Windows 98 hangup

Hey Matt,
Thanks, I'm in!
Well I have a Windows 98 that after 15 sec after booting up freezes up. I can run in safe boot. Although open up the help section I can't see anything on the right side of the screen. Also I have defrag in safe mode. I also have done a restore.

mecivie

 

networking

hey matt iam mahesh ihave two systems but two is connecting in local net but one system is not seeing what's problem

 

networkin

Sorry u reached micivie instead of Matt

 

Hi mecivie,

mecivie sent me a Private Message and had a little problem starting a new thread. Glad to see you made it and welcome to the BBS.

You mentioned in the PM having trouble running Defrag, so try running Scandisk on the drive/s. In My Computer, right-click on the drive and select Properties. Under the Tools tab, select Error Checking and put a check in both the checkboxes. It may take several hours.

To save trying to chase a rogue startup program by guesswork, the best way to find what is causing the freezes is to do a "Clean Boot" startup.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/Q192926/en-us
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324609/en-us
It starts normal mode but with all the startup items turned off. You then go through a process of elimination.

Matt

 

Forgot...

In Safe Mode, look in Device Manager for any errors listed.

Matt

 

I have thought of another check I would make when the system will only run in Safe Mode. In Device Manager, open each of the listings under the headings. Check for long lists of the same device, that will mean Windows does not have the correct drivers available and is often reinstalling the drivers. It means you will need to find the correct drivers. Make a note of what the device is and what heading it is under, you can then delete (Remove) all the listings. You will need to have the new drivers ready for restart in normal mode, otherwise click Cancel in the Add New Hardware wizard until you are able to install them.

Matt

 

Hello Mahesh, I would ask that you start your own thread for a different problem. Since it seems like a networking problem, you may be better off asking in that forum and let them know if it is Win 98.

A quick tip, although I am not certain what the problem is (you will need to describe it better). Check that they are using the same Workgroup name and Subnet Mask. One of them may need to have a set IP address (the one which connects to the internet).

Mahesh, a thread relates to one problem, please don't ask questions about a different problem in someone else's thread, it is called hijacking. Start your own thread for your particular problem. Read through the forum rules if you are not certain.

Thanks
Matt

 

uninstall the drivers
let it reboot and let the drivers install as a start
you might want to take out one card at a time - or remove the cards and add them back one at a time and see if you can diagnose if its one of the cards - obviously you cannot take out the video card

 

98OS hangup

Hi Mat
Thanks for the info. I have done a Clean Boot, defragged in safe mode, scan disk in drive C; D; & E which said the directory structure, File allocation structure, File system & surface scan was ok. Then took out my Linskey Ethernet card and did a Quick Restore. None of the above resolved the problem. I then went to run: msconfig keyed in Window\options\cab & recived the following message: Message SU 99035, An invalid command option was specified, check the comand line and try again, or type Setup/? for help on the setup ommnad option (0x13ab) which I did and got the same message. I also got a message saying file: odbcconf.exe was not found when I tried to reinstall window 98.

 

You have done very well so far. You ran a reinstall of Windows by booting the computer to the Windows CD or using a Startup floppy disk? That's a good effort, but being able to run in Safe Mode tells us that there is something running at startup in normal mode that Windows cannot handle. A reinstall will not change the startup programs or any problems in the registry. It will though, reinstall a new set of drivers, but seems to be having problems with the odbcconf.exe file. That file runs MDAC
http://www.tomshardware.com/ucg/commands/odbcconf-13592.html
and I know I have needed to upgrade MDAC in the past, but I cannot remember the details. I will let you do some searching at the knowledgebase:
http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1
I am not sure if you can run an upgrade in Safe Mode, but you may as well try.

Either way, try rerunning the reinstall again. I have sometimes found it is successful the second time.

Something else you can do is to run System File Checker in Safe Mode, but you will probably lose all your Windows Updates and have to install them again. (Do them in small chunks at a time.)

I am not sure what you mean by "restore ", Win 98 does not have an MS system restore function.

Freezes can be related to hardware components overheating. Have you checked inside the case for any build up of dust (including [front] air vents and around/under the fan on the CPU)? You can run with the case open and check that all the fans are spinning freely. Look around carefully because there may be a fan on the graphics adapter and there is one in the power supply unit. Get a computer knowledgeable friend to help if you are not certain.

If you check those things, let us know if there are any changes. If it is still getting stuck in normal mode, we might be able to do a check on the startup items.

Keep up the good work

Matt

 

Sorry but I'm not the experienced with troubleshooting. When you say take out a card, does that mean just uninstall them? Also, is there one place I can go that will show me all the drivers I have?

 

If visionof is not around, he means to physically take any add-in (PCI) cards out of the computer. If you take the cards out, it will also stop the drivers loading. When you put the cards back in, the drivers will either be loaded again or if Windows thinks that the wrong drivers might be installed, it will go through the Add New Hardware wizard to see if the correct drivers are available. You don't need to uninstall the drivers for the card, Windows just won't load the drivers because it cannot detect the hardware.

Problems can be caused by the software associated with some hardware, like graphics and audio "control panels" or mouse/keyboard "helper" software. To uninstall those, look in Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs.

The place to see what drivers are installed is in Device Manager (Control Panel -> System -> Hardware tab) or you can search and read about it in the Start -> Help menu. The hardware is under headings, you open the headings/branches by clicking the plus sign (+) beside them. If you want to reinstall or install a new set of drivers, highlight the device and click the Remove button. The Add new Hardware will run when you restart the computer.

Matt