control panel?

[Paul Heslop]

sometimes when I open control panel it hangs. It can take anything
from a number of seconds to minutes to free itself. Any idea why this
happens?

--
Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

Visit http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm and scroll down to
Item #256 (Restore the Control Panel).

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Paul Heslop" wrote:

| sometimes when I open control panel it hangs. It can take anything
| from a number of seconds to minutes to free itself. Any idea why this
| happens?
|
| --
| Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)

[Paul Heslop]

"Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote:
>
> Visit http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm and scroll down to
> Item #256 (Restore the Control Panel).
>
> [Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]
>
> --
Thanks Carey, a useful looking place, but it doesn't answer my
question and nothing in there is greyed out. It works fine most of the
time but say once in twenty or thirty times it will hang up. I don't
know what this restore will do, does it take it back to its virgin
state, ie before I added other things to it?
--
Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

[Fernando Maldonado]

I have same thing. On two computers set up with two different XP
original discs. It happens everytime I access Network options. I
downloaded the "reg" but I'm not sure that's the answer.

Anybody else have any ideas?


On Sun, 31 Oct 2004 15:14:48 GMT, Paul Heslop
> wrote:

>"Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote:
>>
>> Visit http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm and scroll down to
>> Item #256 (Restore the Control Panel).
>>
>> [Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]
>>
>> --
>Thanks Carey, a useful looking place, but it doesn't answer my
>question and nothing in there is greyed out. It works fine most of the
>time but say once in twenty or thirty times it will hang up. I don't
>know what this restore will do, does it take it back to its virgin
>state, ie before I added other things to it?

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Paul Heslop wrote:
> Thanks Carey, a useful looking place, but it doesn't answer my
> question and nothing in there is greyed out. It works fine most of the
> time but say once in twenty or thirty times it will hang up. I don't
> know what this restore will do, does it take it back to its virgin
> state, ie before I added other things to it?

Paul

You need to do some troubleshooting on this. When a behavior only repeats
once every twenty to thirty times, it will be very difficult to track down.
Start by doing the following.

Go to start/Run and type eventvwr.msc and press OK. In the Event Viewer,
click on Applications and System and note if any Warnings or Errors have
been recorded either just prior to the behavior occuring or after the
behavior occurred. Double click an event to see the details. Click the Copy
icon to copy the details and post back here.

Go to Start/Run and type msinfo32 and click OK. Expand Components and
select Problem Devices to rule out any possible mis-behaving hardware.
Is there any third party programs that have been added to the Control Panel
or an applet there that you do not recognize?

Do you run any utilities that might interface with the Control Panel?

Does this happen when you simply open the Control Panel or when you access a
CP applet by clicking something else, like properties on the desktop to
access the Display properties or Network Connections from the Start Menu?

Might this be happening only when there is a particular application running
in the background?

Is there any communication taking place when this behavior occurs? Have you
checked the system for spyware and parasites?

You might want to start a log and jot down everything that occurred just
prior to and during the behavior to see if there are any similarities.


--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

[Paul Heslop]

Ronnie Vernon MVP wrote:
>
> Paul Heslop wrote:
> > Thanks Carey, a useful looking place, but it doesn't answer my
> > question and nothing in there is greyed out. It works fine most of the
> > time but say once in twenty or thirty times it will hang up. I don't
> > know what this restore will do, does it take it back to its virgin
> > state, ie before I added other things to it?
>
> Paul
>
> You need to do some troubleshooting on this. When a behavior only repeats
> once every twenty to thirty times, it will be very difficult to track down.
> Start by doing the following.
>
> Go to start/Run and type eventvwr.msc and press OK. In the Event Viewer,
> click on Applications and System and note if any Warnings or Errors have
> been recorded either just prior to the behavior occuring or after the
> behavior occurred. Double click an event to see the details. Click the Copy
> icon to copy the details and post back here.

Although I have had some problems for a while and have been gradually
sorting them (I had lots of errors showing int he events regularly)
this particular problem shows nothing in the events viewer, which is
why I'm so curious about it

>
> Go to Start/Run and type msinfo32 and click OK. Expand Components and
> select Problem Devices to rule out any possible mis-behaving hardware.

