Safe Mode Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Oldster
  • Start date Start date
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Oldster

I am using windows XP SP3 via a disc on a PCI card. Whilest this boots
and loads perfectly happily in normal mode, it fails to load in Safe Mode.
Is there anything I can do to get safe mode working via this card? It is not
necessary at the moment, but perhaps in the future?
PS I notice that there is a driver associated with this card called
"iteraid.sys".
 
Try reinstalling the mass storage (PCI Controller) drivers and see if it
fixes things.

John
 
Didn't work! (Scarry!!) I still just get a list of drivers that flashes past
on the screen, and then the machine goes back into it's boot sequence.
 
The iteraid.sys driver is probably the driver for your ata raid card, check
'that manufacturers' site for updated drivers and or firmware.

PS If thats your true ntl address it will have been harvested by spam bots,
munge your addy.
 
As a subsiduary question... How does windows know which drivers to
load in "safe" mode? Or, for that matter,in "last good" mode?
 
Oldster said:
As a subsiduary question... How does windows know which drivers
to load in "safe" mode?
Click to expand...

It gets the information from the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot Registry
key**. Also, before the kernel reads that key ntldr reads the registry
looking for device drivers with a start value of 0, telling it (ntldr)
that the device driver is to be loaded at boot time, typically these are
low level hardware device drivers, things like the keyboard, mouse, disk
and controller drivers, etc. The drivers with a start value of 0 are
"loaded" by ntldr but they are "started" by the kernel.

** The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot does
not exist when the computer is shut down, this key is created form one
of the numbered Control Sets when Windows is booted, so when booting to
Safe Mode the information will actually be retrieved from one of the
numbered Control Sets. We usually say that the information is obtained
from the Current Control Set because the information in the numbered
Control Set will be identical and it is easier for users to look at the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet to get the information
accurately, otherwise the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select key has to be
consulted to obtain the proper Control Set, see below for explanations
about the Select key.

Or, for that matter,in "last good" mode?
Click to expand...

When you boot the computer and select a boot option ntldr reads the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select key to determine which Control Set it
should load. The Select key contains the following values:

Current
Default
Failed
LastKnownGood

These values typically contains data as shown here:

"Current"=dword:00000001
"Default"=dword:00000001
"Failed"=dword:00000000
"LastKnownGood"=dword:00000002

The data may be different, if you have had failed boots you may have
different numbers (like 00000003) and the numbers assigned to the values
may be different than shown above. These numbers tell ntldr which
Control Set to load, the Control Sets are also held in the
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM key, typically:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002

When you boot the computer normally ntldr looks for the "Default" value
and loads the Control Set assigned to it, in the above example it would
load HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001, if you boot to Last Known
Good ntldr looks at, of course, the "LastKnownGood" value and loads the
corresponding Control Set.

The Last Known Good set is only copied and recorded after a user
successfully logs on. In the above example, if you boot normally,
Windows will be booted using ControlSet001, after a user successfully
logs on the ControlSet001 will be copied to ControlSet002 and the
control set number will be recorded in the Select key. The value of the
Select key and the ControlSetnnn of the "LastKnownGood" configuration
will not change until the next successful logon. Booting successfully
to Safe Mode does not change the "LastKnownGood" Control Set, in only
changes when booting Windows normally.

John
 
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