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.
Create
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.
Driver Max
- 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.
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 usuallly three pins and you move the jumper from
pins 1-2 to pins 2-3 to reset the CMOS, then move it back 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.
Programs won't 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."Error 1606When 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 has the fix for this error. It involves editing the registry.
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.
Computer Repair with Diagnostic
Flowcharts
This page offers links to flowcharts for PC diagnostics,
excerpted from the book the site is based on. The non-active links are
for charts that are included in the book but
not available online. The site advertises the full book version heavily
and give you some of it's content as a sample.
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 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. The link is to the download for the new version.You
receive a “Stop 0x0000007E” error message
after you upgrade to
Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 on a
non-Intel-processor-based computer. This is the infamous
continous reboot problem that happens after upgrading an AMD based
computer to SP3. The affected computers are ones which have an image
loaded to their drives that was generated on an Intel 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 and
can be found in the next link below.
Jesper's Blog - 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 "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.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/915169 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.
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/QLError.htm 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 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."
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.
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. The Microsoft AutoPlay Repair Wizard scans your computer devices to find defective AutoPlay settings, and attempts to fix those it finds.
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 give detailed instructions on how to do this.
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.
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 diagnosis of and fixing many of the problems which can cause 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.
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.
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.
Edit registry on dead system - If you have a Windows Live CD you can boot from it and work on the registry on the hard drive with the instructions on this page.
Your System Administrator Disabled the Display Control Panel Message This can happen when a virus takes over the administrator account on your PC. It's a simple fix but involves editing the registry.
How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP 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.
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.
Printer always detected - 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 it on every boot up.
Changing a Motherboard or Moving a Hard Drive with XP Installed Hardware doesn't last forever and sometimes you need to replace some of it. When you do Windows XP can toss a fit 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 computer occasionally does not hibernate 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.
"Application Has Failed to Start Because Framedyn.dll Was Not Found" Error Message 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.
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:
When trying to update a password the return status indicates that the value provided as the current password is not correct.
How to log on to your Windows XP-based computer if you forget your password or if your password expires - This Microsoft Knowledge Base article explains how to do exactly what the link says.
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 in the link.
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 about which program to open a file with when you try to run a file, have a look here for a fix.
"Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator" error - If you get this error this Microsoft Knowledge Base article tells you how to fix the problem.
On Windows Startup Notepad opens Desktop.ini - This Microsoft Knowledge Base article tells you how to fix this problem.
Install XP: Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. When you are installing Windows XP and you get the previous error message, this link will show you how to fix it.
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.
Error Message: "Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator" Having problems accessing Task Manager? This page has a small utility which will allow you access to it again.
Removing Windows Desktop search For some reason you don't like the Windows Desktop search 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.
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
Autostreamer - Autostreamer is a utility to create a windows installation CD with the service pack files slipstreamed 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.
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.
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.
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