Can't boot into Safe Mode

[skeet3]

During my battle with some malware this morning, I found out I can no longer
boot into safe mode? In looking at the event log during this time I see 2
ftdisk errors - first one was - "The system could not sucessfully load the
crash dump driver.", second one was "Configuring the Page file for crash
dump failed. Make sure there is a page file on the boot partition and that
is large enough to contain all physical memory." It had been quite some
time since I've tried to boot into Safe Mode, so I'm not sure when it may
have started.

Any ideas?

Windows XP Pro with SP3 and all updates
IE 8 with updates.
Dell Dimension, 512 MB RAM, 80 gig harddrive but only using 9.72.

--
Allen Hardy III

"Old age and treachery always wins
over youth and skill" -
Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings

 

[BillW50]

skeet3 wrote on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:38:07 -0500:

During my battle with some malware this morning, I found out I can no longer
boot into safe mode? In looking at the event log during this time I see 2
ftdisk errors - first one was - "The system could not sucessfully load the
crash dump driver.", second one was "Configuring the Page file for crash
dump failed. Make sure there is a page file on the boot partition and that
is large enough to contain all physical memory." It had been quite some
time since I've tried to boot into Safe Mode, so I'm not sure when it may
have started.

Any ideas?

Windows XP Pro with SP3 and all updates
IE 8 with updates.
Dell Dimension, 512 MB RAM, 80 gig harddrive but only using 9.72.

So Allen, when are you going to be a big believer in making makeups to
get rid of these messes? There are some great free ones out there too.

Acronis True Image Seagate Edition (DiscWizard)
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/discwizard

Acronis True Image WD Edition
http://support.wdc.com/product/downloaddetail.asp?swid=119&type=download&wdc_lang=en

Paragon DriveBackup Express 9 (free)
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/

 

[skeet3]

On the battle with the malware - I won. Info from system as follows:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name XXXXX
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Dell DM051
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2793 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A05, 3/31/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name xxxxxxxxxxx
Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 214.15 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.95 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

During my battle with some malware this morning, I found out I can no
longer
boot into safe mode? In looking at the event log during this time I see 2
ftdisk errors - first one was - "The system could not sucessfully load the
crash dump driver.", second one was "Configuring the Page file for crash
dump failed. Make sure there is a page file on the boot partition and that
is large enough to contain all physical memory." It had been quite some
time since I've tried to boot into Safe Mode, so I'm not sure when it may
have started.

Any ideas?

Windows XP Pro with SP3 and all updates
IE 8 with updates.
Dell Dimension, 512 MB RAM, 80 gig harddrive but only using 9.72.

--
Allen Hardy III

"Old age and treachery always wins
over youth and skill" -
Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings

Who won the battle?

Reduce the chances of malicious software by running some scans.

Download, install, update and do a full scan with these free malware
detection programs:

Malwarebytes (MBAM): http://malwarebytes.org/
SUPERAntiSpyware: (SAS): http://www.superantispyware.com/

These can be uninstalled later if desired.

Click Start, Run and in the box enter:

msinfo32

Click OK, and when the System Summary info appears, click Edit, Select
All, Copy and then paste
the information back here.

There will be some personal information (like System Name and User
Name), and whatever appears to
be private information to you, just delete from the pasted
information.

This will minimize back and forth Q&A and eliminate guesswork and
assumptions.

 

[Jose]

On the battle with the malware - I won.  Info from system as follows:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name XXXXX
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Dell DM051
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2793 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A05, 3/31/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name xxxxxxxxxxx
Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 214.15 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.95 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

That information all looks reasonable from here.

See how those particular two malware scans run.

In your debugging efforts, did you adjust any of the Startup and
Recovery settings for System failure and/or Write debugging
information?

In your debugging efforts, did you use msconfig to adjust anything on
the BOOT.INI tab?

Do you have Recovery Console installed as a boot option, a bootable XP
installation CD or a bootable XP Recovery Console CD from which to run
chkdsk /r?

 

[skeet3]

See inserts after your questions!

On the battle with the malware - I won. Info from system as follows:

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name XXXXX
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Dell DM051
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 4 Stepping 4 GenuineIntel ~2793 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A05, 3/31/2006
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
User Name xxxxxxxxxxx
Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 214.15 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.95 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

That information all looks reasonable from here.

See how those particular two malware scans run.
((I actually used Spybot and Malwarebyte scans to remove the problem
malware - it seems very doubtful that the malware I had would be causing the
safe mode problems))

In your debugging efforts, did you adjust any of the Startup and
Recovery settings for System failure and/or Write debugging
information?

((I really haven't done a lot of debugging. I've uninstalled IE8 including
updates and ran hardware diagnostics using Dell CD that came with computer -
no problems detected - but there is still no change in the inability to
boot into safe mode.))

In your debugging efforts, did you use msconfig to adjust anything on
the BOOT.INI tab?

