Can you give a few details? What system and what operating system do you have? Have you tried booting with your emergency boot disk and running the Dell Diagnostic program.
John
Still walking on the information superhighway with a 56K modem?
Wouldn't you rather cruise along at a
megabyte per second?
Head over to DSLReports.com and check your broadband options!
Dell Dimension 8100
Pentium 4
Purchased November of 2000
Windows Mellenium
I haven't tried booting with emergency boot disk and running the Dell
- Diagnostic program because this is beyond my experience or knowledge.
I can follow cook book directions, but anything beyond that is risky for me.
I have a disk entitled "Basic Rescue Boot" . Do you suppose this is the disk you
are referring to?
I have turned the computer off several times. The computer goes through a scan disk and then returns to the grey screen with "safe mode" written in each corner.
The mouse and cursor are prensent but won't do anything. I've clicked all over the screen and nothing.
PS I tried the AI part of Dell, and I couldn't get anywhere with the info they gave me.
John, Let's take a few steps back here. Something always precipitates a problem like this so how about we try to figure out what caused your computer to start booting into safe mode in the first place. What was the last thing you were doing before this started happening? Did you make any changes to the system within, say, 3 or 4 days before it became stuck in safe mode? Exactly when did this start happening? You mentioned that scandisk ran when you turned the computer off and cold booted. Did a Windows startup menu appear at any point with options to select normal and safe mode (among several other options) or did the computer just go straight to the safe mode desktop?
If this issue didn't start too long ago and you're not one who leaves their computer running 24/7 then you may be able to resolve this by restoring a backup copy of your registry file. You'll find instructions for how to do this in Win ME here .
John,
Let's take a few steps back here. Something always precipitates a problem like this so how about we try to figure out what caused your computer to start booting into safe mode in the first place. What was the last thing you were doing before this started happening? Did you make any changes to the system within, say, 3 or 4 days before it became stuck in safe mode? Exactly when did this start happening? You mentioned that scandisk ran when you turned the computer off and cold booted. Did a Windows startup menu appear at any point with options to select normal and safe mode (among several other options) or did the computer just go straight to the safe mode desktop?
If this issue didn't start too long ago and you're not one who leaves their computer running 24/7 then you may be able to resolve this by restoring a backup copy of your registry file. You'll find instructions for how to do this in Win ME here
From: John 6/6/02 2:58PM Eastern Time
BACKGROUND
On 6/03/02 I was attempting to remove a very dangerous looking picture of a girl from my desk top. I don't know how the picture got there, but I didn't want it there. I think I pulled some guts of the computer instead and as far as I know the girl is still there.
The computer goes immediately (the DELL logo appears for a split second and once I may have seen a Windows desk top for a split second) to a black screen with white lettering entitled "Microsoft Mellenium
Startup Menu" there is a message on the screen that says "Warning Microsoft windows has detected a registry/configuration error. Use scanreg to correct this error. There are four options on this screen: Option 1 being normal and option 3 being safe mode. I've tried options 1 and 3. In both cases the
scan disk function appears saying things like the computer was incorrectly shut down. The scan disk goes through its thing and then the screen turns grey. With option 1 (normal) after the scan disk the screen shows only grey, with option 3 (safe mode) the screen goes to the same grey with safe mode printed once in each corner of the screen.
I followed the link in your email and got to the following:
How to Restore the Registry Using the Command "scanreg /restore" in Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition (Me) . I don't have a CD disk with exactly the title they referred to (see what I do have below).
I think I am in the MS DOS mode (no Windows appears). The next question I have is I have all of the CDs that came with the Dell computer but nothing titled exactly the same as referred to in the Dell information"Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition".
Here's what I have that maybe close:
-Operating System for the Reinstallation of Windows Me (This is a CD)
-Dell Dimension ResorceCD (this has subtitles FAQ, Device Drivers,
Diagnostics and Utilities, Online Documentation
-Basic Rescue Boot (a floppy disk I made when the computer was new, I'm sure following some written directions somewhere)
-Mellenium startup Disk (a floppy disk I made when the computer was new, I'm sure following some written directions somewhere)
I have a lot of data on the Dell Dimension that I can't loose. Thanks for your help
Discussion
If restoring the system with the System Restore utility is unsuccessful or you cannot use the utility, it may be possible to restore a backup copy of the registry using the command scanreg /restore.
For more information regarding System Restore in Windows Me, please refer to Dell Knowledge Base article: TT1037690 "How do I restore a previous system configuration using the System Restore utility in Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition (Me)?"
