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I did an antivirus/firewall complete scan on my laptop & it took over 24 hours and still wasn't finished. Over 2 million items were from "Windows Installer". Obviously there is a problem.

I use NORTON Security antivirus/firewall provided by my internet provider AT&T. This problem began after I installed the firewall & has slowed down computer speed tremendously. It takes a long time to boot up, get into a word document, etc. I even upgraded from broadband to high speed & it is still slow.

Last year I got a computer tune-up and added memory. It HELPED alot, but this problem happened about 4 months after the tuneup & right after ADDING the firewall.

Where could all of these "Windows Installer" files come from and how can I SAFELY remove them?

AT&T & Microsoft won't even talk about this without charging a fee first. AT&T wouldn't even tell me how to disable the firewall to see if it would correct itself.

Please note that I am not very computer literate, so any advice should be explained in detail.

Many thanks for any help.
jmt

How much RAM does xp home sp2 support/use?

ThanxIn THEORY it supports 4 GB.
In reality the 32 bit operating systems can't UTILIZE 4 GB of RAM.
You will usually see somewhere between 3 - 3.5 GB if you install 4 GB.So if i put 1 gb more of the same RAM, it will recognize it all?

And foes it MATTER in which port i put it? it aint dual CHANNEL, right?

My mobo has got 4 ram ports, 2 white and 2 blue, currently one 2gb ram stick in one of the white ports.Yes, it should be able to utilize 3 GB.
Different colored memory slots usually indicates that the motherboard supports dual channel RAM.
Since you're not installing a matched pair of RAM you should install the extra 1 GB in the blue slot so the mobo doesn't think it is a matched pair.Allright! Thanx very much Deerpark!

safe mode? Something odd is happening with my desktop. I got a virus and resorted to trying to reload my windows cd, and keep getting this message.
file viaagp1.sys on filter driver disc is needed type path...and it lets me do nothing so I want to try system restore but when I try to do this I can't get to START to get to system restore that way because i can't type or anything when its up.
Thanks Is that the complete message? Did you clear the virus out?QUOTE from: hejlik on March 23, 2008, 03:51:57 PM

Is that the complete message? Did you clear the virus out?

What type of XP CD is this ? ?

This may help: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=52149

First time here.

Can anyone help with changing the desktop icon identifiers from characters to English. Also, these characters appear in IE for all the menus and url addresses. This happened after updating with auto updates on Microsoft Malicious Software security update Feb 08, 08. I tried to do a system restore and it fixed it but after my computer did another update (same as mentioned above, I was now unable to go back to a previous date cause all other system restore POINTS appears to have been erased.

Firefox works with a small alteration in font, ie; does not distinguish between read and unread mail in YAHOO. Besides that surfing is normal(with Firefox, IE+can't read menu bar)

Thanks in advance for your input.Not sure what you are seeing...can you post a SCREENSHOT ? ?Here is the screen shot:-

Oops Cut Copy and Paste did not work. I have a screen shot saved with Open OFFICE software. Help POSTING screenshot.

Thanksupload it to imageshack.us
Then post the link you get here and voila...i think he means all of the little squares

I just formatted my laptop by myself for the FIRST TIME...and I'm having problems with istalling some programs, I have an error message when I try to run a program "the application failed to initializa properly (0xc0000135). click ok to TERMINATE the application"?
and most of my downloads do not COMPLETE!!
am I missing something here? ok!!!!!!!! no one? Did you use the O.S. disk that came with the laptop? Most Laptop restore disks are different from a generic windows O.S. CD. They are usually tweeked by the Laptop manufacturer to maximize the STORAGE and memory capacities of that particular machine.
Also if you right click on MY COMPUTER then click properties then click the hardware tab then click device manager you can see all of your hardware components. If you see a yellow ! or? then you need drivers for that specific device.
And if you have just reinstalled windows you should definately get all of the current updates by clicking the start button then clicking window update.More details are required.

Hi

I have a windows XP home EDITION label on my computer

but the computer i bought (SECOND HAND) has no Xp home edition CD

and I'm going to bye a new motherboard so what i'm asking is..

is there a way to legally just get an Xp home edition CD, without having to pay full prise for ONE that has a key

like a download of windows or free cd from somewhere Not legally, no.

Hi, this has been an ongoing problem on multiple computers. This has happened on IE 6 and IE 7 (XP & 2000) where a user will go to websites, then restart the computer, and the next time they access IE, their HISTORY is gone (to an extent, see attachment). I've reinstalled IE a few times, ran updates, increased disk space for Temp. Internet Files, and increased days to KEEP history to 99 (instead of the default of 20). I've noticed that there is always a share in the history ex: \\pc1033\c$ (see picture), even though the user has NEVER typed that in and it's not a mapped drive on the PC. The new PC in question is a Dell Optiplex 745, with 1 GB RAM and 1.8 GHZ Dual Processors.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thanks.

[recovering space - attachment deleted by admin]Do you have TWEAKUI, or McAfee installed?

I am TRYING to apply for a JOB and my computer will not RETAIN my INFORMATION. As soon as I put it in and CLICK submit, it comes up empty as if I never fill out the information. How do I get my computer to hold the information?Sounds like a problem with the web site. You may want to call them and tell the tech support for the site.

Did you try different browser?

Hi, I have windows xp pro w/sp2
My PC keeps RESTARTING and I checked the forum.. and I believe it's the hd controller.

it says: The DRIVER detected a controller error on \device\harddisk0\D
type: error Event ID:11

can I put it on my other IDE2 controller?

I hope I made this clear and thanks!

spiderYou can...
But i'd try re-installing your MBoard drivers first...Patio,
For those of us who WANT to know. If he reinstalls the motherboard drivers, what other drivers should he reinstall that might depend on their new configuration?

And how would one go about reinstalling the other drivers? Work through "Device Manager" updating the drivers one by one? Uninstall the drivers (or remove the device) and have Windows rediscover them?

Inquiring minds want to know...
dahlarbearThe MBoard drivers are all installed in one package with most MBoards...these include chipset drivers;network controllers; onboard sound and video etc.
This task will not affect any other drivers on the machine such as add on CARDS (audio; video) etc.
It's usually done by cliking setup.exe on the Driver CD that shipped with the MBoard.hi patio , I already done that "reinstalling my motherboard drivers", I also reinstalled the OS just to MAKE sure.. of course backup is what I have always!

Thanks. Spider
Thank you Patio. --dahlarbear

I am running Windows XP on a MACHINE that is about 1 year old. The computer has been working fine, and today when I turned on my computer and the when I click on all icons or programs it SAYS:
Open with:
Choose The program you want to use to open this file.
This is doing it for all programs including AIM, calculator, and all .exe or .txt or anything. its like it cant find the directory for all programs, please help.
Go Start>RUN, type in:
cmd
Click OK.
Type in:
sfc /scannow
Hit Enter.
Have Windows CD handy.
it is even doing that for command. cmdTry REPAIR option: http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm#RI

I am trying to clean up my computer and REMOVE any un needed files. My wife in the past has done the SYSTEM recover and everytime it happens it stores music, photos and other files. So everytime you do that, you have two or more copies of the same files. Although they are not on the desktop they are stored in the C drive. When I try to delete those extra files, I keep getting the following message "Access is Denied" and we are the only user on the computer, so we are the administrator. How do I get acces or how can I get rid of that message. I would understand if we were not the administrator but again, we are the only profile/user on this computer. Thanks.What operating system and service pack level?window xp sp2Welcome to the CH forums.

