Software Problems: Fixing Problems with Windows Vista, Windows XP, Programs and Utilities - Page 1 of 4 |
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SOFTWARE PROBLEMS: WINDOWS XP, WINDOWS VISTA, PROGRAMS AND UTILITIES - Page 1
ARTICLES ON WINDOWS XP ON THIS SITE1. - Recover and repair Windows XP when the computer crashes or fails to boot 2. - How Microsoft's Windows XP Product Activation works 3. - Windows XP : How to Troubleshoot and Fix Shutdown or Restart (Reboot) Problems 4. - How to use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard in Windows XP 5. - Microsoft Knowledge Base articles on Windows XP THE WINDOWS VISTA SECTION ON THIS SITE |
| Software Problems - Click here! to go to Page 2 of 4 If you don't find the answer that can help you to fix your software problems here, try using various search terms that describe the problem in the Google search box at the top of this page with its Web radio button enabled. |
Visit the Software section of this site for information on Windows and software.
Click the relevant link below to go to that Q&A article. Use your browser's Back button to backtrack.
1. - A list of Windows Vista upgrade error messages in the MS Knowledge Base AND How to download updates and drivers from the Windows Update Catalog
4. - I can't remove Adobe Reader 7.0.7 with Add or Remove Programs in order to install Adobe Reader 8.0
7. - I have encountered software problems after I upgraded a Dell Inspiron to Windows Vista
9. - Going into Hibernate mode in Windows Vista Home Premium crashes my laptop/notebook computer
10. - Windows Update keeps rebooting/restarting my computer without saving opened files
12. - Windows XP was messed up during shutdown
15. - My Windows XP Pro computer with a USB keyboard won't boot into Safe Mode
16. - Halfway into upgrading Windows 98 to Windows XP my computer froze and then wouldn't start up
17. - System Restore won't work. What do I have to do to get System Restore to work?
18. - Windows XP won't boot and produces an "NTLDR is missing" error message
21. - Some programs are missing from Add or Remove Programs list in Windows XP
22. - Windows XP won't reinstall. Is it a software problem or a hardware failure?
25. - How to create a Windows XP CD if your PC only came with a Recovery CD
26. - The self-reactivation of Windows XP: How to make Windows XP reactivate itself
27. - I can't install the Recovery Console after updating to Windows XP SP2
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A list of Windows Vista upgrade error messages in the MS Knowledge Base
A list of Microsoft Knowledge Base articles is available to help troubleshoot error messages that you may receive when you try to upgrade to Windows Vista - This article contains a list of Microsoft Knowledge Base articles that you can use to help troubleshoot issues that you may experience when you try to upgrade the current version of Windows to Windows Vista. - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930743
Click here! to go to other MS Knowledge Base articles on Windows Vista.
Click here! to go to MS Knowledge Base articles on Windows XP.
How to download updates and drivers from the Windows Update Catalog
"Learn how to download updates, enhancements, and Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL) logo device drivers from the Windows Update Catalog. You can search the Windows Update Catalog to find updates (such as updated system files, service packs, new Windows features, and device drivers) to download and to install across your home or corporate network on Microsoft Windows-based computers that are running Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows XP, or Microsoft Windows Server 2003..." -
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=323166
How can I download and save Windows XP/Vista updates to a CD/DVD for future use and then create an image of the updated Windows installation on a DVD?
Question
I want to save Windows XP/Vista updates to CD/DVD so that if I reinstall, I don't have to download them from the Microsoft Update. I would also like to create an image of the updated Windows and save it to DVD for easy install.
Answer
You can't save downloaded updates that install automatically, but you can download updates and burn to CD for later use. Security updates are available on ISO-9660 CD image files from the Microsoft Download Center - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913086.
You can also download individual updates from the Microsoft Update Catalog and save to be installed later. -
http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Home.aspx
Click the Add button for each update you want to download. Once you have what you want, Click the Go To Download Basket. Type in or browse to the location where you want the updates saved to and then Click the Download Now button. Once downloaded, you can then burn them to CD.
How to download updates and drivers from the Windows Update Catalog [or from the Microsoft Update Catalog] -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323166
Other links that may be of interest:
Search for a download - http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en
How to install multiple Windows updates or hotfixes with only one reboot - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/296861
For security and other patches released for a given month : http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/ms##-***.mspx
Replace ## with the two-digit year. Replace *** with the three character month abbreviation. Providing there are releases for that month, you will see the list of Critical and Important security updates for that month. Check on the second Tuesday of each month.
For just the current listing visit http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.aspx.
You can also use the following site to install security updates manually:
Windows service packs & updates for Windows XP and Windows Vista - Scroll down the page for the update links -
http://www.softwarepatch.com/windows/index.html
You can use the free Belarc Advisor from http://www.belarc.com/ (look under Free Downloads) to check if you have any missing updates. If Microsoft Update doesn't want to install them, install them manually.
Note that Windows XP SP3 will be available in April 2008 and it will contain all of the updates up to that date. Windows Vista SP1 is available from Microsoft Update - http://update.microsoft.com/.
Visit How to create a boot (startup) CD or a customised setup CD for Windows XP for information on how to create a slipstreamed CD/DVD.
Now that Windows Vista SP1 is available, pages will appear with instructions on how to create such a DVD for Windows Vista. You can make use of the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled) to locate them. Use a search term such as: slipstream + vista + sp1 (as is). If you need free CD/DVD-burning software, enter a search term such as: free + dvd + burning + software.
Windows Update/Automatic Updates keeps wanting to install the same update. How can I stop Windows Update from repeatedly offering the same patch?
Problem
My Sony Vaio notebook computer keeps on receiving repeated automatic updates for the update called KB 924885: Windows Outlook E-mail Junk Filter. I keep installing it, and have even run Windows Update from Internet Explorer 7 to make sure that the update is installed, but that KB number never appears in the Add or Remove Programs list (with its Show updates option checked). Is there any way to break this highly annoying cycle, because I wouldn't know where to start?
Answer
A cycle of that kind can happen after an aborted installation of any security update or patch.
An initial installation usually fails, leaving behind files, etc., that would normally be cleaned up. The leftover files, etc., then prevent Windows Update from completing subsequent installation attempts successfully, leading to an endless cycle of requests for the user to download and install the update.
If there is a C:\WUtemp folder, try removing any reference to the failed installation in it. Then download and install the troublesome KB 924885 file manually. If necessary read How to download updates and drivers from the Windows Update Catalog. You could also try using the Windows Update Troubleshooter.
If you want to prevent a single update from being installed, in Windows XP, first change the Automatic Updates setting by right-clicking with the mouse on My Computer, click Properties on the menu that comes up, and then click on the Automatic Updates tab of the window that comes up. Select the Notify me but don't automatically download and install them option. When Windows notifies you from the System Tray (Notification Area) that updates are waiting, click on the shield icon and choose the Custom option. It lists the updates that can be installed, allowing you to choose not to install any of them. If you remove the check mark beside any of the updates with the mouse, another window called Hide Updates presents itself. It has the option called Don't notify me about these updates again.
In Windows Vista, you change the Windows Update setting. To do that, click the Start button, right-click Computer, under Tasks click on Windows Update. Click on Change settings in the window that comes up, and then choose the option called: Check for updates but let me choose when to download and install them.
Read How can I download and save Windows XP/Vista updates to a CD/DVD for future use and then create an image of the updated Windows installation on a DVD? on this page for download links to Microsoft's site allow you to download the updates manually or to download an ISO image containing the updates that can the burned to create a CD/DVD.