Solution
To restore a backup copy of the registry from within the operating system, perform the following steps:
Click the Start button, click Run, and then type scanreg /restore in the Open box. Click OK.
The Registry Checker window appears.
Click Yes.
The Restore Registry window appears.
Click to highlight the most recent date your system was working properly.
Click OK.
To restore a backup copy of the registry from MS-DOS, perform the following steps:
Boot to the Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition and select Start computer without CD-ROM support using the or keys and then press the key.
The a: prompt appears.
NOTE: For more information on how to change the boot sequence in the BIOS to the CD-ROM as first boot device, refer to the following Dell Knowledge Base articles:
Dellä Dimensionä systems: TT1032262
Dell OptiPlexä systems: TT1035127
Dell Latitudeä systems: TT1035156
Dell Inspironä systems: TT1035144
Type c:\windows\command\scanreg /restore and press the key.
The Microsoft Registry Checker screen appears.
Select a date using the or keys and then press the key.
The You have Restored a Good Registry window appears.
Remove the Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition and press the key to restart the computer.
John,
The
Operating System for the Reinstallation of Windows Me CD is the same thing as the "Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition." Since you're getting a registry configuration error, the procedure I gave you will almost certainly solve the problem. Again, this will depend on whether you have a backup registry file with a date before this problem began. If you don't then you'll need to use the command "scanreg /fix" instead of scanreg /restore.
It sounds like you may have fallen victim to a home page hijacking or perhaps a spyware dialing program was run on your machine. I'd recommend you bookmark
SpwareInfo and check out their page about browser hijacking. If anything there rings a bell then check your operating system as described in the article. You might also want to put
http://www.cexx.org/adware.htm in your list of favorites and read over it when you have some free time.
********* Custom built Athlon Thunderbird 800MHz, Abit KT7A mobo, 256MB PC133 SDRAM Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 40GB 7200RPM ATA 100 MSI StarForce 818 nVidia GeForce2 MX 32MB 4xAGP Micron 700Mx 17" monitor E-IDE 50x CD-ROM, Yamaha 16x/10x/40x CD-RW Turtle Beach Santa Cruz DSP Sound, Altec Lansing ACS-33 speakers Toshiba PCX1100 DOCSIS cable modem, Linksys NC100 FastEthernet 10/100 NIC Philips Vesta Pro Scan PC Camera, Logitech optical wheel mouse Win 98SE
JnMHayes
217 Posts
0
June 5th, 2002 15:00
John
Still walking on the information superhighway with a 56K modem?
Wouldn't you rather cruise along at a megabyte per second?
Head over to DSLReports.com and check your broadband options!
farmera1
3 Posts
0
June 6th, 2002 14:00
Pentium 4
Purchased November of 2000
Windows Mellenium
I haven't tried booting with emergency boot disk and running the Dell
- Diagnostic program because this is beyond my experience or knowledge.
I can follow cook book directions, but anything beyond that is risky for me.
I have a disk entitled "Basic Rescue Boot" . Do you suppose this is the disk you
are referring to?
I have turned the computer off several times. The computer goes through a scan disk and then returns to the grey screen with "safe mode" written in each corner.
The mouse and cursor are prensent but won't do anything. I've clicked all over the screen and nothing.
PS I tried the AI part of Dell, and I couldn't get anywhere with the info they gave me.
Thanks.
The_Namek
2 Intern
•
2.8K Posts
0
June 6th, 2002 16:00
John,
Let's take a few steps back here. Something always precipitates a problem like this so how about we try to figure out what caused your computer to start booting into safe mode in the first place. What was the last thing you were doing before this started happening? Did you make any changes to the system within, say, 3 or 4 days before it became stuck in safe mode? Exactly when did this start happening? You mentioned that scandisk ran when you turned the computer off and cold booted. Did a Windows startup menu appear at any point with options to select normal and safe mode (among several other options) or did the computer just go straight to the safe mode desktop?
If this issue didn't start too long ago and you're not one who leaves their computer running 24/7 then you may be able to resolve this by restoring a backup copy of your registry file. You'll find instructions for how to do this in Win ME here .
farmera1
3 Posts
0
June 6th, 2002 18:00
Let's take a few steps back here. Something always precipitates a problem like this so how about we try to figure out what caused your computer to start booting into safe mode in the first place. What was the last thing you were doing before this started happening? Did you make any changes to the system within, say, 3 or 4 days before it became stuck in safe mode? Exactly when did this start happening? You mentioned that scandisk ran when you turned the computer off and cold booted. Did a Windows startup menu appear at any point with options to select normal and safe mode (among several other options) or did the computer just go straight to the safe mode desktop?