Try this...

I don't understand why you are getting duplicated files. Why are you running a System Restore?

Good luckTry Unlocker----->Here

Read the Read me File for simple how to use instuctions.If the references from "Dusty" and/or "Street1" don't solve the problem, you should provide the "complete" TEXT that accompanies the "Access is Denied" message. A search of the INTERNET SUGGESTS there are several different versions (and perhaps solutions).

I also don't understand the "system restore" that results in duplicate files.

Sounds like there are two issues:
Why are you getting duplicate files?
How can you delete them?

Hey,

Background
My problem started yesterday when I turned on my computer. It loaded into windows, I logged on, and it was all working fine, but when I walked away and came back 5 or so minutes later, I was logged off. I didn't think much of it at the time so I just logged back on, but two minutes after logging back in, the computer just restarted. I logged back on, and nothing happened so I left it.

Problem
When I got up this morning and turned my computer on it started a restart loop. I have system commander 8 INSTALLED from a while ago when I was running a dual boot system, and I have it set to time out to XP after 3 seconds. It shows the spashscreen/bios, and then boots into system commander, and then 3 seconds later it starts to boot into XP, and that is then it restarts.
There is no windows xp loading screen, only a black screen directly before restarting.

Things tried.
-Figuring it could be due to something in XP being corrupted, I used a ubuntu (7.04) livecd to try and boot into that, but as soon as I selected start ubuntu, it went black and restarted.
-To check if it was a common hardware problem, I have removed everything from the pc besides 1 stick of RAM, keyboard, monitor, mouse, and cd drive, but still it restarts.
-Browsing some other similar cases, many people suggest using the windows recovery console to try and fix it, but as soon as I try and boot off my win xp cd, the computer restarts.

PC Specs
XP + all latest updates (SP2 etc.)
512mb ram
80gb sata hdd
80gb ide hdd
avg free antivirus
zone alarm internet security suite

I really have no idea what is going on, and this just has me stumped, its like my computer crashes as soon as it trys to load anything bigger then system commander, or the ubuntu disk start menu.

Any help would be great.

Thanks,
brent85I would try an scan your haddrive, there are some viruses that do this an are a pain to remove. Also, is there any blue screens or anything like that ether?How long have you had System Commander installed ? ?
Is this the one made by V COMMUNICATIONS ? ?Quote from: squall_01 on April 04, 2008, 06:00:58 AM

I would try an scan your haddrive, there are some viruses that do this an are a pain to remove. Also, is there any blue screens or anything like that ether?

How long have you had System Commander installed ? ?
Is this the one made by V Communications ? ?

DLoad the diagnostics from the drive manuf. site. These are used to create a bootable CD/floppy and do not require Windows to run.

• I have tried only the basic components (eliminates everything besides hdd's, optical drive, motherboard, cpu, psu, ram)
• I have tried it with only the optical drive (eliminates both hdd)
• I have tried only my system hdd (eliminates other hdd and optical drive)
• I have tried both ram sticks, 1 ram stick, the other ram stick, switching the socket used, cleaning the sockets AND a different ram stick all TOGETHER (eliminates ram)
• I have tried a different psu (eliminates psu)

• hdd's
• optical drive
• ram
• psu

i have 845GVSR, 2.4Hz celeron processor, 256 MB RAM and windows XP operating system,
i have a problem when i PLAY some videos so i lost my computer sound after 5, 10, or 15 minute but video is still running then after 3 to 5 or 10 second stop video and then after a few second normal sound and video comes
i have write my board BIOS then change my processor and then RAM but still i am FACING this problem


please helpWhat player do you use? Increasing your RAM may help, as well.i use window media player and real player ,,but giving problem and i already upgraded ram from 265 to 512 mb ...Same problem with playing videos after UPGRADING?
Did you try to update your sound card driver?
Also, try VLC Player: http://www.videolan.org/Quote from: Sohmee786 on April 09, 2008, 08:44:10 PM

i use window media player and real player ,,but giving problem and i already upgraded ram from 265 to 512 mb ...

hI,

I ran check-disk on my Xp machine recently, and now it RUNS EVERY time i boot my PC,
could anybody tell me how to STOP this?

THANK You

Roland See Here...Cheers mate, i will SUSS through that document as soon as i can,

appreciate your help,

Roland

I have XP. The SOUNDS that happen when you close applications or open them or whatever, don't seem to be working for some reason on my pc. And for some reason the volume control turns itself all the way down as well. I don't think these two things are related, but I guess they could be. Anyway I'm hearing sound from youtube videos just fine so I'm not sure what's up. I'd like to be ABLE to put some customized sounds for shutting down Windows etc., but the traditional sounds aren't EVEN working for some reason. How can I get these to work?The problem is only with Windows sounds? What happenes when you play music?

What are the specs of your MACHINE and what version of Windows are you running?

Have you checked here:

Control Panel --> Sounds and Audio Devices --> click the Sounds tab.Quote from: Carbon Dudeoxide on April 09, 2008, 08:00:00 AM

Have you checked here:

Control Panel --> Sounds and Audio Devices --> click the Sounds tab.

No problem. Just change it to Windows Default and everything should be ok.

First, I'm not too in-depth, so any help, hopefully I can follow, and not even sure if this has been answered, tried to search, but here goes.

I have Win XP, and sometimes when I am running usually utorrent, and usually overnight, some time during it, this box comes up from Realtek, about plug and play. When this occurs, it SEEMS to slow things way down, and the mouse pointer barely moves in ORDER to click the box off, and it takes a restart to get things back to normal. Am I making sense, and any help or advice?

Thanks!We need to know more about what exactly you're seeing.
The exact text in the box is required, and a screenshot of it would help as well.
Also, could you post the specs for your computer? Or a brand name and model number.
The box that comes up is not a computer message box, it looks like a pop-up type box from Realtek, has this robot-looking kind of WIZARD thing at the top, does not give any kind of system message, but when it does COME up, the mouse and computer in general goes really slow. Seems only to come up when using utorrent, but not every time either.

Computer is Sony VAIO, VGC-RA840G. Pentium D 820, Win XP media center edition, 2005. Does that help at all?

Thanks!So there is no text in this box?
How do you know it is from Realtek?I'm sorry, maybe I misunderstood. There isn't any text as far as a system message from my computer, but the box that comes up is very close to this one, except it only shows 2 plug ports on it, unlike this, and says plug-and-play. This is the closest image I could find. I'm not sure, as slow as it seems to make this run, I'd be able to capture it next time it does come up.

Thanks!


