Control Panel crash in Windows XP Professional with SP1 pluss all other patches installed

What I would suggest is.. why not pop in your windows XP cd.. and repair windows..

-tee

Hi again,

Now I have read both Huseyin1 and aCCeSSgRanteD  's comments. First of all I have to say I am a bit scared to do just anything to my computer without knowing what consequences it causes (or might cause). But to begin with Huseyin1's comment and what I have tried.

Now I have read in help about system restore. To me it seems like it works similar to Roxio GoBack software. It seems that it might be able to take a snapshot of the system that I can revert to. Now I do think that I can not benefit from doing this to my current system. And the main reason is I do believe that this error in my system has been with me since the very first day I installed it. At least I know that I found this problem very early when first starting using this installed system. On the other hand it would also make a few struggles finding and installing some of the application I have installed that has accumulated over time. But let us stick with my mentioned main reason for why I do not believe in system restore.

By the way I got Norton System Works 2002 Prof. Edition installed. I got Roxio GoBack in this package installed onto my system as well. But let us maybe leave out both WinXP's system restore and Roxio GoBack then.

But instead of the suggested SCANDISK I ran Norton DiskDoctor which I believe does the same task as SCANDISK. (I thought scandisk was an old executable from MS-DOS and Win9x days) And today isn't called CHKDSK instead? And Norton DiskDoctor also starts CHKDSK with forcing a run on next reboot. I did this and also ran DiskDoctor on the system in windows as well. It did not report any flaws with files or harddisk.

Now to your other suggestion. I first tried writing SFC in a Run box. It started a little Command Prompt that flew over my screen in a few milliseconds. Not possible to catch what it did or didn't perform on my system. Then I read in the help about SFC. And there I found I could run different switches. So I tried SFC /scanonce  as a second try. But the same happened with a Command prompt visible for just a glimpse. Anyway I did do what you told me to do with the SFC at least. And then I tested to run Control Panel and it still crashed in the old fashioned way. But thanks for letting me know there exists a command called SFC even if I do not know how to handle this "bull / ox" myself completely yet.

Now to aCCeSSgRanteD's comment. I could pop in my windows XP cd. But first of all I do not know for sure what it would perform for changes to my system. I feel my system is pretty good installed except for the Control Panel crashes. And I would not like to do damage even if I probably could trust my Roxio GoBack software to get me back if something goes wrong (I am not positive though). But let us cut to my core concern about using the windows XP install cd-rom. My concern is with the current SP1 installed and all the other Pre-SP2 hotfixes installed. Will the windows XP CD-ROM overwrite those then? And will it maybe just overwrite a few of them and then mess up the way windowsupdate gathers information next time I use it to install the newest hotfixes?

Right now I do not dare to use this method without knowing what will happen to my system. Am I a chicken?

I hope you read and comment on my comments, and maybe you or others come up with some good new ideas, or talk me into doing some of the allready mentioned suggestions.

Just some additional information about my system:
I do use Norton Antivirus from my Symantec Norton SystemWorks package. And my system is currently scanned with this tool, stating that I am free from viruses.
I do also use both AdAware and Spyboth Search and Destroy frequently. And I believe I am also free of those pests that these tools search for. And I have the free Swat It ver. 2.1 installed and on some more rare occasions I scan with this tool as well for trojans. But since the free version gets updates seldomly we might leave this tool out of the most trusted tools maybe.

I also have ZoneAlarm Free version installed so I don't get hacked. This is no commercial for these products. It is just to let you know what I might be or might not be protected with. Just in case you should feel this question to be unanswered.

Best Regards

Hi I am back,

Last time I tried things I did write a comment (the one above this one). I said I did run SFC, and today when I started my computer again I noticed something happening. First I was asked to put in the WinXP install CD-ROM. So I did, and next I got a dialog box that was called Windows File Protection and it started:

"Please wait while Windows verifies that all protected Windows files are intact and in their original versions".

So I guess I did not know that this reboot of the system was necessary in order for SFC to complete its tasks. Well now it has completed it tasks, and I found that in Event Manager that it had completed successfully. OK so it did probably not find any differences in my system then this SFC tool.

BECAUSE afterwards I had to try to open Control Panel again. And guess what, it crashed as before.

The SFC did not solve my problems. Now I do not know what I will do next.
(after this I ran windowsupdate and SFC had not cluttered anything that I could see in the list of updates. In other words the list was as empty with new updates as it was before running SFC. At least it seems OK).

But I still wonder how aCCeSSgRanteD's suggestion would do help me. What will his suggestion do for changes. I will have to know more details before daring something like that (Please read my first comment on your suggestion too, the one above this one). I am still not sure I will risk to do it yet.

