You'll see this warning message when you start up your system in Safe Mode; and to remove all doubt, note "SAFE MODE" is written in the four corners of your screen.

When your computer is dealing you fits with repeated stalls, crashes, or poor performance, and you're not a faint-hearted or inexperienced computer user, you may want to seek out and destroy the corruption. First, you'll need to isolate the files and hardware that typically cause these problems. Windows 95 gives you that control in a booting procedure called Safe Mode. Safe Mode starts a clean system, which isolates hardware, so you can begin detecting and troubleshooting.

Safe Mode is a good option if:

•You've recently installed hardware, and your system stalls

•Your operating system or computer repeatedly stalls or slows down dramatically for no apparent reason

•Your display isn't working properly

•Your operating system doesn't start after you see the "Starting Windows 95" message

•You can't print to your local printer after doing all the printer troubleshooting

•You intermittently receive error messages.

Start Up.

Three ways are available to get into Safe Mode. First, you need to shut down your system and reboot. This will give your operating system time to save and close all open files. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" on-screen message during the rebooting process, push the F5 key to go directly into Safe Mode or press F8 to access the options in the Windows 95 (Win95) Startup Menu, one of which is the Safe Mode option. If your computer boots too fast to see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key once you hear the beep signifying the end of the Power On Self-Test (POST).

You also may end up in Safe Mode if you didn't exit normally from your operating system. For instance, if an application stalled and you pressed CTRL-ALT-DELETE twice, Win95 will automatically boot up in Safe Mode. Whether you're in Safe Mode by choice or by default, you'll find yourself in a stripped-down version of Win95, minus most hardware and peripherals.

If you press F5, you'll immediately know you're in Safe Mode because it's written in the four corners of your screen. If you press F8, the first thing you'll see is the eight options in the Microsoft Win95 Startup Menu: Normal, Logged, Safe Mode, Safe Mode with Network Support, Step-by-step Confirmation, Command Prompt Only, Safe Mode Command Prompt Only, and Previous version of MS-DOS.

For the purposes of Safe Mode, you only need to work with options 3, 4, and 7. Option 3 is the same as pressing F5; you'll go into a stripped-down Win95, and your screen may look strange because it's in a 16-color, low-resolution setting. You also can reach Option 4 by pressing F6 when you start up your computer. It also will bypass your startup files and let you use only your basic system drivers; this includes your network driver. Unless you really know what you're doing, you won't want to choose Option 7; it loads the Command.com and DoubleSpace or DriveSpace file, but not Himem.sys, Ifshelp.sys, or Win95. Command Prompt Only is for users who know how to navigate computers with command-line switches and tools. You will enter the commands you want your computer to execute if you choose this option.

The Process.

When you boot up in Safe Mode or Safe Mode With Network Support, the only device drivers that load are those for your mouse, keyboard, and standard video graphics array (VGA). With these three drivers, the minimum Win95 will run, putting you in a position to better diagnose the problem.

Safe Mode operates by bypassing the startup files Config.sys and Autoexec.bat, the Win95 Registry, and the [Boot] and [386enh] sections of System.ini. Config.sys is the text file that configures your system's hardware, such as your sound card, graphics card, and CD-ROM drive. Autoexec.bat lists repetitive DOS commands that are performed each time your computer boots. The Win95 Registry keeps track of all the hardware hooked up to your computer. If you upgraded from an earlier version of Windows, you will have the System.ini file even though your system doesn't need the file. This file also houses information concerning the location of hardware and some software.

You need to bypass or isolate these files so that when one or more of your files or pieces of hardware are corrupted or improperly configured, they won't cause problems such as system crashes or the inability to access your other files and hardware. This system bypass gives you more control over your computer by eliminating any drivers that may have been improperly loaded, have become corrupted, or were given faulty commands when you edited the batch or system files. When in Safe Mode, you can access these files and edit them through Notepad or WordPad.

Clean It Up.

Now, it's time to take out your backup copy of your system files. Yes, you should have made a backup copy of your files long before your problems started.

Use the clean copy to replace the system file section where the suspicious file or driver resides and reboot to see if your system runs properly. If it does, you've solved the problem. If not, pick another untrustworthy device driver and replace its system file entry.

Safe Mode is not for the beginner. Navigating in Safe Mode requires experience manipulating system files. But if you know your way around your system, Safe Mode provides the ability to go in and solve the mystery.

by Katie Powers