Recipe 6.6. Performing a Clean Boot

Problem

You want to perform a clean boot so that you can troubleshoot system problems and error messages when you cannot determine the cause of the problems. You then want to be able to track down the source of the problems.

Using a graphical user interface

1. Log on as an administrator.

2. In the Start menu or at the command line, type msconfig and press Enter. The System Configuration Utility runs.

3. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and clear the Process System.ini File, Process Win.ini File, and Load Startup Items checkboxes.

   

   You cannot clear the Use Original Boot.ini checkbox.

   
   

4. On the Services tab, select the Hide All Microsoft Services checkbox, and then click Disable All.

5. Click OK, and then click Restart. This will restart your computer. You'll now be able to see whether the symptoms still occur.

6. When Windows restarts, examine the General tab of the System Configuration Utility to see whether the checkboxes you've deselected are still cleared. If none are checked, you've done a clean boot. If your problems do not recur, you can now try to track down the source of the problem.

7. Run the System Configuration Utility again, and on the General tab check the box next to Process System.ini File, click OK, and then click Restart to restart XP. If the problem continues, the issue is with an entry in your system.ini file. If the problem does not recur, repeat this step for the Process Win.ini File, Load Startup Items, and Load System Services checkboxes until the problem occurs again. After the problem occurs, the last item that you selected is the item where the issue is occurring.

Discussion

If after you run the System Configuration Utility for the first time, your system reboots, none of the checkboxes are selected, and the issue is not resolved, repeat steps 2 through 5, except this time also clear the Load System Services checkbox on the General tab. This will temporarily disable XP services such as Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting. After doing this, repeat steps 6 and 7.

Clearing the Load System Services checkbox permanently deletes all restore points used by the System Restore utility, so if you need to use restore points, don't clear the checkbox. Also, if you need to use an XP service to test the issue, don't clear the checkbox.

If you disable Load System Services, you might not be able to install a program, and may get the error message "The Windows Installer service could not be accessed. Contact your support personnel to verify that the Windows Installer service is properly registered." (Note: Windows Installer, as well as Add/Remove Programs, is not immediately available in Safe Mode and needs a manual start, as detailed in the next paragraph.)

To get around the problem, manually start the Windows Installer Service before installing any programs. To do it, right-click My Computer and select Manage. In the left-hand pane, click Services and Applications, and then click Services. After you do that, in the right pane, right-click Windows Installer, and click Start. The Windows Installer Service will run, so you should be able to install software.

See Also

MS KB 310353, "How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP," and MS KB 281770, "How to perform clean-boot troubleshooting for Windows 2000"