Internet Fixes Windows XP
And More News Letter!
Issue 9
| 1. CD/DVD not working correctly or not Showing Up at
all. Log on to Windows by using an account that has administrator
rights and permissions. If you are using Windows XP Home then boot the
computer into Safe Mode and use the Administrator Account.
http://www.internetfixes.com/safe_mode.htm
Then, follow these steps.
Step 1: Start Registry Editor
Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK. Registry Editor
starts.
Step 2: Delete the UpperFilters registry entry
1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet.
3. Expand Control, and then expand Class.
4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
5. In the right pane (topic area), click UpperFilters.
Note An UpperFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the
UpperFilters registry entry, you must click UpperFilters and not
UpperFilters.bak.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the
deletion of the UpperFilters registry entry:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The UpperFilters registry entry is removed from the
{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey.
Note Do not exit Registry Editor. You must have this program for the next
step.
Step 3: Delete the LowerFilters registry entry
1. In Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
2. Expand SYSTEM, and then expand CurrentControlSet.
3. Expand Control, and then expand Class.
4. Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
5. In the right pane (topic area), click LowerFilters.
Note An LowerFilters.bak registry entry may also appear. To delete the
LowerFilters registry entry, you must click LowerFilters and not
LowerFilters.bak.
6. On the Edit menu, click Delete.
7. When you receive the following message, click Yes to confirm the
deletion of the LowerFilters registry entry:
Are you sure you want to delete this value?
The LowerFilters registry entry is removed from the
{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} registry subkey.
8. Exit Registry Editor.
Step 4: Restart the computer
If a CD recording program no longer works after you restart the computer,
you must reinstall the CD recording program.
TOP! |
| 2.
You get a warning that tells you that you don't
have permission to access the files or folders.
When this happens
you need to take ownership of the file or folder in order for you to
obtain access.
Before you start you must be logged onto your computer using an account
that has Administrative privileges and also, if you are using Windows XP
Professional you should disable Simple File Sharing.
If you are using Windows XP Home you will need to boot into Safe Mode and
then log on using an account with administrative rights. If you don't boot
to Safe Mode in XP Home you will be unable to see the security tab.
To take ownership of a Folder proceed as follows:
1. Right Click on the Folder
2. Select Properties from the drop down menu
3. In the Properties window click on the Security tab
4. If a Security message appears then click OK
5. Next click Advanced and click on the Owner tab
6. A name list will now appear
7. Click your name or that of Administrator if you are logged on as
Administrator
8. If you should wish to take ownership of the full contents of the folder
then click the Replace Owner on sub-containers and objects check box
9. Now click OK
10. A message will now appear stating: "You do not have permission to read
the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the
directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control?" "All
permissions will be replaced if you press Yes."
11. Press Yes
12. Finally click OK and then re-apply and security setting etc that you
want for the folder.
If you need to take control of a File then proceed as follows:
1. Right Click on the Folder
2. Select Properties from the drop down menu
3. In the Properties window click on the Security tab
4. If a Security message appears then click OK
5. Next click Advanced and click on the Owner tab
6. A name list will now appear
7. Click the Administrator name or group and then click OK
8. Now click Add
9. In the Enter the object names to select list type the user or group
account you want to give access to the file, i.e., Administrator
10. Next click OK
11. The Group or User name list now appears
12. Click on the account you want to use and then click on the permissions
you want to assign
13. Finally Click OK
TOP! |
|
See My 11 Tip Package That You Should
Print And Keep Close To Your Computer! |
| 3.
When I get a question about controlling a computer
remotely I send them the following.
I recommend Windows XP Remote
Desktop to all of my readers. Its the right price (Free comes with XP) and
is not that hard to setup.
The following two links are step by step instructions on setting up Remote
Desktop. If it is a large Network you will probably have to talk to you
System Admin.
http://www.internetfixes.com/XP_remote_desktop/index.htm
http://www.internetfixes.com/remote_desktop/index.htm
Let me know if you need any more help after looking at these.
TOP! |
| 4.
When your XP Help Center is not working try the
following. To resolve this problem:
Start>Run>type in: %systemroot%\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\HelpCtr.exe >Press
Enter
Alternatively,
1.Open a CMD.EXE window.
