IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP, DO SOMETHING NICE AND OFFER IT !!!!

[Richdog]

The other day my computer stopped working. It loads until it finishes the Windows 98 sky themed loading screen then the screen goes black with a little flashing white line in the top-left corner. I can, however, boot into safe mode. It is overclocked but there is no smell from the CPU to denote a fry-up and I am at my wits end.
Is there any significance in the face that I can load Safe Mode, does it mean there is hope? I can't run any diagnostics from Safe Mode either to find the problem.
I live with my grandmother and rely heavily on my computer for any scrap of entertainment I can get, so any help or advice would be greatly and eternally appreciated!

 

[GTaudiophile]

Yes, there's hope. I had an issue similar to this WAY back in 1996. The problem was that my videocard drivers were not DX3 compliant. Try this: reboot, and after you hear the beep, press F8. In addition to there being an option to boot in Safe Mode, I think there is an option to boot normally but with all sorts of prompts/messages. By loading this way, you might be able to see where it is encountering problems. You might consider taking out your soundcard or other devices to see if it can boot without them. It sounds like it might be hanging while loading drivers for something.

In any case, you might want to backup as much as you can in Safe Mode and consider reformatting and installing a better OS, such as Win2K or XP.

Edit:

Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu
==========================

1. Normal
2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
3. Safe Mode
4. Step-by-step confirmation
5. Command prompt only
6. Safe mode command prompt only
7. previous version of MS-DOS

 

[Richdog]

Ah, of course, the step-by-step confirmation option! Stupidly didnt think of that! Thanks for pointing it out, and if it helps me solve the problem sleep knowing youve made someone very happy today! Any other advice still welcome though...

 

[AbsolutDealage]

If that doesnt work, completely take down your overclock to stock values. Just because you dont "smell anything" doesnt mean that everything is OK. An overclocked CPU has a shelf life... you may have reached it on your CPU. A chip that has been running hotter and faster than it should be will begin to fail at a certain point. Bring down your FSB, voltages, etc. to stock. Reset your bios to "failsafe settings". If that doesn't work, you have a driver issue in windows.