Windows 98 won't start up

Working on yet another computer yesterday. It was operating fine for a long time, but middle of yesterday, after a re-boot, it will not start up Windows 98. I got a problem similar to Crazy-dude's and tried a few things mentioned there already, and they don't work here.

I get either of two things when I first turn on or anytime afterwards.

1. When first turned on, it will enter POST sequence, and then the big blue square shows up (with Windows 98) and then goes black, and is at C:\windows prompt. If I punch in WIN, it returns to POST and again. repeats. On occasion is says "You are in MS-DOS mode, do you want to start WINDOWS Y or N? No matter it still goes back to POST and then repeat.

2. If I hold down the CNTL key, it will take me to the five numbered options menu. I tried all of them. Via #3 I can get to Safe Mode, but no further. If I exit, it then takes me to 1 as noted above. If at the five numbered menu, I use #1 that takes me to 1 noted above. If I try the step by step, it goes ahead one by one line from reading the Autoexec.bat file, but still in end takes me to 1.

I have also tried going the scanreg/restore route. No luck. No matter what day/version is chosen, it takes me then to 1 as above.

Just cannot get to old Windows 98 on this one anymore. Like some element got destroyed yesterday or overwritten.

I got a AUTOEXEC.BAT file and a DOSSTART.BAT file but no tmpdelis.BAT file.

Where do I check and what do I alter?

Wm.

type this: CD\ [ENTER]

... next type this:

type autoexec.bat [ENTER]

... post the contents here

***********************

... and:

type config.sys [ENTER]

... post the contents here

Grrrr
wat do I know?
... got brain freeze

You probably know the difference of the two. But here is as of about 20 minutes ago. I don't find anything unusual, other than the mention to old items no longer connected in within the Config.Sys file.

Autoexec.bat .........

@ECHO OFF
set path=c:\windows\command
c:\windows\smartdrv /q
LH c:\windows\command\mscdex /D:IDECD000 /L:M
SET PROMPT=$p$g
SET TEMP=C:\windows\TEMP
CD C:\WINDOWS
win
CALL C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND.COM
C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM /WX

Config.sys..........

DOS=SINGLE
REM To make a DOS Boot Diskette; See the file C:\DOSBOOT\DOSBOOT.TXT

REM Configure the ISA PNP devices
rem device=c:\icu\dwcfgmg.sys

DOS=HIGH,UMB
buffershigh=10
fcbshigh=4
fileshigh=30
lastdrivehigh=Z
stackshigh=9,256
Device=C:\WINDOWS\Himem.Sys /testmem:off

Device=C:\WINDOWS\Emm386.exe RAM NOEMS

DEVICE=c:\cdrom\OakCdRom.SYS /D:IDECD000

It ain't easy getting these, for had to wite to old floppy disk in order to transferr.

Wm.

At a dos prompt type dir c:\config and enter. Do you get config.sys and config.wos? If so, manually rename the files as I suggested in #7 here:

http://www.computing.net/answers/wi...

If no config.wos, are there any other config files besides config.sys?

Otherwise we can alway edit out the DOS=SINGLE line in config.sys and the last three lines of autoexec.bat.

Am writing this from computer number two now.

Well, I bleeped out the DOS=SINGLE, and the last three lines of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. And must have hit a nerve. For computer number two fired off and went normal again.

To answer a few of your inquieries....

I have zero files with a .wos extension.

What I do have instead is:

a config.sys on C: drive, as expected, dated today.

I got a config.txt dated back in 1999.

I got a config.txt dated back in 2008 in the windows Recent directory.

A config.sys in the dosboot file directory dated 1999.

A config.ini in the Mozoilla folder dated 2006 which I know about.

To save questions,

Also have one autoexec.bat file in c:\ dated today.

Also have one autoexec.bat file in c:\windows\recent dated today.

Also have one autoexec.bat file in c:\dosboot dated 2006.

Maybe it was something in those last three lines of the Autoexec.bat file causing the problems. Does not seem to have an interest into immediatley going to MS-DOS mode now.
And, tried that EXIT biz yesterday, and it did nothing.

Wm.

It's the DOS=SINGLE line in config.sys and C:\WINDOWS\WIN.COM /WX in autoexec.bat that specifically are causing it to do that.

Somewhere along the way an icon was clicked to start a dos program. A process was started that should have renamed the existing config.sys and autoexec.bat to files with a .wos extension. Then a new config.sys and autoexec.bat were created to accomodate the dos program and the computer rebooted. A normal exit of the program should have renamed the .wos files back to the windows versions so 98 would boot. But somehow that sequence was interrupted and you got a continuous dos boot.

Since the new config and autoexec files were created for the dos program they likely include other lines that are not needed for windows. Actually you don't need config or autoexec for a windows boot but often software will add something to them.

