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Active Desktop Crashing windows ME?

VISTA98

By VISTA98
in Windows 9x/ME

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VISTA98

VISTA98

Posted
Posted

After windows ME finishes loading the desktop displays fine then suddenly it changes to white background (Windows turning off Active Desktop), the system then hangs, then spontanously reboots by itself... and so on

this PC has no internet so it could not have been any thing downloaded. The last time I used it, there were no problems.

Acer Aspire 6600 (about 4 years old)

PIII 800Mhz

15 GB HDD

1024+64 RAM +Shared

Windows ME OEM (Acer version) / No MS DOS installed

PC Cillin 2000

Nero (can't remember may be ver 4)

Adope Acrobat 6

MS Word 2000

MS Works

any idea what causes this, I know I should turn off active desktop, but I can't get into safe mode for some reason

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Ponch

Ponch

Posted
Posted
I can't get into safe mode for some reason

Never seen a PC that wouldn't get into safe mode. Or do you have a problem with your keyboard, can't press F8 ? Is it a USB keybard ?

Who needs Active Desktop ? :wacko:

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MDGx

MDGx

Posted
Posted

Or download an emergency/startup boot disk:

http://www.mdgx.com/drv.htm#LKC

and then run:

scandisk

and then:

scanreg /fix

from native MS-DOS while running the boot disk [floppy or CD or DVD, doesn't matter].

BTW:

Windows ME OEM (Acer version) / No MS DOS installed
Windows ME installs [and can't even boot without] MS-DOS 8.0, a stripped-down version of the better MS-DOS 7.10, which is installed by Win98 + Win98SE.

The good news is MS-DOS 8.0 can be made "better" with 1 of these real mode DOS patches:

http://www.mdgx.com/dos.htm#ME

If you have a USB/Firewire keyboard, you need an old style [legacy] PS/2 port keyboard that works from native MS-DOS [C:\ prompt], without Windows drivers.

Every computer motherboard has a PS/2 port in the back of the computer case.

Just borrow one and plug it in.

Then press F8 to boot into Safe Mode:

http://www.mdgx.com/msdos.htm#MEN

P.S.:

When you get back into your PC desktop, you may want to uninstall the old PC Cillin software, and find a better/free A-V tool.

Startup, Run, RunOnce, RunOncex, Setupx, WIN.INI run/load etc... entries can be disabled/deleted from safe mode.

Try to run:

msconfig

HTH [Hope This Helps]

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Chozo4

Chozo4

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hopefully this only ends up as a minor issue. Vista98. However, If you are able to access DOS but still can't get into safe mode, perhaps try rolling back to registry by typing in 'scanreg' then selecting one of the backups in the 'view backups' list. Not sure if it would help but it just might.

Also, if that doesn't help and considering it never goes online, perhaps do a disk check through DOS if/when you get into it by typing 'scandisk' and letting it scan through. You might have ended up with a system file being crosslinked. If it reports any having been done so, keep note of which files they are.

If you have a USB/Firewire keyboard, you need an old style [legacy] PS/2 port keyboard that works from native MS-DOS [C:\ prompt], without Windows drivers.

Every computer motherboard has a PS/2 port in the back of the computer case.

That actually depends as some mainboards support/enable Legacy-KB emulation through USB. Making the KB usable not only through the BIOS but in native DOS as well. Most of the keyboards needing windows drivers usually (never seen one that didn't) need them only for multimedia-button support if the board has Legacy-KB emulation.

edit: Wow, I sounded snotty for some reason after re-reading (again) what I'd typed. :(

Edited by Chozo4
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VISTA98

VISTA98

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

Thanks to everyone that responded, I will try all your suggestions. I do have another WIN ME CD but it is a retail boxed version (doesn't boot from CD) while the version on this computer is OEM Acer so I wasn't sure if it could be of any help?. :rolleyes:

And yeah, jaclaz, you keenly figured out what I'd intended with my user name VISTA98 ... ! :thumbup

I have almost all Windows versions starting with3.1 to XP Pro but not VISTA .. huh!

Edited by VISTA98
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YKWIA

YKWIA

Posted
Posted
Or download an emergency/startup boot disk:

http://www.mdgx.com/drv.htm#LKC

and then run:

scandisk

and then:

scanreg /fix

from native MS-DOS while running the boot disk [floppy or CD or DVD, doesn't matter].

BTW:

Windows ME OEM (Acer version) / No MS DOS installed
Windows ME installs [and can't even boot without] MS-DOS 8.0, a stripped-down version of the better MS-DOS 7.10, which is installed by Win98 + Win98SE.

The good news is MS-DOS 8.0 can be made "better" with 1 of these real mode DOS patches:

http://www.mdgx.com/dos.htm#ME

If you have a USB/Firewire keyboard, you need an old style [legacy] PS/2 port keyboard that works from native MS-DOS [C:\ prompt], without Windows drivers.

Every computer motherboard has a PS/2 port in the back of the computer case.

Just borrow one and plug it in.

Then press F8 to boot into Safe Mode:

http://www.mdgx.com/msdos.htm#MEN

P.S.:

When you get back into your PC desktop, you may want to uninstall the old PC Cillin software, and find a better/free A-V tool.

Startup, Run, RunOnce, RunOncex, Setupx, WIN.INI run/load etc... entries can be disabled/deleted from safe mode.

Try to run:

msconfig

HTH [Hope This Helps]

But I want the Boot into DOS option available in the Shutdown Dialog, Can anyone make that happen?

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Ponch

Ponch

Posted
Posted
I want the Boot into DOS option available in the Shutdown Dialog, Can anyone make that happen?

ME doesn't do that (thanks Bill). There is a patch for the boot files allowing it though. You can search for it, or see here for instance.

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YKWIA

YKWIA

Posted
Posted
I want the Boot into DOS option available in the Shutdown Dialog, Can anyone make that happen?

ME doesn't do that (thanks Bill). There is a patch for the boot files allowing it though. You can search for it, or see here for instance.

I know, I tried that, But I feel that I should have that option in the shutdown dialog.

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MDGx

MDGx

Posted
Posted

The only way [i'm aware of] to force WinME to show "Reboot/restart into MS-DOS" in the shut-down menu list [from inside Windows, anyway] is to hex-edit SHELL32.DLL [dialog 1064], for example using Resource Hacker:

http://www.angusj.com/resourcehacker/

This real MS-DOS mode patch:

http://www.geocities.com/mfd4life_2000/

same as all other similar ones listed here [and including the 1 by mfd4life above]:

http://www.mdgx.com/dos.htm#ME

only hex-edit COMMAND.COM, IO.SYS + REGENV32.EXE to allow to boot to native MS-DOS, use the DOS based Startup (boot) Menu:

http://www.mdgx.com/msdos.htm#MEN

and use AUTOEXEC.BAT + CONFIG.SYS files [which can be edited/customized at will], the same way Win95/98 behave.

But none of those real MS-DOS mode patches modify the shut-down menu [sHELL32.DLL].

HTH

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