Safe Mode disabled on eMachine?

[Robert]

I tried getting into safe mode on a 1 1/2 year old eMachine that camewith XP Home Edition. Pressing the "F8" key at boot produces a blank screen only.If "Enter" is then pressed, what might be a factory modified Safe Modemenu appears. It only has one entry, which is to boot windows normally. All theother options are missing from the screen.There is no "X" visible on the screen, which I have been told some vendors use to hide the Safe Mode screen from immediate view.Any idea what they did to this poor machine?I would really like to get into the Administrators account and double check that it does in fact have a password.I have googled this to death already and both eMachines and Microsoft require I buy tech time before they will answer a question.Thanks,Robert

[Robert]

I simply want to confirm there is adequate security on this computer. In XP Home the only way to access the Administrator account is in Safe Mode.Just because I don't know how to get to the Administrator account with this strange settup does not stop someone else. If there is no password protecting it "someone else" can take over this computer.I want to avoid any possible compromise of this computer.Robert

[Robert]

I forgot to add, I only have the restore disk from eMachine for this computer, but I have upgrade Home and OEM Pro disks available from other computers if this helps.The computer itself runs fine and is mostly used for medical transcription.Robert

[jbredmound]

Wow, I just came from trying to work an on-going problem with an e-machine on our VERY LOCAL forum site.We asked the nice lady to call e-machine tech support with some questions, and two of the answers that she received were that both Safe Mode and Ad/Remove programs had been removed from the program cluster "to save space".I just now reviewed this reply. Is it for real? I don't know, but that's what she said.

[Guest ComputerBob]

I don't use XP, so maybe one of the XPerts here can tell us for sure, but would it be possible to create a boot disk at BootDisk.com and use that to boot into Safe Mode?

[nlinecomputers]

We asked the nice lady to call e-machine tech support with some questions, and two of the answers that she received were that both Safe Mode and Ad/Remove programs had been removed from the program cluster "to save space".

Ack! I not sure that is POSSIBLE! Try this to force a safe mode boot.Start/Run/msconfigGoto the boot.ini tab and you'll find a cleared checkbox for "/safeboot" check it and reboot. It should go into safe mode. Note you'll have to go back to msconfig and put that back to get to a normal boot up. I would like to know how someone killed safe mode on a XP box. That is very abnormal.(I wonder if there is a group policy for that...)Also to logon as Administrator I think you can do it from a standard logon prompt. At the welcome screen hit CNTL-ALT-DEL twice(2). You should see a standard logon screen like Windows 2000 or NT uses. Try to logon as administrator with no password there.

[Robert]

Wow, I just came from trying to work an on-going problem with an e-machine on our VERY LOCAL forum site.We asked the nice lady to call e-machine tech support with some questions, and two of the answers that she received were that both Safe Mode and Ad/Remove programs had been removed from the program cluster "to save space".I just now reviewed this reply. Is it for real? I don't know, but that's what she said.

The eMachine I am dealing with still has add/remove programs, but who knows what they they have come up with since it was built. It is a year and a half old now.It is model T1090. Robert

[nlinecomputers]

Doing some googling on this subject(I was curious this is MOST odd) I found the registry key that controls safemode:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBootCan anyone with a Broken safe mode email me this key. Use the private reply and I'll contact you directly. I would love to compare it to mine.

[Robert]

Doing some googling on this subject(I was curious this is MOST odd) I found the registry key that controls safemode:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBootCan anyone with a Broken safe mode email me this key.  Use the private reply and I'll contact you directly.  I would love to compare it to mine.

I used msconfig just like you said and finally got into safe mode! The administrator account did not have a password, just as I suspected. What a security hole!I am about to leave on vacation so won't be able to follow this thread for a while, although I might have a little time tommorow. I hope this is what you needed:Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot]"AlternateShell"="cmd.exe"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal][HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\AppMgmt]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\Base]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\Boot Bus Extender]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\Boot file system]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\CryptSvc]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\dmadmin]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\dmboot.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\dmio.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\dmload.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\dmserver]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\EventLog]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\File system]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\Filter]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\HelpSvc]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\Netlogon]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\PCI Configuration]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\PlugPlay]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\PNP Filter]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\Primary disk]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\RpcSs]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\SCSI Class]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\sermouse.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\sr.sys]@="FSFilter System 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Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Browser]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\CryptSvc]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Dhcp]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\dmadmin]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\dmboot.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\dmio.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\dmload.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\dmserver]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\DnsCache]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\EventLog]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\File system]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Filter]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\HelpSvc]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\LanmanServer]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\LanmanWorkstation]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\LmHosts]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Messenger]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NDIS]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NDIS Wrapper]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Ndisuio]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NetBIOS]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NetBIOSGroup]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NetBT]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NetDDEGroup]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Netlogon]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NetMan]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Network]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NetworkProvider]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\nm]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\nm.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\NtLmSsp]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\PCI Configuration]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\PlugPlay]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\PNP Filter]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\PNP_TDI]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Primary disk]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\rdpcdd.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\rdpdd.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\rdpwd.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\rdsessmgr]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\RpcSs]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\SCSI Class]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\sermouse.sys]@="Driver"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\sr.sys]@="FSFilter System Recovery"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\SRService]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Streams Drivers]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\SYMTDI]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\System Bus Extender]@="Driver Group"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\Tcpip]@="Service"[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Network\TDI]@="Driver 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[nlinecomputers]

Thanks,When I get a spare moment I'll dump mine and do a compare.Glad that msconfig got you in the back door.