If this issue didn't start too long ago and you're not one who leaves their computer running 24/7 then you may be able to resolve this by restoring a backup copy of your registry file. You'll find instructions for how to do this in Win ME here
From: John 6/6/02 2:58PM Eastern Time
BACKGROUND
On 6/03/02 I was attempting to remove a very dangerous looking picture of a girl from my desk top. I don't know how the picture got there, but I didn't want it there. I think I pulled some guts of the computer instead and as far as I know the girl is still there.
The computer goes immediately (the DELL logo appears for a split second and once I may have seen a Windows desk top for a split second) to a black screen with white lettering entitled "Microsoft Mellenium
Startup Menu" there is a message on the screen that says "Warning Microsoft windows has detected a registry/configuration error. Use scanreg to correct this error. There are four options on this screen: Option 1 being normal and option 3 being safe mode. I've tried options 1 and 3. In both cases the
scan disk function appears saying things like the computer was incorrectly shut down. The scan disk goes through its thing and then the screen turns grey. With option 1 (normal) after the scan disk the screen shows only grey, with option 3 (safe mode) the screen goes to the same grey with safe mode printed once in each corner of the screen.
I followed the link in your email and got to the following:
How to Restore the Registry Using the Command "scanreg /restore" in Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition (Me) . I don't have a CD disk with exactly the title they referred to (see what I do have below).
I think I am in the MS DOS mode (no Windows appears). The next question I have is I have all of the CDs that came with the Dell computer but nothing titled exactly the same as referred to in the Dell information"Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition".
Here's what I have that maybe close:
-Operating System for the Reinstallation of Windows Me (This is a CD)
-Dell Dimension ResorceCD (this has subtitles FAQ, Device Drivers,
Diagnostics and Utilities, Online Documentation
-Basic Rescue Boot (a floppy disk I made when the computer was new, I'm sure following some written directions somewhere)
-Mellenium startup Disk (a floppy disk I made when the computer was new, I'm sure following some written directions somewhere)
I have a lot of data on the Dell Dimension that I can't loose. Thanks for your help
Discussion
If restoring the system with the System Restore utility is unsuccessful or you cannot use the utility, it may be possible to restore a backup copy of the registry using the command scanreg /restore.
For more information regarding System Restore in Windows Me, please refer to Dell Knowledge Base article: TT1037690 "How do I restore a previous system configuration using the System Restore utility in Microsoft® Windows® Millennium Edition (Me)?"
Solution
To restore a backup copy of the registry from within the operating system, perform the following steps:
Click the Start button, click Run, and then type scanreg /restore in the Open box. Click OK.
The Registry Checker window appears.
Click Yes.
The Restore Registry window appears.
Click to highlight the most recent date your system was working properly.
Click OK.
To restore a backup copy of the registry from MS-DOS, perform the following steps:
Boot to the Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition and select Start computer without CD-ROM support using the or keys and then press the key.
The a: prompt appears.
NOTE: For more information on how to change the boot sequence in the BIOS to the CD-ROM as first boot device, refer to the following Dell Knowledge Base articles:
Dellä Dimensionä systems: TT1032262
Dell OptiPlexä systems: TT1035127
Dell Latitudeä systems: TT1035156
Dell Inspironä systems: TT1035144
Type c:\windows\command\scanreg /restore and press the key.
The Microsoft Registry Checker screen appears.
Select a date using the or keys and then press the key.
The You have Restored a Good Registry window appears.
Remove the Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition and press the key to restart the computer.
.
The_Namek
2 Intern
•
2.8K Posts
0
June 8th, 2002 04:00
The Operating System for the Reinstallation of Windows Me CD is the same thing as the "Dell Product Recovery CD for Windows Millennium Edition." Since you're getting a registry configuration error, the procedure I gave you will almost certainly solve the problem. Again, this will depend on whether you have a backup registry file with a date before this problem began. If you don't then you'll need to use the command "scanreg /fix" instead of scanreg /restore.
It sounds like you may have fallen victim to a home page hijacking or perhaps a spyware dialing program was run on your machine. I'd recommend you bookmark SpwareInfo and check out their page about browser hijacking. If anything there rings a bell then check your operating system as described in the article. You might also want to put http://www.cexx.org/adware.htm in your list of favorites and read over it when you have some free time.