Hung on Windows XP Startup

Ugh…I rebuilt my Toshiba Satellite Laptop A105-S4324 with windows XP, updated windows to SP3, reinstalled the basic applications (MS office), and uninstalled (using RevoUninstaller) a lot of the junk applications that come with the Toshiba disks. It's been working great for two days, but now it won't start up. I can restart in safe mode. I've tried a restore to a day ago, maybe I need to go another day back (though that would also restore all the junk applications). I'm not sure if I need to be restoring in administrator or user role. Help!

Hisolo58, Sorry to hear of the problem with your Toshiba.
If it works OK in safe mode but not in normal mode then the finger is pointing something that is trying to load at startup…..

(In safe mode only a minimum is loaded just to get the machine running)

Here's what I suggest you consider:

1 Use msconfig to determine what is causing the problem.
If you are unsure on how best to use msconfig there are plenty of tutorials online…but here's the bare bones!
Click on Start then Run, type
msconfig
press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button.
Reboot and see if it runs normally.
2 If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit. (but do make a note of what you are enabling each time otherwise its easy to become confused.

3 If no then boot into Safe Mode again, start msconfig and this time click on the Services tab.
Tick/Checkmark the Hide All Microsoft Services box, record what is currently starting then click the Disable All button.
Again, do a boot into normal mode, see how it goes
If yes then use msconfig to enable services, just a few at a time till you find the culprit. (here again make a note of what you are enabling each time so you don't get confused.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or if that is problematic post back with its details
You can disable it in msconfig, but at best this is only a temporary fix..
when you've done you can enable everything else you disabled.
Regards
paws

Thanks paws, I ran msconfig, clicked on the Startup tab, and disabled everything. And the laptop rebooted fine. I ran msconfig, clicked on the services tab, and disabled everything, and the laptop rebooted again…. As I try to isolate the "culprit" to I alway hide the Microsoft Services? …There are a lot of them.

OK…I checked all the services….and the machine booted up….? Do I need to check all the Startup Items, or can I operate the machine without any of them working… But…I did run restore…and some of the junk applications came back….and revo-uninstaller doesn't recognize them….like: MSN Windows Messenger MS Office 2003 Trial (two versions)….even though I already have it loaded…. Play games click here for broadband buy at toshiba direct Before I just looked for the location of the files under properties, and simply deleted the folders…Is there a more complete way to get rid of them?

Hi, once your machine started Ok with all statup items disabled……you didn't have to go any further with the "Services"!
You have also used the System RestorePoint facility….. and this was not necessary…… also it has restored your Registry so that unwanted applications are now appearing……..? Is this right?
If I am understanding your correctly then I would suggest you consider running the System Restore again,,,,but this time undoing the last changes that you made.
When you have done this all you need to do is to enable the startup items again following my previous instructions:

2 If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit. (but do make a note of what you are enabling each time otherwise its easy to become confused.

If you are in any doubt then just enable one at a time (making a written note so you don't get confused) until you find the culprit….that is to say the item that causes your machine not to boot into normal mode.
Note each time you enable one of the startup items you will need to reboot (or try to!) to see if you have reached the culprit .
Its a little time consuming doing the reboots…..but its good practice!

Before I just looked for the location of the files under properties, and simply deleted the folders…Is there a more complete way to get rid of them?

If you are trying to uninstall stuff this way, then this is a bad way to do it……. doing it that way will leave all the unwanted application's Registry items behind… together with unwanted files in your Windows system folders (and elsewhere) this will lead to error boxes poping up, slow downs and system instabilities and a generally unstable and unresponsive system.
If you want to uninstall stuff then you should first try the Add and Remove Applications facility in Control Panel and when its done always reboot your computer…this will then perform a much cleaner uninstall and remove most of the unwanted Registry entries.
Regards
paws

thanks, Paws. So I should first: Run Restore to the point where I eliminated many of the unwanted applications. Then run msconfig and uncheck all the services (since they were not necessary during startup). Then uncheck all the startup items (since they were not necessary during startup)…. Correct? At this point why check any of the startup items? They will only slow down the machine at start up, ….which is blazing by the way right now…

Some of those Services and Startup items will be your Anti-virus software. Others may be for other programs you run that require a service or startup. You need to look at them and see what each one is for.