You may want to change your config.sys to this:

DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\HIMEM.SYS
DEVICE=C:\WINDOWS\EMM386.EXE
DOS=HIGH,UMB
DEVICE=C:\CDROM\OAKCDROM.SYS/D:IDECD000

and autoexec.bat to just this:

C:\WINDOWS\SMARTDRV/Q

(Indeed that line may not be needed either but it wasn't an obvious addition for the dos program.) All the other lines are covered by 98 defaults anyway, except the mscdex line:

LH c:\windows\command\mscdex /D:IDECD000 /L:M

For that you should edit it into DOSSTART.BAT in the windows directory. Loading it from autoexec.bat will enable dos support for your cdrom while in windows, which sometimes causes problems. Putting it in dosstart.bat will give dos cdrom support when you choose 'restart in msdos mode' when shutting down windows.

Coos Bay Lumber -

Just a little late info about your original post, not that it matters now that your system has restored. When Windows 98 does it's MS-DOS Mode thing there is another file besides the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files which gets "sometimes" swapped around (not sure why only sometimes). It's the hidden file MSDOS.SYS. If you show the hidden files on C:\ you'll will see a MSDOS.SYS and a MSDOS.--- You can look at both of these files with a plain text editor. If you renamed the current MSDOS.SYS to something else and renamed MSDOS.--- to MSDOS.SYS, you will get the booting behavior you described in 1. in your original post, where there is a brief display of the Windows98 splash screen and then it goes to the command prompt. This is the BIG difference between DOS 6.x and DOS 7.x. You can actually "hand install" DOS 7.x on a computer using the short version of MSDOS.SYS and use it to run Windows 3.11 (or WfW). It works great, but the computer will always start up with that brief Windows 98 splash screen (the splash screen is built into IO.SYS).

Coos Bay Lumber
"...It ain't easy getting these, for had to write to old floppy disk in order to transfer..."

... the command: "type autoexec.bat"

... would of posted the contents of autoexec.bat to your screen, pen and paper does the rest "LOL"

... ya "pyrolitic" is'nt there a "gui"
io.sys + msdos.sys and the ones that boot you to dos (io.sys+msdos.sys)mode ??

... its been a while since I messed with 98 but I used to save the Graphic User Interface (gui) ones on a floppy to boot into windows 98 gui (with sys.com aswell)
Oh yes remember now I loved 98.

... ok ya!

Grrrr
wat do I know?
... got brain freeze

I don't know what the deal is with the command for the file with the WX extension. Wondered about that myself. As this was a "Given" computer, I think the previous owner may have installed something was was not in the box when I first saw it. They tossed in a flat scanner to which is not on the system either.

Otherwise, have been running a lot of file transferrs here using the older DOS based software called Fast Lynx by Sewell. I got a cable running the 40 feet (overall about 60 feet long then) to the garage computer hanging out in the open. Whenever it gets above 90 degrees around here (most all of the summer now), funny things happen. Usually get zero files transmitted between two computers. But this time it must have been during one of these transferrs that the software did not close down properly.

But, going again. Have altered the two files, got rid of the "fluff" and seems to be running as fast as before.

Wm.

I think pyrolitic was talking about the line BootGUI=1 in msdos.sys. If it's set to 0 (zero) then it boots to a dos prompt.

... thx "DAVEINCAPS"

... ya its all coming back now, there's also:

Logo=0

... to halt the "splash"

... OH yes!

Grrrr
wat do I know?
... got brain freeze

I didn't know the logo could be disabled. I'll have to remember that. Thanks.

Well, yes, BootGUI=0 does prevent the loading of the GUI (Windows doesn't start), but what I was talking about is that MSDOS.SYS in DOS 7.x is all about controlling boot options in Win98/95. You don't need much anything in there if your not running Win98/95. For example: I have a DOS 7.x boot disk that I made just using "SYS A:" from a DOS box in Win98. In DOS 7.x that command puts IO.SYS, MSDOS.SYS, and DRVSPACE.BIN on the floppy with the neccessary coding in the floppy boot sector (I always delete the DRVSPACE.BIN to give more room for useful stuff). The MSDOS.SYS on the floppy is almost totally blank. All it has in it is:
;FORMAT (I donno what that means)
That's it. No Paths, no Options, no "filler" to make MSDOS.SYS >1024bytes. Yet, with the proper configuration, it'll work great for running any DOS program including Windows 3.11 or WfW. Just not Windows 95/98.

Oh yeah, for dos associated with 9x, msdos.sys is really just a placeholder. Often a person will do a 'sys c:' with a bootdisk and end up overwriting the windows version with the dos version. Of course, after that it only boots to dos. Fortunately msdos.sys is fairly generic and can be rewritten or replaced with the same file from another PC running the same OS.