Am I still a chicken?

I hope I can soon get help to solve this issue I have with the crashes. Other peoples comments are welcome too.

Best Regards

Yes ATI Radeon 8500 128 Megabyte memory.

I did recently uninstall some of the utilities and the driver for it to upgrade to newer versions. So this step might allready have been done by me. But I could of course keep an eye open to if new versions come out. But would it not have been solved if I allready have upgraded the software and drivers? Unless I have missed an upgrade or upgraded it in the wrong manner. But I have uninstalled the software with Add/Remove software function. And ATI software is picky about forcing to have to uninstall before installing, right (that is what I think I remember from the procedure)?

Some more data of my ATI graphic card setup:

From device manager:

(this is from the Details tab:)
ASIC type R200
ASIC ID 514c
BIOS version 7.006
BIOS Date 2002/02/07
Driver File ati2dvag.dll
Release Version    7.90-030605m-009437C-ATI

(this is from the Driver tab:)
Driver Date  02/06/2003
Driver Version  6.14.10.6360

(this is from the Resources tab (skip this part if necessary):)
Memory Range  D0000000-DFFFFFFF
I/O Range  9000-90FF
Memory Range  E5000000-E500FFFF
IRQ 16
I/O Range  03B0-03BB
I/O Range  03C0-03DF
Memory Range  000A0000-000BFFFF
And it says:  No conflicts

Under Add/Remove Programs it says:
ATI Multimedia Center 7.7.0.0
I also got software like:
ATI Control Panel
ATI Display Driver
ATI DVD 7.6.0.0
ATI Hydravision
I also wonder if the software DAO was something ATI related.

In my backup folder of install files I have got these file versions, and these ones should be the ones currently installed:
ATI Control Panel             control-panel-7-90-030605m-009437c-efg.exe
ATI DVD                            dvd-7-6.exe
ATI Multimedia Center      MMC-7-7-0-1-noDVD.exe
ATI Hydravision                hydravision-3-21-2108.exe

I also got Microsoft DirectX version 9.0a installed

And if you are interested in the total list of software I have got installed that is listed in Add or Remove Programs:

123 Free Solitaire
7-Zip 2.30 Beta 30
Ad-Aware 6 Personal
Adobe Reader 6.0
Ahead InCD
Anark Client 1.0
Anark Windows Media Player 9 Plugin Beta 12
Anonymizer Free Bar 2.0
Answer Tool
----
The above mentioned ATI software
----
BigSpeed Zipper
ChainCast Proxy
Command & Conquer Red Alert 2
Command && Conquer Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge
CommCenter
Currency Converter 2
DAO
Easy Train 4.3
Empty Temp Folders 2.8.3
EPSON Printer Software
Eyeball Chat 2.2
Fantom CD
Final Alert 2 Yuri's Revenge
FreshDiagnose
FTP Explorer
GameSpy Arcade
Getleft 1.1.1
GoBack Personal Edition
GPHONE
GuildFTPd FTP Deamon
Half-Life: Counter Strike
Hardware Doctor
Internet Explorer Q818529
Internet Radio Tuner 1.6
Irfanview
Java 2 Runtime Environment, SE v1.4.0_01
Java Web Start
Kana Reminder 1.5
LavaSoft Reghance 2.1
Legends of Might and Magic(tm)
LiveReg (Symantec Corporation)
LiveUpdate 1.80 (Symantec Corporation)
Logitech Desktop Messenger
Logitech ImageStudio
MDL Chime/Chime Pro for Internet Explorer
MSN Messenger 5.0
Naviscope
Nero - Burning ROM
Net2Phone - CommCenter
Norton SystemWorks 2002
Outlook Express Update Q330994
PocoMail 2.64 (Build 1120)
PowerDVD
Process Viewer
QuickTime
Realtek AC'97 Audio
RTLSetup
Rune
SpyBot - Search & Destroy 1.1
Star Downloader
(this I installed just recently so it cannot be this: Sun ONE Studio 4 update 1, Enterprise Edition for Java and also Sun ONE Application Server 7)
Swat It v2.1
TeamSound
TweakAll 3.0
Uninstall  (naviscope)
USB 2.0 Setup Program
VisualZone
Wacom Tablet Driver
Westwood Shared Internet Components
WinAmp3
Windows Media Encoder 9 Series
Windows Media Player 9 Series TweakMP Power Toys
----
lots of windows hotfixes mentioned in my original posting
----
ZipCentral 4.01
ZoneAlarm

Yes, thats it. Impressive... NOT.  Even if I have got lots of software installed I believe most of them is ok. And I try to step carefully before making changes to my system. And since I have got Norton SystemWorks I feel more safe that I can uinstall stuff/and revert.

