Microsoft Windows XP newsgroups These newgroups are forums where problems with Windows XP are discussed. Many very expert computer users in these groups field questions from people who have problems. This is the place to get help when something goes wrong with your Windows XP. The following links were mostly discovered while I was reading these newsgroups.
Installing Windows
Installing Windows
Create Windows XP Setup Disk This article on How to Haven explains how to create a Windows XP install disk on a system that had Windows pre-loaded and didn't include a setup disk. So if you bought one of those systems that doesn't include a Windows install CD you can learn
how to create your own on this page. How to Haven also has some other tutorials on their site.
Autostreamer, create a windows installation CD with service packs Autostreamer is a utility to create a windows installation CD with the service pack files slip streamed into it. All you need is this program, your windows installation CD, and the service pack file you wish to slipstream onto the new installation CD.
Clean Install Windows XP Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and do a complete clean install of Windows XP to eliminate the problems you have encountered. This site gives detailed instructions on how to do this.
How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install Doing this kind of install won't eliminate your installed programs or overwrite any of you data files, and it can fix quite a few problems that are wrong with Windows XP. A Repair Install will replace the system files with the files on the XP CD used for the Repair Install. It will leave your applications and settings intact, but Windows updates will need to be reapplied.
Installing XP: Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. When you are installing Windows XP and you get the error message "Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer", this link will show you how to fix it.
Driver Max, backup your driver files This program will extract all of your drivers, and make copies of them in a folder so you can use them as a backup to your driver files. They can be used to reinstall your drivers if need be. Do this as insurance against a problem if you ever need to reinstall Windows.
Disable Automatic Restart If you are getting the blue screen of death, and windows keeps rebooting before you can read the error messages there, here is a way to tell Windows not to automatically reboot. This is really the way you should have Windows set up from the beginning, just in case you ever do get a blue screen of death, because by then it's a bit difficult to make this change, if you get the blue screen, and your computer is rebooting before you are completely booted up.
How to fix a computer that won't start Sometimes you wind up in the situation that Windows won't start. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article outlines the diagnosis of, and fixing methods for many of the problems which can cause this.
Microsoft MVP System Restore information This site has information
about using and troubleshooting System Restore in Windows XP and Vista. It is written by a Microsoft MVP which means he's proven himself by knowing what he's talking about. The articles on this site cover many topics, including which programs interfere with the normal operation of System Restore, other situations which interfere with System Restore, just exactly what System Restore can, and can't do when you restore, and a list of file types which System Restore monitors, as well as a list of folders which System Restore does not monitor.
Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with XP Installed Hardware does not last forever, and sometimes you need to replace some of it. When you do so Windows XP can toss a fit over License Activation, when verifying whether it is still on the same computer system, if the new hardware isn't exactly like the old hardware you are replacing. This article by Michael Stevens, Microsoft MVP, shows you how to manage the replacement with a minimum of hassle. The first screen or so of this page is about licensing, and then the meat of the how to begins below that.
Edit the registry on a dead system If you have a Windows Live CD you can boot from it, and work on the registry on your hard drive with the instructions on this page.
How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting This Microsoft Knowledge base article tells you what to do if you get one of the following error messages when you try to boot Windows:
Windows
XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM
Windows
XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE
Stop:
c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive
(file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate
System
error: Lsass.exe
When trying to update a password the return status indicates that the value provided as the current password is not correct.
When trying to update a password the return status indicates that the value provided as the current password is not correct.
File Associations Fixes If you've got the problem that .exe files won't run, use the .exe file association fix at this page. There are also fixes for many other file types, so if you get an error message asking about which program to open a certain file type with when you try to run a file, have a look here for a fix. The page has many .reg files which can be ran to fix the file associations on your system. These .reg files make additions to, or subtractions from your Windows registry.
