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re: Question about 'Why can't I start Windows when I boot from a floppy?'
Monday, June 9, 2003 at 2:29 pm
Windows 98 Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Marty C
(21 messages posted)
Curtis,
Can you get into the BIOS Setup? If you can you can surmise that the machine is
at least getting to POST. Check that the settings in BIOS are the way that you remember
them, especially your hard disk. It seems unlikely that there is a problem here
since apparently Windows can read the .bmp of the splash screen, but sometimes the
settings are very close and you can read some parts of the disk but not others.
Do you have the Dell diagnostics disk that came with the machine? If not, get onto
the Dell web site on someone else's machine and down load the diags for your PC.
If you do, boot from that disk and run the tests. That will tell you if you have
a dead fan or some other hardware issue. By the way, the best way to tell if the
fan is running is to turn the PC around and look at the fan before you start the
PC. Then push the power button and see if the fan spins.
Next, go to www.bootdisk.com and get a new boot disk file for Win98 and one for DOS
as well. Try those boot disks to see if you can get to a prompt.
You did not say if you were able to get the machine into safe mode. Do you get to
the safe/normal/step-by-step/logged menu? What happens next?
Last suggestion is this: You have a Dell. You can call them on the phone forever,
even if you bought the PC used or inherited from your Grandma. Run the diags first,
though, since they will tell you to do that.
Let me know what results.
Marty
On Monday, June 9, 2003 at 2:01 pm, Curtis wrote:
>It's not doing anything. It is making no attempt to start up that I can see. The
>logo just appears on the monitor and nothing else happens. I haven't loaded any
>new software and have not had any upgrades or other stuff. I can't get to any kind
>of DOS prompt or anything. It happened once before several months ago, but then
>it started working properly again without me doing anything to it. Someone told
>me back then it might be the fan having gone out and the machine overheating. I
>can't tell if the fan runs now when I turn it on or not.
>
>Thanks for the reply!
>
>
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 | | |  | re: Question about 'Why can't I start Windows when I boot from a floppy?' (Marty C: Mon, Jun 9, 2003, 2:29 pm) |
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