And I do not use all of this software yet. Some I just keep for later purposes. Might come in handy for different situations. And when I feel like explore some of my newly installed untested software.

Anyway that is my software situation. I have not mentioned my full hardware situation. But I guess that would not be necessary if this is a pure Operating System issue. Or maybe I am wrong!?

Best Regards
W

I would download the software from the net, then completely remove the software then completely remove the driver for this, there is a newer version on the net, this may not even help but it is worh a shot.

Wow, I just downloaded the last version of the drivers at 26. June, and now they have released a new driver 15. July.

That is a bit of work to uninstall and reinstall. But certainly will give this a try.
I will also check the ATI webpage now to see if even some of the utilities (software) has newer versions as well.  Best Regards W

One additional question that is a bit unclear about this forum. How does it work if this thread get let us say a months old. Will it get back in a long queue, and is there a higher risk then that people might ignore my posting that is getting older and older? Or does this forum have a smart way of not loosing the oldest threads?

No success with uninstalling and installing new versions of driver and software for ATI Radeon 128MB.

I uninstalled first Display driver, and then the ATI Control Panel. Then I reinstalled the new versions of those dated 15. july 2003. And after this I tested to open Windows Control Panel and it crashed.

Then I uninstalled all other ATI related software including the Microsofts DAO. But I kept the newly installed Display Driver and ATI Control Panel. Then I rebooted. I also ran Symantec Norton WinDoctor to clean up the registry. After this I tested to open Windows Control Panel again and it still crashes. That was the order I installed and uninstalled in.

No success, but I am still open for new suggestions from anyone that might have some good ideas. Thank you for the suggestion anyway, and now I have even a bit newer Display driver on the system.

I think I will keep this thread open for a while hopefully until a solution is found, or if it takes long long time without any solution maybe I should close the thread then or repost it.

Best Regards
W

Try this...

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=299929

hope this helps

I took a look at this http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=299929 article you suggested.

I thank you for your effort. But it might look like this article is not specifically for WinXP (but maybe that does not allways matter).

On the other hand it looks like the Symptoms mentioned in the article is not the very same as mine even if the filename is the same. I do not get an "unable to load language resources message". The next viewpoint on this article and what I can do to try solve things:  I allready have uninstalled ATI Multimedia Center, and I did not reinstall it yet. Would reinstalling it make any difference? (that was related to Method 1 in the article mentioned).

In the same article a Method 2 mentions to rename the file MMCpl.cpl
But I guess since I uninstalled the file there is no file to rename anymore. I did check to see if I could find it and did not find it on my system.

I still feel lost with my situation. I really apprieciate that you have tried. If anyone has some new suggestions, or comments to what we allready have covered please comment the postings in this thread.

Best Regards
W

Just as another shot you may want to try a new profile. If you are using windows XP somtime a single profile can become corupt, if you can try logging on as another person to test this it may help: To create a new profile:
new profile and log in with the new username/password.

To create a new profile, make sure you are an Administrator, go:

Start > Settings > Control Panel > User Accounts > 'Create New Account'

If you can log into Windows XP with your new account. It means your previous old profile was corrupted.

Hope this works.

Thank you for all your input elliotth123. Now I was short time away from this computer issue and have tried doing the following today:

I allready have 2 very active Administrator accounts and I allready had 1 not frequently used Limited account. I changed that Limited account into an Administrator account. Tried opening Control Panel and it crashed. (Now that account is changed back to an Limited account).

First I thought that it would not help creating a new account as you suggested, and I say that because I have earlier experienced frequent crashes of Control Panel in both those Administrator accounts. I am not sure if changing that Limited account into an Administrator account would make a fresh profile. But why does all 3 accounts have a crashing Control Panel. I would think it is now tested well enough. One reason I have not yet tried making a totally new account is that I am not sure if deleting an account again would leave trash here and there on the harddisk.

By the way I did choose the logon settings as with: getting big icons to just click to logon with. (maybe this could be relevant to tell you so therefore I mentioned it).  And windows can't let you logon with password in this mode as far as I have read in the help system. To do so maybe there is some tweaking that can be done, but I do not know how. There is only 2 different modes that I have found. One (probably) with that old Win2000 logon scheme that got password logon, and the other one is the one I use currently.

Now I think the last posting from ellioth123 mentioning checking the:  EVENT VIEWER
might be a good call.