2. Type the following command and press Enter.
REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\HELPCTR.EXE"
/VE /T REG_SZ /D "C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\Binaries\HelpCtr.exe" /F
If the file is missing, then open %systemroot%\inf folder and locate the
PCHealth.inf file (might show as PCHealth in Windows Explorer).
Right-click the
file and choose "Install". Insert the XP CD when prompted.
Note: The folder is hidden by default. Go to Start/Run and type in:
control folders. View: Show hidden files and folders and uncheck Hide
extensions for known file types.
TOP! |
5. You are trying to install a program and you get the
following error. Not a valid Win32 application.
Normally I just tell a person to try and download the file again and that
fixes the problem. That works 98% of the time. Below are some of the
causes for the other 2%.
This issue can be caused by any of the below possibilities.
1. File is corrupt, bad, or missing.
2. File is not designed for your version of Windows.
3. File is a virus, worm, or other malware file.
4. Hardware incompatibility.
File is corrupt, bad, or missing
If the file or program you're attempting to run is corrupt or missing,
Windows will be unable to execute the file properly and sometimes generate
this error message.
Download files
If you downloaded this file and verified it is a file that will work with
your version of Windows, delete the file and try downloading and running
it again. It's possible during the download that the file became
corrupted.
Finally, if the second download does not work, try downloading the file
from a different webpage. It is possible that the person or company
maintaining the website mistakenly uploaded a corrupt version of the file
you're attempting download.
Installing a program from a CD or other disk
If you're attempting to install a program and are getting this error,
verify that the CD is clean. If the CD is dirty or bad, you could get this
error during the install and/or get this error after the program has been
installed because it was not copied properly onto the computer.
Running a program from the computer
If you're running the program from a shortcut on the computer, verify that
the program is still on the computer. In some cases if the program is no
longer installed on the computer you may get this error.
If the hard disk drive is corrupted or bad it can also cause working
programs to fail either because not all the data can be read from the hard
disk drive or because the program has become corrupted while on the drive.
Run scandisk and defrag on the hard disk drive to check for any potential
errors.
Long file name issue
Make sure the program or file you're attempting to run does not contain
the same name as the long file name directory it is contained in. For
example, executing a file named "program" in the "program files" directory
can cause errors in some versions of Windows.
Additionally, if you're attempting to install a program and after the
install the program does not work, you may also want to try installing the
program in a different directory.
Bad file
Any file can be changed or renamed to be a .exe file. If you're
downloading the file, make sure the file is supposed to be a .exe file and
that it's not being changed. If you're attempting to create a .exe, file
make sure you're compiling the file for Windows and never just rename a
file to a .exe file. For example, renaming a .bat file to a .exe file will
not make the file an executable file. For a file to become an executable
file it needs to either be compiled or converted through a software
program designed to convert the file.
File is not designed for your version of Windows
If you're trying to run a program that is not designed for your version of
Windows you may get this error. Although many older programs designed to
work in older versions of Windows will work with new versions of Windows,
unfortunately, not all programs will work.
• If the program is an older MS-DOS program or early Windows program you
may get this error.
• If the program is designed for a 64-bit version of Windows and you're
running it in a 32-bit version of Windows, it will not work and generate
this error.
File is a virus, worm, or other malware file
This error can be generated by a file that is a virus, worm, Trojan, or
other type of malware file. Often, this will be caused because the virus
scanner installed in the computer will not allow the file to be installed
or run. Try scanning the file to verify it is not a virus and/or infected.
If the file has been checked and is clean, it is still possible that the
virus protection program and/or another program installed on the computer
is causing issues during the install or execution of the program. Boot the
computer into Safe Mode and try running the program; booting the computer
into Safe Mode will make sure nothing is running in the background that
could be causing this issue.
Hardware incompatibility
If you're getting this error during the installation of a program it's
also possible that the CD-ROM drive or the drive you're installing the
program from is not compatible with Windows or has drivers that are not
compatible with Windows.TOP! |
| 6. You want to Delete all the Restore Points on your
XP PC. Click on the Start Button > Programs > Accessories > System
Tools > Disk Cleanup. Select the C drive and let it scan.