((The only thing I used msconfig for was to initiallly disable the malware
executable in the startup group. I actually disabled this executable before
I ran any malware scans because I recognized it as being a problem. No
changes were made to boot.ini))

Do you have Recovery Console installed as a boot option, a bootable XP
installation CD or a bootable XP Recovery Console CD from which to run
chkdsk /r?

((I have no recovery console in boot options and only XP CD is the OEM
reinstallation disk, which I really don't want to use. I'm not sure exactly
how long I've had the problem of being unable to boot into safe mode - I've
used it very little. My system originally came with XP Pro, SP2 - and the
only major changes I've made other than all the MS updates occurred several
months ago - the system came with an onboard CD writer. I started having
problems with the system finding the CD writer drive on restarts. the
writer was also giving me intermittent problems with creating CD's. I
finally got fed up with it's antics disabled it in device manager, unplugged
it from the motherboard and disabled it in the BIOS. However, I did not
remove it from the cabinet. Could this have something to do with the safe
mode problem? It sure hasn't effected the normal windows startup or
operation. For the record, when I try to boot into safe mode, I get a blue
screen of death with a stop error identified as 0x0000007E, 0xc0000005,
0x80537009, etc.))

 

[Jose]

See inserts after your questions!

((I have no recovery console in boot options and only XP CD is the OEM
reinstallation disk, which I really don't want to use.  I'm not sure exactly
how long I've had the problem of being unable to boot into safe mode - I've
used it very little.  My system originally came with XP Pro, SP2 - and the
only major changes I've made other than all the MS updates occurred several
months ago - the system came with an onboard CD writer.  I started having
problems with the system finding the CD writer drive on restarts.  the
writer was also giving me intermittent problems with creating CD's.  I
finally got fed up with it's antics disabled it in device manager, unplugged
it from the motherboard and disabled it in the BIOS.  However, I did not
remove it from the cabinet.  Could this have something to do with the safe
mode problem?  It sure hasn't effected the normal windows startup or
operation. For the record, when I try to boot into safe mode, I get a blue
screen of death with a stop error identified as 0x0000007E, 0xc0000005,
0x80537009, etc.))

You should run MBAM and SAS as suggested. That way we won't wonder
about it.

I generally do not suggest things just for the heck of it or suggest
things to try, or things that might work maybe or things that could
be. There is a method to my madness.

Please supply the "etc." part regarding your BSOD. All BSODs are not
the same.

Disable Automatic restart on system error to stop the error on your
screen so you can see it:

Right click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Startup and Recovery
Settings.

In the System failure section, untick the Automatically restart box,
OK, OK.

Here are some BSOD blue screen of death examples showing information
you need to provide:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/images/Windows_XP_BSOD.png
http://techrepublic.com.com/i/tr/downloads/images/bsod_a.jpg

Send the information pointed to with the red arrows (3-4 lines
total). Skip the boring text unless it looks important to you. We
know what a BSOD looks like, we need to know the other information
that is specific to your BSOD.

If you can only boot in Safe Mode, choose the option:

Disable automatic restart on system failure


Create your own bootable XP Recovery Console CD and run chkdsk /r as
indicated below:

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
and burning it to a CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xp_rec_con.iso

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:

http://www.imgburn.com/

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on the computer that
is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:\WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:
\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
afflicted drive.

Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.

Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

chkdsk C: /r

Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take
a long
time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the HDD
light is
still flashing, it is doing something. Keep an eye on the percentage
amount to
be sure it is still making progress.

Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
computer.

You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
CD will
not be present.

 

[skeeterh3]

Took me a while to get back to you! Made a fatal mistake when using SAS.
Tried their bootsafe app and managed to get myself into a continuous loop of
blue screens. Bottom line is I used my original OEM disk and reinstalled XP
Pro, couldn't use the recovery module on it because it would not operate in
safe mode. In any event, had to go thru reinstalling all the updates as well
as the SP3 Service Pack. Didn't really lose much other than some e-mails and
address book, and a few XP tweaks which I had to redo. Bottom line is
everything is back working now, including the ability to boot into safe
mode. Live and learn!

See inserts after your questions!

((I have no recovery console in boot options and only XP CD is the OEM
reinstallation disk, which I really don't want to use. I'm not sure
exactly
how long I've had the problem of being unable to boot into safe mode -
I've
used it very little. My system originally came with XP Pro, SP2 - and the
only major changes I've made other than all the MS updates occurred
several
months ago - the system came with an onboard CD writer. I started having
problems with the system finding the CD writer drive on restarts. the
writer was also giving me intermittent problems with creating CD's. I
finally got fed up with it's antics disabled it in device manager,
unplugged
it from the motherboard and disabled it in the BIOS. However, I did not
remove it from the cabinet. Could this have something to do with the safe
mode problem? It sure hasn't effected the normal windows startup or
operation. For the record, when I try to boot into safe mode, I get a blue
screen of death with a stop error identified as 0x0000007E, 0xc0000005,
0x80537009, etc.))

You should run MBAM and SAS as suggested. That way we won't wonder
about it.

I generally do not suggest things just for the heck of it or suggest
things to try, or things that might work maybe or things that could
be. There is a method to my madness.

