trache

The first description sounds exactly like Safe Mode. Questions:

Did you manage to get the Windows Boot Menu up on your screen - the one that asked you how you wanted to start up?
Did you select the correct option (Safe Mode)?

If you did, you then might be asked which Windows you want to load (if you have multiple partitions, but don't worry about this one just select the only option you have on-screen at that time).

After you select that, the screen should go black and then whiz by a few lines of things like:

Multi(0)Partition/Blah Blah Blah/windows/whatever/

after that, Windows should load into Safe Mode. You'll select your user name, and after the operating system gets you to your desktop, a little popup window should tell you that you're in Safe Mode.

Can you restart into safe mode again, describe what steps you took and what was on your screen when you made your selections (and what happened afterward)?

When you're in Safe Mode, Windows should not load anything that is not "default" (to Windows). That means potential trojans have of a less chance of loading in Safe Mode. I have always been able to run the programs I need in Safe Mode, while having the programs that are trouble not load at all. There may be something amiss, but you'll need to describe to us exactly what you see etc.

The Safe Mode boot screen with the Multi(0) lines isn't needed, but make sure you let us in on everything else.

I would say that if it's not responding that you should wait a bit. What version of Windows are you running, and do you have any service packs installed with it?

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