there is a safe mode with networking option on boot but every time I have seen this *loop* safe mode was not even a option for some reason. Your bug was a little different. Have seen * u have to activate* for NO apparent reason. ( no hw changed)
good luck fp At 09:57 PM 12/12/2009, Joe User Poked the stick with: >Ok, I solved this particular case. Between google and what I was >seeing it seemed like it wanted to activate but couldn't. I could see >McAfee starting up in the background, I could get some handicap access >things to work but all I could see was wallpaper otherwise. > >I redid the sock and it seemed to work but then it didn't. > >I ran IE and it brought up v6 (the default w/ XP install) BUT I saw >IE7 and IE8 update dir's in the windows dir. Since I was in safe mode >I still couldn't get out to the net but I wanted to see if IE was >working at all. Then it occured to me, when I did the repair install >it probably wiped the IE back to the discs copy. So I put IE8 on USB >thumb drive and installed it (laughed as it "checked for malicious >software") and rebooted and waaa laaah! Activation screen. It uses IE >to show that screen. That got botched up and so that was the issue and >that was the fix. > > > >-- >Regards, > joeuser - Still looking for the 'any' key... > >"...now these points of data make a beautiful line..." > > >__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature >database 4682 (20091212) __________ > >The message was checked by ESET Smart Security. > >http://www.eset.com -- Tallyho ! ]:8) Taglines below ! -- Real programmers use punched cards.