W 98 SE startup problem

[erniejay]

I saw a previous thread on this subject but my problem is different. I am running W98 SE on a Pentium 3 720 with 384 MB RAM and 20 GB HD. A few weeks ago, for no reason that I know, it alway starts up to the menu that normally comes up only when you press CTRL or F8. From there, after I select Normal or it times out to that default, it boots up and runs normally. Then when I click Start/Shutdown, it shuts down to the black screen that usually turns off the computer, then reboots to the F8 menu again as though I had commanded Restart, which I had not, so I have to wait for the black screen and then turn off power. I have not been able to find anything in the computer or in the MS Knowledgebase that might cause this and would appreciate suggestions from anyone who had the experience or knows what the problem is. I suspect that its something that got into the registry but I have not been able to find it. Thanks for your help.

Ernie

[WyllyWylly]

You need to edit MSDOS.SYS. It is a read-only, hidden file at the root of your C: drive. There are two ways to edit it, one easy, one not so easy.

You can install the Resource Kit sampler from your Win98 CD - it's in the toolsreskit directory - and there is a boot editor in the tools list after you install it.

Or, you can remove the read-only and hidden attributes from MSDOS.SYS - if you haven't already enabled Windows, you'll need to <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.windows-help.net/windows98/start-17.shtml>enable this first</A>. Then, open MSDOS.SYS in notepad, and change BootMenu=1 to BootMenu=0. Perform a Save As "MSDOS.SYS" (quotes included) and make it read-opnly and hidden again.

I think the resource kit sampler is worth installing just for the other things that it has.

[erniejay]

Mark,

Thanks for your suggestion. I did find in the MSDOS.sys file the line BootMenu=1 and changed it to zero. I rebooted several times to test it and it never elininated going to the menu nor restarting when I select ShutDown. Any other suggestions? I don't know how the BootMenu got changed to 1 but wonder if other things were changed, the registry possibly?

Ernie

[paulw]

Xteq X-Setup is a freeware utility (www.xteq.com) that enables you to easily change settings in MSDOS.SYS/registry/other obscure places that Microsoft hides things. It is a bit overwhelming in "classic" mode due to the number of options that it shows, but it is worth installing and trying to see if it gives you any clues - it should at least be easy to see anything that looks like your problem (there is s section on startup/shutdown)
It may also be worth checking your system files - could be a corrupt DLL

[R2]

I do not believe this is a registry setting -- because this information is used BEFORE Windows is loaded, and the registry is something used by Windows -- not DOS.

Mark is correct -- this information is USUALLY stored in msdos.sys. Mine has these entries:

[Options]
BootGUI=1
BootMenu=1
Logo=0
DoubleBuffer=2
AutoScan=2
BootMenuDelay=3
BootMenuDefault=1
BootDelay=3

The BootMenu entry *should* control the display of the Menu in question.
BootMenuDelay is how long the menu is present before the default is selected.
BootMenuDefault is the number selected by deault after the delay time runs out.
BootDelay is the pause before actually starting Windows.
BootGUI determines whether or not you boot to DOS or Windows (GUI).

Now, is something repetitively causing your msdos.sys file to change?? Is the BootMenu entry being changed to "1" each time? If so, can we just make the file "Read Only"??

How long is your BootMenuDelay? If you set it to "0", perhaps this would also prevent the screen from being displayed.

If none of this works, then maybe something else is doing this -- but the registry seems unlikely...