Guides to resolve problems in Windows XP

Guides to resolve problems in Windows XP

This site contains Registry Fixes, Customization Ideas, Freeware Utilities, Scripts
and
Troubleshooting Guides to resolve problems in Windows XP.
Resources available in this site should help you learn, troubleshoot and fix the problems yourself.

visit link :

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/



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Repair
XP

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

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Working with Add/Remove Programs

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/arp.htm

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Troubleshooting Error messages in Windows XP

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/errors.htm

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Windows Vista

ips and Troubleshooting information for Windows Vista (32-bit) Operating System.


http://www.winhelponline.com/categories/Windows-Vista/

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Windows XP HOW TO - Basics

http://www.winxptutor.com/xpbasics.htm

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Diagnose boot problems in Windows XP using MSCONFIG


Takeaway: Getting
to the bottom of a Microsoft Windows XP boot problem doesn’t have to be
a lesson in patience. The MSCONFIG utility will help you identify the
possible problem area. Steve Pittsley explains all the features.



Original article by Steven Pittsley

Among all the wizards and utilities in Microsoft Windows XP is one
great utility that has its roots in the Windows 9.x product line: the
System Configuration Utility, or MSCONFIG. This handy utility allows
you to make changes to boot files and startup parameters when
troubleshooting boot problems. I’ll teach you all about the features
included with MSCONFIG so you can eradicate pesky boot problems from a
Windows XP workstation.

Launching MSCONFIG


To use MSCONFIG, click the Start button and select Run. In the Open
box, type MSCONFIG and click OK. The utility will open, as illustrated
in Figure A.

Figure A





You must be logged on to the computer using an Administrator account before you can run MSCONFIG.


The MSCONFIG window contains six tabs: General, SYSTEM.INI, WIN.INI,
BOOT.INI, Services, and Startup. We’ll take a closer look at each of
these tabs in the following sections.

The General tab


The MSCONFIG General tab gives you some basic options for starting a
computer. As shown in Figure A, the default setting for the utility is
Normal Startup. The other two options for starting the computer are
Diagnostic Startup and Selective Startup.

Diagnostic Startup allows you to start the computer with only the
most basic devices and services that are needed for the computer to
run. This startup gives you a clean environment for troubleshooting.

Selective Startup provides a variety of startup options that you can
use for troubleshooting. By default, all the options under Selective
Startup are chosen. However, deselecting one of these preselected
options allows you to prevent one or more of the Selective Startup
options from running.

For instance, if you think one of the programs that launch on
startup is causing a problem, you can deselect the Load Startup Items
option to prevent any startup program from launching. While this won’t
help you determine which program is causing the problem, it will help
you isolate the problem to a certain area. Please note that you’re
unable to select the Use Modified BOOT.INI file unless you make a
change on the BOOT.INI tab, which I’ll discuss later.

Finally, the Launch System Restore button provides easy access to
the System Restore function, and the Expand File button is a very
useful feature if you encounter a corrupted file and want to restore it.

The SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI tabs


The SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI tabs are included for legacy
compatibility, and you may not need to use them very often. These tabs
give you the ability to modify the SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI files or
prevent lines of code from executing when the computer is started.

In Figure B, each line of the SYSTEM.INI file is
displayed in the window. Sections of the file, such as drivers, are
expandable to allow you to work with the lines of code in those
sections. You can also deselect a section to prevent the entire section
from being executed.

Figure B





Deselect a section to prevent the entire section from being executed.


The Move Up and Move Down buttons allow you to move lines or
sections to other locations in the file. The Find button is used to
search the file; the New button lets you add new lines; and Edit lets
you change the value of a line. The Enable All and Disable All buttons
at the bottom of the window will select or deselect all the lines of
the program. Using these buttons to alter these files is much easier
and safer than using a text editor to perform the same tasks.

As you can see in Figure C, the WIN.INI tab provides the same functionality as the SYSTEM.INI tab.

Figure C





Same as before, select and deselect.


Boot options using the BOOT.INI tab


The BOOT.INI tab, shown in Figure D, gives you many
options for starting the computer. The top portion of the window
contains the BOOT.INI file that the computer is currently using. You
cannot edit this file using MSCONFIG. You can change the timeout value
for the boot menu. Even if you can’t edit the file, it is easy to view
the file when you use MSCONFIG.

