I recently received an Aptiva 2153/E2N from a friend to use as a backup pc. The computer was running Windows ME when I received it, but after starting it the first time it crashed and could not find the OS. I ran the product recovery disk that came with the computer and it installs Win 98 with no problems, but every time the computer boots it loads the mouse tutorial and freezes. When I hit ctrl+alt+del the only thing listed is msgsrv32 not responding. Since this is supposed to be "factory settings" how can there be an error? I was told the computer had always run fine after the prod recov was used in previous cases. Someone said that I may have problems with the BIOS settings. Is there any way to restore defaults, as I see no option for this in the BIOS menu? I should note that the computer will start in Safe mode. I would update, but unfortunately the only stand alone OS I have on disc is XP Pro for my other system which can not be loaded from DOS, nor installed in Safe mode as the CD Rom is unaccessible. One last thing to note is that the BIOS is version V70EN15 released 7/9/98. I would greatly appreciate any help anyone could offer for this problem. Thank you, JH

Sorry to write a novel in here but I felt an update to my dilemma might be in order...

I borrowed a copy of XP from father-in-law and was able to get it to boot, unfortunately not enough RAM, which is 32MB on this system (I forgot to mention earlier) I was using a student version of XP I received from good 'ol Purdue, this may have been the problem there. Anyway, is it going to be more time/cost efficient to upgrade RAM, which is possible, and install XP or solve the other problem? Or will XP even bypass this boot up problem? Again I apologize, and thanks in advance for any help...

First of all DO NOT INSTALL WinXP here. You will not be able to register the second installation of WinXP. The MSoft rule is one copy of WinXP and one computer. That eliminates WinXP. This system is no doubt too slow to run WinXP anyway. I suggest that you attempt to troubleshoot this machine from within safe mode. When you are in safe mode does the mouse respond? Go to control panel> add/remove programs, and look for any programs that control the mouse. If found I would remove the program. Next, go to Device manager and check all hardware, one item at a time to see if they indicate they are working properly. Next GO START> run> type msconfig and hit enter. Select the startup tab. Look for any program that referrs to the mouse or pointer. Uncheck any that are found. Do you have any periphial hardware connected to this computer besides a keyboard and mouse? If so, when you shut down, remove that hardware. Things like printers, scanners, cameras, etc. Shutdown and reboot.

While in safe mode the mouse responds normally, but I checked anyway. There are no programs controlling the mouse.

In device manager I have scanned through them and all say that device status is not available in safe mode. Under the resource tab it says that the devices are not using any resources because they are disabled or have a problem. This is the case with everything.

I have already tried disabling the startup features in msconfig, however none deal with the mouse.

The computer has no additional hardware (internal or external) installed and the only peripherals are the mouse and keyboard.

OK I should have thought about the processes not running in safe mode, that is the whole idea behind safe mode. Anyway I Googled msgsrv32 and it says this is a messanger service that only runs under Win 98 & ME. This leads me to believe this Mouse tutorial is causing the problem, as you already suspected. If there are no special programs installed to control the mouse then this must be part of some IBM sofware that is loaded at bootup. You need to disable this from running. Try booting to safe mode again and use windows explorer to search for this item and see if you can disable it. Hopefully, someone with more knowledge of where this startup item is located will come along. You can try going to START> settings> taskbar & start menu> start menu programs> advanced> programs> startup. If there is any listing there that looks like it is related to this message, remove it from the startup group. This will not delete any programs. It simply stops whatever was listed there from automatically running at startup. If it becomes necessary to restore a setting to the group it is no big deal.

I will continue to search, but as of yet I have not found anything remotely close to the mouse tutorial...

Look for any folders that refer to IBM also.

Thanks for all your help OtheHill. I was never able to find out what was causing this problem, but I did obtain a copy of Windows 98SE and after formatting c again it installed and is running fine. It must have had something to do with all the IBM crap that was on the other disk, I may never know...

Had the same problem and found powerreg scheduler in startup.Removed that item and problem appears to be fixed. However when removed, it went to recycle bin. Do I want to delete powerreg scheduler? How do I restore without sending it back to startup?