How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP (310353)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP 64-Bit Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
This article was previously published under Q310353

INTRODUCTION

To help troubleshoot error messages or other issues when you cannot determine the cause of the issue, disable common startup programs, settings, and drivers to eliminate possible software conflicts when you start Microsoft Windows XP. This procedure is known as "clean booting." This article describes how to perform a clean boot, how to start the Windows Installer service, and how to restore your computer from a clean boot state.

Note After you follow the instructions for a clean boot, you may temporarily lose some functionality. If you restore the settings, you restore the functionality, but you may receive the original error message or experience the problematic behavior.

MORE INFORMATION

Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about your specific issue before you follow these steps. This information is not intended to troubleshoot specific issues. If you are receiving a specific error message or behavior, search the Microsoft Knowledge Base by using the text of the error message and a description of the issue or behavior. To search the Microsoft Knowledge Base, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com

ACW

Guided Help to clean boot or restore your computer from a clean boot state

Guided Help is available to clean boot your computer or to restore your computer from a clean boot state. Guided Help can guide you through the steps or Guided Help can automatically perform the steps for you.

The actions that this Guided Help performs can be undone after Guided Help is finished. To undo the actions that this Guided Help performs, run Guided Help again. When you are prompted by Guided Help, click the Normal startup option or the Clean boot option.

For more information about Guided Help, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

915092 Description of Guided Help for Microsoft Knowledge Base articles

Requirements to install and to use this Guided Help

  • You must be logged on to Windows by using a computer administrator account to install and to use this Guided Help.
  • You must be running Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Media Center Edition, or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition to install and to use this Guided Help.
You must first download Guided Help. To start, click the following link. Download Guided Help

Manual steps to perform a clean boot in Windows XP

Note You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to follow these steps. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from follow these steps.
  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. On the General tab, click Selective Startup, and then clear the Process System.ini File, Process WIn.ini File, and Load Startup Items check boxes. You cannot clear the Use Original Boot.ini check box.
  3. On the Services tab, select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box, and then click Disable All.
  4. Click OK, and then click Restart to restart your computer.
  5. After Windows starts, determine whether the symptoms still occur.

    Note Look closely at the General tab to make sure that the check boxes that you cleared are still cleared. Continue to step 6 if none of the check boxes are selected. If the Load System Services check box is the only disabled check box, your computer is not clean-booted. If additional check boxes are disabled and the issue is not resolved, you may require help from the manufacturer of the program that places a check mark back in Msconfig.

    If none of the check boxes are selected, and the issue is not resolved, you may have to repeat steps 1 through 5, but you may also have to clear the Load System Services check box on the General tab. This temporarily disables Microsoft services (such as, Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting) and permanently deletes all restore points for the System Restore utility. Do not do this if you want to retain your restore points for System Restore or if you must use a Microsoft service to test the issue.
  6. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
  7. On the General tab, select the Process System.ini File check box, click OK, and then click Restart to restart the computer. If the issue continues, the issue is with an entry in your System.ini file. If the issue does not continue, repeat this step for the Process Win.ini File, Load Startup Items, and Load System Services check boxes until the issue occurs. After the issue occurs, the last item that you selected is the item where the issue is occurring.

    Note Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not use System Configuration Utility to modify the Boot.ini file on your computer without the direction of a Microsoft support engineer. Doing so may make your computer unusable.

Manual steps to start the Windows Installer service

Note The Windows Installer service does not start if you disable Load System Services. To use Windows Installer in this case, you must start the service manually:
  1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
  2. In the left pane, click Services and Applications, and then click Services.
  3. In the right pane, right-click Windows Installer, and then click Start.
If you run a Setup program without manually starting the Windows Installer, you may receive the following error message:
The Windows Installer service could not be accessed. Contact your support personnel to verify that the windows Installer service is properly registered.

Manual steps to return from a clean boot state

  1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
  2. On the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services.
  3. Click OK, and then click Restart when you are prompted to restart your computer.

REFERENCES

For more information about troubleshooting startup issues in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

308041 Resources for troubleshooting startup problems in Windows XP

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:6/13/2006
Keywords:kbACW kbHowTo kbACWsurvey kbNoLoc kbNoMT kbPubTypeKC kbfix kbenv kbFAQ kbProd2Web KB310353
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