DrWatson Postmortem Debugger after SP2 install

[Bonnie]

When I right click on any folders I get a windows
explorer error then when i close that i get a DrWatson
Postmortem Debugger Error. Is there any fix for this or
am I going to have to totally uninstall SP2?

[Don Taylor]

"Bonnie" > writes:
>When I right click on any folders I get a windows
>explorer error then when i close that i get a DrWatson
>Postmortem Debugger Error. Is there any fix for this or
>am I going to have to totally uninstall SP2?

There have been a string of folks reporting very similar problems
to what you are reporting. Some find that anything which uses
Windows Explorer (Recycle bin, folder shortcuts, control panel,
etc) all have a similar problem. Some find that right clicks are
their major problem. Some find any click. Some find it crashes
on open. Some find it refuses any clicks. There are some claims
but I've been scanning the thousands of postings on SP2 and I don't
think you will find any with "the fix" for this, at least yet.

But, some find it will work when you boot in safe mode.

And, some find it will work when you create a new user and switch
to that user to try it.

One of those might be a temporary work-around till you get an answer.

Some claim it is all spyware and viruses but I haven't seen any
posting that confirmed this for the Windows Explorer problem.
I carefully and repeatedly checked, no viruses or spyware and my
windows explorer locks up every time

Some claim it is Divx or Spy Sweeper installed that is responsible
for this but others have it, don't have those and some seem to have
those and have no problem. I don't and it locks up.

Some claim it is "ShellExtensions", little accessory gadgets that
sort of script extra cute features. The advice for that is to
install free ShellExView and to try (carefully) disabling these
features one at a time, if turning one off doesn't do anything then
turn it back on and try again. I did that with all 75 at once and
it made no difference at all. One person sent me mail saying that
disabling one extension he had did appear to fix his problem.

You can escalate to Microsoft, go to
support.microsoft.com/windowsxpsp2
and give them all the details and clues and patterns you can find.
There is no guarantee that their analysis or directions will be
correct or even not make it worse. They told me I must "have some
corrupted files, repair windows back to install state and then
reinstall SP2 twice while in Safe mode." Before I did that someone
posted the "switch user" workaround that let me get by temporarily.
I sent email saying that if it worked for one user then it seemed
less likely it was "some corrupted files" and asked if they still
wanted me to blow windows away. They have not reponded to that in
a number of days now. But I can imagine what it is like inside now.

I hope this helps. If someone tells you to try something and it
doesn't help then please make a posting so we can start accumulating
what suggestions don't do any good. And if someone tells you something
that does work then please report it.

[bonnie]

I added a new user and the right clicking worked on 1st
folder then I got the same error again. Am I going to
need to uninstall xp2?
>-----Original Message-----
>"Bonnie" > writes:
>>When I right click on any folders I get a windows
>>explorer error then when i close that i get a DrWatson
>>Postmortem Debugger Error. Is there any fix for this or
>>am I going to have to totally uninstall SP2?
>
>There have been a string of folks reporting very similar
problems
>to what you are reporting. Some find that anything
which uses
>Windows Explorer (Recycle bin, folder shortcuts, control
panel,
>etc) all have a similar problem. Some find that right
clicks are
>their major problem. Some find any click. Some find it
crashes
>on open. Some find it refuses any clicks. There are
some claims
>but I've been scanning the thousands of postings on SP2
and I don't
>think you will find any with "the fix" for this, at
least yet.
>
>But, some find it will work when you boot in safe mode.
>
>And, some find it will work when you create a new user
and switch
>to that user to try it.
>
>One of those might be a temporary work-around till you
get an answer.
>
>Some claim it is all spyware and viruses but I haven't
seen any
>posting that confirmed this for the Windows Explorer
problem.
>I carefully and repeatedly checked, no viruses or
spyware and my
>windows explorer locks up every time
>
>Some claim it is Divx or Spy Sweeper installed that is
responsible
>for this but others have it, don't have those and some
seem to have
>those and have no problem. I don't and it locks up.
>
>Some claim it is "ShellExtensions", little accessory
gadgets that
>sort of script extra cute features. The advice for that
is to
>install free ShellExView and to try (carefully)
disabling these
>features one at a time, if turning one off doesn't do
anything then
>turn it back on and try again. I did that with all 75
at once and
>it made no difference at all. One person sent me mail
saying that
>disabling one extension he had did appear to fix his
problem.
>
>You can escalate to Microsoft, go to
>support.microsoft.com/windowsxpsp2
>and give them all the details and clues and patterns you
can find.
>There is no guarantee that their analysis or directions
will be
>correct or even not make it worse. They told me I
must "have some
>corrupted files, repair windows back to install state
and then
>reinstall SP2 twice while in Safe mode." Before I did
that someone
>posted the "switch user" workaround that let me get by
temporarily.
>I sent email saying that if it worked for one user then
it seemed
>less likely it was "some corrupted files" and asked if
they still
>wanted me to blow windows away. They have not reponded
to that in
>a number of days now. But I can imagine what it is like
inside now.
>
>I hope this helps. If someone tells you to try
something and it
>doesn't help then please make a posting so we can start
accumulating
>what suggestions don't do any good. And if someone
tells you something
>that does work then please report it.
>.
>