You can also use the following site to install security updates manually:
Windows service packs & updates for Windows XP and Windows Vista - Scroll down the page for the update links -
http://www.softwarepatch.com/windows/index.html
You can use the free Belarc Advisor from http://www.belarc.com/ (look under Free Downloads) to check if you have any missing updates. If Microsoft Update doesn't want to install them, install them manually from the above site.
I can't remove Adobe Reader 7.0.7 with Add or Remove Programs in order to install Adobe Reader 8.0
Problem
My computer is running Windows XP Home Edition SP2. I want to update Adobe Reader 7.0.7 to version 8.0, but when I attempt to remove it using Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, this error message is produced: "This patch could not be opened. Verify that the patch exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows installer patch package."
Answer
You have added several patches to the original version 7.0 of the Adobe Reader to turn it into version 7.0.7. Some of the patch installation information must be missing, which is preventing Add or Remove Programs from uninstalling the program.
Because this is such a common problem, Microsoft has written a utility that fixes it.
Description of the Windows Installer CleanUp Utility - http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=290301
When you have installed the utility, use it to select all of the various updates to the Adobe Reader and remove them. You should then be able to install version 8.0.
However, note that sometimes it is necessary to remove the program manually. For instructions on how to do that, visit http://www.adobe.com/ and search for "manually remove adobe reader". To remove Adobe Reader 7.0, you can also search for kb400728.
I installed Windows Vista Premium, but some of my software and my printer/scanner/copier no longer work. How can I go back to Windows XP?
Question
After I upgraded my PC to Windows Vista Premium from Windows XP Home in April 2007, I discovered that some of my software and my MFP printer/scanner/copier no longer work. There are currently no Vista drivers for the MFP, so I want to revert to Windows XP until all of the issues with Windows Vista have been resolved. How can I do that?
Answer
Look up Compatibility Mode in Vista's Start => Help and Support, because you might be able to use it to run software that worked under Windows XP by using it to make Windows Vista run it as if it is being run by Windows XP.
The following MS Knowledge Base Articles provide you with the information required to go back to Windows XP:
How to go back to Windows XP after you have upgraded a Windows XP-based computer to Windows Vista -
After you upgrade a Microsoft Windows XP-based computer to Windows Vista, you may decide to remove Windows Vista. However, in the Programs and Features item in Control Panel, there is no option to remove Windows Vista. This article describes how to remove Windows Vista by reverting to Windows XP. - http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=933170&SD=tech
How to restore a computer to a previous Windows installation after you install Windows Vista - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927522
When I run Windows Backup in Windows Vista to copy files to a DVD I get a "The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error 0x8007045D" error message
Problem
When I run Windows Backup in Windows Vista to copy files to a DVD I get a "The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error 0x8007045D" error message. Some files are written to the DVD, Windows says that the backup is not complete and keeps asking to rerun the backup. Other users have reported this error message when backing up or transferring files to hard disk drives. One suggestion I found on the web said to switch off System Restore and then run Windows Backup. However, it did not work in my case. I also saw a suggestion that there might be a conflict with Norton AntiVirus, which I use. Is there a fix for this problem? If not, is there any inexpensive and reliable backup software that I can use instead?
Answer
Many users are having this problem with Windows Backup and the Complete PC Backup and Restore program that is incorporated into Vista Business Edition and Vista Ultimate Edition. Unfortunately, the message doesn't provide the causes, of which there are at least three that give the same error message.
1. - The PC's DVD writer could have a hardware fault (or a faulty cable, etc.), or the discs you are using could be the cause, but that is unlikely in your case.
2. - You could be trying to back up files or folders for which you do not have the correct access rights. If that was the case, the error messages would list the specific files that are responsible. If you are the only user of the computer and it is running Vista Home Basic or Vista Home Premium, that is unlikely to be the cause. Run the Windows hard-disk-drive diagnostic utility, Chkdsk, to make sure that the NTFS file system is not corrupted, causing the backup program to get confused. Click here! to go to information on Chkdsk on this site.
3. - A problem with the Volume Shadow Copy Service is the most likely cause of the problem. This service makes snapshot copies of files at a particular point in time. It allows a user to roll back to a previous version of a file if it was overwritten accidentally. Only Vista Business and Vista Ultimate Editions have this rollback feature, but all of the versions of Vista use shadow copies for System Restore and to perform backups of files that are in use. The copies are backed up instead of the original files that are in use and therefore cannot be accessed.
Running out of hard-disk space is the most prevalent problem with the Shadow Copy Service, because it requires plenty of disk space for the shadow copies and the compressed Zip (.zip) files that creates before writing them to a DVD. The computer should have plenty of disk space if it has a large hard disk drive (100GB to 250GB) formatted as a single partition. However, if the drive has several smaller partitions, or you have upgraded to Vista from Windows XP, and the C: drive was already full of installed programs, there could be insufficient disk space.
Some users have found that deleting restore points created by System Restore fixes the problem. This is because restore points make use of the same shadow-copy space as the backup program. In order not to disable System Restore, you should use the Disk Cleanup utility under Start => Programs => Accessories => System Tools, because it has an option to remove all but the most recently created restore point.
To find out how much disk space has been allocated to shadow storage on each disk volume/partition, click on Start => Programs => Accessories and right-click with the mouse on the Command Prompt reference/icon. Choose Run as Administrator and in the command window enter:
vssadmin List ShadowStorage [press the enter key]
Entering vssadmin /? brings up a list of the available vssadmin commands.
The amount of shadow copy storage on the C: drive can be changed with this command (typed on a single line):
vssadmin resize shadowstorage /on=C:/For=C /MaxSize=10GB
This command sets the size to 10GB. You can specify the drive letter and the size yourself.
To find out what the shadow storage is being used for, enter this command that creates a very long list:
vssadmin List Shadow
The Windows Backup that is built into Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium Editions appears to be buggy. It might be fixed with Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), which at the time of writing (January, 2008) had not been released . You might prefer to use an alternative backup program. AIS Backup from http://www.aiscl.co.uk/ is inexpensive. It has a trial period of 30 days.
"AISBackup works with the following Microsoft Operating System's: Windows Vista (all versions), Windows XP (all versions), Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 RC0 (see below), Windows 2000 client and server, Windows NT4, Windows ME, Windows 98SE, Windows 98 and Windows 95 (Release 1 and 2). Some earlier versions of Microsoft Windows Operating system's do not support all the features in AISBackup."
I have encountered software problems after I upgraded a Dell Inspiron to Windows Vista
Problem
I have a Dell Inspiron 1501 laptop PC that came with Windows XP Home, an AMD Turion 64 X2 dual-core processor, and 1GB of RAM, which is designated as being Windows Vista Capable. I was given an upgrade copy of Windows Vista Business, so I installed it. Two problems became apparent immdediately: the sound wouldn't work and I couldn't play DVDs. Dell support in India sorted out the sound by providing me with a download link to the correct Vista sound-card driver, but said that as the DVD was working previously, it was a software problem, and, since I hadn't installed a Dell Vista upgrade, I had to pay to speak with software support. I refused that option because the computer has a three-year onsite warranty. How can I fix the DVD problem without having to pay Dell's support to tell me how to go about it?
Answer
You have caused the DVD problem yourself by not installing a copy of Windows Vista that was supplied by Dell, therefore Dell's support is correct in not providing you with free support. Microsoft supports retail copies and copies obtained directly from the company.