There is no information in the Event Viewer -->Security.
There is a lot of lines in Event Viewer -->Application
and in Event Viewer -->System

These errors was created today and has been repeating them selves over long time. And there is a minute difference between these 2 error reports.
When going to Error Properties I can read (in System):

One of the errors:
----------
Source: Service Control Manager
Event ID:   7000

Description:
The %OWC_USBEHCD.DeviceDesc% service failed to start due to the following error:
The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
----------

A second error:
------
Source: Copystar  (I think it has to do with one of the Virtual CD-ROM's that the app.: Fantom CD , did create)
Event ID:   11

Description:
The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Scsi\Copystar1.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
------

This message is getting quite long so I will start the continuing of this in next Comment posted.

AND THAT IS WHERE Control Panel ERROR REPORT WILL BE MENTIONED.

From
Event Viewer --->Application
Error Properties (Event):

Date: 26/07/2003    Source:   Application Error
Time: 10:25:57 AM   Category: None

Type:  Error       Event ID:  1000
User:  N/A
Computer:  (name)

Description:
Faulting application explorer.exe, version 6.0.2800.1106, faulting module ntdll.dll, version 5.1.2600.1217, fault address 0x00007eb2.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.

Data: Bytes (representation):

0000: 41 70 70 6c 69 63 61 74   Applicat
0008: 69 6f 6e 20 46 61 69 6c   ion Fail
0010: 75 72 65 20 20 65 78 70   ure  exp
0018: 6c 6f 72 65 72 2e 65 78   lorer.ex
0020: 65 20 36 2e 30 2e 32 38   e 6.0.28
0028: 30 30 2e 31 31 30 36 20   00.1106
0030: 69 6e 20 6e 74 64 6c 6c   in ntdll
0038: 2e 64 6c 6c 20 35 2e 31   .dll 5.1
0040: 2e 32 36 30 30 2e 31 32   .2600.12
0048: 31 37 20 61 74 20 6f 66   17 at of
0050: 66 73 65 74 20 30 30 30   fset 000
0058: 30 37 65 62 32 0d 0a      07eb2..

Data:  Word (representation, same data as above):

0000: 6c707041 74616369 206e6f69 6c696146
0010: 20657275 70786520 65726f6c 78652e72
0020: 2e362065 38322e30 312e3030 20363031
0030: 6e206e69 6c6c6474 6c6c642e 312e3520
0040: 3036322e 32312e30 61203731 666f2074
0050: 74657366 30303020 62653730 0a0d32
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now I did look up this event ID  1000
but I did not feel that any of the mentioned lines really applied properly to my exact Application Error issue.

Hope that this information is valueable to sort out this Control Panel crash.

Best Regards
W

W,

First, let me preface my comments by saying that I understand your need to keep the system up and running, and I also appreciate your need to understand what is being done to your system, or what will occur when fixes are suggest. On the other hand though, it would help if you kept comments brief and to the point as the issue becomes exceedingly difficult to assess each time and expert returns to this question.

Now, as to your problem, the causes could be many and varied. You state that this problem has been happening from nearly day one. Do you recall approximately when it began or when you first noticed it?

As a suggestion, you may want to streamline your approach to diagnostics, as Symantec (Norton) has acknowledged problems with their 2000, 2002 and 2003 products, with 2003 updates literally shutting machines down and rendering them unusable. There have been bugs found in their AV updates, as well as their maintenance product, disk doctor etc. Therefore, I suggest that you stick with the XP built-in tools for now until this issue is resolved.

In fact, I would suggest that you begin the diagnostic process by starting with the following:

1. Uninstall all Norton products except for AV.

2. Open the event viewer and clear all earlier events and then reboot, let the system fully start and check the errors.

3. Disable Zonealarm for now.

4. Uninstall the Wacom Tablet software.

Lastly, suggestions that are often times made regarding Windows 2000 apply to Windows XP. Microsoft has just begun the process of cross-referencing issues, therefore it will take time for a specific XP issue to surface. That having been said, you may not find an issue in the Knowledge Base that exactly fits your situation, but one that fits a portion of the issues.

Dennis

By the way, uninstall Winamp as well for now and remove it's files. Save your downloads etc, but remove the Winamp files after the uninstall.

I can not recall the exact timing when it happened or what caused it to happen to my system. But my gut feeling is that it happened with installation of the OS, but not sure of course.

I have not performed the advices pointed out by dew_associates at the current time, and I am not sure if I will perform it or not yet.

tedsky points out the following that is a bit interesting:  "... may need to be freshly reinstalled". So you think to get rid of such a problem a fresh reinstallation of WinXP is necessary? I wonder if this is the only method that would work? Is this what Microsoft Technical Support would have advices as well?

I am glad to see that I am not alone with such a "Control Panel Crash" incidents. But sad to hear that you tstephane struggle with this too. It makes me wonder if it even is worth a try what tstephane tried (uninstall NAV) when he/she did not get any problems solved trying it.

I feel I can live with the problem for a while for now. But I will keep this posting unlocked to see if any new good suggestions should show up.

