4 replies to this topic

[Sean]

Hey Guys,

Been having problems booting to the login screen for the last day or two. I've stripped a lot of 'fluff' from my system (Windowblinds,Objectdock,etc) but still the problem persists.

I am trying to establish what might be causing the issue, so I can fix it.

I've noticed that if if I hold down the SHIFT key, whilst booting it seems to boot up fine.

I imagine Vista is booting into safe mode, or forcing some apps to not load up on start-up.

However, looking around I can't find exactly what the shift key is suppoused to do. Any ideas?

How can I troubleshoot my boot sequence?

What can I do to make my system boot properly, again?

Basically, the PC will boot, beep, and load the 'Vista Screen' but instead of loading the cursor and the login screen, it will stay black.

Help. Please.  

[Frodo]

I dunno about the Shift button, but is it possible you have a virus?
Try doing a full virus scan.

Also, try the Windows Error-Checking.
Start - Computer - right click on C Drive - Properties - Tools - Error Checking - Check Now.  

[Nick]

Let me see if I can help you. It appears that something is blocking Vista from launching it's GUI. Try booting into safe mode with the command prompt or using your shift key method, and then type 'rstrui.exe' and press ENTER. It will open system restore. Restore your system to 5 days ago. If you can't access your Vista desktop, then I suggest downloading Damn Small Linux for your flash drive. It's a great OS that can help you access your C: drive. I would then delete anything that you installed within the last 5 days.

Please post and tell me how it goes.

[Japofran]

The shift key prevents from loading programs in "Start > Programs > Startup" only, according to a cursory Google search I just did. Look in there for a program that may be causing the problem.

Startup programs are specified in a number of locations, and the Startup folder is only one of them, and the least frequent. If you have Vista you'll have Windows Defender, you can use it to easily explore all of your startup programs.

[Sean]

Okay guys, I imagined it would be a recent install that was causing the issue. Don't actually remember installing anything though. I have however been using WinDirStrat to strip downs some HD space. Maybe I zapped something I shouldn't have.

Could also be a tag-along from some Rapidshare files or something.

A restore isn't a great idea, as my WindowBlinds,etc trial would have lapsed today. I imagine that a 'rollback' will still realize that my license has expired. There's a bunch of start-up crap that I was using (which I have since removed) that will re-surface if I roll back to five days ago.

I'll sort through my startup/boot programs and see if there's any new/nasties/unneccessary crap I don't need.

Thanks for the tips, I'll get back to you with an update when I've had the time to poke around.