Your DVD problem has been caused by upgrading the Windows XP installation to Windows Vista instead of installing a clean installation. If you have another empty partition on the hard disk drive, you could probably have kept the Windows XP installation and installed Windows Vista to it. In that case, Windows Vista installs a boot manager that allows you to choose which version of Windows to boot with at startup.
Problems of this sort arise because some of the software programs and drivers that can run on Windows XP are not compatible with Windows Vista and so won't run. You should have uninstalled the programs in Control Panel = > Add or Remove Programs and removed the affected devices in the Device Manager before upgrading to Vista.
You could have made use of the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/.../upgradeadvisor.mspx before you upgraded to Vista. It is also included on the Vista DVD installation DVD. It can let you know which programs need to be updated before installing Vista.
If you visit the Drivers and Downloads section of http://support.dell.com/ and select Windows Vista, you are provided with a list of most of the downloads that you need.
For those of you who are still suffering from the sound problem, there is a note in the Frequently Asked Questions for your model about missing sound after using an upgrade DVD supplied by Microsoft instead of Dell. You have to uninstall the Sigmatel HD program and then install the Vista-compatible version.
The DVD problem was probably caused by the Roxio (aka Sonic) CD/DVD-writing software that came with the computer. It is not compatible with Vista and screws the DVD drive up when used. You should uninstall all Roxio/Sonic applications and download and install the latest Vista-compatible versions from Dell's support site.
You may need to install a firmware update for your DVD drive, the make and model of which should be shown in the Device Manager. You can obtain it either from its manufacturer's site or from Dell's support site - http://support.dell.com/ for that model. Make sure that it is firmware for that specific model of DVD drive.
Vista should have downloaded and installed the latest device drivers, but you can check that this is so by visiting Microsoft Update. You make use of the Custom option.
Going into Hibernate mode in Windows Vista Home Premium crashes my laptop/notebook computer
Problem
My Packard Bell Easynote L4014 laptop PC has had its original 256MB of RAM memory upgraded to 1GB. The computer used to go into Hibernate mode correctly in Windows XP, but since I performed a clean installation of Windows Vista Home Premium, it has crashed after seemingly going into hibernation. The settings under Power Options in the Control Panel make the computer go into hibernation when I close the lid or press the power button. Unfortunately, hibernation mode crashes the PC no matter which way it goes into hibernation, including manually from the Start menu. As far as I know, it has enough memory to use Hibernation mode in Vista.
Answer
Most hibernation problems, which are either incomplete hibernation or failure to restart after hibernation, are the result of a device driver issue.
The Windows Vista device drivers could have bugs, so check for updated drivers by visiting Microsoft Update - http://update.microsoft.com/. Choose the Custom option and look in the hardware category. You don't need to know which drivers to install, just allow the service to install all of the available updates.
When a PC goes into Hibernate mode, Windows writes all of the contents of the RAM memory into the hibernate file (Hiberfil.sys, a hidden system file in the root directory, C:\), which means that the hibernate file has to be a bit larger than the total amount of RAM memory in the computer. However. Sometimes the hibernate file doesn't increase in size when you add more memory.
If that has not happened, to rectify the situation, open the Start => Control Panel => Power Options. Click on the Hibernation tab and clear the check box called Enable Hibernation with your mouse and click the Apply button. Windows will delete the hibernation file. Now you should run the Disk Defragmenter to consolidate the files on the hard disk drive.
To open the Disk Defragmenter in Windows Vista, click the Start button and type Disk Defragmenter in the Search box, and then double-click its reference in the list of results.
Now go back into Start => Control Panel => Power Options and enable hibernation by placing a check mark in the Enable Hibernation with the mouse pointer. Windows will create a new hibernation file of the correct size. Now try going into hibernation to find out if that action has worked.
Windows Update keeps rebooting/restarting my computer without saving opened files
Problem
I have Windows Update set to download updates automatically, but when it has finished downloading updates it usually wants to restart the computer. It then starts a countdown, and, unless I tell it to wait, it restarts the system without saving the opened files of applications that are running. Is there any way to prevent Windows from doing this short of disabling Automatic Updates/Windows Update?
Answer
The problem only occurs if the default setting of Automatic Updates (Windows XP) and Windows Update (Windows Vista) is enabled. The default and recommended setting is: Automatically download recommended updates for my computer and install them (according to the default time schedule or one that you have chosen. It only happens when one or more of the updates requires a restart in order to complete the installation.
Automatic Updates/Windows Update chooses to download and install updates at 3:00 a.m. by default. If the computer was switched off at that time, or power-saving settings have made it hibernate, updating takes place when the computer is next switched on and is online. When it has to restart, it gives the user a five-minute warning. The user can choose an option that prevents a restart taking place for five minutes, after which the five-minute warning reappears. If the user is away from the computer for longer than five minutes, it reboots and any unsaved data is lost.
To prevent Automatic Updates/Windows Update from restarting the computer after the updates have been downloaded, you have to use the Registry Editor. Before editing the Registry, it's advisable to create a restore point in System Restore so that if anything goes wrong, you can restore the system by running System Restore in Safe Mode, which is entered by pressing the F8 key repeatedly at startup before Windows starts to load.
To open the Registry Editor, enter regedit in the Start => Run box in Windows XP. In Windows Vista, enter it in the Start => Start Search box. With the editor open, navigate through this path: Hkey_Local Machine => Software => Policies => Microsoft => Windows. With Windows highlighted in the left-hand window, you should see a number of subordinate keys under it. If there is not one there called WindowsUpdate, click within the right-hand window and choose New => Key. Type in the name WindowsUpdate (with no space). Highlight the new WindowsUpdate key in the left-hand window and right-click in the right-hand window's space. Choose New => Key as before and call the new key AU. In the AU folder's space in the right-hand window, choose New => Dword Value and name it NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers. Click on the new value and enter a value of 1. If all of the keys were already there, just make sure that NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers has a value of 1.
Now, Windows will still inform you that the installed updates require a restart, but, instead of providing a countdown, it will wait until the user is ready to restart the computer.
My Dell Inspiron laptop computer is incredibly slow when starting up with Svchost using 98% of processor time
Problem
My Dell Inspiron laptop PC, which runs Windows XP Home, is incredibly slow for several minutes every time it starts up. It runs normally after it is fully booted, but repeats the slow startup every time it is switched on. I pressed the Ctrl + Alt + Del key combination in order to find out what the processor usage is under the Performance tab of the Windows Task Manager. It showed it as 100%. I looked under the Processes tab. A service called SVCHOST.EXE was shown as using 98% of processor time. There were several other entries for SVCHOST.EXE, with each of them showing as using zero processor time and different amounts of memory. Is my computer infected by a virus?
Answer
No, your computer is not infected by a virus, but what is causing the problem could be called spyware even though Microsoft is responsible for installing it.
Windows Task Manager doesn't provide detailed information on the running processes, making it easy to to confuse legitimate files with a virus or spyware.
Svchost (short for Service Host) is a small .exe system file that is part of Windows, which uses it to load services or groups of services. Each group of services loads as a separate process. That is why there are multiple instances of Svchost.exe shown under Processes. It can hog the processor's time to such an extent that the mouse becomes difficult to control because it lags behind when you try to move it across the screen.
There is an excellent utility called Process Explorer from Windows Sysinternals that can tell you which service/services are responsible for the high processor usage.
Process Explorer for Windows - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/ProcessesAndThreads/ProcessExplorer.mspx
"Installation: Simply run Process Explorer (procexp.exe). The help file describes Process Explorer operation and usage. If you have problems or questions please visit the Sysinternals Process Explorer Forum."