[recovering space - attachment deleted by admin]Next time it comes up, hit ctrl + alt + delete.
In the Task Manager select the Processes tab and note the name of the process that is taking up the CPU (if any). You can identify this process by looking for the one with the highest number in the CPU column.Will do, might be a day or 2 till it comes up again, but will get it when it does.

Thank you for the help and patience with my lack of ability here!Don't mention it.
We'll be here when it pops up again...

Hello,

I have been googling and attempting all standard forms of repair for approx 2 days straight - still no luck. I think I might be getting close but I never muck with my system or it's files until those more knowlegable have said it is wise. I hope by providing everything I know for sure (as instructed ) someone will be able to tell me what the next best step is.

The story is long (I apologize) but necessary because I think the solution is likely apparent to someone who knows win2k - which I am only just getting to know. I am a die-hard win98se user. I have tweaked, twisted and tuned it to suit all my needs and run like lightning on my system, and it has, beautifully I might add for quite a few years (thanx to axcel mdgx pages and other fine sites). This part of my system is still running perfectly.

It took years, but I finally relented to try a newer windows - not that I haven't seen or used any others - I have used 95, Millenium, XP Pro and Home... EVEN messed with some Linux versions - but in the end it's always easier to fight the foe you know so 98 is where I'm comfortable. But back on point - I had the choice of XP Home or Win2K Pro and I chose Win2kpro because it's GUI reminded me of 98 and I could find my way around in it better than XP (the rest of my family are on XP machines and I always feel hobbled on 'em lol).

Anyshoes I wouldn't completely give up the tried and true, so instead I opted to learn about dual-booting and how to set it up properly. It was alright, for a few months... but 2 days ago my Win2k disintegrated, taking the entire partition with it.

My original 40GB drive (2 slices) has my 98se install on it - still working no problem.
I added a new 160GB drive (sliced 3 ways) and put Win2k on it - WAS working no problem.
*Win2k was added after 98se in the manner microsoft suggests, the multi-boot screen worked from the get go - all went smooth.*

It seemed stable enough the first couple weeks. I added my necessary programs slowly over time, 1 at a time - then I let it have SP4. Still seemed more or less okay. I settled down and forced myself to use it instead of 98se nearly all of the time. Just when I thought I might consider living without 98, 2K starts this spontaneous [emailprotected] - rather annoying. I blamed the computer at first. It didn't happen often, nor during the same conditions so it wasn't easy to pick up on. But what I noticed was that it didn't always check for disc errors like 98 does when an unannounced shutdown occurs. Sometimes YES, most times no... Not good. But as a few days pass and all keeps behaving I forget I should be worried.

The other night - there it goes right in the middle of my merrily working along --REBOOT-- only this time not only doesn't it run chkdsk - it won't load Win2K.

This error is common I have learned:
Windows 2000 can not start, \system32\ntoskrnl.exe is missing or corrupt.

Not worried, I have replaced files via DOS many times - I get the file, and go to replace the file - only when I get there the drive does not exist! Well not in a normal way. It now shows as -- ♥+RPVæ5ө□Ė╦ -- when viewed from 98 (I named C: "old front" for win98 so my mom wouldn't get confused but I can't REMEMBER what I named the w2k drive because I'm m d at the moment LOL, but anyway it wasn't just "D" so that's why all the extra characters if ANYONE is wondering)

98 shows the drive as having two gobbledygook folders on it but if you click on them it just says they don't exist and properties says 0 bytes.
DOS mode calls the volume the same ---> ♥+RPVæ5ө□Ė╦ <---- and shows two gobbledygook directories.

I tried, and cannot replace the ntoskrnl.exe file. I did put one there but it's just sitting on the partition with the two funky-files.

I tried, and cannot use either mode of repair/recovery from Win2k cd. I regret not making those ERD disks after setting up the system.

I have tried "fixboot" in dos with no change. I did not try fixmbr because I was afraid it would wreck my working 98 side.

I have been unable to get any copy of chkdsk to run from Win2kcd or dos or win 98.

Scandisk DOES run from 98 and does give multiple error reports - but I did not try any of it's fixes yet because I don't know if it will make things worse. Scandisks solution is to delete what it doesn't understand and it seems to me that might make things completely unrecoverable. Here are the scandisk errors exactly:

And these last two are repeating in similar fashion for all following files (different gobbledygook names for each) of which of course there are many, many more - because there OUGHT to be waaay more than two as the partition is about 20 gigs and has numerous programs installed on it!

These are all FAT32 partitions - There has not been a single BSOD - I cannot recall any other crazy behavior. I compared my boot.ini to the standard and it looks different to me but I'm not sure if it's supposed to because it's Win2k and has all that extra security stuff...? mine looks like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=signature(26cggbeg)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
signature(26cggbeg)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
C:\="Microsoft Windows"

System Specs:

AMD Sempron 2600
ECS 741GX-M
SIS Chipset 741GX/964L
Soundblaster Live! 24bit
Radeon Excalibur 7000 (HiS powered by ATI) 64mb DDR
1GB Kingston KVR400X64C3A Ram
Maxtor Diamondmax 40GB master C: 98se (20GB) E: storage (20GB)
Maxtor Diamondmax 160GB slave D: Win2k (20GB) F: storage (70GB) G: storage (70GB)
LG 4160B Super-Multi Drive master
Dual Booting Win98SE/Win2K Pro

What is likely to happen if I let 98's scandisk fix the partition? The only thing I didn't put safely on the storage partitions were my moms emails and my documents/100's bookmarks - they are what I'm trying to save I sure could use a bit of good news.

Thanx for reading, sorry if your eyes are bleeding!

PS - I ran a full powermax test on the hard drive yesterday and it said it was fine.Sounds like the 160 definitely has problems...
Because it is relatively new it can't be assumed that it is healthy.
If you disconnect it at the IDE cable will Win98 run properly ? ?
Even though it is FAT32 the Win98 ver of Scandisk may not be adequate.
You can grab the Win2K rescue disks from bootdisk.com I believe it makes 4 floppies.
When finished making them boot to the first one and then load each other one at the prompts...then from the A: prompt type chkdsk E: /r and hit Enter...
Let it run to completion and re-boot.

The other alternative to this method would be to DLoad and run the diagnostics from Seagate's site called SeaTools. ( Seagate recently bought Maxtor) so choose the one for Maxtors.
Use this file to create a bootable CD/floppy and run it on the 160.

The final step if this produces no joy is if you have your data backed up would be to try the fixmbr command...However prior to this you definitely want to make certain both drives are healthy before attempting this fix.

Good Luck and let us know.Quote from: Javalicious on April 09, 2008, 03:46:32 AM

I tried, and cannot use either mode of repair/recovery from Win2k cd. I regret not making those ERD disks after setting up the system.

I have been unable to get any copy of chkdsk to run from Win2kcd or dos or win 98.

PS - I ran a full powermax test on the hard drive yesterday and it said it was fine.

If you disconnect it at the IDE cable will Win98 run properly ? ?

Even though it is FAT32 the Win98 ver of Scandisk may not be adequate.

The final step if this produces no joy is if you have your data backed up would be to try the fixmbr command...However prior to this you definitely want to make certain both drives are healthy before attempting this fix.

