Can't shake Safe Mode 1

[Konglow]

Started out iritating and now I can't get in. Turn it on and it's in Safe Mode from the start. Can get Task Manager to pull out but is still there when I go back in. I"m looking at black desktop and all icons, non of which work. Have run utilities and they miss it everytime. All I've tried doesn't help. My best guess, some big bug crawled in.

MSI nForce K9N2 SLI Platinum.
AMD Phenom Quad Core 9600 325Gb mem.
WIN Vista Ultimate 32.
Corsair XMS 4096MB PC6400 DDR2.
MSI GeForce GTX 275 vid.
Corsair TX850w psu
Acer 24" HD P249w(Dual Monitors).
Cyber Snyper V2 game pad, Stinger Laser Mouse, Sonar 5.1 Headset.
Maxtor 1.5Tb

EI 5.9

 

[aich69]

Not sure how it's ended up like this but I would boot up (into Safe Mode as it's your only option right now) and run msconfig...check the boot options for starters... assuming you can run this as it seems things are in a bit of a mess for you?

I used to have a handle on life... but it broke. Cpt. Red Bull

 

[kjv1611]

Yeah, you can check the settings as aich69 mentioned, but I'm seriously thinking you may be right on the bug. If it were me, I'd try looking around, tinkering around a little, but if no luck pretty quick, I'd seriously wipe the drive, and reinstall Windows from scratch... get all updates, get security up to date (AV, Firewall, Anti-malware/antispyware), and if you don't have a router, get one.

To wipe the drive, I'd go with Active KillDisk or DBAN from

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

- you can get each separate, and I usually have, but it's really nice to have a full diagnostics, tools disk around when you need one.

 

[linney]

Can you press F8 and actually get to the Safe Mode screen options?

If so do any of the options there like, Start Windows normally, Last known good configuration, or even Startup Repair, do anything for you?

Vista Advanced Boot Options

http://techblissonline.com/vista-advanced-boot-options/

Startup Repair.

Startup Repair is a Windows recovery tool that can fix certain problems, such as missing or damaged system files, that might prevent Windows from starting.

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Wi...809f-ed90-415f-a83f-89b42108b3551033.mspx#EFF

Startup Repair: frequently asked questions

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/5c59f8c1-b0d1-4f1a-af55-74f3922f3f351033.mspx

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Try it first by not checking either box (this will run it in a Read-only mode) to see if it flags any hard drive or file problems. If it does, restart it by ticking both boxes, and rerun it to allow it to attempt to fix any found problems.

How to use the Command Prompt in the Vista Windows Recovery Environment

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial147.html

Using System Restore from the Vista Windows Recovery Environment

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/tutorial142.html

How to use System Restore to log on to Windows Vista when you lose access to an account

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940765/

If you remove all the easily detached hardware such as anything USB will it boot normally?

 

[Konglow]

I pretty much tried all of the suggestions, when I was able. Things got progresively worse until all I get is a black desktop, all icons though none work and safe mode in every corner. Does sound like time for a new install. Thanks for the advice.

MSI nForce K9N2 SLI Platinum.
AMD Phenom Quad Core 9600 325Gb mem.
WIN Vista Ultimate 32.
Corsair XMS 4096MB PC6400 DDR2.
MSI GeForce GTX 275 vid.
Corsair TX850w psu
Acer 24" HD P249w(Dual Monitors).
Cyber Snyper V2 game pad, Stinger Laser Mouse, Sonar 5.1 Headset.
Maxtor 1.5Tb

EI 5.9

 

[linney]

Can you boot from something like this?

Windows Vista Recovery Disc Download

http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vista-recovery-disc-download/

A Vista Wow - The Recovery Environment

http://www.windowswatch.co.uk/2008/01/a-vista-wow-the.html

 

[Konglow]

All great advice but main prob was freezing on first, second or third MB screen, mostly first. Finally got in and rolled back a week. Still nothing but safe mode on start. Repeated process many times again and finally got in and rolled back 2 weeks. Am online again and crossing my fingers.Next I try the same with 2 frozen XPs. Thanks for all your input.

MSI nForce K9N2 SLI Platinum.
AMD Phenom Quad Core 9600 325Gb mem.
WIN Vista Ultimate 32.
Corsair XMS 4096MB PC6400 DDR2.
MSI GeForce GTX 275 vid.
Corsair TX850w psu
Acer 24" HD P249w(Dual Monitors).
Cyber Snyper V2 game pad, Stinger Laser Mouse, Sonar 5.1 Headset.
Maxtor 1.5Tb

EI 5.9

 

[linney]

If it goes bad again, maybe it is time to look at the hardware side of things like hard drive, RAM, and Video Card?

Fingers crossed, however.

 

[kjv1611]

It would not be a bad idea to run a few hardware (RAM, Hard Drive at least) scans with something like

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com

- the RAM/Hard Drive tests there at least.

And there are other scanners available, but that's a quick and easy one-stop shop type of ISO image... download, burn, boot, test, etc..