Best Regards
W

One other thought ...

Though not likely, here's a remote possibility.
If the OS was installed through a hardware manufacturer's "imaged" setup, it's possible that the image file(s) is/are themselves in error (corrupt).  We've seen systems straight from the manufacturer having obscure problems before, that were traced back to image file problems.

Again, rare, but a possibility nonetheless.
Ted

I have no problem doing a clean installation. It is just a pain in the ass spending some hours reinstalling the software. Normally something good comes out of reinstalling anyway. Like reorganizing stored data and installation packages, as well as working directories. I have experience in installing MS-DOS in 1994, Win 3.11, Win 95, Win 2000 and WinXP, IBM OS/2 Warp with Windows3.11. Linux (have installed probably 4-5 times) but have never used Linux for anything.

I have had my first harddisks partioned to run DOS/Win3.11, Linux, and OS/2 back then. Reinstalling is an easy game for me. But how timeconsuming it is. Since it is just Control Panel that crashes, I feel I can live with it for a little while longer before cleaning my "garage".

The installation CD is an original OEM Microsoft disk. Of course this disk might have bad files.

I also have a little experience slipstreaming SP1, SP3, and SP4 onto Win2000 install CD.
I once tried slipstreaming SP1 onto the WinXP CD, but it did not work that well, so I abandoned it. I installed this computer with WinXP and then SP1 and then SP1a over that installation afterwards. (one reason the slipstream onto install CD with the WinXP disk did not work could have been since I performed the slipstream on a Win2000 computer and burned it from that harddisk (since I did not have a WinXP computer running at the time I slipstreamed it). Next time I will slipstream SP1a or SP2 for WinXP from this computer before cleaning my garage and install from that custom made CD.

Look at me as the guy having had to many hours behind that box installing and reinstalling. You get tired of it.

Any additional help trying to do some "dusting" in my "garage" is welcome. :)
The big cleaning day I will take care of myself in soon enough future.

Howcome Norton (Symantec) products have such a bad reputation? At least you make it look like it has from your earlier postings (dew_associates). I frequently use Norton Cleansweep to erase those lost posts in the registry that almost allways are left over from an uninstall of an application.

Howcome you think my Wacom tablet mouse might be something that causes trouble?

Best Regards
W

Sorry about my Norton product question in last post. But I do wonder is it fixed by now? Or how can I tell that Norton fixes their 2002 and 2003 products to the working state that you think is needed? Can you give me a notice when you think the Norton Systemwork products are good enough. I doubt Symantec will let me know since they probably are full of pride over there products.

Best Regards
W

(Dennis, you took the words right out of my mouth ;)

;)

Hi thanks for the information.

Your imaging idea sounds nice. By the way I wonder if someone could provide me with a MD5 Checksum of a working Windows XP Professional OEM CD. I do not know exactly what files is needed to make MD5 Checksums of but how about the .CAB files?  I used the search tool and search out the .CAB files and copied the list into my MD5 software.

You are absolutely right about Norton Antivirus, and I has one experience trying to uninstall NAV because I wanted to test out Trend Micro PC-cillin 2002. I ended up with being unable to clean out the registry properly manually (since NAV had so many leftovers after the uninstallation). It seems that either this is a poor programming job from Symantec, or else they want to force you to not uninstall it because they love to let their tool steal the opertunity from other competing tools to be installed. And lots of people are aware of that having 2 antivirus tools on the same OS is not a smart move.

The only reason to keep NAV is that they still score high in Antivirus reviews and tests. I like Trend Micro...

I actually just bought PowerQuest Drive Image 7.0, so I definetely will try your recipy when I find time for it.
I also plan to buy some new harddisks so I get some more freedom testing and learning this new tool.

Here is my MD5 checksums from the Windows CD I own that I installed this crippled (current) installation of Windows XP Prof. with (only the .CAB files), I can make a complete list or make a MD5 checksum of a specific file on this CD if you make such a request:

6070b8058713f548ede1e2796927995f *50SP2.CAB
8cc0768168dac4e077c1388968019b21 *50SP1.CAB
fe2219fa621f1f263207c648a3c952f4 *40SP4.CAB
7255bbbece33b70c1483753b5cdd2971 *40SP3.CAB
4e208013c41909ff4fce7fff66e136e8 *40A.CAB
492fbe82dac553e2dcc1ba73d73a2b71 *40.CAB
43437a9a0861f0887e71450c78b0c7bf *98OMI.CAB
126f437453ccb5a04804b2dcd7bd685b *98MAP.CAB
1a6f1af010d286328651c352a95799d6 *803.CAB
4df68f59ae53327cb1b3b581e413c28f *802.CAB
db884ff08509138242b44d1f04714777 *801.CAB
168158d680049c48a2679b78fd2f3f28 *80.CAB
c4a301a007391ae82d7cd186bfd69fb6 *DEPLOY.CAB
063f1dde2a873e7818031052af017f16 *SUPPORT.CAB
4ae8b8d5a3c6bd1b2057b585e64f56f4 *SUP_PRO.CAB
51210e17ed0d35d67e352445e31d70e5 *SUP_SRV.CAB
8b14674e76e3e4294a84b3dee43a3572 *DRIVER.CAB
c350e24612b8f33f85ba9e93ae871626 *FP40EXT.CAB
d9f88eccdce694b72a06aa239a6fb1ff *IIS6.CAB
91f2dc703c3da5d181ca51115e84d6a9 *IMS.CAB
b90cca2b9e119e968b0df16992dac123 *MANAGER.CAB
ed1dfcaa6adaa3d16f0ea3d3c4aa30de *MMSSETUP.CAB
251dca2c139e9818afa42f828d77b1a2 *MODEM.CAB
1ed6d4045c5923d6ded44f97c9b901b2 *OSC.CAB
d59d2826fdb6506433f20e3fdf35d52a *WIN.CAB
9bbb2b77f24a34e6c51dc73041669b65 *WINSYS.CAB
ecdf46a7dd896de249159d695eba44b2 *WINSYS32.CAB



Best Regards
W

Sorry for forgetting to tell you that my WinXP Prof. OEM
CD-ROM is a 2002 Version.

Just an idea. Why not let someone make a WebPage where such install CD's have complete filelists made available with their respective MD5 checksums listed. And of course categorised with the same Directory structure as on the original install CD's.

Best Regards
W

That is a compression algoritm that removes most of the information from a file so that a little textstring of numbers and letters remain (this algoritm can only take the file this direction, the file can not be reconstructed based on a MD5 checksum, and I think that is quite obvious. However this MD5 GUI I use does leave the original file on the disk so it is not deleted of course). Very good tool for verifying files with. So if my file has the same MD5 fingerprint as your file. Then those two files are identical ('almost' completely foolproof).

I first saw it with Apache Webserver. When you look at the file you download you can choose between looking at a MD5 fingerprint or a PGP fingerprint with this webpage. That way if an error occurs when you download a file over the internet that makes the file corrupted you can verify that the file really is corrupted. So I thought that it could be a way to verify if my install CD of WinXP is okey or not. The MD5 fingerprint is smaller than an PGP fingerprint, and that makes it easier to check and verify that the fingerprint is the same.

I first had trouble locating a working application to create my own MD5 checksums with. But by not giving up I found an excellent tool at this webpage:

http://www.toast442.org/pub/md5.exe

I use version 0.99g

So in this version I need to click the radiobutton to use "Generate Checksums" before continuing. After toggling that radiobutton you can just start dropping the files you want from for example "My computer" onto the MD5 GUI's window. It will produce the checksum for you quickly (depending on the filesize of course). I have even used it on 700 MB ISO images of Linux to verify them after a download.

Do you think my install CD of WinXP is crippled in any way? Do you need me to produce more checksums of other files than the .CAB files?

Best Regards
W

Although I appreciate the principle of MD5, it is really irrelevant to the problem and even to your Windows XP CD. No, I don't think your version of XP is crippled in any manner, but comparing checksums really won't do much in this situation. Obviously, if you were somehow trying to verify or authenticate an XP CD that you believed to be fraudulent, that's a different issue, but that's not what is happening here.

The issue is why certain control panel items are failing, and it could be because of changes made to the XP setup, or software that you have installed, or even because of file corruption.

Comment or correction of my own statement earlier posted:

"I frequently use Norton Cleansweep to erase those lost posts in the registry that almost allways are left over from an uninstall of an application"

It should be: I use Norton WinDoctor within the Norton Utilities application (from SystemWorks).

Thank you very much dew_associates for letting me know that my Install CD is most likely not the problem.
Thanks to tedsky as well for all the comments.
I might close this thread soon now. How does the Split Points function work. Is it evenly distributed, or is that up to the person giving away the points?

I have learnt a good deal from all of your comments, thanks to all of you.

Best Regards
W

Point splits are really up to you and determined at the time you award them.

If you frequently install and uninstall applications etc, there is a better way than using WinDoctor and Norton Utilities, both of which tend to do more harm than good.

I am listening... Tell me about the better method/tool you have in mind?

The other statement:  "...which tend to do more harm than good."
I always use the Delete option when deleting missing links in Registry with WinDoctor. So this can be harmful then?
The other method to search out the new correct link for things is to difficult to deal with.

