Yesterday, some time after installing the latest Microsoft update (KB900485), my XP Pro machine began to shut down during the boot-up process. I login and the normal Windows gui runs. But while it's loading devices and programs, I get a couple of error messages from some of the programs that normally load (e.g., ZoneAlarm Pro) saying that they're unable to load because the system is shutting down. Then, the system appears to go through a normal shutdown and power off.
I booted into Safe Mode with Networking (which works fine) and uninstalled the update, but that didn't help. Since I'm able to run in Safe Mode, I know the problem is not heat or hardware related.
I tried to booting into the last good boot session (I can't remember the exact name of the option from the F8 boot screen), but the system still shut down.
The system is scanned, daily, for spyware using the latest versions of both Ad-Aware and Spy Sweeper (both have current def files). I haven't run a virus scan for a few days, but I don't really think that's the problem here.
I've also removed all of the programs from the Startup folder and DISabled everything that's listed on the Startup TAB of msconfig, but that didn't help.
I tried running SFC in Safe Mode, but it fails saying "the RPC server is unavailable", which I'm guessing is because it's in Safe Mode.
I tried booting using the Debugging option from XP's F8 boot screen to see if the boot.log file would list the offending driver or program last, but the boot.log file in c:\ is more than 2 years old, so either it's saving it somewhere else(?) or it failed to create a new one.
I also tried reinstalling Service Pack 2, but that didn't help either.
Does anyone know if there's a way to boot XP so that you're prompted with a "yes/no" option to run (or not run) each driver and program that loads during the boot process? I seem to recall there was a "Boot Confirmation" (or similar) option in Windows 98's F8 boot screen, but it's not listed on XP's boot screen and I can't find it in any of my XP books. If this is a hidden option in XP or if someone has another suggestion, please let me know.
Thank you in advance.
Fred