[Michael Ortega]

Hello,

That's what I had to do too, although it runs very sluggish now :(. I'm sure
there is a really way to fix it, I just haven't figured it out yet.
Hopefully someone else will know.

Michael Ortega

"bonnie" > wrote in message
...
>I added a new user and the right clicking worked on 1st
> folder then I got the same error again. Am I going to
> need to uninstall xp2?
>>-----Original Message-----
>>"Bonnie" > writes:
>>>When I right click on any folders I get a windows
>>>explorer error then when i close that i get a DrWatson
>>>Postmortem Debugger Error. Is there any fix for this or
>>>am I going to have to totally uninstall SP2?
>>
>>There have been a string of folks reporting very similar
> problems
>>to what you are reporting. Some find that anything
> which uses
>>Windows Explorer (Recycle bin, folder shortcuts, control
> panel,
>>etc) all have a similar problem. Some find that right
> clicks are
>>their major problem. Some find any click. Some find it
> crashes
>>on open. Some find it refuses any clicks. There are
> some claims
>>but I've been scanning the thousands of postings on SP2
> and I don't
>>think you will find any with "the fix" for this, at
> least yet.
>>
>>But, some find it will work when you boot in safe mode.
>>
>>And, some find it will work when you create a new user
> and switch
>>to that user to try it.
>>
>>One of those might be a temporary work-around till you
> get an answer.
>>
>>Some claim it is all spyware and viruses but I haven't
> seen any
>>posting that confirmed this for the Windows Explorer
> problem.
>>I carefully and repeatedly checked, no viruses or
> spyware and my
>>windows explorer locks up every time
>>
>>Some claim it is Divx or Spy Sweeper installed that is
> responsible
>>for this but others have it, don't have those and some
> seem to have
>>those and have no problem. I don't and it locks up.
>>
>>Some claim it is "ShellExtensions", little accessory
> gadgets that
>>sort of script extra cute features. The advice for that
> is to
>>install free ShellExView and to try (carefully)
> disabling these
>>features one at a time, if turning one off doesn't do
> anything then
>>turn it back on and try again. I did that with all 75
> at once and
>>it made no difference at all. One person sent me mail
> saying that
>>disabling one extension he had did appear to fix his
> problem.
>>
>>You can escalate to Microsoft, go to
>>support.microsoft.com/windowsxpsp2
>>and give them all the details and clues and patterns you
> can find.
>>There is no guarantee that their analysis or directions
> will be
>>correct or even not make it worse. They told me I
> must "have some
>>corrupted files, repair windows back to install state
> and then
>>reinstall SP2 twice while in Safe mode." Before I did
> that someone
>>posted the "switch user" workaround that let me get by
> temporarily.
>>I sent email saying that if it worked for one user then
> it seemed
>>less likely it was "some corrupted files" and asked if
> they still
>>wanted me to blow windows away. They have not reponded
> to that in
>>a number of days now. But I can imagine what it is like
> inside now.
>>
>>I hope this helps. If someone tells you to try
> something and it
>>doesn't help then please make a posting so we can start
> accumulating
>>what suggestions don't do any good. And if someone
> tells you something
>>that does work then please report it.
>>.
>>

