To help you diagnose unexplained error messages or other problems, when starting Microsoft Windows XP, you should disable common startup programs, settings, and drivers to eliminate possible software conflicts. This process is called "clean start". This article describes how to perform a clean boot, how to start the Windows Installer service, and how to restore the system from a clean boot state.
Note: After following the instructions to perform a clean startup, certain functions may be temporarily lost. If you restore the settings, you can restore the function, but you may receive the original error message or encounter suspicious phenomena.
How to perform a clean boot in Windows XP
Note: You must be logged in as an administrator or member of the administrator group to perform these steps. If your computer is connected to the network, network policy settings may also prevent you from performing these steps.
1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. On the General tab, click Selected Startup, and then clear the Process File, Process File, and Load Startup Items check boxes. The Use Original check box cannot be cleared.
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 the computer.
5. After starting Windows, determine whether the symptoms still appear.
Note: Check the General tab carefully to make sure that the cleared checkbox is still cleared. If none of these check boxes are selected, continue to step 6. If you only disable the Load System Services check box, it means that the computer is not performing a clean boot. If the other checkboxes are disabled and the problem is still not resolved, you can seek help from the manufacturer of the program (which re-selects the Msconfig checkbox).
If none of these check boxes are selected and the problem remains unresolved, you may need to repeat steps 1 to 5 and may also need to clear the Load System Services check box on the General tab. This temporarily disables Microsoft services (such as networking services, plug and play services, event logging services, and error reporting services) and permanently deletes all restore points for the System Recovery utility. Do not do this if you want to keep a restore point for your system recovery or you must use Microsoft services to detect problems.
6. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
7. On the General tab, select the Process Files check box, click OK, and then click Restart to restart the computer. If the problem persists, the problem is related to items in the file. If this problem no longer occurs, repeat this step for the Process File, Load Startup Items, and Load System Services check boxes, respectively, until the problem occurs. After a problem occurs, the last item you choose is the item with the problem.
Note: Microsoft strongly recommends that you do not use the System Configuration Utility to modify files on your computer without the guidance of Microsoft support. Modifying the file may cause your computer to become unusable. How to start the Windows Installer service
Note: If Load System Services is disabled, the Windows Installer service will not start. 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 the installer but do not start Windows Installer manually, you may receive the following error message:
The Windows Installer service could not be your support personnel to verify that the windows Installer service is properly registered.
How to return from a clean startup state 1. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK. 2. On the General tab, click Normal Start-Load All Device Drivers and Services. 3. Click OK. When prompted to restart the computer, click Restart.