is too weak, none of the settings are saved -- this can lead to errors & problems.
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Did you reinstall Windows onto the original drive? if yes, try again - but this time remove all the video devices from Device Manager first - and try a new card. Install to C:\Windows and not to C:\Windows.000

Best of luck
. . . Gary