Run the program when processor usage is high and then wait until the Process Explorer window appears. You look down the processor column to find out which process is using most of the processor time. It lists all of the running processes and provides a description of each of them and the processor time that it uses. When minimised, it shows as an icon in the System Tray (Notification Area). When the mouse pointer is held over the icon, it shows the current processor usage and the name of the process with the highest processor use.
Process Explorer shows which services each instance of Service Host (svchost) is running. You will probably discover that the problem is caused by Wuauclt.exe, which is the Windows Automatic Updates service.
Since October 2006, on certain computers, but inexplicably not on others, Automatic Updates uses most of the processor's processing capability. It just seems to be checking which updates are installed. The problem has worsened since April 2007. Microsoft should have produced a fix for the problem, but thus far it has not produced one that works in every case, because there is more than one cause.
You can try using the following fix. Enter services.msc in the Start => Run box to bring up the Services window. Locate the Automatic Updates service. Visit this link http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=43264. It will offer to download a file called WindowsUpdateAgent20-x86.exe. Don't run it until you've done the following. Use Windows Explorer (right-click Start => Explore) to located C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution. Right-click on the SoftwareDistribution folder and use the Rename facility to rename it as SoftwareDistributionX. Locate the C:\Windows\ WindowsUpdate.log (use the Start => Search facility if necessary) and rename it WindowsUpdateX.log. Now run the downloaded WindowsUpdateAgent20-x86.exe file and restart the computer.
If that doesn't do the trick, the problem may be caused by the Windows Installer service, which is described in this MS Knowledge Base article:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916089
The article links to the updated version of the Msi.dll, which must replace the existing version.
If doing that doesn't work try deleting the contents of the C:\WINDOWS\System32\Catroot2 folder. The folder itself must not be deleted, just its contents.
If none of these fixes works, you should just disable Automatic Updates (in the Start => Control Panel), and remember to check the Windows Updates site - http://update.microsoft.com/ - for updates every week.
Microsoft might succeed in producing an update that works in every case. Automatic Updates can be tested to find out if the problem is fixed by entering wuauclt /rundetect in the Start => Run box.
Windows XP was messed up during shutdown
Problem
I shut down my desktop PC that runs Windows XP in the usual way using Start => Turn Off Computer, but for some reason the hard-disk light and the fan stayed on, so I pushed the on/off button in and held it there for several seconds to force the machine to switch off. I expected it to run the hard disk diagnostic utility chkdsk when I next booted up, which happened, but it started deleting many corrupt files, which it then began recreating. This took a long time. When I came back to the computer, the normal login screen was showing, so I logged on. However, I soon noticed that only the Comodo firewall and two other icons were in the System Tray (Notification Area). The AVG AntiVirus icon was missing. When I opened the program manually, it wouldn't minimise to the System Tray, but it could perform a system scan, which turned up nothing. There are several other non-functioning features, such as any opened program refusing to minimise. The Recovery CD refuses to load because it says that a later version of Windows XP is installed than is on the CD. Microsoft refused to provide me with support because the computer has an OEM version of Windows installed that is supported by its manufacturer. The computer is out of warranty, so its manufacturer isn't interested in providing any support. Is there any way of recovering the system other than buying a retail copy of Windows XP and installing it?
Answer
This is what can happen if you force a computer running Windows XP/Vista to switch off in the way that you did. If you had created a full system backup, which includes Windows and your data files, with, say, a disk-imaging program, recovery would have been a simple matter of restoring it.
It appears as if Windows downloaded some updates of the kind that are installed while the computer shuts down. Before this happens, the Start => Turn Off Computer icon changes to include a Windows Security shield and the shutdown screen says: "Install updates and shut down," and warns the user not to turn off the power before the updates have been installed.
You should test the hard disk drive by making use of its manufacturer's diagnostic program. A list of links to hard-drive diagnostic programs is supplied at the top of Hard Disk Problems pages on this site. You should be able to identify the drive's manufacturer in the Device Manager under Disk drives. Note well, that if your computer's hard drive is starting to fail, you should back up the system, or, at the very least save copies of your data files to a CD/DVD, flash drive, etc., because the testing process could kill a failing drive.
If the computer's manufacturer had supplied a Windows XP installation CD instead of a Recovery CD, you would be able to repair Windows. However, you have a Recovery CD. Most Recovery CDs restore the system to the state it was in when it left the factory and in doing so remove any programs and files that have been added by the user. Since you can't use the Recovery CD because it detects a later version of Windows, you could format the hard drive and then run the Recovery CD. The easiest way to do that would be to boot the system with a Windows XP installation CD (which you probably don't have) and then use its format option. However, you can obtain the files for a boot disk from http://www.bootdisk.com/. To find out which switches can be used with the format command, enter cmd in the Start => Run box and then enter format /? at the command prompt. You must format the drive as either NTFS or FAT32, depending on which file system is in use for the C: drive. You can find out which one it is by opening My Computer and looking under File System for that drive.
If the problem is the result of corrupt Registry files, you can use System Restore to repair the damage if it was enabled for the C: drive. If it was enabled, but won't work click here! to go to the information on System Restore on this site.
Chkdsk (the Windows XP hard-drive diagnostic program) could have saved the recovered folders and sub-folders with their correct names but could have placed them in the root directory (C:\) instead of in the proper folders (C:\Windows\system32, etc.) If you know where the system files belong, or you have access to a working installation of Windows XP, you could use Windows Explorer to find out where they go and then move them to their correct folders.
If Service Pack 2 (SP2) was installed on an original copy of Windows XP, you might be able to fix the problem by uninstalling it (via Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel) and then reinstalling it. If you can't uninstall it because there is no option in Add or Remove Programs, try reinstalling it. If you don't have a copy on a CD, you can obtain SP2 from http://support.microsoft.com/. It is a large download, so you'll need to use a broadband connection.
Finally, you could buy a new hard disk drive and install it as the boot drive and the old drive as a slave/secondary drive. You can buy IDE or SATA internal hard disk drives, so make sure you buy one that is supported by your computer's motherboard. Visit the Hard Disk Drives section of this site for more information on them. You could then run your Recovery CD so that it installs Windows XP on the new drive and then copy your data files from the old drive to the new drive using Windows Explorer (right-click Start => Explore). If you created any folders on the old drive, you'll have to recreate them in the new installation of Windows XP.
Most email accounts won't accept large files as attachments, so how can I email a large collection of digital photos?
Question
I want to email a large collection of digital photos to friends and family that consists of about 25 images that come to 80MB. Most broadband connections are fast enough for a relatively quick tranfer, but most email services won't accept such a large attachment. Is there a way to overcome this limitation?
Answer
Most email services allow attachments of between 10 and 20MB, so you could try sending them in smaller groups, which is a tedious business. The best method is to zip them up into a single .zip file using Zip compression and then send it through a file-delivery service such as YouSendIt.com.
You can use WinZip or Windows XP/Vista to zip the files.
To create a zipped compressed folder open My Computer/Computer. Double-click a drive or folder. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Compressed (zipped) Folder. Type a name for the new folder, and then press ENTER. Then all you have to do is drag-and-drop files into the zipped folder to add them. Note that this option is removed if you have WinZip installed, because it takes over as the default zip program. With WinZip installed, just select the files that you want to zip with your mouse and then right-click on them and choose the WinZip option. WinZip itself contains help files that can answer any other questions that you may have.
