Windows ME startup Issue: No safe Mode or Dos mode

[Sincere69]

This is my first post and hopefully someone can help me. I am running windowsME and when i first boot up it goes to the startup menu. There is a warning that says "windows has detcted a registry/configuration error. Use scanreg to correct this error". I then try to boot into safe mode or dos mode and it says "Registry file was not found, Registry services may be inoperative for this session. XMS cache problems. Regisrty services may be inoperable for this session". Finally it goes to a blue screen that says "While initiating device shell, cannot find or load required file KRNL386.exe. the file was not found. The system was halted.

I have since downloaded on to my desktop on a cdrw a bootdisk for windows ME. When i put this disk into my laptop and change the boot order to cdrom drive first, the above described sequence happens again. What do i do? I guess essentially i need to be able to get into safe mode or dos mode so that i can run scanreg or run a backup of my registry. But the blue screen keeps stopping from getting inside. Please someone help me, I do not want to have to use my recovery cd and lose 3 years of lawschool work (yes i know I should have backed up). Thanks in advance

[AnnMarie]

Hi Sincere69 - if you have downloaded files, does that mean that you can access Windows? If so, use System Restore to restore your computer to a time before the error occured. It is available via Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore.

[GretaP]

AnnMarie,
it sounds like he/she used a different computer (desktop PC) to d/load the bootdisk file and create a bootable CD in order to boot into DOS on the "problem" PC (laptop PC).

Sincere69,
the bootdisk for WINME that you d/loaded then put on CDRW, was it a file that creates a bootable CD and not a file intended to create a bootable floppy disk? Reason I ask is, I have told several people to d/load the file to create a bootable floppy disk from a certain site, and they mistakenly think that they can copy the d/loaded file itself to a floppy in order to create the startup disk........the file is not intended to work this way, though, it is a self-extracting file that creates a startup floppy disk by extracting the necessary files to floppy when you double-click on the d/loaded file. If this is the type of file that you have d/loaded and then copied to CDRW, your laptop isn't detecting a bootable CD and continues on to try to boot from the hard drive, returning the same error message as you get when you try to boot "normally".

[Sincere69]

Hi, and thanks for some response. Greta P you are correct used another sytem to create the bootable cd. I would have put it on a floppy but I have a problem with that computer recognizing floppy's (not my day). So since I can't get into my system system restore is still not an option. I also see what you are saying in regards to the bootable cd. But because the system I am using now is running windows 98 It won't extract the Windows ME files so that I can create the bootable disk (CDRW). Any more suggestions? And thank you both for replying. I am unfortunately a few steps away from using my recovery disk which I really do not want to do.

[AnnMarie]

Ah, thanks Greta, I dunno what I was thinking of *sheepish grin*

Sincere69 - I dont know the answer to your immediate problem but if I were in your shoes, I would take that laptop to my local repair shop and ask them to try and retrieve that data from the drive rather than lose 3 years work. There is a good chance that they will be able to do this. Then I would use my Restore Disk.

[GretaP]

Sincere69,
A WIN98 startup disk will work on an Windows ME system in order to get you to an A: prompt where you can run Scanreg /restore, and you can also run the System Restore tool from a command prompt. If you'd rather create a WINME startup disk, you can do so from within WIN98, it just takes a little longer to accomplish this task. To create the WINME startup disk, first, create a folder on your desktop (call it WINME startup disk or something like that), then d/load the file to create the startup disk from here (http://bootdisk.com/original.htm) . Click on the link for Windows ME OEM, and d/load the file to the folder that you created. When the file is d/loaded, click on the bootme.exe file in order to expand the files within it into that folder. Once this is done, put a formatted floppy in the drive and then click on the Makedisk.bat file. Follow any further instructions to create the startup floppy disk.

Once you have created the startup floppy disk, you can then create a bootable CD that contains the startup disk files, and it will boot up as if it were a startup floppy disk. I don't know what CD burning proggie you use (Easy CD Creator or Nero Burning ROM, for example), but you could check the help files in this proggie to find out how to create the bootable CD with the startup disk files.

When you have created this bootable startup CD, boot your laptop from the CD and, if you created a WINME startup disk, select Minimum Boot from the startup choices. If you created a WIN98 startup disk, you can choose to start WITH CDROM SUPPORT. Either one will get you to an A: prompt.

To run scanreg /restore, at the A: prompt, key in:
C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND\SCANREG /RESTORE

To run the System Restore tool from the command prompt, follow the instructions in this MSKB article (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q279736)