Figure D





Microsoft recommends that you don’t attempt to use MSCONFIG to edit
BOOT.INI unless you’re directed to do so by a Microsoft support
professional.


Three of the four buttons provided in this window are for editing
purposes and are grayed out by default. The Check All Boot Paths button
is used to verify that the boot paths in the BOOT.INI file are correct.
When you click this button, you’ll receive either an error message you
can use for troubleshooting or a window alerting you that the boot
paths have been verified.

Boot option pane


The most valuable functions on the BOOT.INI tab are the boot
options, which are explained below. You can use these choices for a
variety of troubleshooting techniques:

• /SAFEBOOT gives you suboptions for starting the computer.
  
  
  
  • /SAFEBOOT with MINIMAL starts the computer in Safe Mode.
    
  • /SAFEBOOT with NETWORK starts the computer in Safe Mode with networking support.
    Note: /SAFEBOOT with NETWORK does not load the normal network
    configuration; instead, it loads a generic TCP/IP network configuration.
    
  • /SAFEBOOT with DSREPAIR is used to repair Directory Services on Domain Controllers.
    
  • /SAFEBOOT with MINIMAL (ALTERNATESHELL) starts the computer in Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
    
  
  


• /NOGUIBOOT starts the computer without the VGA video driver that
  displays graphics during the boot process and Blue Screen crash
  information.
  
• /BOOTLOG enables boot logging to help you debug and troubleshoot startup problems.
  
• /BASEVIDEO starts the computer using a standard VGA video driver, as opposed to the one installed for the graphics card.
  
• /SOS causes the driver names to be displayed when they’re loaded. You can use this switch to diagnose driver-related issues.
  

The BOOT.INI Advanced Options screen, shown in Figure E, offers you more options for starting your computer:

• /MAXMEM limits the amount of memory that Windows XP can use. You
  can use this switch if you believe that your system has a bad memory
  chip.
  
• /NUMPROC limits the number of processors used in a multiprocessor system.
  
• /PCILOCK stops Windows XP from dynamically assigning system
  resources to PCI devices. The devices will use the BIOS configuration
  instead.
  
• /DEBUG starts the computer in debugging mode. It allows you to
  configure the machine with three additional suboptions, as follows:
  
  
  
  • /DEBUG with /DEBUGPORT specifies the communications port to be used for debugging.
    
  • /DEBUG with /BAUDRATE specifies the baud rate to be used for
    debugging. The default baud rate is 9600 with a modem and 19200 with a
    null-modem cable.
    
  • /DEBUG with /CHANNEL specifies the 1394 communications channel for debugging.
    
  
  

Figure E





These are the advanced options.


Working with the Services tab


The MSCONFIG Services tab, shown in Figure F,
allows you to prevent specific services from starting when the computer
is started. This is extremely useful when you’re troubleshooting
service-related problems.

Figure F





Microsoft has designed the majority of services in Windows XP. To
make it easier to find a non-Microsoft service, you can select the Hide
All Microsoft Services option.


Troubleshooting using the Startup tab


The Startup tab lets you prevent items in your startup folder from starting when you log in. As you can see in Figure G,
you can simply deselect the service to prevent it from starting. If you
want to disable all the services, click the Disable All button. To
enable all the services again, click the Enable All button.

Figure G





These are the startup choices.


My favorite feature


The System Configuration Utility is easy to use and will help you
troubleshoot a wide variety of Windows XP boot problems. The ease with
which you can temporarily modify the boot files, system services, and
startup files makes MSCONFIG an extremely useful troubleshooting
utility. The best troubleshooting features I have found are the boot
options located within the BOOT.INI tab. Remember to use caution when
manipulating boot option parameters and always write down any changes
you make in case you get stuck.

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http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window-on-windows/diagnose-boot-problems-in-windows-xp-using-msconfig/1191

Advanced troubleshooting for general startup problems in Windows XP

This article describes how to troubleshoot difficulties that may occur
when you try to start Windows XP. This article is intended for advanced
computer users. If you are not comfortable with advanced
troubleshooting, you might want to ask someone for help or contact
support. For information about how to contact support, please visit the
following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/


(http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/)





To continue receiving security updates for Windows, make sure you're running Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3).
For more information, refer to this Microsoft web page: Support is ending for some versions of Windows


(http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/end-support-windows-xp-sp2-windows-vista-without-service-packs)



Source :

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308041