Good Luck and let us know.

The other alternative to this method would be to DLoad and run the diagnostics from Seagate's site called SeaTools. ( Seagate recently bought Maxtor) so choose the one for Maxtors.
Use this file to create a bootable CD/floppy and run it on the 160.

Go ahead and post the bootini file and we'll have a look.....

Quote

The other alternative to this method would be to DLoad and run the diagnostics from Seagate's site called SeaTools. ( Seagate recently bought Maxtor) so choose the one for Maxtors.
Use this file to create a bootable CD/floppy and run it on the 160.

What about this ? ?

I am using Windows XP with SP2. I have one folder in the disk drive E which contains some images & files. But when i want to open it a message comes that "the disk in drive E is not formatted. do u want to format now". if i click on option yes it may erase data on drive E.

why this is so? please help.1. is the drive internal or external?
2. What kind is it (hard drive pen drive etc)?
it is internal hard disk. Does it happen with one particular folder, or any folder on that drive?Right click My Computer and select Manage...
Then select Disk Management...
How is the drive being reported there ? ?
Right click the drive and select Properties for more info.Till no w it is happening only to one folder. In disk management it is showing HEALTHY disk.You may have some bad sectors on that disk.
Try to run chkdsk /r on it.i checked the disc but drive C. it is clean. my computer was infected with a trojan.zlob. may be this creating a PROBLEM?Yes.
Visit our Virus and Spyware section and follow the guide at the top of the page called reead this first...Also, you should have ran chkdsk on drive E, not C.i ran check disc ERROR my rt clicking the drive & selecting check disc option under tolls menu. but even after 10 hours it couldnt finish 50 %. but to my surprise the folder opened. i also ran ANTIVIRUS, antispyware before. thanx all of u.I think your drive still has problems. Check disk fix the disk so you can get the folder open but you should go to the manufacturer’s web site and see if you can get a utility to check the drive.
Agree with Spoiler here...that drive has issues.
Maybe let the diagnostics run overnight.
It also is better to use the ones from the manuf. website. They are more thorough and also run outside of Windows. Something in Windows may have been interrupting chkdsk which would cause it to restart accounting for the abnormally long scan time.OK, I will try.

All at once my wife's computer (Compaq Preserio with windows xp sp2) when starting windows this MESSAGE pops up "error loading C:\windows\system32\_C0054319.dat" it does not seem to affect the operation. Any ideas?Try System Restore.THANKS Broni. Did it work?Yes it worked computer now boots up without the notice. Even THOUGH I am old--very old, sometimes feel like a dummy. Very thankful I found this SITE. Thanks again. Very well, then

You're WELCOME TWICE

I am running win XP PRO and I have two Profiles set up on it.
One Profile is an ADMINISTRATIVE one and the other is a LIMITED one.

When I go on the net under the LIMITED profile my web broswers Adobe Flash will not WORK and when I go to Candystand.com I need that for the games.

If I go to Candystan.com under ADMINISTRATIVE profile my Adobe Flash works ok.

Why is this and how can I get it to work under both profiles??MAKE the limted ACCOUNT a admin and load and setup Flash. After its working fine set the account back to limited and try to to play the games.

Hi,

I have a Dell Latitude D520 LAPTOP which runs Windows XP. It is failing to boot, and loads a blue screen with the following message:

STOP: c0000218 {Registry File FAILURE}
The registry cannot load the hive (file):
\SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE
or its log or alternative
It is corrupt, absent, or not writable

Beginning dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system administrator...etc

I have tried loading in safe mode, and loading the last know good config but still get the same result.

Is there any way to fix this without re-installing Windows?

Thanks

NickHard to say from the error message nick.
Have you RECENTLY ran any registry PROGRAMS here ?
In safemode does everything work ?
What types of backups have you made if any ? ?

I would first try running chkdsk /r from a command prompt in safemode and re-boot...Try here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545Thanks guys, I have fixed it.

I STARTED following the advice here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

but after step one, when booting I was still getting the error message "An invalid parameter was passed to a service or function", then the machine would reboot.

I then put the hard disk into another machine, then ran through steps two and three to restore the registry from an earlier restore point and that fixed it.

Good going

A virus came on my pc. I did a system restore and my ErrorSmart that I just got was gone. The program list in control panel shows ErrorSmart but it won't let me remove it so I can't reinstall it. Any advice on how to remove the program and then reinstall it.
Thank you
Darrel Listing in Add\Remove may be just leftover. Just reinstall. It won't hurt anything.You should just be able to download the installer again and it will reinstall.I have tried to reinstall and reload the program but it stops short of letting me do it. Keeps telling me in a message the OLD ErrorSmart cannot be removed. I deleted all files relating to ErrorSmart from search and still nothing works. The company said to disable MSCONFIG. How do you do that?
ThanksGo Start>Run, type in:
msconfig
Click OK.
Click on Startup tab, and see, if ErrorSmart is listed there.
If so, remove checkmark next to it.
Restart computer, and try installation again.
Thanks Broni for your help but there was no ErrorSmart on msconfig. Im going to get to the bottom of this maybe with all of your help lol. I have removed all files for ErrorSmart and I have tried to reinstall and install a new ErrorSmart. Nothing so far. What is bugging me is that I cannot remove the ErrorSmart program from the Add/remove on control panel. I have no icons on my desktop and nothing in the tray. What do you think I should do? Just give up or any other suggestions. Im all ears.
And again thanks for your help guys.

DarrelTry this:
Download, and install CCleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds. Get "Slim" version.
Read CCleaner instruction here: http://www.jahewi.nl/ccleaner/ccleaner.html, and run CCleaner
When done, try installing ErrorSmart again.
What is ErrorSmart anyway?Error Smart is certainly adware, and could be classified as malware. It leaves trojans behind and reinstalls itself if you try to remove it. Needs malware expertise.

It might have been installed by another application. It can pop up advertisements even if you have a popup blocker on your computer. It can monitor your computer usage to generate ads that you are more likely to respond to. Adware can consume processing power and network bandwidth, thus slowing down your computer and interrupting your workflow.

* Method of INFECTION: ErrorSmart may be installed through exploits in the Windows Operating system or downloaded manually from the product's website.

* Advertising: Displays exaggerated reports to scare users into purchasing the full version of their software.
Good info, Dias Quote from: Broni on APRIL 09, 2008, 10:44:46 PM

Try this:
Download, and install CCleaner: http://www.ccleaner.com/download/builds. Get "Slim" version.
Read CCleaner instruction here: http://www.jahewi.nl/ccleaner/ccleaner.html, and run CCleaner
When done, try installing ErrorSmart again.
What is ErrorSmart anyway?

Error Smart is certainly adware, and could be classified as malware. It leaves trojans behind and reinstalls itself if you try to remove it. Needs malware expertise.

It might have been installed by another application. It can pop up advertisements even if you have a popup blocker on your computer. It can monitor your computer usage to generate ads that you are more likely to respond to. Adware can consume processing power and network bandwidth, thus slowing down your computer and interrupting your workflow.