You would then visit http://www.yousendit.com/, enter your email address and the address of your recipient, and browse to the zip file that you created. YouSendIt.com is free for files up to 100MB. If you have a larger file, you could spit the contents half and send it as two files.
Why have some of my Outlook Express 6 folders with emails in them disappeared and how can I get them back?
Problem
I use Outlook Express 6 for my email. I had 25 folders with emails in them, but, for some unknown reason, the saved emails from folders 15 to 25 have disappeared. Folders 1 to 14 still have all of their emails. The .dbx files that hold them show up as being of several megabytes in size, so it looks as if the emails are still there, but just aren't being shown as being there by Outlook Express. Is there any easy or complex way to recover them?
Answer
Unfortunately, Outlook Express (OE) is prone to corrupting its data if there are too many folders for it to manage, or too many stored emails. For that reason, you should limit the size of each folder to under 2MB in size. If you want speedy access, you should keep each folder under about 400KB in size.
Your email is no doubt still there. Each folder is stored in a file with a .dbx extension, which contains both the messages and the indexing information. For some reason, the indexing information must have become corrupt. Most other applications, such as Quicken and QuickBooks, that store information in a database, have a re-index function that can rebuild a corrupt index, but OE does not. However, its messages can be recovered.
You should first make a backup of the folders in which OE is storing your email. The easiest way to do that is to use OE Quick backup program from http://www.oehelp.com/oebackup. When you have a backup, you can attempt to repair the corruption.
OE stores its list of folders in a folders.dbx folder, which can become corrupted so that the folders are not seen at all by OE rather than being empty.
Here is how to fix a corrupt folders.dbx file:
Open OE and click on Tools, choose Options, open the Maintenance tab, and click on the Store Folder button. The emails are stored in a folder that has a very long pathname. The Store Location window that comes up provides it. With my copy of OE it is: C:\Documents and Settings\Eric Legge\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{85122382-CF62-4EB7-9F8D-D92E6BFD4C42}\Microsoft\Outlook Express.
Copy the pathname, close OE, and then paste it into the Start => Run box in Windows XP. (In Windows Vista it is the Start => Start Search box.) A Windows Explorer window opens that contains the message folder files. You can use this method to make backup copies of them instead of using the OE Quick backup program.
In Windows Explorer, make sure that the option to show file extensions (.dbx, etc.) is enabled. The option can be set from the Tools menu, Folder Options, View tab. Make sure that the box beside Hide extensions for known file types has no check mark in it. Click OK.
Now right-click on the folders.dbx file and use the Rename option to rename it something such as folders.old. Open OE and Windows will create a new folders.dbx file. If the only corruption was to the folders.dbx file, then your email folders should now be visible in OE. Note that if you use OE to view newsgroups, that newsgroup data might have been lost. If so, you'll have to make OE download the newgroups again. Subfolders can also be moved to different positions, so, if you use message-filtering rules, you may have to edit them.
If that fix didn't work, another quick fix will either fix the problem or destroy the missing emails, so make sure that they are backed up before you try using it.
In OE, open the File menu, choose Folders, then Compact All Folders. Compacting the emails, frees up space by removing gaps left by deleted messages, but the process of compacting should make OE determine that the index is corrupted and then correct it.
If compaction hasn't worked, exit OE and restore your backup copy of the files to the location that the long pathname mentioned above brought you to. Now you can only make use of recovery tools/utilities that can extract what appears to be emails from the corrupted .dbx file and store each message in a separate file with an .eml extension, which is the extension that OE uses for each email message. There are several such tools/utilities available. Some of them work better on certain corrupted files than others, so you may have to try several of them to find out which ones work best for your corrupted files.
To locate these tools/utilities, you can make use of the Google search box provided at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled). Use a search term such as: "outlook express" + recovery + utility.
Here are some such utilities/tools I've found for you:
OE Extraction - http://macallan.club.fr/ - free
DBExpress - http://www.oehelp.com/DBXpress - £12/$25
Recovery Toolbox for Outlook Express - http://www.recoverytoolbox.com/ - £13/$27
DBX Backup (can also recover corrupt OE folders) - http://www.mailnavigator.com/outlook-express-dbx-backup.html - £14/$29
My Windows XP Pro computer with a USB keyboard won't boot into Safe Mode
Problem
After I was infected by spyware pop-ups, such as ErrorSafe and DriveCleaner, I was advised in a computer forum to update all of the anti-spyware tools I use and to boot into Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key after the memory count, because the scanners work more effectively in that mode. But, no matter how many times I press the F8 key at startup, my computer just continues to load Windows XP Professional. My computer has a USB Logitech iTouch keyboard. Is there any other way to force Windows to boot into Safe Mode?
Answer
The problem is no doubt caused by the fact that the device driver for the USB Logitech keyboard isn't being installed until after Windows XP has started to load, which is normal for USB device drivers, so you can't use it to enter Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key before Windows starts to load. You probably won't be able to enter the BIOS setup program for the same reason. You have to press the BIOS entry key(s) before Windows starts to install. That means that you won't be able to enter the BIOS in order to enable Legacy system support for a USB keyboard and USB mouse, which would install USB keyboard and mouse device drivers before Windows starts to load. To enter the BIOS would therefore require the use of a standard PS/2 keyboard, the device driver for which is installed before Windows starts to load. The motherboards of all standard desktop PCs have PS/2 ports for a mouse and a keyboard. You have to use the PS/2 keyboard port for a keyboard and the PS/2 mouse port for a mouse. Fortunately, most motherboards indicate in writing which motherboard port is for the keyboard and which port is for the mouse. Visit the Keyboards page on this site for more information on keyboards.
If you don't have a PS/2 keyboard, you can use the following method to force Windows XP/Windows Vista to boot into Safe Mode.
Open the System Configuration utility by entering msconfig in the Start => Run box. (In Windows Vista, enter msconfig in the Start => Start Search box.) Open the BOOT.INI tab by clicking on it with the mouse. There is a setting called SAFEBOOT under the Boot Options heading. Place a check mark in its box with the mouse pointer. The MINIMAL radio button is enabled by default. You can enable the NETWORK radio button if you want to boot into Safe Mode with network support. Windows will now boot into Safe Mode the next time Windows is booted. You can run your spyware scanners and then open the System Configuration utility (while still in Safe Mode) in order to disable the SAFEBOOT setting so that Windows boots into normal mode when the system is restarted.
Halfway into upgrading Windows 98 to Windows XP my computer froze and then wouldn't start up
Problem
Because Microsoft has stopped supporting Windows 98 with security updates, I decided to upgrade my Windows 98 SE computer to Windows XP Home Edition. I purchased the Upgrade version of Windows XP Home and ran the CD. Unfortunately, about half way into the installation, it froze, and the computer wouldn't start up when I switched it off and restarted it. It is as if it has no operating system installed. Microsoft recommended that I contact a reputable computer technician and get him or her to perform what is called a parallel installation of Windows in order to get the computer working again. The technician that I called did not know what a parallel installation was, but he said that the cost of recovering the computer would be high. He recommended that I buy a new computer and then pay him £100 to transfer the data files from the old computer to the new one. I have now bought a new computer and I would like to know if there is an easy way to transfer the data files from the old computer to the new one.
Answer
The technician you contacted provided you with some very poor advice, because your computer could have been made to work again without too much effort or expense.
