Win98 only boots in safemode

I'm trying to save an old Compaq Presario running Win98. Using a boot disc I could install Win95 instead and probably go on living but I'd rather it have 98 (the restore disc to which I do not have). If I boot it normally it will lock up at the Win98 splash screen. In safe mode I ran scandisc on both hard drives and both detected no problems.
I thought the primary hard drive had crashed, but in safe mode everything seems fine. Device Manager shows no problems, either.
Any suggestions?

 

in safe mode go into msconfig/startup and untick everything,reboot normally
if it boots ok,then retick the boxes one at a time until you find the offending item.
if you need it reinstall if you don't leave untick or uninstall