Once the scan is complete a window will open showing you a bunch of files.
At the top of the Window select the More Options Tab and then Select the
Clean Up button for System Restore. Click OK and that will Delete all the
System Restore Points on the computer.
TOP!
See My 11 Tip Package That You Should
Print And Keep Close To Your Computer! |
| 7. Explorer Redirect. You can redirect to just
about any Drive or or Folder. This tweak can actually be applied to
open by default to any drive or even folder you can figure the shortcut to
For My Computer
Right Click the Windows Explorer Icon > Properties > In the target box you
should appear > %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe
Add to that > /e,::{20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d}
So the whole entry would be >
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,::{20d04fe0-3aea-1069-a2d8-08002b30309d}
Apply > OK
Other shortcuts
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,c:
will explore C:
%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e,c:\Program Files
would open to all the program folders
TOP! |
8. Installing Remote Desktop on non-XP systems.
Non-Windows XP systems can also access Windows systems running Windows
Remote Desktop. The local system used to access the remote computer must
have the remote connectivity client software installed. To install the
required Terminal Services components:
1. Insert a Windows XP Professional CD in the local system’s CD or DVD
drive.
2. From the resulting Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP screen, click
Perform Additional Tasks.
3. Click Setup Remote Desktop Connection from the What Do You Want To Do
Screen.
4. The InstallShield Wizard will open; click Next on the Welcome To The
InstallShield Wizard for Remote Desktop Connection.
5. Read and accept the license agreement and click Next.
6. Enter the customer name and organization, and specify whether the
desktop connection is to be available to all users or only the logged in
user and click Next.
7. Click Install.
8. Click Finish.
The older Windows system can now open the Remote Desktop Connection menu
by clicking Start | Programs | Accessories | Communications | Remote
Desktop Connection or by opening a command prompt and typing mstsc.
TOP!
See My 11 Tip Package That You Should
Print And Keep Close To Your Computer! |
| 9. Correct Script and Runtime Errors. There are
three reasons why these problems occur. The first is that the web page
author made some programming error. The second reason may be that you are
running a pop-up killer that closes pop-up windows so fast that the script
on the web page fails. The third is that you might have some adware or
spyware installed on your computer that opens the script error pop-ups.
How to disable script and runtime errors
You can configure Internet Explorer to ignore these script and runtime
errors. Please follow this step-by-step guide:
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on Tools, then on Internet Options.
3. Click on the Advanced tab.
4. Look for the "Disable script debugging" line and put a check mark in
the box.
5. Now look for the "Display a notification about every script error" line
and remove the check mark in the box.
TOP! |
|
|
| 10.
Having Problems With The Microsoft Word Default
New Page Template? 98% of the time just deleting the normal.dot
template will resolve the problem.
The following path leads you to the templates for Office Applications
on an XP PC. Just Right Click on the Start Button and select Explore or
Open All Users and copy and paste the following pathway into the address
bar of the window that opens. Just change Your_User_Name to what ever you
account name is on the PC.
C:\Documents and Settings\Your_User_Name\Application
Data\Microsoft\Templates
Once you are here just look for and Delete normal.dot. The next
time you open Microsoft Word a new template will be created.
TOP! |
11. Re-installing System Restore in Windows XP.
The procedure is as follows:
PLEASE NOTE
You may be asked for the Windows XP CD. if you haven't got a retail copy
of the XP CD, point your browser to the i386 folder, locate the INF folder
and see if you can install System restore form there.
