Hi,

I just ran a repair install on a system due to a motherboard upgrade. It asks me to activate windows before I can log in (it is genuine), but seems to crash after clicking OK.

I can't boot into safe mode because it tells me I must load in normal mode to activate it first!

I basically want to be able to edit the items that you might see in the startup list in the msconfig menu. Is there some file I can edit manually by plugging the HDD into a seperate PC?

Thanks

If you have the (original) XP CD, I would try re-running the repair install again.

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install

I do have the original CD, but I have slipstreamed it to a new disk with SP3. Otherwise the Repair option is not available.

How would running it again help?

"If you have the (original) XP CD, I would try re-running the repair install again."

There could be something amiss with the slipstreamed CD.

The CD is a version before any service pack therefore there is no option to perform a repair install with that CD.

Any ideas on the original question? I'm pretty sure it is some software loading at start-up that is causing the crash.

The startup entries are in the registry. Check out the response to this Google search for some possibilities: offline registry editors

Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel can help you determine where to look in the registry. Install and run it on another system then see where the registry entries are located.

"Install and run it on another system then see where the registry entries are located."

Re: Mike Lin; Doing this will only list the items on the "running" computer, not the "affected" computer.

Dan, yes, I know that. But doing that will show him where the keys he is interested in are located. Then he can try one of the (mostly Linux based) offline registry editors to work with them.

OK. It's just that element wasn't clear in the post.

Thanks Dan. I always know what I mean but sometimes don't express it well.