Solved I set safe mode in msconfig.exe and safe mode won't boot.

IcyProtocol

New Member
Messages
6
Hi guys,

My problem is somewhat complex so please bear with me. I had malware and adware on my laptop which was really annoying and I tried really hard to get rid of it. So I decided I was going to do a system restore. The system restore kept saying "System restore is initializing". I tried it three times and it didn't work. I looked around on the internet, and someone suggested to do the system restore while in safe mode. This is where I made my mistake. I set safe mode in msconfig.exe (not knowing you could go into safe mode while booting). msconfig forces the computer to boot into safe mode everytime, but my safe mode won't boot. I get a b;ack screen with a cursor. I have noticed that the cursor gets reset to the middle of the screen every five seconds or so. I also see the words safe mode flash in all four corners sometimes. I have tried re-installing windows 8.1 from a bootable usb, but whenever I change the boot priority, it doesn't seem to save my settings. Please tell me what my options are. Will replacing my hard drive do the trick. Thank you in advance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ACER Aspire V5-471
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    8 GB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000 HD
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015
Can you restart and get into your log in screen ? If you can, enter safe mode by pressing the power button icon (lower right corner) then Shift + restart. That gets you to Advanced Settings where Safe Mode and, if that fails, Reset PC to orig settings. If you can't, try a hard reset by removing battery and all external usb attachments and then pressing and holding power button until it shuts down. Repeat a few more times to drain memory, then see if powering up will get you to log on screen.

A system restore in safe mode will just restore the malware. You need to boot into safe mode and run your anti-virus or malware program and have them quarantine and then remove them while in safe mode. Use Malwarebytes free or Adwcleaner or Hitman to clean the system. If that does the trick, manually create a system restore point that you know is clean after the system is to your satisfaction.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
Thanks so much for the quick response. I can't access the login screen because the computer always tries to boot in safe mode, but it never works. I will try the hard reset option. I will post a reply as soon as I try that. If anyone knows whether replacing the hard drive will fix it, please let me know. Thank you again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ACER Aspire V5-471
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    8 GB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000 HD
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015
Hard reset doesn't work

As mrgeek suggested, I tried to hard hard reset the laptop and drain the memory. i tried this four times but to no avail. I've read that I can change the msconfig settings through command prompt. But since my laptop won't boot, I can't get this to work. Is there anyway I can boot my laptop directly to dos? Once again, will replacing the hard drive fix this situation. Thank you in advance.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ACER Aspire V5-471
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    8 GB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000 HD
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015
Do you have something like a usb or disk of windows for troubleshooting? (not installing)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    i5-6500 @3.20GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B150-HD3P-CF
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 2133 Crucial Ballistix Sport LT
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Liyama ProLite XB2483HSU-B2
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX200 500GB & Toshiba DT01ACA300 3TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM550x
    Case
    Fractal Design Define S
    Cooling
    Cooler Master TX3 i
    Keyboard
    Func KB-460 (MX Red)
    Mouse
    Corsair Gaming M65 RGB
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security 2017 + MBAM Pro + MBAE Pro
    Other Info
    Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Rage V2 headset
I don't have a troubleshooting disk

I read somewhere that I could use a windows laptop to create a recovery usb. However, the only windows laptop i have available is windows 7. So if i create a recovery drive using a windows 7 laptop, will it fix my windows 8 laptop. If this is a dumb question, I'm sorry. I don't know much about this stuff. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ACER Aspire V5-471
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    8 GB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000 HD
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015
I don't think it matters which windows version you use.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    i5-6500 @3.20GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B150-HD3P-CF
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 2133 Crucial Ballistix Sport LT
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Liyama ProLite XB2483HSU-B2
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX200 500GB & Toshiba DT01ACA300 3TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM550x
    Case
    Fractal Design Define S
    Cooling
    Cooler Master TX3 i
    Keyboard
    Func KB-460 (MX Red)
    Mouse
    Corsair Gaming M65 RGB
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security 2017 + MBAM Pro + MBAE Pro
    Other Info
    Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Rage V2 headset
I have noticed that the cursor gets reset to the middle of the screen every five seconds or so. I also see the words safe mode flash in all four corners sometimes.

Where you see that put your login password in there you are doing it blind but it should work.
Once you have entered your password press enter you should find you are into safe mode
It has been working like that for other who have a black screen
Hope that helps you
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64 Home Version 1803 (Build 17134).472
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP 15-bw067sa
    CPU
    AMD Dual-Core Processor E1-7010(1.5GHz)
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    4096MB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon tm R2 Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 Pixels
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba
    Case
    True Blue
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Prection Touchpad
    Mouse
    Built in with touch keyboard
    Internet Speed
    Fast
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Microsoft Office 365 new version: Fast Track Office 2016
    CCleaner
I read somewhere that I could use a windows laptop to create a recovery usb. However, the only windows laptop i have available is windows 7. So if i create a recovery drive using a windows 7 laptop, will it fix my windows 8 laptop. If this is a dumb question, I'm sorry. I don't know much about this stuff. :)
Try this Boot Safe tool. Use the MajorGeeks link at page bottom. Extract the files and copy the exe to a usb drive on your 7 laptop and see if it works before normal boot - https://www.foolishit.com/free-tech-tools/bootsafe/

Also, here's how to create a repair disc on your Windows 7 device, not to be confused with a recovery drive which won't help you - Create a system repair disc
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
I fixed it!!

Sorry I was away guys. In the end, I re-installed windows from a bootable usb. I just had to change the bios settings to legacy. So much thanks to everyone who helped me. I really appreciate it. Thank you!!!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ACER Aspire V5-471
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    8 GB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000 HD
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015
Can you please explain

When you say it doesn't show a screen. do you mean you cant access the bios settings. Or do you mean that you don't get a display at all. If you don't have a display at all, then its probably a hardware problem.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ACER Aspire V5-471
    CPU
    Intel Core i3
    Memory
    8 GB RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000 HD
    Antivirus
    AVG 2015
When you say it doesn't show a screen. do you mean you cant access the bios settings. Or do you mean that you don't get a display at all. If you don't have a display at all, then its probably a hardware problem.

It might also be a loose cable, or not correctly connected cable.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    i5-6500 @3.20GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte B150-HD3P-CF
    Memory
    16GB DDR4 2133 Crucial Ballistix Sport LT
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX 1060 GAMING X 6G
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Liyama ProLite XB2483HSU-B2
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX200 500GB & Toshiba DT01ACA300 3TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM550x
    Case
    Fractal Design Define S
    Cooling
    Cooler Master TX3 i
    Keyboard
    Func KB-460 (MX Red)
    Mouse
    Corsair Gaming M65 RGB
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security 2017 + MBAM Pro + MBAE Pro
    Other Info
    Creative Sound Blaster Tactic3D Rage V2 headset
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