1. Open Windows Explorer
2. On the Main toolbar click Tools
3. From the drop down menu click Folder Options
4. The folder Options Properties window will now open
5. Click the View tab
6. In the advanced Settings list scroll down to the Hidden Files and
Folders section
7. Click on the radio button next to the Show Hidden Files and Folders
option
8. Click OK to close the Folder Options Properties window
9. In the left hand pane of Windows Explorer click the + sign next to My
Computer
10. This now expands the drive list
11. Click the + sign next to the C: drive to expand the folder list
12. From the folder list navigate to the Windows folder and click the +
sign next to this to expand the folder list
13. Scroll down and click on the INF folder
14. A list of INF files will appear in the right hand pane of Windows
Explorer
15. Look for a file called SR.INF
16. Once you have located SR.INF Right Click on the folder
17. From the drop down menu click on Install
18. System restore should now re-install
19. If you are asked at any time to insert your Windows XP CD (typically
to copy files sr.sys and srframe.mmf) then do so. This enables fresh files
to be copied over to your hard drive. Don't try browsing to the Windows
directory on your hard drive for the relevant file as all you will be
doing is replacing one corrupt file with another.TOP!
See My 11 Tip Package That You Should
Print And Keep Close To Your Computer! |
| 12. You
just upgraded to
Windows Vista and are having trouble figuring out how the CD
AutoRun feature works.
After getting this question several times from my readers I figured it
must be a common problem among new Vista users.
To
begin, I want to make sure everyone knows what AutoRun means. This term
comes into play whenever you insert a
CD into the CD ROM drive on your computer (or a
DVD into a DVD ROM drive, etc). The AutoRun feature gives you, the
user, the ability to take action as to what you want that CD to do once
it's in your computer. There are different options you can choose from
when it comes to setting up the AutoRun how you want it as well. And
that's exactly what I'm going to explain for all you
Vista users right now.
When
you insert a CD into your Vista computer, an AutoPlay dialogue box will
pop right up. From that window, you can choose from these options: "Run
start.exe," "Open folder to view files" or "Set AutoPlay
defaults in
Control Panel." If you put in a music CD, you will have the option
of just playing it or ripping it too. The choices will be a little
different, depending on the type of CD you put in. Whether it's an audio
CD, a piece of software, a game, etc., the options will be different, but
everything else is pretty similar, no matter what.
So,
you can choose what you want to do, but I would recommend clicking on the
link that says "Set AutoPlay defaults in
Control Panel." This one is going to give you the most control
over what your computer does when you're using CDs. Once that box comes
up, you'll see a long list of different disk types. There's everything
from audio CDs to enhanced audio CDs to DVD movies to enhanced DVD movies
to software and games to pictures to video files to audio files and so on
and so on.
For
each disk type, there is a drop down menu next to it. When you click on
the down arrow for each menu, you will see an array of options. Below are
two examples of this.
1.
Audio CD: Your main options for this are Play, Rip,
Open folder to view files using
Windows Explorer, Take no action or Ask me every time.
Now, if you like your music CDs to start right up whenever you put one in
your CD ROM drive, choose Play. This option will then detect what
media program you have installed on your computer (Windows Media Player,
for example) and the CD will automatically play in that program every time
you put one in.
On
the other hand, if you would like to choose which action to take each
time, choose Ask me every time. This way, you'll have the choice
every time you go to play a CD on your computer. The choice is yours, but
do try to pick the option that will make things the easiest for you.
2.
Software and games: For this one, your main options are Install
or run program, Open folder to view files using
Windows Explorer, Take no action or Ask me every time.
If you choose the first option, every time you go to install a new piece
of software on your computer, it will automatically run the install for
you. If you'd like to make a new decision every time, choose Ask me
every time. Again, the choice is always yours.
Once
you've gone through the whole list of disk types and made your selections,
click the Save button at the bottom of the window. That will save
all of your settings and they will be ready for the next time you play a
music CD, install a new program, play a new game, etc. Now, if you want to
change your settings at any time, you can also access the AutoPlay window
by going to Start,
Control Panel, Hardware and Sound, AutoPlay.
TOP! |
|
13. You
went to use your CD ROM drive for something
and when you go to look for the icon it has suddenly disappeared. It was
there a couple days ago, so how could it be gone now?
The problem more than
likely lies within some software. If you have a CD/DVD burning software
program installed on your computer, it may be the root of the problem. If
you've recently tried to uninstall that software, it may not have
completed properly, which would be the start of the missing CD ROM
mystery. If the uninstall doesn't go smoothly, an error may have occurred
and that's why the CD ROM/DVD icons are missing.
