Safe Mode only

[tetonbob]

I recently inherited an old Micron puter, I has intended to scavenge parts, but thought it might make a good tester to run Win95 on. I can run the install successfully to a point...after the "Getting ready to run Windows95 for the first time" screen, when it reboots, it goes to the "system config screen ...this may take several minutes", then goes to the line "Loading Windows".....then it hangs. I've walked away for 30 minutes, thinking that this tiny old HD might just take longer than I'm used to, but it just stays there.

If I shut down hard and restart, it will prompt me to start in Safe Mode, which I do, then I get the message "Windows cannot setup devices in Safe Mode, restart in Normal Mode", which I can't.

I can look at devices in Device Manager in Safe Mode, no issues there. I can also run Word in Safe Mode, and save docs.

When I try to restart in Normal, it just locks up.

I ran a thorough Scandisk, no errors there.

Any clues for me? Should I just take it apart?

TIA

[jdc2000]

What add-in cards or other hardware do you have in the PC? Sometimes Windows has problems detecting and setting up the hardware drivers if you try to have them all done at once. You could try removing any hardware devices you don't initially need (modem, network card, etc.) and only setup the drives and video first. Then, once Windows is loaded, re-install the other items one at a time and load the drivers for them.

[tetonbob]

That's a good idea...I'll have to do a bunch of identification and searching for the drivers before I can reinstall them, as there are no manufacturer's floppy disks with this PC.

This is a really old by computer standards system.....late 80's I think. Soldered ROM chips, SIMM RAM, ISA everything - no PCI at all, no P/S 2. Definitely a project, but might be fun to pull it off. I got this box from my brother, it had been in his work boneyard gathering dust, and I was looking for parts for another rehab project. Turns out this system used to be our Dad's. He passed away a couple of years ago, so it would be cool to bring the old thing back to life.

Every thing is an add-in in this box...the HD is on a SCSI card, the Mitsumi CD ROM was running to the SoundBlaster card before I decided it didn't work and cobbled on a spare to the IDE controller. That and a Win98 startup disk were how I got 95 to load in the first place.

You're probably right, though....I'm thinking some driver/hardware incompatibility somewhere. The screen briefly flashes some weird vertical lines of multi color just before it tries to shut down.

I'll try your suggestions, and get back to you. Might be a little while, but if you have any other ideas, feel free to post 'em.

[tetonbob]

Still no joy-

I removed the sound card and modem, reformatted, and reinstalled. I chose the custom installation, so I could choose Standard VGA as my installed adapter.

It goes through a seemingly successful install, then when it's time for the first reboot, goes to Getting Ready to run Windows95 for the first time....

then that's it. It never really completes the setup.

If I reset, it will only boot in Safe Mode. Attempts at starting in Normal mode from the startup menu result in lockup.

:dizzy:

Any clues from a Win95 expert?

[jdc2000]

If it actually lets you into Safe Mode after the install, try checking Device Manager to see if there are any problems there.

[tetonbob]

Right, the first place I went to. No problems show, but it's not completely functional, either. Status of devices doesn't show in each properties screen. When Safe first boots, I get a message telling me (sorry, paraphrase) i cannot install devices from safe mode, and to restart in normal mode, then install devices. Something ain't right in the install process, whether it's hardware or drivers, I'm not certain.

I tried a process outlined in the VGA folder, readme file on the Win95 disk to overcome known issues with older drivers, such as the Cirrus on my system. - I copied to the C:\Windows\System VGA.VXD. I edited my SYS.INI and SYS.CB to use the standard VGA.VXD on boot. No change with that approach.

This will be a continuing exercise in curiousity. I hope you remain interested. I'll try any suggestions offered. Within reason. ;-) Let me know if I can give more or better details.

[jdc2000]

What processor is in the PC? Intel or AMD?

[tetonbob]

It is an Intel Pentium Overdrive.

[jdc2000]

No AMD update needed then. You might try installing Win98 instead to see what happens.

[tetonbob]

We think along the same lines....after I tried 2 clean installs with Win95, I did try Win98. Same effect....goes through the install process til the first reboot, then hangs, and will then only go into safe mode after a hard reset.