Nothing showing in there at all!

> Is there any third party programs that have been added to the Control Panel
> or an applet there that you do not recognize?

I have added, personally, Startup Control Panel, which I've used on
two or three machines now and previously no problems. I've also got a
Nisis usb tablet icon in there, which I had on my previous machine
too, and sisoft Sandrah or whatever it's called, also ran okay
previously. My current machine has been unstable for one reason or
another since I got it and I've only recently got it running quite
smoothly. This particular little niggle is getting on my nerves though
>

>
> Does this happen when you simply open the Control Panel or when you access a
> CP applet by clicking something else, like properties on the desktop to
> access the Display properties or Network Connections from the Start Menu?

Just opening control panel from start/settings
>
> Might this be happening only when there is a particular application running
> in the background?
>
Now i was wondering about that, sometimes i open it looking for
something while I'm running either IE or netscape, so I did wonder
about a link there, but it's not always the case.

> Is there any communication taking place when this behavior occurs? Have you
> checked the system for spyware and parasites?

Constantly, Ronnie. I'm almost paranoid about security and stuff
nowadays.
>
> You might want to start a log and jot down everything that occurred just
> prior to and during the behavior to see if there are any similarities.
>
Thanks, I'll try to remember to do that instead of just swearing at it
and threatening to throw it through the window :O)


--
Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Paul Heslop wrote:
>> Paul
>>
>> You need to do some troubleshooting on this. When a behavior only
>> repeats once every twenty to thirty times, it will be very difficult
>> to track down. Start by doing the following.
>>
>> Go to start/Run and type eventvwr.msc and press OK. In the Event
>> Viewer, click on Applications and System and note if any Warnings or
>> Errors have been recorded either just prior to the behavior occuring
>> or after the behavior occurred. Double click an event to see the
>> details. Click the Copy icon to copy the details and post back here.
>
> Although I have had some problems for a while and have been gradually
> sorting them (I had lots of errors showing int he events regularly)
> this particular problem shows nothing in the events viewer, which is
> why I'm so curious about it
>
>>
>> Go to Start/Run and type msinfo32 and click OK. Expand
>> Components and select Problem Devices to rule out any possible
>> mis-behaving hardware.
>
> Nothing showing in there at all!
>
>> Is there any third party programs that have been added to the
>> Control Panel or an applet there that you do not recognize?
>
> I have added, personally, Startup Control Panel, which I've used on
> two or three machines now and previously no problems. I've also got a
> Nisis usb tablet icon in there, which I had on my previous machine
> too, and sisoft Sandrah or whatever it's called, also ran okay
> previously. My current machine has been unstable for one reason or
> another since I got it and I've only recently got it running quite
> smoothly. This particular little niggle is getting on my nerves though
>>
>
>>
>> Does this happen when you simply open the Control Panel or when you
>> access a CP applet by clicking something else, like properties on
>> the desktop to access the Display properties or Network Connections
>> from the Start Menu?
>
> Just opening control panel from start/settings
>>
>> Might this be happening only when there is a particular application
>> running in the background?
>>
> Now i was wondering about that, sometimes i open it looking for
> something while I'm running either IE or netscape, so I did wonder
> about a link there, but it's not always the case.
>
>> Is there any communication taking place when this behavior occurs?
>> Have you checked the system for spyware and parasites?
>
> Constantly, Ronnie. I'm almost paranoid about security and stuff
> nowadays.
>>
>> You might want to start a log and jot down everything that occurred
>> just prior to and during the behavior to see if there are any
>> similarities.
>>
> Thanks, I'll try to remember to do that instead of just swearing at it
> and threatening to throw it through the window :O)

Paul

Please let us know if anything pops up to indicate what the problem might
be.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

[Paul Heslop]

Ronnie Vernon MVP wrote:

> Paul
>
> Please let us know if anything pops up to indicate what the problem might
> be.
>
> --
Cheers Ronnie. It just did it again and there's nothing at all to show
what happened. I had installed a small demo prog which I decided
wasn't any real use and went to uninstall it, had to wait thirty
seconds to a minute or so for the panel to open. No signs in events

--
Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Paul Heslop wrote:
> Cheers Ronnie. It just did it again and there's nothing at all to show
> what happened. I had installed a small demo prog which I decided
> wasn't any real use and went to uninstall it, had to wait thirty
> seconds to a minute or so for the panel to open. No signs in events

Paul

Here are a couple of things to try and dig down to the cause of the problem.
Some of these steps you may not be able to perform constantly, but they can
be used when you have the time or if the problem becomes more prevalent.