* Method of infection: ErrorSmart may be installed through exploits in the Windows Operating system or downloaded manually from the product's website.
Thanks Dias but Im just going leave ErrorSmart alone and move on for now. Thank you for your input.
* Advertising: Displays exaggerated reports to scare users into purchasing the full version of their software.

hi.....

i was flicking through the bios settings on my PC and i CHANGED my main video to eci...

now when i start my PC the screen stays BLANK .....

any advice??Reset your BIOS settings.
Turn off your COMPUTER and open the case.
On the motherboard you should see a battery similar to the one in the picture. Remove it and let it stay out for 15 minutes, then reinsert it.
The settings should be cleared.

Remember to take anti-static precautions before working inside a computer case. TOUCH a grounded piece of metal to discharge any static electricity.


Image courtesy of Patio thnx for the reply mate....

which 1 is the battery....??The circular object with Maxell written on it and a plus symbol. (Your battery doesn't NECESSARILY have the word Maxell on it.)
It is also known as a button battery.
thnx alot mate ......

it is greatly appriciated.

My computer keeps rebooting after it reaches the desktop screen. It's an 2.2 amd quad, radeon hd3870 512mb card, gigabet mobo, os is xp, 2 gig ram. I just got the new hd 3870 yesterday because the old one fried and it worked fine all last night, until this morning. After turning the computer on it would reach the desktop and keep rebooting over and over and over, you get it. It works fine in safe mode. Should I try to reinstall the drivers, do a system restore, or just go ahead an REFORMAT. I dont have anything important on the harddrive that I need at the moment. If anyone has any other trouble shooting techniques or questions please ask.It could be a heat issue...have you removed a side panel to see if any housekeeping is in order ?No, I definately don't think it's a heat issue, I would say the temp in there is well below the maximum parameters set. The computer was off all night and when I tried starting it is when the problem started. It's booting from sitting all night. All fans work.The machine was working fine until you installed the HD 3870? You are talking about this video card?

http://www.techspot.com/review/76-asus-radeon-hd-3870/




Yep, THATS the card, but it worked for a full day before I got this problem this morning.Test the card in another machine...

You may also be underpowered...Clik Here...I have a 700w power supply, so I know for sure that I'm not underpowered. Can't test on another machine because this card is PCI-E and my old dinosaur is only AGP. I have XP SP2, fully updated, everything is updated, no viruses, no spyware, no adware, its pretty much a clean computer.I would suggest you boot into safe mode and uninstall your video drivers. After do a reboot normally and than reinstall them.

Yeah, that's KIND of what I figured I had to do. I'll give that a try, this will be the second time I've installed these drives from the CD it came with, if this doesn't work them I'm probably just going to go ahead and start from fresh.Unfortunately the only real way to determine if the card is the issue is to swap it into another machine...perhaps someone you know has a PCI E system ? ?I agree with patio...more so that you done this 2 times. This is very telling in itself.

I know, it's kinda wierd. But what are the odds of getting 2 deffective video cards. I WISH I knew someone with a PCI-E slot because that would have been my first stop.Another thought. The DVI input from my monitor is connected to my HD 3870 video card. If it was the card and I was in safe mode with no problems what so ever wouldn't it still display the same type of problem while not in safe mode seeing as it still attached to the video card. My mobo VGA card is turned off.I did a system restore on my computer to the day that it was working which was last night and low and behold the computer is working perfectly. So whatever I did last night before bed was bad and shall never be done again, I really wish I knew what it was. Thanks a lot for all of your suggestions, lots of big brainy people here (jealous). PeaceGood to hear your persistence paid off...feel free to stop by anytime.
And Welcome to CH !

hey guys, do ANYONE here knows how/where can i download the usbser.sys? im not familiar with this...

any help will be appreciated...thankshttp://www.dynamiclink.nl/htmfiles/rframes/info_sys/info_u/30.htmQuote

http://www.dynamiclink.nl/htmfiles/rframes/info_sys/info_u/30.htm

After a power outage, I'm getting a screen that says We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully........etc., then goes to Black Windows XP logo screen, then to Blue HP invent screen, then around back to the first screen I mentioned and keeps going. If I scroll down with arrow keys to the options on the first "we apologize...." black screen, to safe mode or start windows normally, etc., it STILL won't restart. Could anyone help me & give me an idea what to do? I APPRECIATE any suggestions. Thank You, Thank You, Thank You in advance if you can help me solve this problem.
Thanks,
-Vikki XP is most likely hitting a fatal error and AUTOMATICALLY restarting.
In order to assist you we need to know what this error is so we need to disable the auto restart feature.
Follow this:
Start the computer in normal mode and let it crash and reboot.
Tap F8 reaptedly during the bootup. This should bring you to the "Windows Advanced Options Menu".
From this menu select "Disable automatic restart on system failure" and press enter.
Select XP as the operation system to start and hit enter.

Now you should get a blue error screen.
Please post the info you get on the blue screen. (See the red boxes on the screen shot below.)
Thanks! I did what you said and a blue screen Does come up, with all white letters that says:
A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
etc......
It also tells me to disable any new hardware or software, etc, which I don't have.
Below the technically information says:
STOP:0x000000ED (0x89CB3430, 0xC0000006, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

Does that make any sense?......
Sorry, I'm lost.
Thanks for any help again.Try here: http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread41835.html

Hi,

*Problem: Boot loop after the First Windows Loading Screen*

Sorry if it's posted in the wrong section, I think it might be both.

I'll try to be as detailed and brief as possible. I was using my PC one evening, and noticed that it was skipping every now and then - I mean the screen freezing every 5-10 minutes for a second or so - minute problem. I watch a movie, same thing, skips every 5-15 mins for a few seconds. No biggie. Then I turn it off. The next day, I turn it on, and it goes upto the windows startup screen with the loading bar, and after the loading bar finishes, goes to a black screen then reboots, rinse and repeat.

System Specs:
Windows XP Professional SP2 with all updates. [Legal ]
3 GB of DDR 333 RAM (2x512 and 2x1gb in dual channel mode)
500 GB Seagate hard drive (about half way used)
Asrock 939Dual - http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=939Dual-SATA2&s=n
AMD Athlon 3800+ Dual Core (FX?)
Geforce 8800 GTO 512MB from BFG
Generic DVD writer.

What I've tried

CPU

Processor Glue
I thought it could be the processor's thermal glue on top - so I took it out, bending a few pins sadly, as it was stuck to the heatsink. Fortunately it was only about 2-6 pins which carefully I was able to fix. the glue I thought was fine, as the processor was stuck to the HEAT sink. Nonetheless, I cleared out the glue, and applied newly bought thermal glue(or paste). Put the processor back in, same thing.

CPU Tests - I ran a few programs, one went to 14. something million iterations, so I just stopped it - (after a loooong time )

Memtest - Complete test passed with no errors.

Hard Drive - Seagate Diagnostics
Short test - no errors
Long test - 2 errors (Couldn't fix, keyboard wouldn't work - performing test again)


Finally...

I have the ultimate boot DISK - http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ - I can try anything on their list.

In Windows repair, no idea what I can type - any suggestions?