[Don Taylor]

"bonnie" > writes:
>I added a new user and the right clicking worked on 1st
>folder then I got the same error again. Am I going to
>need to uninstall xp2?

Well, that's different behavior than I've seen anyone else report.
But I don't think anybody has a clue what the real problem is and
almost everything posted in the newsgroup about this is just finger
pointing at something else, preferably pointing at something you
can't easily refute.

Some folks seem to be successful when they try to uninstall SP2.
Others report that they have a variety of problems with this.
Many will tell you that you "shouldn't" have a problem doing this.

But as one refreshingly honest MVP wrote last night, "you don't
get any guarantees here."

>>-----Original Message-----
>>"Bonnie" > writes:
>>>When I right click on any folders I get a windows
>>>explorer error then when i close that i get a DrWatson
>>>Postmortem Debugger Error. Is there any fix for this or
>>>am I going to have to totally uninstall SP2?
>>
>>There have been a string of folks reporting very similar problems
>>to what you are reporting. Some find that anything which uses
>>Windows Explorer (Recycle bin, folder shortcuts, control panel,
>>etc) all have a similar problem. Some find that right clicks are
>>their major problem. Some find any click. Some find it crashes
>>on open. Some find it refuses any clicks. There are some claims
>>but I've been scanning the thousands of postings on SP2 and I don't
>>think you will find any with "the fix" for this, at least yet.
>>
>>But, some find it will work when you boot in safe mode.
>>
>>And, some find it will work when you create a new user and switch
>>to that user to try it.
>>
>>One of those might be a temporary work-around till you get an answer.
>>
>>Some claim it is all spyware and viruses but I haven't seen any
>>posting that confirmed this for the Windows Explorer problem.
>>I carefully and repeatedly checked, no viruses or spyware and my
>>windows explorer locks up every time
>>
>>Some claim it is Divx or Spy Sweeper installed that is responsible
>>for this but others have it, don't have those and some seem to have
>>those and have no problem. I don't and it locks up.
>>
>>Some claim it is "ShellExtensions", little accessory gadgets that
>>sort of script extra cute features. The advice for that is to
>>install free ShellExView and to try (carefully) disabling these
>>features one at a time, if turning one off doesn't do anything then
>>turn it back on and try again. I did that with all 75 at once and
>>it made no difference at all. One person sent me mail saying that
>>disabling one extension he had did appear to fix his problem.
>>
>>You can escalate to Microsoft, go to
>>support.microsoft.com/windowsxpsp2
>>and give them all the details and clues and patterns you can find.
>>There is no guarantee that their analysis or directions will be
>>correct or even not make it worse. They told me I must "have some
>>corrupted files, repair windows back to install state and then
>>reinstall SP2 twice while in Safe mode." Before I did that someone
>>posted the "switch user" workaround that let me get by temporarily.
>>I sent email saying that if it worked for one user then it seemed
>>less likely it was "some corrupted files" and asked if they still
>>wanted me to blow windows away. They have not reponded to that in
>>a number of days now. But I can imagine what it is like inside now.
>>
>>I hope this helps. If someone tells you to try something and it
>>doesn't help then please make a posting so we can start accumulating
>>what suggestions don't do any good. And if someone tells you something
>>that does work then please report it.

[Don Taylor]

"Michael Ortega" > writes:
>That's what I had to do too, although it runs very sluggish now :(. I'm sure
>there is a really way to fix it, I just haven't figured it out yet.
>Hopefully someone else will know.

