I have an IBM thinkpad 385 laptop computer and when I turn on the power the computer starts to boot up but freezes just before icons appear. Works in safe mode but freezes in normal mode and can't acces any files. mouse and keyboard don't work. what should i do?

No mouse and no keyboard, huh? Is the computer recognizing a keyboard and mouse? It sounds like either: 1). BIOS has lost the settings and is not detecting mouse and keyboard on bootup. 2). Driver/Drivers are corrupted or missing inside of Win 98 for those devices and maybe others. Check your BIOS and first make sure that it is config'd to detect a keyboard and a mouse. Most computers, hold down the Del key on bootup will get you into the BIOS. JUST CHECK! Don't go messing with anything else in the BIOS. If it appears the BIOS is detecting keyboard and mouse, then it appears you have either lost the device drivers in Win 98 for your hardware or those device drivers have become corrupted...so when Win 98 boots, it is looking for those drivers and can't find them...no drivers? Win 98 freezes. Go into safe mode and check Device Manager and make sure you have a mouse and keyboard there. Remember, a lot of drivers are NOT loaded in safe mode...just enough to get Windows up so you can do something about a problem. Make sure you have your original Windows 98 Disk handy. If Device manager is showing a big red X through the mouse driver or a Yellow Question Mark...ooooops, you have a problem. You will need to use Detect New Hardware in Control Panel and follow the instructions on re-loading a new copy of the device drivers. If you cannot find an INF file (driver installation file) on Win 98 Disk, it may be necessary to contact manufacturer to get a copy of the device drivers. Make sure you have the driver files before doing this stuff....or you won't get the problem solved. At the very worst, you may have to re-install Win 98