Thanks for any and all help, and God BlessIf XP suddenly reboots during loading it is most likely because it encountered a critical error. In such a situation the default behavior for Windows is to restart without showing you the error message. In order to troubleshoot this error we need to disable the auto restart feature so we can get a look at it.
Follow this to disable it:
Quote from: Deerpark on April 04, 2008, 12:56:47 PM

START the computer in normal mode and let it crash and reboot.
Tap F8 reaptedly during the bootup. This should bring you to the "Windows Advanced Options Menu".
From this menu select "Disable automatic restart on system failure" and press enter.
Select XP as the operation system to start and hit enter.

Now you should get a blue error screen.
Please post the info you get on the blue screen. (See the RED boxes on the screen shot below.)

Bent CPU pins and HDD errors....i'm afraid to even guess on this one.
How did you get the pins straightened out ? ?
And has the 2nd Long Seatools test been run ? ?

If XP suddenly reboots during loading it is most likely because it encountered a critical error. In such a situation the default behavior for Windows is to restart without showing you the error message. In order to troubleshoot this error we need to disable the auto restart feature so we can get a look at it.

Ouch ! Metal screwdriver. The credit card would have been a better choice. Hope this ends up well...if you're getting that far with the Windows install it may be OK.
And since we're looking at everything as a possibility do you happen to have or can borrow a known good PSU of the same wattage or greater to swap in there after the drive tests are done ? ?

Gotcha...stay on that drive test then and let us know.

This occurs when Windows switches into kernel mode and a user-mode subsystem, such as Winlogon or the Client Server Runtime Subsystem (CSRSS), is compromised. Security can no longer be guaranteed. Because Win XP can’t run without Winlogon or CSRSS, this is one of the few situations where the failure of a user-mode service can cause the system to stop responding. This Stop message also can occur as a result of malware infestation or when the computer is restarted after a system administrator has modified permissions so that the SYSTEM account no longer has adequate permissions to access system files and folders.

Malware infestation or corrupted XP install.
XP Repair Install

Read through it prior to starting and print out a copy for reference.

Quote

for about 2 minutes

I am running Windows XP PRO SP2; IE-6 SP2; Adobe Reader 7.0. When I try to open a PDF file online I get this error: The instruction at "0x7c3417fb" referenced memory at 0x00000000" the memory COULD not be READ.
I only get this error when I am logged in as a user, but as an administrator it works fine. I have a feeling it is a permissions problem. Any ideas.did u already installed adobe reader ?
ithink some process is running in the background belonging to this applicationYes, Adobe Reader 7.0.3 is installed. I just updated it to Adobe Reader 7.1.0. Going to test.Updating Adobe Reader to 7.1.0 FIXED the problem.Thank you for posting back

i have a problem with my controlpanel
i.e.,

in my add or remove window a m getting the space
in that first 5-6 applications or COMING correctly in normal way after these applcation i am getting too much of space between furthue applications
can anybody help me in this ?
plz ................. Assuming, you're on Windows 2000, or better...

Go Start>RUN, type in:
regedit
Click OK.

Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
Click on every subkey, and LOOK for DisplayIcon ENTRY in right pane.
If found, rename it to xDisplayIcon
When done, restart computer.

Hi,

I use Windows XP Home Edition which was installed by the Manufacturer and have encountered a problem and looking for asssitance from someone who perhaps have or had a similar problem. When starting my COMPUTER an on screen message was displayed to say windows could not start as the following file was corrupt or missing:
(windows\system32\config\system I attempted a repair using a windows recovery disk (fix it yourself)(BOOTABLE CD) only to be left with a message Operating System not found. SONY did provide a recovery and documentation disk if I use this it will re-formatt my hard drive and I will loose all SAVED data. I have a Windows XP disk and wish to install this. I have accessed my Phoenix BIOS Setup Utillity to change the boot order but on the boot menu the LIST is Optical Drive, Hard Disk Drive, Floppy Disk Drive and Network. I disabled all drives but still unable to install windows xp.
Assisatance would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

Scottie
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

If SAVING your FILES is number ONE concern, why not slave the HDD to another computer and see if you can get the files off it. This could also give you a chance to run some scans on the hard drive.Before we open that computer, and play with hard drive....
We may have a combination of issues here (I'm not excluding hard drive, but I'd leave it for later).
1. 256MB of RAM is definitely one of culprits.
2. Cleaning/defrag issues.
3. Infection, possible.
How big is hard drive, and how much free space is left?

Download HijackThis:
http://www.trendsecure.com/portal/en-US/tools/security_tools/hijackthis/download
Click on Download HijackThis Installer
Post HijackTHis log.XP on 256 is certainly the major suspect...
However the drive fitness test SUGGESTED would be the first thing i would do.
Then i would suspect the PSU only because it did run OK and now it doesn't...

Well earlier today my computer just 'gave up' on me... i booted back in and it gave me a message saying my boot.ini file was corrupted... i have a secondary PC, which is how i am typing this... how do i repair/correct/replace/whatever the boot.ini? im using the 10 year old pc right now... and i cant stand the slowness LOL...
Thanks.
SimiIs this pc switching on so that you can repair the boot.ini file?
If not you will need to safe mode and find that file. then let know whats inside, open it with textpad please.Dude... i cant even get past my BIOS screen... and i dont even know how to find that file...

EDIT: oh yes it is a laptop... is it possible for me to remove the HD from the laptop and plug it into the PC im using? (im assuming its on the HD becasue its a file )You need to find your Windows XP CD. Put it in the drive on the laptop and boot up, press whatever KEY lets you choose the boot device (On a Dell it's F12) and tell it to boot from the CD. Once it has finished loading choose R for repair. It will take you into the repair console. From there run fixboot. Next run bootcfg /Rebuild.

That should repair your boot.ini and rebuild your boot partition and you should now be able to boot into windows again.do you have your windows xp cd or restore cd? a msdos boot disk? if you have any of those, do this:(its sorta complicated, it happened to my computer and i didnt know the admin pass... rrgh)

2.Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.
3.When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
4.When you receive the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R to start the Recovery Console.
5.If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.
6.When it asks type the administrator password (just leave it blank if you've never changed it before) and then press enter
7.At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press enter. some entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen
8.At the command prompt type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press enter. This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then shows up the results. Follow the instructions that come up to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file.

If that doesn't work have some store like microcenter or geek squad re-install your os and see if they can recover any of your files.i did what ms_dos_sucks said and got it working(which means i can log back in to windows, thankfully no corrupted files yay!)... but the problem is that i have a ubuntu linux partiton on there too... how do i FIX that one because i lost my ubuntu disk and i am not downlading that again on dial-up...What bootloader did you use when setting up Ubuntu ? ?
If you head to their site they will send you up to 10 CD's FREE...Find your Bootsect.lnx file on the ubuntu partition and copy it to a floppy or something, then boot into windows, copy it to the C:\ drive and edit your boot.ini. Just add C:\BOOTSECT.LNX="Linux" to the end of the file and then reboot. It should work.
I used GRUB.

I am not a freeloader.

and TheEmperor's way worked.