I also use Norton Utilities 's - SpeedDisk tool. I know that other products exist doing the same job. Is SpeedDisk a bad tool? What other tools in the NortonUtilities set is bad, and maybe an explanation?

Norton CleanSweep I have not used to much, and after Microsoft made their own Uninstall feature working much better, I tend to use it more frequently. But Microsofts method does not clean out all the files and Registry keys all the time. It seems Microsofts built-in tool often kickstarts the application's uninstall software to remove itself.

I earlier bought both the SystemWorks 2001, and 2002, and I have laid my hands on a Systemworks 2003 version as well that are not mine. What is the point of upgrading or buying new versions when they make so little changes between the releases each year? I seems they to the most changes to Norton Antivirus and leaving the rest of the applications unchanged. Also after using the Update feature over long time confirms that this is true. There is seldom changes to other applications than Norton Antivirus, and the useless LiveReg application.
I am also dissappointed with the NortonGhost utility, and I expected much more from this application. Like support for newer devices and so on. I lost interest in Norton Ghost, and want to try the PowerQuest DriveImage instead. Another annoying thing with Symantec is their customer support system. It is online, which is understandable because they save money. But I would expect that it was possible to at least easily communicate with them through regular email. It is very difficult having a proper dialogue with them. And it is often hard to find the information in the KnowledgeBase system of theirs, if the information you look for even exists.

I agree Symantec could do much more then they do today... And I do not like the new registering system they have launched with the 2004 applications.  They cracked it allready I have read. The point is they crack it anyway, and the result is they make it more painful for us regular users that buy their software to uinstall and reinstall if you want to wipe your harddisk and reinstall the OS and Apps.

Best Regards
W

Actually Access, it's so easy none are needed. If you decide to try it, let me know and I'll help you out.

yea I actually never attempted to try to image a computer.. kinda wierd since it is my profession.. I will get myself a copy of PowerQuest drive image and give it a go..

thanks

Anytime!

These tools from www.jsifaq.com or www.sysinternals.com do they provide some Registry cleaning options for novice computer users. Or is it all pure manual editing of the Registry?

I would have to say thank you very much dew_associates as well.

I have never cloned a harddisk with such tools yet. The PowerQuest looks promising on the paper. Another tool that I have seen that is maybe not so well known is this     http://www.paragon-gmbh.com/f_fm.htm
Paragon Hard Disk Manager looks good on the paper as well from what I can read on their webpage. (Just thought I would mention it if people want to try alternative tools for the job, but I have never used the tool my self. Looks tempting too). I chose PowerQuest's tool because it was available in the store.

Another tool I fancy is VMware for Windows. Excellent tool to test new software in a Virtual computer with real installation of various operating systems on top of this (virtual computer). You can also test other operating systems than the windows family. (but not all kinds of OS's is supported, but some of the most well know ones). I have tested version 2.0 (got license for it). No I am tempted to try version 4.0 as well. And I am really curious what changes next version after 4.0 will get. VMware seems to become better and better for each upgrade. VMware can be bought to run on linux machines as well. http://www.vmware.com

Best Regards
W

Sorry I need to make a correction:   "... No I am tempted..." should be:  "... Now I am tempted..."

and "... but some of the most well know ones)." should be:  "... but some of the most well known ones)."

W

Actually, I use Microsoft's registry cleaner. Frankly I would rather have a tool that I can control. Beyond that, I know it was designed by those that built the actual registry, no someone from the outside looking in.

This is one that I know works, as it was built around Microsoft's regcleaner.

Here is some news:    I just read today that    Symantec     is buying    PowerQuest   and will take over their products.
The deal is going to be finished within the end of 2003.

GeeWiz, this does not sound to comforting. But who knows, if they keep the PowerQuest staff to do the programming it might not be so bad after all. I don't like the smell of this though.

Best Regards
W

Thank you for the tip dew_associates. I read that you think it works fine on Windows XP. I guess I will have to trust you since you got the experience. However on the webpage you mentioned it is stated:

"Note: This program is no longer supported by Microsoft and is not recommended for later versions of Windows."

When is Microsoft going to do follow up the good stuff? Microsoft = search for Profit.

By the way I like Windows 2000 Prof. very much, I have seen they will stop product support after a certain date stated on their webpage. But what I wonder is: Does this include stop of development of Service Packs and security patches as well, or is it just the support that disappears? And I guess that more seldom support (just for those who pays for it) will make the development of patches slow down automatically because they get less reported incidents that they can work with.

Best Regards
W

I doubt that MS will discontinue supporting Windows 2000, there are just too many work stations and servers out there. All things considered, shall we close this question?

