Incomplete startup 2k

[junja]

These digital beasts, don't you love them?
Mine would no longer complete starting up - it degraded to the point where it stopped with the desktop visible but no icons, no taskbar, no programs, no access to things like control panel or device manager .. It was strange because win98 & 2k safe mode ran normally but not full 2k.
I tried all the usual things, even reinstalling 2k. No change.
So I resorted to pulling bits out to see if any of them made any difference. Memory, no. Sound card - yes. Take that out and everything worked normally.
I should have clicked earlier - 98 & 2k safe mode running but not 2k, because the sound card is disabled in those two.
But who would relate that result to that cause?
To complete the diagnostic, I could reinstall the sound card and its software, to see which of those it was, but I haven't got the time.
Junja

 

[vegasgmc]

With 2000 and 98, Ive found its best to do a full format of the drive and then install the OS. Then install Service Pack 4, Windows updates and then the newest motherboard and hardware drivers.

 

[NetCablesPlus]

Well, if you do not 'have the time' to re-install the sound card drivers, it is unlikely that you habe the time to format and re-install everything else. Does Device Manager haver anything to say about how your sound card is working? See if it will update the driver for you. If not, delete the driver and have Windows re-install it. That will give you an indication of whether it was the driver.

 

[junja]

Thanks for the suggestions.
I should have made it plain that everything's working fine now - there's a sound card integrated into the mobo which works almost better than the one which gave the problem.