(Sorry for booting such an old thread )I never implied you were a freeloader and i'm glad you are fixed up...

According to "You cannot open a new Internet Explorer window or nothing occurs after you click a link", other registry keys besides Urlmon.dll may NEED to be fixed. Quote from: BIGRED on June 06, 2008, 06:01:28 PM

I just checked and it has IE 6. But I have gone to Windows update and downloaded EVERYTHING listed, plus now have automatic UPDATES turned, so I thought I was in the clear with all that.

My window XP got a problem. If I type in run cmd, msconfig, or something like that, it show an error " windows can not find". but If I type command, it appears dos but here also some command doesn't work. what is the problem? Your question is a bit hard to understand.

You cannot launch msconfig from Command Prompt


You can run it through Start --> Run (or Win Key + R)

Quote

it appears dos but here also some command doesn't work.

I use "start>run and type cmd" method but it doesn't work.

it show an error " windows can not find"

Thanks in Advance

I'm trying to remove an older inactive version of Norton.

I've tried the AddRemove function in Control Panel although Norton Antivirus isn't listed here, so I tried to use the uninstall in the "Norton Antivrus" Program Group but with out success only to find that a message appears informing me the program may currently be in use, so I checked the icons in the System Tray and in the Hidden Icons so I COULD "Exit" or close the Program but there is NO icon in System Tray or the Hidden Icons.

The Only place I can find Norton Antivirus is in the c drive under program files but when I attempt to manually delete the folder and its contents I find that a message appears informing me the program may currently be in useAre you replacing this program with another Norton product?

Personally...I wouldn't recommend it becuause Norton is such a resource hog.

Download and run the Norton Removal Tool for your product.

Do not run this tool if you have another version of Norton installed.I have had problems with the removal tool.
I WOULD suggest that you give it a shot and if your not happy than format and reinstall.

Quote

I would suggest that you give it a shot and if your not happy than format and reinstall.

Quote

I would suggest that you give it a shot and if your not happy than format and reinstall.

Please....Do you buy a new car when you have a flat tire?

About a week later I got an error that said that norton's live update couldn't connect. I ran that down to a regisrty key.

Laugh make jokes...all I can say is that I lost files. If I have saved and than reformatted and reinstalled windows I would have had the files still.

Norton is as bad as malware.

Try through safe mode.

I'm not even drunk

Quote

I was just about to say that

when i turn my comp on it blinks a whole lot i really DONT know whats causing it... it'll slow down sometimes but it speeds back up and sometimes it comes back kinda tiled? ive tried updating my drivers and it didnt work. i was just wondering what could maybe be wrong with it. ive swapped my video card and ive swapped moniters so i eliminated those choices.


thx. RyanDoes the problem occur before or after Windows starts?

Does it keep going after Windows Starts? Does it happen before Windows starts?

Does the computer have a built in video card along with the external? Are you using both at the same time? the blinking starts as SOON as i turn the comp on. when its loading up it starts blinking and continues blinking while windows is running its still blinking at this moment, i have an NVIDIA 6600 in it and thats it idk about external or what not but thats the only card.How is it in Safe Mode?i havent tried yet should i?Quote from: icaryno on June 06, 2008, 11:24:02 PM

i havent tried yet should i?

Have you thoroughly read THRU the Repair Install list provided and do you feel confident enough about pursuing that option ? ?
It sounds a bit daunting at first but if you have a good backup strategy beforehand in a worst case scenario you would be looking at a clean install of XP and having to re-install all your programs...
In a best case scenario the Repair Install would retain all your data and apps and hopefully fix the issue...

The other thing i hadn't considered is that are both these modems internal ? ?
Let me know.Quote from: jawanda56 on May 02, 2008, 05:26:42 AM

It is multiboot with XP pro (SP2) and win2k (SP4).

I've an internal phone modem 'Motorola SM56', which cannot be installed in XP, whereas it works normal in win2k.

Its WORKING FINE in Win200Pro from another partition in my computer.

I've tested it in XP on another computer and no problems there.

This confirms that there is some problem with the operating system and nothing wrong with the modem.

Did you try re-installing the MBoard drivers ? ?

Also, I've reinstalled all the drivers, which are in the mobo CD.

It looks like, the troubleshooting is coming to an dead end. If the problem is not resolved, I might go in for reinstalling the XP.

The other thing i hadn't considered is that are both these modems internal ? ?
Let me know.

The least painful path at this point is
A) Repair Install
B) Purchase a new external modem.
C) A clean install of the OS.

It is because of the long link in Post #22...
Refresh your browser and see if it goes away.
Meanwhile i'll adjust the link...

Before I repair XP and loose all the updates, Please have a look at my setupapi log:

pci\ven_127a&dev_1003&subsys_b0bc0e11&rev_01,pci\ven_127a&dev_1003&subsys_b0bc0e11,pci\ Space Addedven_127a&dev_1003&cc_070000,pci\ven_127a&dev_1003&cc_0700
#-018 Searching for compatible ID(s):

pci\ven_11d4&dev_1805&subsys_180511d4&rev_00,pci\ven_11d4&dev_1805&subsys_180511d4,pci\ Space Addedven_11d4&dev_1805&cc_078000,pci\ven_11d4&dev_1805&cc_0780
#-018 Searching for compatible ID(s):

pci\ven_11d4&dev_1805&rev_00,pci\ven_11d4&dev_1805,pci\ven_11d4&cc_078000,pci\ven_11d4&cc Space Added_0780,pci\ven_11d4,pci\cc_078000,pci\cc_0780

in my folder option
i am enabling the "view>SHOW hidden FILES"
but afetr closing that it is not showing the hidden files..
option "donot show is assined" when i see once again the folderoptionQuote from: #groff -Tascii -man YAKUB on June 06, 2008, 10:37:19 PM

in my folder option
i am enabling the "view>show hidden files"
but afetr closing that it is not showing the hidden files..
option "donot show is assined" when i see once again the folderoption

Hey All!! How can I remove the xp pro on my computer with out running the restore?? I have a used dell laptop that I got with no os, someone here said to contact dell for the recovery disk,and I did $ 40 with shipping great deal! Now here is the problem! someone I know who claims to be sharp with computers loaded xp pro for me but it is not a VALID copy. Now I must remove it to restore my machine!! Man am I mad, this should have been an easy deal to do, now what a pain.
Thanks keith Was that person supposed to be using the recovery disk you received from Dell to install Windows? Do you have your recovery disk now?I had that same problem. Bought a restored computer from a computer fair and went to update. It was not a valid copy. There was a link in that window that lead to a page on the Microsoft site that told how to make it a valid copy. You had to either purchase a valid key or input a valid key.

If you have the recovery disk that should wipe out the installed version. That is what they do. Make sure that the cd is the FIRST boot device, reboot with the cd in the drive and follow the on screen instructions to reinstall the operating system.Tried the disk but said could not upgrade from pro to home. Found out if you hit Esc. during run it will load the full version, but when I enter the key it says it's not a valid key. So I think that it is seeing the key for the bad copy!If it were up to me, and the recovery cd was bootable, then I would wipe the drive and reboot with the cd in the drive. With no OS installed the recovery cd should work as expected.

