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No audio and no system restore

14 years ago

A couple of days ago my DH went to the Start menu, chose Run, typed in msconfig and when System Configuration Utility opened he checked Diagnostic Start Up. At first he was pleased with the results because his computer was quicker to respond and just generally faster, but then it became apparent that he had no audio nor did his System Restore option work. He no longer had Help and Support available on his start up menu either.

He went back through the same channels and checked Normal Startup like it once was set on, but that doesn't seem to fix anything either.

Does anyone have an idea what checking the Diagnostic Start Up has caused and how it can be corrected? Did he disable the audio driver, etc?

Thanks for any help.

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Comments (5)

ravencajun Zone 8b TX
14 years ago
he did reboot after selecting normal startup correct?
he should check that the startup option for Normal Startup on the first tab is selected and make sure that the SAFEBOOT check box is UNCHECKED on the BOOT.INI tab.

also you should know that Diagnostic Startup deletes System Restore Points.
From an MVP
"If you do NOT clear the selection for "Load System Services", the System restore points would be retained due to the fact, for one, that System Restore service would still be enabled. "
If you UNCHECKED "Load System Services" in a "Selective Startup". De-selecting "Load System Services" will temporarily disable Microsoft services (such as, Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, and Error Reporting) as well as permanently deleting all restore points for the System Restore utility. You should not, therefore do this if you either want to retain your restore points for System Restore or if you're likely to need to use a Microsoft service to further investigate the problem you're having.) On the other hand, "Diagnostic Startup" involves a step by step monitoring of basic device drivers and services. It allows you to monitor and check each of those drivers and services.

Have you tried going into services at msconfig and making sure all your normal services are still set to auto or on?
Have you Tried "Last Known Good Configuration" from the F8 startup selection screen?

this may be helpful
Controlling the system configuration and services
summer_tx
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you Ravencajun. I've printed out your reply and also forwarded the link you provided to my DH. Hopefully he'll be able to get things corrected. You are very kind. Again, Thanks!
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zep516
14 years ago
"He went back through the same channels and checked Normal Startup like it once was set on, but that doesn't seem to fix anything either."

You need to hit "Apply" Then "ok" and reboot after checking normal start up..
summer_tx
Original Author
14 years ago
So far, nothing has worked but I appreciate all of the advice and suggestions.

Although the Normal Startup is checked and you can click "apply", it immediately changes the "ok" option to "close".
zep516
14 years ago
Try this,

1. Restart your computer.
2. When the machine first starts again it will generally list some equipment that is installed in your machine, amount of memory, hard drives installed etc. At this point you should gently tap the F8 key repeatedly until you are presented with a Windows XP Advanced Options menu.
3. Select the option for LAST KNOWN GOOD CONFIGURATION using the arrow keys.
4. Then press enter on your keyboard.

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