Boot Menu
The boot menu is accessed by pressing F8 when the "Windows 95 Starting...." message is displayed. It is made up of seven options that allow various methods of starting Windows. These are:
1). Normal Mode - the default
2). Logged - Saves information to BOOTLOG.TXT
3). Safe Mode - Loads Windows with minimal drivers
4). Safe Mode with Network Support - Minimal load but includes network drivers
5). Step by step confirmation - allows you to step through every single command on loading
6). Command prompt - loads into DOS rather than Windows
7). Safe Mode Command Prompt only - loads into DOS with minimal drivers
Each option is described more fully below.
Normal Mode
This is the usual mode that Windows loads up in. Your standard boot up sequence is executed and the system is as it should be.
Logged
This mode is the normal mode but all the commands that are executed during a load are saved to the file BOOTLOG.TXT. Look at this file and see why it is no wonder that windows takes a while to load!
The text file can be viewed to see if any drivers, programs, etc. fail on loading. You may not understand what all the commands do, but they often point the way to resolving a problem.
Safe Mode
This mode loads windows without loading the normal set of drivers your system uses. Things such as extended graphics, sounds, peripheral drivers (except the CD-ROM) are not loaded.
You will also see that the system runs in a very low resolution (a resolution that is guaranteed to work on any graphics monitor).
The purpose of this mode is to allow you to rectify problems that occur with core pieces of hardware. For example, changing the screen resolution may render your display useless. How do you fix it if you can't see anything?
Safe mode forces Windows to load the bare minimum so that you can access the control panel in order to reset your graphic drivers, sounds etc. This is an extremely useful mode for when the system is having major problems.
Safe Mode with Network Support
This is the same as ordinary safe mode but will also load and allow network support. This is useful if your PC is connected to a network where essential files are stored and you need access to network drives in order for your system to function.
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