When you upgrade a fairly elderly computer from Windows 98 SE to Windows XP, the setup procedure attempts to keep all of the software programs and settings that were installed by Windows 98. The accumulated entries in the Windows Registry can cause the conversion process problems that can make it freeze in the way that you described. There might also not have been enough hard-disk-drive space for the installation, or there could have been bad sectors on a previously unused part of the hard disk drive, both of which could have caused a frozen installation procedure.
If the system is recoverable, the best way to recover it is to perform what is known as a parallel installation of Windows XP, which involves installing it into a different folder to the default C:\Windows folder, or even to a different drive partition of the hard disk drive (say, to drive E: instead of into an alternative folder on drive C:). During the setup procedure, you are given the option to choose your own drive or folder in which to install Windows. Either option would provide the computer with a clean installation of Windows XP. You could then use the working installation of Windows to move data from the installation of Windows 98, which you could still access with Windows Explorer (right-click Start => Explore).
In any case, you should be able to uninstall Windows XP by booting the computer with its CD in the CD/DVD drive. The uninstallation process returns the system to using Windows 98. You may have to set the CD/DVD drive as the first boot device in the BIOS setup program in order to be able to boot the system from it. You could then run the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard, which is also run from the installation CD. Visit the Windows XP: How to use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (FAST) page on this site for more information on it. If your PC has a CD/DVD writer, the FAST wizard allows you to copy the files and settings that you want to keep into a large file that you can burn to a recordable CD/DVD disc, and then it allows you to restore them to a working copy of Windows XP from the disc.
Alternatively, if both of your computers are desktop machines, you could open the case of the new computer, disconnect its CD/DVD drive and use its cable to connect the hard disk drive that you have removed from the old computer to the new computer. With the old hard disk drive temporarily installed in your new computer, you could make use of the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard on the new computer to re-import your old files and settings. This method also allows you to copy files across manually by using Windows Explorer to access the old drive in the new computer.
Click here! to visit the page on the Build Your Own PC section of this site that deals with installing a hard disk drive.
For your information, if Windows XP has been fully installed, you can uninstall it by making use of its entry in Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel. For additional information, enter Uninstall Windows XP in the Search box of Start => Help and Support.
System Restore won't work. What do I have to do to get System Restore to work?
Problem
I am having a problem with System Restore in Windows XP. I can create a new restore point, but whenever I try to restore it, the message "Restoration incomplete. No changes made." is produced. Is there any kind of workaround for this problem?
Answer
Every restore point that System Restore creates contains a complete backup copy of the Windows Registry, and backup copies of the system files that have changed since the previous restore point was created. When System Restore restores the system to the state it was in on the date the restore point it is restoring was created, it has to remove all of the changes that have been made since that restore point was created. If there were any restore points created in between the one being restored, it has to go through them to find out what it needs to remove. If any of the files that those restore points should contain is missing or corrupt, it refuses to restore.
Spyware and virus scanners are often responsible for making System Restore fail to work. The restore points are stored in a folder called System Volume Information, which the malware scanners search through. If they find any infected files stored in them, they offer to remove them. But as soon as the user agrees to remove the files, that restore point and all of the previous restore points becomes useless, because none of them can access all of the information or files that it needs to undo changes. System Restore can't tell the difference between infected files and non-infected files, so it refuses to work if a restore point it needs to access has any missing files.
However, if this is the case, you can still at least perform a partial system restore. When Windows boots, access to the System Restore files in System Volume Information folder is blocked. But you can access the folder if you boot the system from a CD that contains a bootable copy of an operating system that understands the NTFS file system, such as a bootable Linux CD, or if you install the hard disk drive in another computer that is running Windows XP.
You can also use a program called ERD Commander, a utility created by Sysinternals, which is now owned by Microsoft. You should be able to obtain it from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/default.mspx. If you can't afford it, you can try using MiniPE or Hirem's Boot CD, both of which are available for download from many sites. You can use the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled) to locate them.
You might also want to try the cumbersome method that is described in this MS Knowledge Base article: How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting - http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=307545.
If you access the System Volume Information folder by booting from another operating system, you should be able to view its contents. If you can't, this MS Knowledge Base article tells you how to do so: How to gain access to the System Volume Information folder -
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=309531.
After you have access to the System Volume Information folder, you should be able to see one or more folders that have long file names made up of a long string of numbers and letters, such as: _restore{98CD7788-3445-567B-978G-F97G40B3E8F9}. When you click on each of those files, you should see a series of folders called RP1, RP2, RP3, etc. These are the restore points. To see the date on which each of them was last used, right-click on an empty part of the folder and then choose View => Details.
Choose a restore point that has a suitable date. There should be a folder called snapshot under each of the restore point folders.
Each snapshot folder contains several files, including the following: _REGISTRY_USER_DEFAULT, _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SECURITY, _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE, _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SYSTEM, REGISTRY_MACHINE_SAM.
Those files are copies of the five essential Registry files as they were at the time when that particular restore point was created. You must now copy them to the C:\Windows\System 32\Config folder of the damaged installation of Windows.
This next step can only be done if you booted from a different drive, because the copy of Windows that is running won't allow any of its files to be deleted.
Move to the C:\Windows\System 32\Config folder of the damaged installation of Windows.
Delete the following Registry files: DEFAULT, SECURITY, SOFTWARE, SYSTEM, and SAM. Now you can rename the files that you copied across to the folder to the corresponding Registry filename. E.g., rename _REGISTRY_USER_DEFAULT to DEFAULT by right-clicking on it and choosing Rename.
Doing that should restore the Windows Registry to the state it was in when the restore point was created.
You might discover that don't have permission to access the System Volume Information folder after you have installed the hard disk drive containing the defective copy of Windows XP in another computer running Windows XP. This is probably because the folder only has access rights defined for SYSTEM. In that case, you must add access rights for Administrators.
If you are using Windows XP Professional, you must first turn of Simple File Sharing if it enabled. If you don't know how to check if this is the case, read the information provided on this page:
Windows XP Simple File Sharing -
"Windows XP lets you share a computer's disks and folders with other computers on the network, using a method called Simple File Sharing. And it really is simple. If a disk or folder is shared, everyone on the network can access it. There are no user permissions and no passwords. Because sharing in this way is so wide open, Windows XP tries to protect you from some potential security risks..." - http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/filesharing.htm
Next, right-click the with mouse pointer on the System Volume Information folder and choose Sharing and Security. Click on the Security tab. The top part of the window shows which users or groups have rights to access this folder. If it shows just SYSTEM, an entry for Administrators must be added. To do that click on the Add button, enter Administrators, click on Check Names, followed by OK. The lower window should then show permission for Administrators. Use the mouse pointer to place a tick in the Allow box next to the description Full Control and click the Apply and OK buttons.
Note that users of Windows XP Home Edition have to do that in Safe Mode, because the Security tab is not available in normal mode. You can boot into Safe Mode by repeatedly pressing the F8 key at startup and then choosing Safe Mode from the boot menu that presents itself.
Windows XP won't boot and produces an "NTLDR is missing" error message
Problem
All of a sudden I discovered that my PC running Windows XP wouldn't boot. It produced an "NTLDR is missing" message. This had happened before, so I tried the suggestions I had previously found on the web to fix the problem - used a boot disk that enabled me to boot into Windows, replaced the boot files with fresh copies from the Windows CD, and installed the latest BIOS update. When none of those fixes worked, I tried some other options, but it looks as if I'll have to do a fresh install of Windows, because none of them worked this time.
Answer
A "NTLDR is missing" message, like "Missing HAL.DLL," "Invalid Boot.Ini," and "Windows could not start..." messages, mean that something has gone wrong that prevents the PC from booting.
