windows 98 not loading completely

ok...so my windows 98 is starts loading then half way it asks me
You are in MS-Dos Mode. Do you want to return to normal mode, Yes or No? I choose Yes and it reboots the machine.
I try to enter it safe mode and can get into that fine. This constant rebooting only happens when I try to let the machine boot up normally. Anyone ever have this problem? Fix?
IBM Aptiva
Win98
Thanks

1. RE: windows 98 not loading completely
lbyard Feb-19-02 05:33 PM
In response to message 0

Boot to Safe Mode Command Prompt Only
C:\>win /wx
Please let me know if this worked. Larry

2. RE: windows 98 not loading completely
dskny Feb-20-02 09:37 AM
In response to message 1

Larry
That did not work.
The only way I was able to get into safe mode was by holding down the CTRL key while the machine was loading up.
Thanks

3. RE: windows 98 not loading completely
lbyard Feb-20-02 12:13 PM
In response to message 2

>The only way I was able to get into safe mode was by holding down the CTRL key while the machine was loading up.
That is also the way you get into Safe Mode Command Prompt Only, which is another choice on the menu. Is that what you did?
Also, try renaming both the autoexec.bat and config.sys files…
C:\>ren autoexec.bat autoexe.dux
Larry

4. RE: windows 98 not loading completely
dskny Feb-20-02 12:27 PM
In response to message 3

Thanks Larry
renaming the config and autoexec files worked

5. RE: windows 98 not loading completely
lbyard Feb-20-02 12:44 PM
In response to message 4

You may want to experiment and see what line in those files was causing the problem. Edit them, e.g….
C:\>edit autoexec.bat
And put a rem in front of one line at a time, e.g.,…
Rem <rest of the line>
(note the space after rem)
And save to…
Autoexec.bat
Or, the problem could have been caused by a recent software install. Most of these installs will back-up the configuration files before modifying them. Search for the backups with…
C:\>dir autoexec.*
The * can be .bak, .tmp, whatever (I use .dux because no one else does and future install programs will not overwrite them). Looking at the dates will indicate which is the most recent. Try renaming them to .bat and .sys, respectively, after making sure you have a backup of your originals.
Windows 98 does not need autoexec.bat or config.sys files (Windows 95 does), but some older devices and programs may need them.
Larry