Please supply the "etc." part regarding your BSOD. All BSODs are not
the same.

Disable Automatic restart on system error to stop the error on your
screen so you can see it:

Right click My Computer, Properties, Advanced, Startup and Recovery
Settings.

In the System failure section, untick the Automatically restart box,
OK, OK.

Here are some BSOD blue screen of death examples showing information
you need to provide:

http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/images/Windows_XP_BSOD.png
http://techrepublic.com.com/i/tr/downloads/images/bsod_a.jpg

Send the information pointed to with the red arrows (3-4 lines
total). Skip the boring text unless it looks important to you. We
know what a BSOD looks like, we need to know the other information
that is specific to your BSOD.

If you can only boot in Safe Mode, choose the option:

Disable automatic restart on system failure


Create your own bootable XP Recovery Console CD and run chkdsk /r as
indicated below:

You can make a bootable Recovery Console CD by downloading an ISO file
and burning it to a CD.

The bootable ISO image file you need to download is called:

xp_rec_con.iso

Download the ISO file from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Use this free and easy program to create your bootable CD:

http://www.imgburn.com/

It would be a good idea to test your bootable CD on the computer that
is working.

You may need to adjust the computer BIOS settings to use the CD ROM
drive as the first boot device instead of the hard disk. These
adjustments are made before Windows tries to load. If you miss it,
you will have to reboot the system again.

When you boot on the CD, follow the prompts:

Press any key to boot from CD...

The Windows Setup... will proceed.

Press 'R' to enter the Recovery Console.

Select the installation you want to access (usually 1: C:\WINDOWS)

You may be asked to enter the Administrator password (usually empty).

You should be in the C:\WINDOWS folder. This is the same as the C:
\WINDOWS folder you see in explorer.

RC allows basic file commands - copy, rename, replace, delete, cd,
chkdsk, fixboot, fixmbr, etc.

From the command prompt window run the chkdsk command on the drive
where Windows is installed to try to repair any problems on the
afflicted drive.

Running chkdsk is fine to run even if it doesn't find any problems.

Assuming your boot drive is C, run the following command:

chkdsk C: /r

Let chkdsk finish and correct any problems it might find. It may take
a long
time to complete or appear to be 'stuck'. Be patient. If the HDD
light is
still flashing, it is doing something. Keep an eye on the percentage
amount to
be sure it is still making progress.

Remove the CD and type 'exit' to leave the RC and restart the
computer.

You do not have to adjust the BIOS again to boot on the HDD since the
CD will
not be present.

 

[Jose]

Took me a while to get back to you!  Made a fatal mistake when using SAS.
Tried their bootsafe app and managed to get myself into a continuous loopof
blue screens.  Bottom line is I used my original OEM disk and reinstalled XP
Pro, couldn't use the recovery module on it because it would not operate in
safe mode. In any event, had to go thru reinstalling all the updates as well
as the SP3 Service Pack. Didn't really lose much other than some e-mails and
address book, and a few XP tweaks which I had to redo.  Bottom line is
everything is back working now, including the ability to boot into safe
mode. Live and learn!

Truly tragic.

It is not a fatal mistake, it is just misdiagnosed resulting in
radical and unnecessary treatments.

If you use the SAS BootSafe option, is essentially does the same thing
as adjusting the Boot Options in msconfig and if your computer has a
certain malicious software, adjusting the boot.ini using any method
would render your system unable to boot in any mode until you fix it
properly. It is a bad idea IF you have a certain malware which seems
to be quite popular lately.

Recovery Console is the method - either booting from the XP
installation CD (which a lot of folks don't have) or from a Recovery
Console you can make (easy instructions already provided).

Or you can reinstall/repair, but I would never suggest that to anyone.
Well, I did once, but it was recommended for security purposes but not
absolutely necessary once the original problem(s) were fixed.

Maybe you will go ahead and make a Recovery Console CD after this
experience for the future and/or, install RC as a boot option if you
have the means . Coulda' saved you, me thinks.

 

[BillW50]

In
Jose typed on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:26:33 -0800 (PST):

Truly tragic.

It is not a fatal mistake, it is just misdiagnosed resulting in
radical and unnecessary treatments.

If you use the SAS BootSafe option, is essentially does the same thing
as adjusting the Boot Options in msconfig and if your computer has a
certain malicious software, adjusting the boot.ini using any method
would render your system unable to boot in any mode until you fix it
properly. It is a bad idea IF you have a certain malware which seems
to be quite popular lately.

Recovery Console is the method - either booting from the XP
installation CD (which a lot of folks don't have) or from a Recovery
Console you can make (easy instructions already provided).

Or you can reinstall/repair, but I would never suggest that to anyone.
Well, I did once, but it was recommended for security purposes but not
absolutely necessary once the original problem(s) were fixed.

Maybe you will go ahead and make a Recovery Console CD after this
experience for the future and/or, install RC as a boot option if you
have the means . Coulda' saved you, me thinks.

Better yet, buy a backup drive and make routine backups. ;-)