Windows Installer Problems
Windows Installer Problems
Programs will not install properly This excellent resource is Aaron Stebner's weblog and has many good articles besides this one which describes how to use the SubInACL tool to fix things when programs won't install. The following is a quote from this page which explains when to use it: ""I have found that the SubInACL tool is most useful when a setup package fails with error code 5 or 0x5 or 0x80070005. All of these error codes mean Access Denied, and this type of error code is often caused by missing ACLs for the Administrators group or the built-in System account. The Windows Installer service runs with System account permissions in most cases. If the System account does not have sufficient permissions to access the file system or parts of the registry, an MSI-based setup package will fail with an Access Denied error."
How to resolve Common "Windows Installer" Problems There are quite a few scenarios where you can have trouble with the Windows Installer. This is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article on how to diagnose and fix these problems. When you try to install/uninstall some application/s, you may get warning messages like: "The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed" "Windows Installer Service couldn't be started" "Could not start the Windows Installer service on Local Computer. Error 5: Access is denied."
Windows Installer Corrupt error If you get the error that "Windows Installer is corrupt", this article explains how to re-install it. Here are some other Windows Installer related links: Common Windows Installer Problems - Windows Installer Cleanup Utility - Windows Installer version 4.5 available
Error 1606 Could not access network location When you attempt to install an application which uses Windows Installer, you may encounter the following error: Error 1606 Could not access network location %USERPROFILE%\RECENT\ This Microsoft MVP web site article has the fix for this error. It involves editing the registry.
Generic Trojan / Adware Removal Procedures This page describes two methods of dealing with Malware and recommends the programs to deal with the problem. The whole site is dedicated to virus removal. Topics on this site range from anti-virus software, viruses, virus removal and virus myths to spyware, firewalls and general computer security.
Password Recovery
Password Recovery
Reset CMOS Password This link is to a download page for CMOSPwd, a small utililty program which will decrypt the CMOS password. There are versions of it for many different operating systems so it's not just a Windows fix, it will work on any computer which you don't know the CMOS password for. Just so you know, you can also reset the CMOS password by finding the CMOS jumpers on the motherboard, and jumpering across the reset pair. [There are usually three pins, and you move the jumper from pins 1-2 to pins 2-3 to reset the CMOS, then move it back to pins 1-2 after 15-30 seconds.]
Reset Windows password Uh, oh... did you forget the password to your Windows XP computer? Or perhaps you bought a used computer, got it home, and discovered that it was password protected so you can't get in. Not to worry, this link provides the download of a CD image you can burn and boot from to fix the problem.
Offline NT Password & Registry Editor, Bootdisk / CD Here is another bootable CD [or floppy if you prefer] available which allows you to reset the Windows password, and edit the registry in case you need to make changes there. It's a relatively small download at 3mb. The download links are quite far down in the page, so keep scrolling and reading, you'll get there!
I Forgot My Administrator Password! This is a Tech Trax article which explains how to take advantage of a security hole in the Windows XP installation routine to reset your password if you've forgotten it. All you need to apply this fix is your Windows XP installation CD.
How to log on to your Windows XP-based computer if you forget your password or if your password expires This is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article which tells you how to recover from forgetting your password. The only problem with this article, is that is assumes you have previously created a password recovery disc. If you don't already have this password recovery disc, you won't be able to use the method described in this article.
Specific Errors
Specific Errors
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How to fix an XP\Win 2000 System that freezes after loading mup.sys while booting The link pretty much says what this page is about. It turns out mup.sys is not the cause of the problem, but a hang right after loading it indicates one of a variety of hardware problems which this page shows how to diagnose, or a corrupted registry with a link to instructions on how to fix that.
Computer stops or continually restarts with ATI RADEON video adapter This is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article on fixing a problem after installing an ATI RADEON 64 MB DDR video adapter. The solution is to update the driver for the card to the most recent one.
Missing or corrupt Ntfs.sys You may recieve the error message in the link after converting your file system from FAT32 to NTFS. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article explains how to fix the problem.
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32\Drivers\Ntfs.sys This article from Online Tech Tips also contains a couple of methods to recover from this error message.