Visit How to use the Bootcfg /Rebuild command in the Recovery Console to recover from "Missing or corrupt HAL.DLL," "Invalid Boot.Ini," or "Windows could not start..." startup error messages to read a Q&A on this site that covers those error messages.
A missing NTLDR isn't usually difficult to fix. Read this MS Knowledge Base article: How to troubleshoot the "NTLDR Is Missing" error message in Windows 2000 - http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318728. It applies to Windows 2000, but Windows XP is built on the same software architecture.
To find other MS Knowledge Base articles enter "NTLDR Is Missing" error message (as is) in the search box at http://support.microsoft.com/. To find other articles, click on this Google search - http://www.google.com/search?q=ntldr+is+missing.
However, there is a fix that I have come across when the PC has more than one hard drive installed. The computer could be trying to boot from a hard drive that doesn't have a bootable version of Windows on it. To check if this is the case, check the boot order of devices in the BIOS.
Can I install a legal copy of Windows XP Pro over an illegal copy without losing any data files or settings?
Problem
After Microsoft included a "validation" update with the updates a couple weeks ago, I discovered that I have an "illegal" copy of Windows XP Pro installed on my PC. Rather than get into trouble, I bought a legal copy. So, now I need to know if I can install the legal copy over the illegal one. I don't want to reformat and lose not only my wireless settings, but also the User account that I paid someone to set up. Any advice is appreciated.
Answer
You can use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard to save any files and settings to recordable CD/DVDs. Click here! to go to the page containing information on how to use it.
You should back up your data before attempting the following remedy to your problem. It is unlikely to cause a problem, but anything that writes to system files has the potential to cause problems.
If you are using the same version of Windows, for example, Windows XP Home to Windows XP Home, or upgrading Windows XP Home to Windows XP Pro, you can do what is called repair installation, or an in-place upgrade.
If you are downgrading from Windows XP Pro to Windows XP Home, then you have no choice but to back up your data and start again with a clean installation.
Click here! to go to information on this site on how to perform a repair installation.
Windows XP Pro won't let me in. When I click on my name on the logon screen it says that it is loading my settings but then goes back to the logon screen in a loop
Problem
My PC runs Windows XP Pro and it was booting without having to log on until the latest security updates were installed. Now the PC presents a logon screen, and asks me to click on my name. When I do so, it says that my personal settings are being loaded, then a message comes up saying that Windows is logging off and saving my settings before it returns to the logon screen. When I click on my name again, Windows repeats the process in a loop.
When I press the F8 key before Windows starts to load in order to use the Safe Mode with Networking option in order to be able to access the web, I am presented with the Administrator Account and my own user account. I can log on by entering my Administrator's password, and then I can access the web, but only at a screen resolution of 800x600. I have checked the system with the AVG virus scanner and the online Kaspersky virus scanner, and the Spybot S&D, Ad-Aware, Windows Defender spyware removal tools, all of which found nothing.
I then used Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel with its Show updates option enabled to remove Microsoft's security updates, but the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) update that checks that a genuine copy of Windows is being used couldn't be removed, and the problem remains. I have also tried using System Restore to restore a restore point that predated the problem, and a repair installation of Windows XP without success.
Answer
Since you uninstalled the security updates, it looks as if something has become corrupted in your user profile. The user Registry file has probably become corrupted while it was being saved to the hard drive during shutdown. An error appears to be occurring as Windows loads the user profile, which is causing it to log off again.
The Even Viewer, which is found under All Programs => Administrative Tools, could provide information on what is happening, but even if it does the problem is likely to be difficult to fix.
Since using System Restore didn't work, you can try using one of the free downloadable recovery CDs, such as BartPE, to restore the user Registry from one of System Restore's backup folders. The Windows XP Registry is made up of several files, one of which contains the user's settings. You can also install the problematic PC's hard drive in another PC and copy the backup file. An expensive alternative is to use the Winternals Administrator's Pak). You have to use those methods, because the backup files created by System Restore can't be accessed if Windows is booted from the same hard drive - even in Safe Mode.
However, because you can still log on as the Administrator in Safe Mode, there is a relatively simply way to overcome the problem. You can create a new user account under User Accounts in the Control Panel, and then copy all of your files to it, including any Address Book and Outlook Express e-mail files, etc., which are probably installed in a hidden folder, by making use of Windows Explorer. If you don't know how to recover the files, you can find out how to by making use of a suitable search term in the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled).
Most software is installed for All Users, but if you have installed any software in a particular user account, you'll have to reinstall it. When the new user profile is set up, you can then delete the corrupt profile in User Accounts.
Some programs are missing from Add or Remove Programs list in Windows XP
Problem
I have reinstalled Windows XP on my PC and have been reinstalling all of my applications - MS Office, AutoCad, etc. Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel was working properly at one point. However, now there are only two applications listed in it. None of the security patches or other programs that I installed are shown (the Show updates option is enabled). I reinstalled Windows in the first place because it was doing this before, and now it is doing the same thing all over again. All of the programs I installed appear under Start => All Programs and run normally.
Answer
There should be a scroll bar on the right side of the Add or Remove Programs window. If so, there is probably huge gap between the first entries and any that appear after the last entry at the beginning. Scroll down and you should see the rest of the entries for the missing programs.
To fix the problem, Kelly's Korner provides a small program that you download and run. - http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_a.htm
On that page, scroll down to the item called Add or Remove - White Space and click on AutoCad Fix to download it.
It looks as if AutoCad is responsible in your case.
Windows XP won't reinstall. Is it a software problem or a hardware failure?
Problem
I had to reinstall Windows XP Home Edition on my Fujitsu-Siemens PC, because it wasn't working properly. I tried running the PC's Recovery CD, but it won't run to completion. So, I formatted the C: drive to use the FAT32 file system and tried to install Windows 98 SE from its CD. Once again, this almost got to the end, but then a message came up saying: "While initializing device NDIS: Windows Protection error", and the installation stopped. The PC could boot into Safe mode, but the CD drive wouldn't work, so I couldn't install Windows XP by making use of a friend's installation CD. Is this a software or a hardware issue?
Answer
This is most probably some sort of hardware problem, which could simply be caused by a failed or dirty CD drive, bad RAM memory, or a bad hard disk drive. Because a Windows setup problem is caused by a hardware failure in the vast majority of cases.
Hardware diagnostic utilities are available, some of which are free. Here is a cheap program:
BCM Diagnostics Pro - http://www.bcmdiagnostics.com/.
You can find others by making use of a search term such as free + computer + diagnostic + software (as is) in the Google search box at the top of this page (with its web radio button enabled).
Most hard disk drive manufacturers provide a free diagnostic utility for their drives, so you should be able to download it by identifying its manufacturer and locating its website. Links to two free RAM diagnostic utilities can be found at the top of this page on this site.
You could also create a BartPE recovery CD or a Linux CD that can be used from the CD without installing it to find out if it can be run on the PC. Click here! to go to information on how to do that on this site.
You can, of course, also try installing Windows XP by making use of your friend's CD without having to install Windows 98 SE first, but only if it is the upgrade version, which just requires you to insert the Windows 98 SE CD in the CD drive to verify that you have the right to upgrade to Windows XP. If it works, you won't be able to use that copy of Windows XP, because it is already installed on another PC, and Windows Product Activation won't allow it to be used on more than one computer.