Well, thanks for all the suggestions to all of you. I might post here when successfully transferred and installed onto fresh installation with help of the "Imaging solution" mentioned by dew_associates. I Split the points now.

Best Regards W

I Liked Huseyin1's answer:

Type SFC in the start/run box and let SFC scan your computer and replace any important system files as needed



I liked elliotth123's answer:

Replacing the ATI utilities and drivers.



I liked elliotth123's answer:

Also if you can check the event viewer for continious errors and see whats it shows, this may help at leats lead you to the right direction (useful knowledge to learn, and ellioth123 was the first one mentioning this).



I liked tedsky's answer (because first one to mention a clean install of WinXP, and helping people to backup their data, I however never use Outlook because it is constantly under attack):

... you might be better off moving critical data (files YOU have created) to a second partition, to prepare for a fresh reinstall of XP.
(Alternatively, you could write all of this data to CDs, or slave a 2nd hard disk to the system and copy away.  Either way, at least your own data will be preserved.)
Secondly, you may wish to export Favourites (Internet Explorer) and Address Books (Outlook Express) to comma-delimited files on a diskette, for importing back into your new Xp installation.  Each function is found in the "File" drop-down option in each of IE and OE.  Simly follow the screens to do the comma-delimited exports.
Thirdly, locate and copy the entire contens of your Outlook Express "Store Folder" to either the 2nd partition, or a slaved hard drive, or diskettes (if not too cumbersome).



I liked tstephane's writings: (because of sharing with us what was tried on his/hers system, and that it failed):

 I've the same problem ...



I liked dew_associates's comment:

... but if your looking for some form of magic bullet fix for something like this, you won't find one (with following 1. 2. 3. and 4. solutions to why the problem might have occured)



I liked tedsky's comment:

Think of cleaning out the garage.



I liked dew_associates's comment and SOLUTION:

(comment on SYMANTEC NORTON products)  ... they are so focused on selling their product to corp clients that they forget about the little guy, you know, the one that put them where they are today. Frankly though, their tools are unnecessary and they usually make enough changes in them that they can't be removed without screwing up the system. Aside from the AV product, I haven't seen them produce anything that I can't work around and not disturb the core operating system components.

As for Wacom  (thanks for this Wacom INFO)

SOLUTION: (it might not be the easiest solution for people to perform, but it sure is a good solution that for sure will work)
You might want to give some thought to imaging your system. Take your time and create two images, one a clean install of just XP with all of the drivers etc and make sure its tuned exactly as you want it. Now image that install and store it. Next, add in the software you always use no matter what. Do a second image. Now when you feel the urge, save your email, address book and transfer off your docs and data and re-image the system. Ahhh, just like new!  

What is a MD5 Checksum ...  (I liked your curiousity, and thanks for letting me sharing this with you)


As for an easier method, we use PowerQuests Drive Image. We use the professional version for many reasons, and it is this product that I refer to here. The personal version may work as well, but I have not used it, hence I can't comment ...  (I really apprieciated this extra posting, recommended to read all of it, and thanks for the links)



I liked  aCCeSSgRanteD's question (some people might need such help, that are new in this game, a link for it would have been nice, I think I will be able do deal with imaging myself):

... are there any step by steps tutorials out there for imaging your computer ??



I liked dew_associates link:
 Here's a source for the updated version of Microsoft's RegClean, v.4.1a
Although the page notes 95/98/NT, it is safe for use with ME and Windows XP (all versions)

http://www.winguides.com/software/display.php/23/
**Just make sure you read the readme file!

Great work to all of you, W

I've found a solution for my problem.  I've reinstall the SVP 1 and every patch thaht i can.  I've check on the windows update web site and every patch i can reinstall i've done it.  The problem is fix and this work for me.  The problem was a corrupt dll in one of the patch.  ST

tstephane, how do you perform a reinstall of SVP 1? And with SVP 1 do you mean SP 1 (Service Pack 1)?

Or did you reinstall the whole OS? Will not trying to reinstall SP1 just update files it find different from what is expected to be in a SP1 installation, I mean if a file is missing?

Will this really replace corrupted files that is allready installed? Or maybe you just missed a certain patch of some special sort?

Best Regards
W

Sorry for my mistake, i should have write SP 1, but you known what i've said.

First of all, i've reinstall the windows XP SP 1 from network installation file, 132 MO.
After i've check every updates on the windows web site (windowsupdate.microsoft.com).
I've reinstall every patch i can reinstall.

If you can't just reinstall the SP 1, i suggest you boot with your windows XP cd and make a repair of your windows and try to install SP 1 and every patch.

ST

W, where are we with this issue? This Q has been open now for 2 1/2 months.

ST, my problem was solved by what i just said.  Everything is fine for me now.