Knowledge Base

How to Disable a Service or Device that Prevents Windows from Booting

Article ID: 244905

Article Last Modified on 2/28/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

This article was previously published under Q244905

SYMPTOMS

If a service or device driver is started automatically and is incompatible with the current version of Windows, the service or device driver may not allow Windows to remain running long enough for you to shut down the service or disable the outdated device driver.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if hardware or software is installed that installs a device or service that is incompatible with the current version of Windows.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, start Recovery Console and log on to the computer using the following steps:

Start your computer with the Windows boot disks, or with the Windows CD-ROM if your computer supports booting from the CD-ROM drive.
When the Welcome to Setup dialog box is displayed, press R to repair, and then press C to start Recovery Console.
Choose to install Windows and log on to your computer with the Administrator account.
From the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder at the command prompt, type listsvc, and then press ENTER.
Locate the service or driver that is causing the problem in the list that is provided.

NOTE: Selecting the wrong service or device could cause further problems.

Type disable servicename (where servicename is the name of the service), and then press ENTER.

NOTE: The disable command prints the old start_type of the service before resetting it to SERVICE_DISABLED. You should record the old start_type, in case you need to re-enable the service.

Type exit, and the computer restarts automatically. Allow the computer to boot normally.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about installing or using the Recover Console, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

229716 Description of the Windows 2000 Recovery Console

Keywords: kbenv kbprb KB244905

Microsoft KB Archive/244905

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