Download Adobe Flash Player after SP3 automatically installs older version Windows XP SP3 automatically installs a version of Adobe Flash Player, needed to view some web sites, that is not current. Specifically, it has a security flaw which is actively being exploited by malware, and is fixed in the latest version of that software. This link is to the download for the new version.
You receive a "Stop 0x0000007E" error message on an Hewlett Packard AMD processor based system after you upgrade that Hewlett Packard AMD processor based system to Windows XP Service Pack 2, or Service Pack 3. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article is about the infamous continuous reboot problem that happens after upgrading an HP AMD based computer to SP3.
The affected computers are ones which have an image loaded to their drives that was generated on an Intel processor based system. This causes an Intel driver to try to load after the update, which causes the crash and reboot cycle.
This happens mostly on HP systems, and HP has a fix and instruction page for their computers with an Upgrade Utility. Also, a program has been written which fixes the problem beforehand, and it can be found in the next link below.
Jesper's Blog, and a program which prepares an HP AMD system for the SP3 update Jesper Johansson is a Microsoft MVP, and on his blog he has posted a download link to a program which prepares an HP AMD system for the SP3 update so you don't wind up with the continuos reboot problem. The link is in the "Updates" section of this page and the link says "wrote a small tool". Download and run this program before updating to SP3 in Windows XP.
Ask Leo: How do I keep CHKDSK from running on every start up? If chkdsk is driving you crazy by running on every boot up, this article describes how to get it to stop doing so.
How To Fix The "Cryptographic Service Error" This article explains the various causes of, and fixes for this error, and is written by Marc Liron who is a Microsoft MVP. The error occurs when installing SP1 to Windows XP and also when applying interim updates from Microsoft.
"Unable to read from or write to database" If you recieve this error message when you try to update a Windows XP-based computer to Windows XP Service Pack 2 by visiting the Windows Update Web site: "Unable to read from or write to database" surf to
this Microsoft Knowledge Base article and have a read.
Automatic Updates stops working after a repair install of Windows XP After performing a repair install of Windows XP using the Repair feature of Windows Setup, your computer will no longer automatically download updates via the Automatic Updates process, even if it has been configured to do so. There is no warning, or error reported, and no visible sign that Automatic Updates is no longer functioning as it was configured to. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article has the fix.
"Cannot create Toolbar" when enabling Quick Launch, or the Desktop bar When you try to enable the Quick Launch or the Desktop bar, you may get the error "Cannot create Toolbar". This might happen if the Quick Launch folder is missing. This problem is solved on the linked page. This site is a Microsoft MVP web
site which means they know what they're talking about.
"Access is Denied" Error Message When You Try to Open a Folder This problem is addressed in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article. To resolve this issue, you must turn off Simple File
Sharing, and then take ownership of the folder.
How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP if you've been denied access If you've been denied access to a file or folder, follow the directions in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article to gain access to it, by taking ownership of that file or folder.
How to Enable or Disable Automatically Running CD-ROMs This Microsoft Knowledge Base article explains how to enable or disable Auto Start for when you insert a CD into the CD drive. There is also a repair tool. UPDATE: 3-17-2009 - unfortunately, it looks like Miscrosoft has decided to move or remove the page in the first link above to that Knowledge Base article, but the following one is still working. The Microsoft AutoPlay Repair Wizard scans your computer devices to find defective AutoPlay settings, and attempts to fix those it finds.
IDE ATA and ATAPI disks use PIO mode after multiple time-out or CRC errors occur If your CD rom drive is burning slowly or you experience a system slow down it may be because of this problem which sets the IDE channels to use PIO [the slowest] mode for data transfers from your drives.
IE6: Images Will Save Only as a Bitmap (*.bmp) This page tells you how to fix the problem so you can save in other image formats.
