Help! How to enter safe mode in XP?

Please help me with the question. I am using IBM R40e. The question may look stupid for the experienced guys, but I do not know.

 

As soon as the computer begins booting up, start rapidly pressing and releasing the F8 key (top row of keys on the keyboard). If it starts beeping at you when you press the F8 key, you can stop pressing it.

That will get you to the boot menu where you can choose Safe Mode.

 

Entering Safe Mode in Windows XP

Generally you tap f8 or f5 on windows startup
. It is usually one or another.
In desktop IBMs if you add or remove a piece of hardware it stops in safe mode. Not sure if a pcmcia card would do that ?
You can go start > run > msconfig
check " start in diagnostic startup "
Just change it back
Generally if you have 3 failed starts ( turn off part way starting windows)
it will give you the option of safe mode

 

Hi,
While it is true that F8 will get you into Safe Mode,
IBM has it's own way to access certain modes like Safe Mode or the BIOS setup.
As soon as you boot up you usually press Enter and then you can select
which mode you want to access.

It may help if you familiarize yourself with your machine.
There are several entries listed for IBM under Programs.

In addition you may want to check the following links,
One is for updates,although that can also be done from
the IBM program,
the other is for (access to) the User Guide)
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-57556.html

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-46024.html

Hope this helps,
Pete.

 

Thanks guys for replying me.

After I try F8-way, I do enter safe mode. But then a black-background window comes out, like a DOS interface. Previously I thought the safe mode is just like a normal mode, with less applications available. Then I would run SmitfraudFix to delete trojan infected files. But a DOS interface comes out and I forget all dos commands. So I just do nothing and return.

Could you tell me how to run SmitfraudFix in safe mode? Or how to delete files in safe mode?

 

Hi,
I think that covers most of getting into Safe Mode

BTW,the black screen with text you see could be one of two:
1.A list of drivers being loaded (depends on BIOS settings whether you
have silent Boot enabled or disabled)
2. The OS selection screen,which also shows your options like
Safe Mode,Safe Mode with Network etc.
You select your option with the Up and Down arrow keys
(near the number keypad)

To make it even simpler you can use a small utility like BootSafe
http://www.superadblocker.com/bootsafe.html

Pete.

 

Question for DiggerP ....... does BootSafe simply modify the boot.ini file with a /safeboot switch? If so, I don't recommend using it when infections are present on a machine. There are known infections that corrupt the safeboot key in the registry (sometimes remove everything from the key) making a safe mode boot impossible. Once the boot.ini has been modified with the switch, it will forever loop into a safe mode startup. The boot.ini then needs to be modified via the recovery console or similar to allow a successful startup again.

Just an FYI

 

Hi,
Yes interesting question

Yes,but that is no different from what happens when you use
"Start > Run ,type msconfig in the box > OK > Restart >> System Configuration Utility >
Selective Startup button>Boot.INI tab and select your desired mode > OK
and restart

Yes and No. It will do so if you leave Safe Mode selected in the System Configuration Utilty.(this refers to when using "msconfig)
Your choices there are to leave it ticked or untick it and select Normal Startup or Selective Startup.
Once you come back to the Desktop (after a restart) you will get the notification panel
and if you want Normal startup,you have to untick
the checkmark in the box or it will run msconfig each time you start.

Contrast this convoluted method with BootSafe:
You select the mode,restart and it will come back in the selected mode.
To go back to normal from Safe Mode,just run BootSafe again.
It comes up with Normal Mode as default, restart (button in panel)
and you're back to normal.
BootSafe also creates a backup : boot.INI.SAB (Super Ad Blocker of your (normal) boot.INI

I know what M$ prescribes http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022
No need for all these complicated contortions
A simple edit of the boot.INI in a text editor like NotePad would bring it back to normal.
That's why I always recommend a backup of your normal boot.INI,
but in this case BootSafe provides it.

Hope this clears up any confusion

Pete.

