Windows 98 can't get startup window

Seems to be lots wrong with this PC but mostly I can't get rid of all the garbage in startup. Type msconfig and the box flashes for a second then disappears. Tried accessing the msconfig.exe file - but the same. Can't run disk cleanup - nothing happens. Won't run scan disk, nor disk defrag. Starts and stops so many times it gives up. Gets down to 33% system resources without having done much. Tried to update norton antivirus - went thru its paces at the site, paid, and now don't see a button for the download. Also when online (AOL dialup) dozens of persistent popups appear. I would download an adware product but nothing is working right and all is much too slow. Anyone?? Ideas please. I'm desperate.

 

Now I'm no expert but I have heard that using Msconfig to disable start ups for anything but troubleshooting purposes is not correct. In other words going in there and unchecking something as a permant way of disabling programs from starting at boot causes memory leak due to(now here it gets a little sketchy for me) windows still having these programs in the registry and something something . I forget the whole argument and it made sense to me at the time and stopped using msconfig to control my start up group. What you can get to do that instead of msconfig is a small freeware program called Codestuff Starter. It will disable start ups the right way for permanent disabling purposes. Then you can start your computer in normal mode rather than selective mode which disabling startups via msconfig results in. Whether that will fix everything that's wrong I can't say but you can give it a whirl.

 

Have you tried going to Safe Mode and looking things over? Nothing runs in SafeMode, except the bare essentials. You can run the ScanDisk from there. I am not sure about your virus program running in SafeMode. Some do and some won't.

 

Thanks for suggestions - Will have access to this computer tonight and will try scandisk in safe mode and see if there are any obvious disk problems - I assume I can defrag in safe mode also?