"The Windows Boot Configuration Data file is missing required information" Error message when you start Windows Vista: "The Windows Boot Configuration
Data file is missing required information". This error occurs when either of the following conditions is true: The
Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr) entry is not present in the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) store. The Boot\BCD file on the active partition is damaged or missing. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article describes three methods to fix this problem.
Show hidden files and folders option missing or does not work If you can't get the Show Hidden Files selection to work have a look at this article. It seems that this problem is often caused by a virus.
Your System Administrator Disabled the Display Control Panel Error Message This error message can happen when a virus takes over the administrator account on your PC. It's a simple fix but it involves editing the registry.
Error Message: "Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator" Some viruses, or trojans disable your access to Task Manager, and this Microsoft Knowledge Base article explains how to reassert control over Task Manager by two different methods. Method one involves editing the registry, and method number two involves the use of the Group Policy Editor, which is available in Windows XP Pro, but not in Windows XP Home. You may add it to Windows XP Home by downloading it here. To install Group Policy Editor GPEdit, follow the directions in the "Read this.txt" file, which is in the GPEdit_Files.zip file, in the "GPEdit Files" folder. Part of the install is registering the .dll files, and when you register one of them it fails registration, but don't worry Group Policy Editor will still work for you. To start the program after it's installed, go to Start, Run and type in GPEdit.msc then hit Ok with your mouse, or hit the Enter key.
Printer always detected by Found New Hardware wizard If on each boot up the Found New Hardware wizard insists on finding your printer, and thinking it's new hardware, then the steps outlined in this Microsoft Knowledge Base article will help you get it to quit doing that on every boot up.
The computer occasionally does not hibernate, with error message. If your computer will not hibernate occasionally, and you receive an "Insufficient System Resources Exist to Complete the API" error message in Windows XP with Service Pack 2, in Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, or in Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. This happens on computers with 1 gig of RAM, or more, and can happen right after upgrading your RAM to a larger amount.
Error Message: Cannot Find \Windows\System32\hal.dll This error can happen a couple of different ways, and this page has several fixes to try. The most drastic involves taking the hard drive out of the system, and slaving it in a working system to make changes to it.
This can be accomplished as well with a Windows Live CD, while the drive is still in the original computer system, just change his instructions for copying hal.dll from the second computers hard drive, to copying hal.dll from the Windows Live CD's D:\Windows\system32\ folder instead.
This can be accomplished as well with a Windows Live CD, while the drive is still in the original computer system, just change his instructions for copying hal.dll from the second computers hard drive, to copying hal.dll from the Windows Live CD's D:\Windows\system32\ folder instead.
"Application Has Failed to Start Because Framedyn.dll Was Not Found" Error Message: "Application Has Failed to Start Because Framedyn.dll Was Not Found" When You open the System Properties Dialog Box. When you double-click System in Control Panel, or when you right-click My Computer and then click Properties, you may receive the previous error message.
System32 Folder Opens When Logging on to Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows NT 4.0 This is caused by a faulty registry entry and this Microsoft Knowledge Base article tells you where to look to fix the problem.
Error Message: "Windows Cannot Load the Locally Stored Profile" This Microsoft Knowledge Base article explains how to fix things when you get the error message "Windows Cannot Load the Locally Stored Profile".
On Windows Startup Notepad opens Desktop.ini This Microsoft Knowledge Base article tells you how to fix this problem of Notepad opening Desktop.ini every time Windows starts up.
How to copy data from a corrupted user profile to a new profile in Windows XP. If your user profile becomes corrupted, you can create a new one, and copy everything from the corrupted profile to the new one. This Microsoft Knowledge Base article shows you how.
Removing Windows Desktop search If for some reason you don't like the Windows Desktop search program, this forum thread explains how to remove it from your system. To find the answer you have to scroll down quite a ways on this page, or just search for "Uninstalling Windows Desktop Search" on the linked page with your browser's built in search function, to jump down to the answer.
Unmountable Boot Volume When booting up to Win XP you may get an error that reads "Unmountable Boot Volume" This Microsoft Knowledge Base article explains how to fix this problem.
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