Troubleshooting Specific Startup problems

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When errors occur a file called Wnbootng.sts is created in C:\Windows, when
restarting computer Win95/98 searches for this file, if found it will boot in the safemode.

I made a batch file, if you call it then it will delete Wnbootng.sts file.

deltree c:\windows\wnbootng.sts

This describes specific conditions that might interfere with starting a Windows 95 computer and how to fix them.
In general, for system startup problems, the first problem-solving method is to start Windows 95 in Safe Mode. For information about how to start in Safe Mode and use BOOTLOG.TXT for troubleshooting, see General Troubleshooting in your Reskit.

Usually this occurs because of legacy hardware that was configured incorrectly before Windows 95 was installed. Remove settings for hardware services in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT. Also, ensure that any SCSI devices are terminated correctly. You might also need to disable the ISA enumerator. This software detects a new type of adapter that can be configured from the operating system. The detection sequence requires the ISA enumerator for I/O processes on some ports. Although every effort has been made to avoid ports commonly in use, you might have hardware that is also trying to use these I/O ports.

To disable the ISA enumerator

Remove the following line from the [386Enh] section of SYSTEM.INI:

device = ISAPNP.386

If you receive a “Bad or missing filename” message when the system is starting (where filename might contain HIMEM.SYS, IFSHLP.SYS, and so on), do the following:

Check the syntax of the entry in CONFIG.SYS or other startup file.
Verify the existence, location, version, and integrity of the file.

If the filename to which the message refers is a device driver the computer needs for accessing the drive where Windows 95 is installed, you need to move the device= line that contains the device driver to the beginning of CONFIG.SYS to allow access to the drive when CONFIG.SYS tries to load files from the Windows directory.

When Windows 95 loads, it counts on key files being available and undamaged. If a system file is damaged or missing, it might prevent loading or normal operation. If VMM32.VXD or other core files are missing or damaged, you might need to run Windows 95 Setup and select the Verify option in Safe Recovery to replace the files.

Windows 95 automatically replaces SYSTEM.DAT from the backup Registry .DA0 file.

-Or –

Windows 95 automatically uses Safe Mode to start Windows 95 and displays the Registry Problem dialog box. Click the Restore From Backup And Restart button to restore the Registry, which copies SYSTEM.DA0 and USER.DA0 to .DAT files.

If both SYSTEM.DAT and SYSTEM.DA0 files are missing (or if the WinDir= entry in MSDOS.SYS is not set), a message informs you that the Registry file is missing and that Registry services are not available for this session. (This means that most operations in Windows 95 will fail.) After this message appears, Windows 95 automatically starts in Safe Mode and displays another message offering an option to restore the Registry. However, if there is no .DA0 file, the Registry cannot be restored. To resolve this problem, either restore SYSTEM.DAT from backup or run Windows 95 Setup.

For information about backing up and restoring the Registry, see Windows 95 Registry.

A ROM BIOS setting might prevent Windows 95 from installing or loading, because some computers have a feature that prevents applications from writing to the boot sector. This is usually in the form of anti-virus protection set through your computer’s CMOS. If this is enabled, Windows 95 cannot complete the installation or cannot start properly.
If boot sector protection is enabled in the computer’s BIOS, one of the following symptoms occurs:

Windows 95 Setup stalls.
Windows 95 stalls while starting.
The anti-virus software prompts you to overwrite the boot sector. Choosing Yes might allow you to complete the Setup procedure, but Windows 95 stalls when it attempts to load.

To correct this problem, disable the Boot Sector protection feature through your computer’s CMOS, then reinstall Windows 95. For information about disabling this feature, consult your hardware documentation or service center.

If a VxD is missing or damaged, Windows 95 displays an error message that indicates which VxD is involved. If the VxD is critical to the operation of Windows 95, then Windows 95 does not start and the screen displays the command prompt. You might need to run Windows 95 Setup and select Verify or Safe Recovery to replace the missing VxD.
You can selectively override a VxD that is included within VMM32.VxD. If the same VxD is loaded twice, the second instance intercepts all the calls to that particular VxD. There are two ways to override this:

Copy the related .VXD file into the Windows SYSTEM\VMM32 directory.
Edit SYSTEM.INI to add the entry device= filename.vxd in the [386enh] section.

You cannot use dual boot to run a previous operating system.

