Just how far does it go before going to a blue screen? Has ANYTHING been changed/moved recently? What are the specs of the 4400 & which Windows is it running? Were there any problems with it before this happened?
gdk1854,
I think rustymt's recommendation to use the recovery console is a bit premature. You're not really experiencing a blue screen of death because there would be an error message if you were and there wouldn't be an hourglass on the screen if it were a "real" BSOD. What seems to be happening with your system is that some application in the startup group or perhaps a Microsoft service is hanging up and preventing Windows' graphical user interface (explorer.exe) from completely loading itself. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and see if the task manager will come up. If it will then check the Applications tab and see if any apps are listed. If there are any and one or more of them say
not responding next to them then shut those down first by highlighting them and clicking the End Task button. Should Windows proceed to finish booting up after you shut down one of the apps then that one is responsible for the lockup. You can use the startup program lists below to determine what programs should be left enabled in the startup menu and which you can disable without any adverse effects.
If you can't bring up the task manager then try booting into safe mode by tapping the F8 key while the system is starting up. This will bring up the advanced options menu where you can select safe mode. Be sure to log on under the Administrator account. If the computer is functional in safe mode then click Start | Run and type in
msconfig to open the system configuration utility. Change the startup option to selective and uncheck the box next to load startup items. Next, click the services tab and put a check mark next to the
hide all Microsoft services option at the bottom of the window. Click on the Disable All button after you've done this then click Apply and Close. Reboot the system when prompted and let it boot up normally. If the desktop completely loads then you definitely have a startup application or service problem. Post back with results.
gdk1854
3 Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 06:00
Nothing except that hourglass thing.
gdk1854
3 Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 06:00
Microsoft XP, P4 processor at 1.6GHz, 128 MB DDR SDRAM.
gjetson99
83 Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 06:00
rustymt
292 Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 06:00
rustymt
292 Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 16:00
I have never had occasion to try this with win's XP blue screen. Might be worth a try,,,,,,,,,,,,nothing lost I guess,,,,,,,,,,
rustymt
Dell Dimension 4100 (incase upgrade) Intel(R) 2.4(oc 2.8) specs
rustymt
292 Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 18:00
The_Namek
2 Intern
•
2.8K Posts
0
April 8th, 2003 18:00
I think rustymt's recommendation to use the recovery console is a bit premature. You're not really experiencing a blue screen of death because there would be an error message if you were and there wouldn't be an hourglass on the screen if it were a "real" BSOD. What seems to be happening with your system is that some application in the startup group or perhaps a Microsoft service is hanging up and preventing Windows' graphical user interface (explorer.exe) from completely loading itself. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete and see if the task manager will come up. If it will then check the Applications tab and see if any apps are listed. If there are any and one or more of them say not responding next to them then shut those down first by highlighting them and clicking the End Task button. Should Windows proceed to finish booting up after you shut down one of the apps then that one is responsible for the lockup. You can use the startup program lists below to determine what programs should be left enabled in the startup menu and which you can disable without any adverse effects.
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm
http://www.lafn.org/webconnect/mentor/startup/PENINDEX.HTM
If you can't bring up the task manager then try booting into safe mode by tapping the F8 key while the system is starting up. This will bring up the advanced options menu where you can select safe mode. Be sure to log on under the Administrator account. If the computer is functional in safe mode then click Start | Run and type in msconfig to open the system configuration utility. Change the startup option to selective and uncheck the box next to load startup items. Next, click the services tab and put a check mark next to the hide all Microsoft services option at the bottom of the window. Click on the Disable All button after you've done this then click Apply and Close. Reboot the system when prompted and let it boot up normally. If the desktop completely loads then you definitely have a startup application or service problem. Post back with results.