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Startup
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WINDOWS STARTUP MENU
This is the menu you sometimes see just before
your computer goes into Safe mode because of a bootup
problem. It lists about a half dozen options for booting,
including : normal, safe mode, command prompt (DOS),
logged, and step by step. In Windows 98 you can enable it
by starting the System Configuration Utility (typing
MSCONFIG in the Run dialog box off the Start Menu and
then clicking OK), then clicking on the Advanced button
of the General tab, and finally putting a check mark next
to Enable Startup Menu and clicking OK. In Windows ME
this is also accomplished in the same way. In Windows 95,
you need to edit an Ascii text file called MSDOS.SYS in
the root of your C: drive. Since normally it is a hidden
file, you won't see it in Windows Explorer unless you
have done the following: 1) click on the Tools menu, then
select Options. (This is called Folder Options in Windows
98 and ME.) 2) click on the View Tab of the Folder
Options window. 3) put a dot next to Show All Files. 4)
remove the check mark next to Hide File Extensions For
Known File Types.
Now you can right click on the MSDOS.SYS file in the root
of your C: drive, next select Properties, then remove the
check marks next to Read-only and Hidden. Now you can
edit the file in Windows Notepad or any other straight
Ascii text editor. You will see it is divided into
sections, called [Paths] and [Options]. In the [Options]
section you need to insert a line saying BootMenu = 1 in
order to be able to see the Startup Menu each time you
start Windows 95. After you have edited the file, be sure
to go back and turn the Read-only and Hidden file
attributes back on.
If you don't want to always see the Startup Menu, but
only sometimes when you boot, you can do it in this way:
very shortly after you see the Starting Windows (95, or
98, or Millenium Edition) message at bootup, press the
function key F8 (in Windows 95) or hold down the Ctrl key
(in Windows 98 or ME) until the Startup Menu appears.
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