It looks like adding or removing SP2 clobbers the disk so badly
that the machine is slowed significantly, supposedly only for a few
days until the hidden processes shuffle the disk contents around
and the speed comes back. (That is a completely different subject
than things hanging up somehow waiting for something and finally
timing out)

See if the advice of running defrag for a few hours and then booting
the machine and letting it sit idle after the screen saver kicks
in, waiting a while, and doing that repeatedly, brings some of the
speed back. If you have a little LED on the front of the computer
that turns on when the disk is being used you MIGHT notice it go
crazy after the machine has been idle and the screensaver starts
running. I'm guessing that is the hidden "shuffle your disk to
make it go faster" working. SUpposedly if you do all this a few
times it will get better.

>"bonnie" > wrote in message
...
>>I added a new user and the right clicking worked on 1st
>> folder then I got the same error again. Am I going to
>> need to uninstall xp2?
>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>"Bonnie" > writes:
>>>>When I right click on any folders I get a windows
>>>>explorer error then when i close that i get a DrWatson
>>>>Postmortem Debugger Error. Is there any fix for this or
>>>>am I going to have to totally uninstall SP2?
>>>
>>>There have been a string of folks reporting very similar
>> problems
>>>to what you are reporting. Some find that anything
>> which uses
>>>Windows Explorer (Recycle bin, folder shortcuts, control
>> panel,
>>>etc) all have a similar problem. Some find that right
>> clicks are
>>>their major problem. Some find any click. Some find it
>> crashes
>>>on open. Some find it refuses any clicks. There are
>> some claims
>>>but I've been scanning the thousands of postings on SP2
>> and I don't
>>>think you will find any with "the fix" for this, at
>> least yet.
>>>
>>>But, some find it will work when you boot in safe mode.
>>>
>>>And, some find it will work when you create a new user
>> and switch
>>>to that user to try it.
>>>
>>>One of those might be a temporary work-around till you
>> get an answer.
>>>
>>>Some claim it is all spyware and viruses but I haven't
>> seen any
>>>posting that confirmed this for the Windows Explorer
>> problem.
>>>I carefully and repeatedly checked, no viruses or
>> spyware and my
>>>windows explorer locks up every time
>>>
>>>Some claim it is Divx or Spy Sweeper installed that is
>> responsible
>>>for this but others have it, don't have those and some
>> seem to have
>>>those and have no problem. I don't and it locks up.
>>>
>>>Some claim it is "ShellExtensions", little accessory
>> gadgets that
>>>sort of script extra cute features. The advice for that
>> is to
>>>install free ShellExView and to try (carefully)
>> disabling these
>>>features one at a time, if turning one off doesn't do
>> anything then
>>>turn it back on and try again. I did that with all 75
>> at once and
>>>it made no difference at all. One person sent me mail
>> saying that
>>>disabling one extension he had did appear to fix his
>> problem.
>>>
>>>You can escalate to Microsoft, go to
>>>support.microsoft.com/windowsxpsp2
>>>and give them all the details and clues and patterns you
>> can find.
>>>There is no guarantee that their analysis or directions
>> will be
>>>correct or even not make it worse. They told me I
>> must "have some
>>>corrupted files, repair windows back to install state
>> and then
>>>reinstall SP2 twice while in Safe mode." Before I did
>> that someone
>>>posted the "switch user" workaround that let me get by
>> temporarily.
>>>I sent email saying that if it worked for one user then
>> it seemed
>>>less likely it was "some corrupted files" and asked if
>> they still
>>>wanted me to blow windows away. They have not reponded
>> to that in
>>>a number of days now. But I can imagine what it is like
>> inside now.
>>>
>>>I hope this helps. If someone tells you to try
>> something and it
>>>doesn't help then please make a posting so we can start
>> accumulating
>>>what suggestions don't do any good. And if someone
>> tells you something
>>>that does work then please report it.
>>>.
>>>