Unable to boot in Safe or Normal mode

[Birk Binnard]

My Vista Home Premium system will boot only if I hold F8 after the BIOS
load and I specify "Boot using last known good configuration." If I try
either Safe Mode or a normal boot the system just continuously
reloads/reboots the BIOS and Vista never comes up.

What caused this was an attempted installation of a Virtual CD-ROM
driver that allows accessing a CD ISO file directly from my C: drive
(and thus not having to burn the ISO file to a real CD.) During the
attempted installation of this driver I got the BSOD saying an attempted
illegal operation was terminated and my system had to be restarted.

After trying several ways to get back into Vista I picked the Last Known
Good option and finally got my system to boot. I tried using AutorunS
to eliminate bad startup entries but it wasn't able to delete all the
"File not found" entries, for which there was a bunch. I do have the
latest version of AutorunS. MSCONFIG shows nothing unusual in its
Startup tab.

I located the folder on my hard drive where the Virtual CD-ROM driver
had been installed and deleted it. I also ran the current Windows Live
Vista Safety scan and it told me it eliminated a bunch of registry
entries. But I am still only able to boot successfully by using F8 and
"Last Known Good."

I thought Vista was supposed to be able to handle bad drivers.
Apparently there are still some chinks in the armor.

What other options are there to find and eliminate the failing driver
file(s)?

 

[Ian Betts]

That is not a chink. That is very bad use by the operator I would think.
Your best bet is to fdisk your drive and start again.

 

[Michael Solomon]

My Vista Home Premium system will boot only if I hold F8 after the BIOS
load and I specify "Boot using last known good configuration." If I try
either Safe Mode or a normal boot the system just continuously
reloads/reboots the BIOS and Vista never comes up.

What caused this was an attempted installation of a Virtual CD-ROM driver
that allows accessing a CD ISO file directly from my C: drive (and thus
not having to burn the ISO file to a real CD.) During the attempted
installation of this driver I got the BSOD saying an attempted illegal
operation was terminated and my system had to be restarted.

After trying several ways to get back into Vista I picked the Last Known
Good option and finally got my system to boot. I tried using AutorunS to
eliminate bad startup entries but it wasn't able to delete all the "File
not found" entries, for which there was a bunch. I do have the latest
version of AutorunS. MSCONFIG shows nothing unusual in its Startup tab.

I located the folder on my hard drive where the Virtual CD-ROM driver had
been installed and deleted it. I also ran the current Windows Live Vista
Safety scan and it told me it eliminated a bunch of registry entries. But
I am still only able to boot successfully by using F8 and "Last Known
Good."

I thought Vista was supposed to be able to handle bad drivers. Apparently
there are still some chinks in the armor.

What other options are there to find and eliminate the failing driver
file(s)?

It probably goes beyond the driver as it sounds as though the aborted
installation has corrupted your boot configuration and appears to be
corrupting it each time you manage to get to the desktop.

Try using your method of getting to the desktop and then try using System
Restore to take you back to a time prior to when you did this installation.
This is only meant to restore your settings and registry but you should be
sure your data is well backed up. Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\System
Tools\System Restore.

If that fails to resolve it or you don't have an early enough restore point,
try booting from the Vista CD, at the setup screen, use the repair option.
This is designed to repair the startup configuration. Again, since you have
a method of getting to the desktop, be sure to use it to make sure your data
is well backed up.

If that fails to resolve it, it would appear you are looking at reinstalling
Vista and I strongly recommend you do a clean install, not install it over
itself.

Yes, actually, Vista is pretty good about preventing Non-Vista drivers from
installing as the hardware newsgroups and even this newsgroup can attest
based on the number of legacy hardware devices that refuse to install.
However, some users are pretty ingenious at getting things to install, well,
the drivers anyway only to find afterward, the system balks. You didn't say
if this was Vista compatible. Nonetheless, as you have found, good as it is
at this function, it's not perfect and a user should always be wary of
installing any software about which they have questions as to full
compatibility.

 

[Guest]

Try hitting F8 and go to your desktop using Last Known, etc.
Then Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>System Restore
Put it back to a time before you installed the problem.