If you can make a copy of the Fujitsu-Siemens in another PC without error, it is unlikely to be corrupt. If it is not corrupt, that makes it almost certain that the cause is hardware-related. The lens in the CD drive could just be dirty, so you could try using a CD cleaning utility, which is a CD with a brush on it. Alternatively, you can try using another CD/DVD drive that you buy new, or is known to be working.
PC Game crashes with a blue screen and Windows XP produces a Stop 0x0A (DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) error message
Problem
My new Advent PC runs Windows XP Media Center Edition. It has a nVidia GeForce 6200SE TurboCache graphics card, and the modem, mouse, and keyboard are connected to the motherboard's USB ports. I used to be able to play UbiSoft's game SplinterCell: Pandora Tommorow, but, now, for some reason, the game crashes to a blue screen with a DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error message. At the bottom of the screen, a message flags up USBPORT.SYS.
Answer
The message is a Stop 0x0A (DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) error message, which is probably the most annoying of the stop error messages, because it means that something - usually a device driver - has attempted to access an address in the RAM memory, which it does not have permission to access. Unfortunately, the buggy device driver may or may not be the one named in the error message.
If you changed anything in the system immediately before this problem started to happen, it could give you a clue to the cause. If you can reverse the change by uninstalling it, or by using the Roll back Driver feature in Windows XP, you might fix the problem.
The error can also be caused by several hardware faults that corrupt memory values and make a program attempt to access the wrong memory addresses.
If you didn't make any changes to the system, or reversing any changes had no effect, you can use the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled) to search the web for information about bugs in the USBPORT.SYS driver, which is a standard Windows XP driver, so it is unlikely to be the cause of the problem.
Next, open the Device Manager, and open the Universal Serial Bus controllers (USB controllers) category by clicking on the + beside it. If there is a proprietary controller there such as a SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller, try changing it to a Standard OpenHCD PCI to USB Host Controller. You do that by right-clicking with the mouse on the entry that you want to change. The Update Driver... option allows you to change the driver if you select the manual options. Don't choose the automatic options. You can then select the standard controller from a list.
If doing that doesn't work, test the memory. Click here! to find information on free memory diagnostic software on this site.
If your brand-name computer came with any hardware diagnostic software, which will be explained in its user manual, try running it, because that particular error can be produced by several motherboard or processor faults, including an overheating processor.
Device drivers access memory addresses that are protected by the system and are therefore more likely to be the cause of the problem than application programs and games. So, if the problem is still unsolved, visit Microsoft Update to find out if it lists any driver updates, and visit nVidia's site to check for driver updates for your PC's graphics card. Even if you have the latest drivers installed for the card, it might solve the problem if you downloaded the latest driver file and installed it, because the existing installation might have somehow become corrupt.
The recommended troubleshooting steps for that stop error are provided in this MS Knowledge Base article: 314063 - Troubleshooting a STOP 0x0000000A Error in Windows XP - You may receive the following Stop error message during or after the installation of Microsoft Windows XP: Stop: 0x0000000A (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4) IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL*** Address x has base at x - filename... Stop error 0x0000000A (Stop 0x0A) indicates that there was an attempt in kernel mode to touch pageable memory at too high a process internal request level (IRQL). Typically, this error occurs when a driver uses an incorrect memory address. Other possible causes of this error are an incompatible device driver, a general hardware problem, and incompatible software...
The only useful information that article provides advises the user to try removing or disabling different hardware devices, or using standard device drivers instead of those provided by the hardware manufacturers, as was discussed with regard to the USB controllers above.
In some cases, the problem can be caused by a bug in the BIOS setup program, so installing the latest BIOS update from the PC manufacturer's site, or the PC's motherboard manufacturer's site might fix the problem.
Help! Several of my Help files won't work. How can I get corrupt Help files working again without reinstalling Windows XP?
Problem
When I installed MS Streets and Trips 2006, I tried to use its Help files in setting up a new GPS system (a Global Positioning Satellite system). The Help files appears to have been corrupted. Then I discovered that Help in MS Word is also corrupted. On checking my other applications, I discovered that several of them present me with the same type of error message. The Help file for Eudora 7 is not corrupted, and neither is the one for MS Works, but Help in Quicken, QuickBooks Pro, Roxio's CD Creator and several others are. Is there an easy way to restore corrupt Help files, because I would rather not have to reinstall Windows XP and all of my applications?
Answer
If an actual Help file itself - help files are just html/text files - has become corrupt, then the usual method of recovery is to find the corrupt file and delete or rename it. You would then reinstall/repair the software that the file belongs to so that a new Help file is copied to the program's relevant files folder. The options to reinstall or repair an existing installation are usually found on the program's installation CD.
Microsoft provides detailed instructions on how to repair the Help file in an MS Office application. The same general method should work for other software as well. Visit this MS Knowledge Base article: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=260200.
If the Help system itself, not the content, has somehow been corrupted, which is probably what has happened in your case, the Help - Diagnostics page at http://helpware.net/htmlhelp/hh_diags.htm provides a free download that can perform a basic test on the Windows Help system that checks to make sure that everything is as it should be. Some other relevant utilities can be found at http://helpware.net/downloads/index.htm.
How to create a Windows XP CD if your PC only came with a Recovery CD
Problem
My PC came with a Recovery CD instead of a Windows XP CD. Is there a way I can create a Windows XP CD from the files in the system?
Answer
Microsoft stipulates that every PC bundled with Windows XP must provide a method of restoring it in the event of an irrecoverable system crash. However, many manufacturers or system builders still bundle Windows XP Recovery CDs that return the PC's hard drive to the condition it was in when it left the factory. This usually wipes out all of the data files and the installed programs that the user has added.
Fortunately, many major PC manufacturers and builders are no longer providing data-wiping Recovery CDs. For example, new PCs from manufacturers such as Dell, Gateway, and Lenovo (the new owners of IBM laptops) are providing a Windows XP CD, or some other way of performing non-destructive reinstallations.
If a particular PC lacks a Windows XP CD, a folder named i386 that contains the Windows installation files will almost certainly be found in the root directory of the C: drive - C:\ - or in the C:\Windows\Driver Cache folder. A Windows XP system will probably have several i386 folders. The one you need has plenty of files with their extensions ending in underscores (_), and the executable files expand.exe, regedit.exe, and winnt32.exe. It is advisable to copy this i386 folder to a recordable CD or DVD disc in case the files on the PC get damaged. The i386 folder on the hard drive is used to reinstall Windows XP, so write the path to it on the CD-R disc so that you know where to copy it if that should prove necessary. You need the 25-character Windows XP Product Key in order to reinstall Windows. The key can be found on the back or side of a desktop PC, on the bottom of a notebook PC, and it it may be listed in the user manual the came with the computer. A bootable CD/DVD for starting the installation process is also required. A BartPE CD is the best one to use.
Click here! to go to information on this site on how to create a BartPE CD.
To reinstall Windows XP, start the computer and enter its BIOS setup program by pressing the required entry key(s). Make the CD/DVD drive the first boot device. Save and exit. (Don't forget to make the hard drive the first boot device afterward Windows has been reinstalled.) If you have the BartPE CD in the CD/DVD drive, it will now boot the system when the system restarts. Click Go => Programs => A43 File Management Utility. Navigate to the i386 folder on the hard drive (not the i386 folder on the CD). Double-click on the winnt32.exe file to start the installation process. When the installation program closes, reboot the PC, remove the CD, and select Microsoft Windows XP Setup from the resulting boot menu. The installation process should pick up from where it left off.
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