To take advantage of the dual-boot support in Windows 95, you cannot install Windows 95 into an existing Windows 3.x directory, and the value BootMulti=1 must be defined in the Windows 95 version of MSDOS.SYS.
DR DOS and versions of MS-DOS earlier than 5.0 do not support Windows 95 dual-boot functionality. To return to your previous operating system, you have to remove Windows 95 and reinstall your previous operating system, as described earlier in this chapter.

You may need to use the "Verify Only Mode".
The "Verify Only Mode"

The "Verify Only Mode"

v - This switch enables Verify Only mode. Detection has two stages:

1. Verify existing devices in the registry.

2. Detect new devices.

This switch tells Detection to perform only stage 1. This switch is used by the PCMCIA Wizard to verify legacy devices in the registry.

The default is disabled.

Example: setup /p v

When trying to dual-boot to the previous version of MS-DOS, you might receive an error message stating that your previous MS-DOS files were not found. It is probable that either the files are missing, or that your previous version of MS-DOS was not version 5.0 or higher.
You must have MS-DOS 5.0 or higher in order to start to a previous version of MS-DOS. Any version of MS-DOS earlier than 5.0 looks for the first three sectors of the IO.SYS file in the first three sectors of the data area of the drive. In MS-DOS 5.0 or higher, IO.SYS is designed to allow itself to be located outside the first three sectors of a drive’s data area. In this situation, the only way to start to a version of MS-DOS prior to 5.0 is from a startup floppy disk.

Drivers, such as DBLSPACE.SYS, that are loaded when you start the computer using the earlier version of MS-DOS might not be available.

The previous operating system might have required certain real-mode drivers (compression, partitioning, hard disk drivers, and so on), and does not start correctly without them.

At system startup, press F8 and select Step-By-Step Confirmation to verify the correct loading of all specified drivers.
Verify that any drivers required to support your hardware are all specified in the appropriate startup file.

In some cases, Windows 95 is unable to recognize an installed device, and the device resources are unavailable to Windows 95. If Windows 95 doesn’t recognize an installed device, remove it in Device Manager, and reinstall it by using the Add New Hardware option in Control Panel. You can also use Device Manager to check resource conflicts. For information, see Devices. Or see the hardware conflict troubleshooting information in online Help.

If you try to install drivers for Windows 3.x from other vendors over Windows 95 (such as sound or video drivers), running the provided installation program can cause Windows 95 to fail to start or operate correctly.

To recover, when using a device that is supported by Windows 95

1. Remove all entries in SYSTEM.INI that were added by the installation software from another vendor.
2. Delete the device in Device Manager in the System properties, as described in Devices.
3. Shut down and restart Windows 95.
4. Use the Add New Hardware option in Control Panel to reinstall the device by using the Windows 95 drivers.

The wrong applications run after Windows 95 starts.

In Windows Explorer, double-click the Windows Start Menu\Programs\Startup directory, and then delete any items that you do not want to run when Windows 95 starts.
If the programs that are running do not appear in the Start Menu folder in Windows Explorer, run Registry Editor and find this key:

HKey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Explorer\Shell Folders
 

The value of Startup= should be Windows\Start Menu\Program\Startup, where Windows is the drive and directory containing the Windows 95 files. 

Although there is no way to prevent Windows95 from detecting and installing drivers for some devices, you can disable certain devices that may be causing conflicts. The lack of a feature to remove an item from the list of detected devices (when you use Add/Remove Hardware) is quite irritating and confusing, but problems can usually be averted by following these steps:

1. Right-click on My Computer, and select Properties.
2. Click the Device Manager tab, and select the device you wish to disable.
3. Click the Properties button, un-check Original Configration, and click OK.

  When starting Windows, your modem tries to connect to your Internet service provider (ISP). This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons:

You use a program that automatically checks for updated components or Web pages

A program that dials your ISP is located in the StartUp folder

Your computer is infected with a Trojan horse virus such as System32.exe that starts when you start your computer. Note that most anti-virus programs do not currently detect or remove Trojan horse viruses

Symantec WinFax is installed on your computer

You are using a Lexmark printer. The Lexmark printer software may add Lexstart.exe to the Run key in the registry to handle print commands that you send to the printer. This can cause Dial-Up Networking to prompt you to dial your ISP.

You are using Microsoft Personal Web Server 4.0, and the Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MSDTC) service is being loaded from the StartUp folder.

For solutions, see Microsofts Knowledge Base Article No. Q175312