 

My point was this ........ if safe mode boot is not possible because an infection has borked the safe boot key, the /safeboot switch present in the boot.ini file will not allow you to boot to normal mode to run BootSafe again, which leaves the machine in a loop trying to boot safe mode.

Now that I think about it, the author of that app is well aware of this too ...... I'm surprised he hasn't modified the app to work differently.

There's a sticky about this in the Malware forum here.
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=64121

 

Hi Dave,

Thanks for the info and yes, your point is well taken and is very valuable,as is the link
to the Malware Forum sticky
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=64121

although the extension of this topic goes well beyond the threadstarter's
(Foodbird) question,which was how to get into Safe Mode.
Nevertheless,since he did mention about running SmitfraudFix,he might well
have to extend his methods to take the extra info into account.

I agree that for both, msconfig and BootSafe, it would be better if they
did not replace the normal boot (device) entry,but instead add the Safe Mode entry
as the first line.
When finished with Safe Mode,they could simply switch the lines, so that
the first line would become the normal mode again.

For myself I always add Safe Mode Minimal and safe Mode w Network
to my boot.INI which then automatically gives me the OS selection screen
at bootup.
Since I also run a couple of other OSs,I use another little app
called Restart http://www.gabrieleponti.com/software/
which gets me into the different modes or OSs right from the systray icon.
In this case this app does not modify the boot.INI but just echoes it
in its own Restart.ini.

Pete.

 

Expert-Friends,

I have to say I understand nothing about your discussions. So I just creep away. Now I come back to report a problem.

Today I follow the instruction of Geri to AVG-scan my whole system under safe mode. The first three attemt of F8-way actually fails. Each time, after I push F8 key until the mechine beeps, it return the following information:

ERROR
0210: STUCK KEY 42
PRESS <F1> TO SET UP

Why does that arise? Is there any problem with my computer?

 

You're pressing the F8 key too soon. Try it a little later, you'll finally get the hang of it.

 

You can't press and hold the F8 key (or any key) while the computer is booting or you'll get, as you have discovered, the "stuck key" error.

You need to repeatedly, and rapidly, press and release the key.

If you're fast enough, you can press the F8 key at exactly the right time, which is the moment the Windows splash screen appears. Some computers are fast enough that the "window of opportunity" flashes by too quickly to get the key pressed in time.

 

Hi Foodbird,

The following is not meant in a sarcastic way,
but you say:

and

I fail to understand why you didn't try BootSafe
http://www.superadblocker.com/bootsafe.html
It's good to know how to use F8,but if you're having that much trouble,
you should try the easy way.
Also a little careful reading goes a long way getting used to the concepts
being discussed.

Pete.

 

Windows may be having problems running what it normally shows in safe mode.

The black background may mean that the "normal" background is too complex to show in safe mode.

Win XP does not use a "background" in MSDOS...it is white lettering on a black screen.

Matt

 

Hi Foodbird,

Just for clarification, you say:

What exactly do you see,
1.A black window with nothing on it except a blinking cursor, or
2.A black screen with some writing on it and if so,what does it say?

I get the same kind of screen and only at the top it says SafeMode,
but I normally have my Desktopbar and Taskbar hidden.
Moving the cursor to the edge of the screen will bring up these items.

 

Thanks, everyone.

Pete, I did not try safeboot since I have a habit that I do not install a saftware unless definitely necessary. Surely it is nice to learn something.

About the black background, it did come out a DOS interface. But I think it is my fault since at the begining I pick not "safe mode ", but "safe mode with... ". The second time I pick only "safe mode ", then everything is ok.

 

Hi Foodbird,

I'm glad you've got that fixed.
BTW

BootSafe is not installed.You download to the Desktop and use it

You learn,we all learn

Pete.
PS For those who missed it, SmitfraudFix is here
http://siri.geekstogo.com/SmitfraudFix.php
and has instructions to get into Safe Mode.