Windows xp will not load

Hi all, Fairly major problem with my old workhorse pc… Firstly - for a while it has been impossible to shut the computer down because when you select 'shut down' it will infact 'restart', so I just had to keep pulling the plug… The problem now is that windows XP just won't load properly at all. I can get to the login page and start XP, but then nothing happens - my desktop image displays but literally nothing else loads. I have no icons, no toolbars and I can't get task manager up or anything, it's just dead. If I run it in safe mode however, it is fine and I can access anything as usual. I've done Avast! and SpyBot full scans whilst in safe mode and neither found anything (I'd done scans about 3 weeks ago anyway) The computer isn't used much, but my HP laptop has fallen to the 3 beeps of death, so it'd just be nice to have at least 1 computer working! Any help on where to start with this would be great. Thanks

Hi Grumple.

Since it works okay in Safe Mode, something is starting at boot that is causing the problem.

Use msconfig to determine what it is:

These are good tutorials on using msconfig in XP or Vista:
How to use msconfig in Windows XP
How to use msconfig in Windows Vista

Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button.
Reboot and see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.

If no, boot to Safe Mode again, start msconfig and click on the Services tab.
Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button.
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system.
Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.
Enable everything else you disabled.

Nice Thanks for the easy to understand info - I'll give it a go and let you know how it goes.

Ok… I turned off all the startup entries and it changed nothing. I turned off all the services entries (apart from the microsoft ones) and it started! I then went through the list of services entries enabling them 1 by 1 - doing a restart after each one… But nothing would replicate the problem. For some reason I was unable to enable the following due to admin rights: Avast! Antivirus Avast! Mail Scanner Avast! Web Scanner SQL Server VSS Writer (slightly different message about admin rights) I was logged on as my standard account which does have admin rights (or so I thought) Slightly worrying because it won't actually let me turn on my Avast! services now… Tad confused

Agreed, that is not a good situation. Try doing a System Restore to before you made the changes. That should get you back to where you were. Once that's done, download the latest version of Avast Free, then uninstall the current one. Reboot then install the new one.

Might be a good idea to use Revo Uninstaller (free version) to do the uninstall as it does a better job of cleaning up leftover stuff than the normal uninstaller does.

If that doesn't fix it, then uninstall SQL Server VSS Writer using Revo. Reboot then download and install it again if needed. Looks like you can get it according to the last post here: Where can I download the Sql Server VSS Writer?

ok… I've done a massive clean up of lots of random programs and folders etc… Uninstalled Avast!, Spybot, AdAware, ZoneAlarm - cleaned everything up Installed new versions of Avast!, Spybot, AdAware & COMODO Done scans with everything - only a few minor trackers found (apart from a load of stuff in the RECYCLER folder that Avast! found which is password protected (so it couldn't do anything with them) and have scary names like: 'MicrosoftWindowsSecurityCentreFirewallOverride.zip' & 'MyWayMyWebSearch.zip') But - Windows appears to be working normally again! Apart from when I look at Services in msconfig, the avast! entries are turned off still BUT my avast is running in the taskbar… Tad worried that if I turn them back on it'll just cause the trouble again - they don't actually seem to be for Avast! or it wouldn't be working - right? I also can't seem to get rid of AOL spyware protection from the Services list… Anyways - so far so good (just about!) ; would a hijack this log or anything help clean things up any more? Thanks for your advice so far

The Avast! entries in msconfig are for services that are not there any more, just the registry entries that point to them which is what msconfig is showing you. Enabling them should not cause any problem. That is probably also true for AOL Spyware Protection.

If you open Services (Start / Run type services.msc and press Enter), do you also see these listed and are they actually started?

I don't normally recommend using a registry cleaner but in this case I think it would be a good idea, after taking some precautions.

First, install and run ERUNT, see here: How to backup and restore Windows XP registry using ERUNT, Windows Made Easy

Once that's done, install RegSeeker.
Start it then click on Clean the Registry.
Take the default settings and click the OK button. It will not do anything at this point except locate entries it thinks are not needed.
When it completes, click on Select at the bottom then All Green items. Click on Action then Delete selected items. The green items are registry entries that point to files and folders that no longer exist so should be safe to delete. I've used this many times with no problems.

Once that finishes, close RegSeeker, then shutdown and reboot. Now check msconfig and see if the phantom entries are still there or are gone.

If for some reason there are problems after doing the registry clean, follow the instructions at the ERUNT link I gave you to restore your computer registry as it was before using RegSeeker. I do not believe there will be any problems but it's always best to be safe.

Hi mate, Thanks for your response - I'm struggling for any of my own time at the moment, so I apologise for my late replies. I think I've already got Erunt on here somewhere, so I'll make a back up and try this RegSeeker then let you know what happens. One annoying problem that existed before even this is still digging it's heels in… When I try to shut down, it just restarts. The only way to turn the machine off is by pulling the plug/holding the power button. Any ideas? I'm rapidly leaning towards a total rebuild at the moment… Is there an easy way of formatting and repartitioning a drive these days? I only have scary memories of F-Disk when it comes to that business… Thanks again, you advice is much apreciated

I have similar problems with some of the older Gateway systems I get to work on, like the G6-350 and Performance 500. When I would do a shutdown, it would immediately restart.

The problem is in ACPI/APM implementation of the BIOS. The only way I've ever fixed this is to go into Control Panel, Power Options, APM tab and uncheck the Enable Advanced Power Management Support.. Then when I shutdown I get the message It is now safe to turn off your computer.

Not the cleanest solution, but at least I can turn them off.

Here is a bit more info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307525