That is, after making sure to backup any data I wanted to save.

But it is not me. OK that is what I want to do but how do I dump the driveDoes this machine have a floppy drive ? ?
If so just DLoad a WinME bootdisk from Bootdisk.com.
Use the file to create a bootable floppy and re-start the machine with the floppy in.
At the A: prompt type in format C: /U and hit enter.
Let it run to completion.
It will ask for a Volume name...hit Enter for none.
Remove the floppy insert the Recovery CD and re-boot.
Setup should now start for you.

You do understand that ALL your data will be gone from this correct ?
Would a WIN98 floppy work also or is that specific to ME? Yes.
But after you format it and the XP CD is recognised you NEED to have XP format it as NTFS...Win98 cannot do this.

I'm using an old computer with Win NT 4. Last night, I was trying to see what the top resolution I could use on the monitor. I set the display for the 1600x? resolution. (Sorry I cannot remember the number for y). The monitor I had hooked up (DELL 770e monitor), showed the "Sync out of range" message. I called a friend, and he suggested using the monitor that came with the machine. So I hooked it up, and the display is and all I see is multiple images of the screen with each line of resolution off kilter. It is so bad, that I cannot tell where the mouse button is.

CORRECT me if I'm wrong, but, in Win95, WinME, and WINXP, if you set the resolution too high, doesn't these OS's, reset back to the last good display that I used?? For some reason I remember them doing that. I just read a book that I have, that WinNT 4 cannot go into Safe Mode, like the other OS's can.

Does anyone have any suggestions?When the machine boots you should see a message that SAYS "use last good configuration" Give that a try and let us know if it works.

Yes, I've tried that.uncleAaron,

I don't know how much experience you have with Windows NT......but Windows NT is VERY VERY sensitive to changes....it's nothing like Windows 2000 of XP..Any changes you make, you need to absolutely make sure that you have the correct driver.....having said that....work around for your problem I guess would be to get a high END CRT monitor (I don't know but I don't think Winnt supports LCD monitor).

Hope this helps
CheersI was afraid of that. I guess I'm screwed until I get a new hd for my computer. I was just using this one until then. I guess I should have just left the resolution alone. My mistake.

Thanks for taking the time to answer. Have a good weekend.Do you have any other video cards you could put into the machine? This would cause NT to reset itself to a defalt video settings. It would be like trying to install a new card without the drivers. You could than delete the old drivers and put your card back in and reload the drivers.

I think the OP meant 1600 x 1200. That is outside the range of most inexpensive monitors. I suggest that the OP boots into VGA Mode (no Safe Mode in NT4). There should be a menu at boot time. Once NT is running, select a safer video mode like 1024 x 768.

piaaz, Windows NT supports monitors. It does not know or care if they are LCD or CRT.
Quote from: piaaz on June 06, 2008, 08:13:19 AM

uncleAaron,

I don't know how much experience you have with Windows NT......but Windows NT is VERY VERY sensitive to changes....it's nothing like Windows 2000 of XP..Any changes you make, you need to absolutely make sure that you have the correct driver.....having said that....work around for your problem I guess would be to get a high end CRT monitor (I don't know but I don't think Winnt supports LCD monitor).

Hope this helps
Cheers

Quote from: piaaz on June 06, 2008, 08:13:19 AM

I don't know but I don't think Winnt supports LCD monitor.

Where did this info come from ? ?

how to REMOVE link attached with the picture file received in e-mail,when u forward it to somebody ?
Online? Right Click, save as?

Save it to the desktop and attatch it to the EMAIL.

Need more informationif the picture is the actual hyperlink then I would right click the picture select hyperlink properties and then delete the url...that will render the link void.Quote from: CARBON Dudeoxide on June 07, 2008, 06:49:03 AM

Need more information

At my work station computer, when I pull up IE6 on Windows XP, I'm unable to type anything in the url or search bar. If I hit one button, the computer takes over and BEGINS typing in different letters and numbers (on url). In the search bar (comcast), dashes appear over and over again, and continues to do so until I log off. I scanned for viruses, nothing came up. Could it have something to do with the KEYBOARD? Any information is much appreciated! THANK you.My guess would be that the keyboard is bad. You probably have a key that is stuck. I would try a different keyboard first thing.Does this happen EVERYWHERE or only with certain programs?

Open notepad and see what happens when you type there.Sorry, should have tried that first! But that's the problem! THANKS for your help

Windows XP Home SP2 computer. After and during a virus scan the cpu FAN will spin very fast and is very loud. At the END of the virus scan the fan continues to run fast like this. When you try to shut it down it goes through the shutdown process but stops at "windows is shutting down" but won't continue past that. It has to be shut down manually by pushing in the power button. The virus and spyware scans didn't fine anything, so it appears to be a clean computer.What scans ? ?It was SCANNED for viruses first with TREND Micro, then I removed that and scanned with Avast. I scanned for spyware with Spybot S&D, Spysweeper, and Adaware. I have the fan issue with each of these. I don't know if this is a hardware problem, like a bad fan, or if there is some setting that is wrong.Post all the info on your machine you can and we'll take a looksee...

My computer doesn't seem to want to update. It started out with Windows Installer 3.1. Now I have received more updates and it won't take any of them.

Can anyone help me FIX this problem?

Thanks in advanceCan you give us your computer specifications, also try and give more detail in to the problem, what does the system do (e.g. constantly fail updating ?)

Many of the updates will not work without Windws Installer 3.1, find it here;
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=889482FC-5F56-4A38-B838-DE776FD4138C

Regards,
Sean. I'm running windows xp pro.

I am not able to install window installer. I have tried and it won't install. It will not boot up in safe mode so I can't try to install it that way. I have looked at all the websites and done what they say, and am still not able to install.

I know there are guys in here that can help fix this and I am hoping that they will see fit to grace me with their knowledge and help me fix this problem.

Thanks to any and all who respond to this plea for help.What error messages are displayed when you try to install Windows Installer 3.1
Also, not being able to boot up in to safe mode sounds very strange, especially if you can boot in to Windows in 'normal' mode . It may be worth a reinstall of Windows.

Regards,
Sean.I have avoided so FAR at all cost's NOT to reinstall and will continue to avoid at MOST cost's to NOT reinstall windows. Meaning only as a very very last resort will I reinstall.

The only error MESSAGE is when I click on the little yellow icon and it starts to install it comes up and says was unable to install WI.

If I try to manually install, it just says Access Denied.

That's all I get.Quote from: woodworks on June 05, 2008, 12:18:23 PM

I have avoided so far at all cost's NOT to reinstall and will continue to avoid at MOST cost's to NOT reinstall windows. Meaning only as a very very last resort will I reinstall.

The only error message is when I click on the little yellow icon and it starts to install it comes up and says was unable to install WI.

If I try to manually install, it just says Access Denied.

That's all I get.

Well as I said before, I know there are guys in here who could help me fix it, but they didn't like the way I refused to format in the first place and so now they are just being jerks and refuse to help me.