Before you dive in to
fixing this problem, let's make sure your CD ROM drive is properly
connected to your computer. If this happens to be the problem, you surely
don't want to go messing around with a software issue, so try this first.
Double click on your My
Computer icon and click on "View
system information" under the System
Tasks area at the top left hand corner of the window. Next, choose the
Hardware tab and click on the
Device Manager button.
Once in there, look
through the list for the
DVD/CD
ROM drives and click on the little
plus sign ( + ) to expand it. At least one item should come up under that
heading. If one does, it means that your CD ROM device is connected and
that it does have power. If nothing comes up, you may have some internal
connection problems with the power and the ribbon cables. To check on
this, shut down your computer, remove the two cables that go along with
the connectors on the back of the drive and reset them firmly back in.
Also, check on the ribbon cable and ensure that it is plugged tightly into
the motherboard. (If you're not completely sure on how to do this, get
some professional help with it).
When you have done all
of that, restart your computer and try the above directions again (in the
device manager). If you still don't have anything listed, your CD ROM
drive may be defective. Now, if you have tried all of this and nothing has
worked yet, as I said before, it could be a software problem. So, let's go
ahead and explore that.
In the device manager
listing, right click on the item that appears in the list and choose
Properties.
Look in the Device
Status area and see if there an error
(could be error code 19, 31, 32, 39 or 41). If this is the case, you won't
be able to use the original software for your CD ROM drive, but you could
do a search online for your drive's vendor and see if you can download the
latest driver software for your particular CD ROM drive. This along with a
restart of your computer can solve the problem.
Another thing that may
help is the system restore feature that Windows XP offers. A system
restore can place your computer back to a time when it was working
properly. If you can remember the last time you know your CD ROM drive was
working right, do a restore for that date. This may solve your "missing
drive" issue. With any luck, it will.
But, if luck is still
not on your side, the next resort is working in the registry. I know I've
said this before, but please do keep in mind that the registry is a very
advanced module to work with and if you're not 100 percent sure about it,
ask for some help or take your computer to a repair shop where they can
give you further assistance. If you are sure you can do this, follow these
steps.
1. Go to
Start,
Run and type in "regedit"
(without the quotes) to open up the
Windows Registry Editor.
2. Find the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control/Class"
listing.
3. Under the
Class
entry, double click on "{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}."
4. Next, in the right
hand window pane, click only once to select the
UpperFilters
entry.
5. Verify that the
UpperFilters entry is highlighted and
click on Delete,
then click on Yes.
6. Now, go back up to
the right hand pane and click only once to select the
LowerFilters entry.
7. Make sure the
LowerFilters
option is highlighted and click on
Delete,
then click on Yes.
8. Close out the
registry editor by going to
File,
Exit.
Now, restart your
computer and when it boots back up completely, your CD ROM drive should
show up under the My Computer icon. If it still doesn't, you can always
reinstall your original CD ROM software to get it up and running.
TOP!
See My 11 Tip Package That You Should
Print And Keep Close To Your Computer! |
| 14. You are having problems with IE 7 during startup,
after startup or while surfing the net. Click on Start > Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > and then Internet Explorer (With no Add-ons)
This will tell you if it is an Add-on for IE that is causing the problem
or something else.
If IE starts OK then you probably have an Add-on problem. Open IE normally
and Click on the Tools Menu and Select Manage Add-Ons. When the Window
opens try disabling half of the Add-ons at a time and then Start and Stop
IE to see if you get the one that is causing the problems. Through the
process of elimination you will be able to find the Add-on that is giving
you the problem.
TOP! |
| 15. You want to change the Download Directory
that Internet Explorer Uses. The default download directory for
Internet Explorer is the My Documents folder. The files you are
downloading should be going there unless you are saving them some where
else.
To change this location, follow these steps:
1. Open the registry editor and navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer.
2. Create a new value of type String and name it Download Directory
3. Open the new value and enter the new directory.
TOP! |
|
See My 11 Tip Package That You Should
Print And Keep Close To Your Computer! |
| |
|
 |
| |
|
|
Let me know if you need anything else.
Did this Article Give you the
Information You Were Looking For?
YES!
NO! |
