Help w/ unusual WIN98SE startup

When I did a routine normal start, the following occurred:
1.) The graphics look like 'Safe Mode' but the words to indicate it are not in each corner and the initial "You are in safe mode..." window did not pop-up.
2.) The lower right task bar displays icons for the usual Task Scheduler, AntiVir, Avast, Quicktime and printer, but not the also normally present Norton, Display and Volume.
3.) There is no cursor.

I can get it to operate in true Safe Mode, though it appears something is missing in that lower right task bar. The only thing showing is the time.

I did a Registry Checker...no errors found.
System File Checker...no problems indicated.
Dr. Watson...reported
"The file mmsystem.dll is not listed in the [boot] section of system.ini. Multimedia services may be erratic."

Not being the sole user, I can't say what, if any, changes have been made.

There has been a recent normal ScanDisk and Defrag.

Thanks in advance!

 

Hey wetrat, the friendly people at google turned up this http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=138835 Hope it does the trick!

 

How do I get to the system.ini file to edit it?

 

I found the file and edited it per instructions.

The only changes upon restart are the addition of icons for Display and Volume.

 

Reinstall multimedia in Control Panel.

 

Try this.

With your browser closed, right click on your mouse. Choose properties. Under the setting tab set your display to - True Color 56 bit.

 

Insomniac -
I'm seriously novice. I didn't see any generic install or reinstall multimedia option under the Multimedia icon in Control Panel. What do I need to do for this? The audio tab has no available devices. Video tab looks normal. Midi tab no available output or scheme. CD Music tab same. Devices tab shows tree with Multimedia drivers at the top.

yukon -
The only color option is 16 colors.
Above it under Display it reads; (Unknown Monitor) on (Unknown Device)
I already did a driver check/update and it reported corrrect drivers being used.

BTW - the mouse icon has also been missing from the lower right task bar, I just now realized.

 

Oops, I also incorrectly identified the Norton icon as the Display icon. The Display icon is still AWOL.

 

I suspect your 16 colour problem is nothing to do with your Monitor drivers but is more likely to be due to your Dispaly Adapter - your video card- drivers having become corrupt. You would need to re-install these to get all your colour options back. You do need to know what your video card is though before you can do this.

 

You don't need to worry about monitor driver/s as Windows supplies a basic plug 'n play driver.

The error in Dr Watson's log states "The file mmsystem.dll is not listed in the [boot] section of system.ini. Multimedia services may be erratic"

mmsystem is your multimedia system, so that's why I wanted to reinstall it.

Anyway, try adding it to your system.ini file and that should fix the error.

You first need to enable hidden files and folders.

In Windows Explorer, go to Tools, Folder Options, then the View Tab.

"Enable show hidden files and folders" and uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types" then click Apply then O.K.

Finally do a search for system.ini file and open it in notepad.

Simply add the following line to the [boot] section of the file.

drivers=mmsystem.dll

Then go to File, Save, close it and reboot and that should hopefully fix it.

 

Thanks to all!
However, I must have totally screwed it up because now I have no mouse even in Safe Mode.
I'm going to take the plunge and re-format the whole shebang.
Six years on the same machine...I'll never get it back to how I had it. Tons of changes...
Wish me luck 'cause there's no going back now.
I'll post a new thread when I need you 'major geeks' to pull me out of this one (probably tomorrow).
Again, thanks for the quick replies.