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How to Recover Deleted Files in Windows For Free? Check this video To manually start Windows XP with a clean boot, follow these steps: Step 1: Start the System Configuration Utility Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK. The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed. Step 2: Configure selective startup options In the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click the General tab, and then click Selective Startup. Click to clear the Process SYSTEM.INI File check box. Click to clear the Process WIN.INI File check box. Click to clear the Load Startup Items check box. Verify that Load System Services and Use Original BOOT.INI are checked. Click the Services tab. Click to select the Hide All Microsoft Services check box. Click Disable All, and then click OK. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer. Step 3: Log on to Windows If you are prompted, log on to Windows. When you receive the following message, click to select the Don't show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility when Windows start check box, and then click OK. Notes You have used the System Configuration Utility to make changes to the way Windows starts. The System Configuration Utility is currently in Diagnostic or Selective Startup mode, causing this message to be displayed and the utility to run every time Windows starts. Choose the Normal Startup mode on the General tab to start Windows normally and undo the changes you made using the System Configuration Utility. Step 4: Optional step to disable features If the clean boot fixed the error, you do not have to perform this step. Important If your problem is not fixed and you do have to follow this step, it permanently removes all restore points from your computer. The System Restore feature uses restore points to restore your computer to an earlier state. If you remove the restore points, you can no longer restore Windows to an earlier state. This step temporarily disables Microsoft features such as Plug and Play, networking, event logging, and error reporting. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK. The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed. Click the General tab, click to clear the Load System Services check box, and then click OK. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer. If these steps helped you start your computer in a clean-boot state, you are finished. If these steps did not help, go to the “Next Steps” section. If you have to return your computer to a normal startup state, go to “Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state”. Steps to configure Windows to use a Normal startup state After you used the clean boot to resolve your problem, you can follow these steps to configure Windows XP to start normally. Click Start, and then click Run. Type msconfig, and then click OK. The System Configuration Utility dialog box is displayed. Click the General tab, click Normal Startup - load all device drivers and services, and then click OK. When you are prompted, click Restart to restart the computer.

To start the computer in safe mode 1. You should print these instructions before continuing. They will not be available after you shut your computer down in step 2. 2. Click Start and then click Shut Down. 3. In the drop-down list of the Shut Down Windows dialog box, click Restart, and then click OK. 4. As your computer restarts but before Windows launches, press F8. On a computer that is configured for booting to multiple operating systems, you can press F8 when the boot menu appears. 5. Use the arrow keys to highlight the appropriate safe mode option, and then press ENTER. 6. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, choose the installation that you need to access using the arrow keys, and then press ENTER. Note • If Windows launches before you can choose a safe mode, restart your computer and try again. • In safe mode, you have access to only basic files and drivers (mouse, monitor, keyboard, mass storage, base video, default system services, and no network connections). You can choose the Safe Mode with Networking option, which loads all of the above files and drivers and the essential services and drivers to start networking, or you can choose the Safe Mode with Command Prompt option, which is exactly the same as safe mode except that a command prompt is started instead of the graphical user interface. You can also choose Last Known Good Configuration, which starts your computer using the registry information that was saved at the last shutdown. • Safe mode helps you diagnose problems. If a symptom does not reappear when you start in safe mode, you can eliminate the default settings and minimum device drivers as possible causes. If a newly added device or a changed driver is causing problems, you can use safe mode to remove the device or reverse the change. • There are circumstances where safe mode will not be able to help you, such as when Windows system files that are required to start the system are corrupted or damaged. In this case, the Recovery Console may help you. • NUM LOCK must be off before the arrow keys on the numeric keypad will function.