1. Open the Task Manager and make sure that Options/Always On Top is
selected. Have the TM visible, with the Processes Tab selected, each time
you access the Control Panel. Double click the CPU column header to make the
busiest processes go to the top. Normally you should see the System Idle
Time at the top in this configuration. Monitor this window, as you access
the CP, to see if any particular process is using an extraordinary amount of
CPU time.

2. Go to Start/Run and type control and press OK. This command should
open the CP. You can also right click the Desktop and select New/Shortcut.
In the Location Box, type Control and click Next. In the Name Box, type
Control Panel and click Finish.

3. If you don't already have the free TweakUI Utility from Microsoft, go
here to download it.
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp
This utility makes direct registry edits and can be used, in certain
situations, to troubleshoot problems.

After TweakUI is installed, open the utility and go to Control Panel in the
menu. You will see all of the applets that appear in the CP with a check box
in the active applets. Remove the check mark from the items that you do not
normally use. Try removing the check mark from all of the applets and open
the CP, you should only see the main system applets like Folder Options,
Fonts, etc. Try replacing the applets, one at a time and access the CP after
each addition, to see if you can recreate the behavior.

Let me know what you find. :)

--
Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

[Paul Heslop]

Ronnie Vernon MVP wrote:
>
> Paul Heslop wrote:
> > Cheers Ronnie. It just did it again and there's nothing at all to show
> > what happened. I had installed a small demo prog which I decided
> > wasn't any real use and went to uninstall it, had to wait thirty
> > seconds to a minute or so for the panel to open. No signs in events
>
> Paul
>
> Here are a couple of things to try and dig down to the cause of the problem.
> Some of these steps you may not be able to perform constantly, but they can
> be used when you have the time or if the problem becomes more prevalent.
>
> 1. Open the Task Manager and make sure that Options/Always On Top is
> selected. Have the TM visible, with the Processes Tab selected, each time
> you access the Control Panel. Double click the CPU column header to make the
> busiest processes go to the top. Normally you should see the System Idle
> Time at the top in this configuration. Monitor this window, as you access
> the CP, to see if any particular process is using an extraordinary amount of
> CPU time.
>
> 2. Go to Start/Run and type control and press OK. This command should
> open the CP. You can also right click the Desktop and select New/Shortcut.
> In the Location Box, type Control and click Next. In the Name Box, type
> Control Panel and click Finish.
>
> 3. If you don't already have the free TweakUI Utility from Microsoft, go
> here to download it.
> Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp
> This utility makes direct registry edits and can be used, in certain
> situations, to troubleshoot problems.
>
> After TweakUI is installed, open the utility and go to Control Panel in the
> menu. You will see all of the applets that appear in the CP with a check box
> in the active applets. Remove the check mark from the items that you do not
> normally use. Try removing the check mark from all of the applets and open
> the CP, you should only see the main system applets like Folder Options,
> Fonts, etc. Try replacing the applets, one at a time and access the CP after
> each addition, to see if you can recreate the behavior.
>
> Let me know what you find. :)
>
> --
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User

Thanks Ronnie. My main problem with tweakui in its present form is the
amount of stuff which comes already ticked to operate. It confuses me
and causes me to wonder just what should and shouldn't se left as they
have set it and I start to panic. I've installed and uninstalled it
twice now, both times just because there's far too much there. I used
to love the thing on win98
--
Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

[Ronnie Vernon MVP]

Paul Heslop wrote:
> Thanks Ronnie. My main problem with tweakui in its present form is the
> amount of stuff which comes already ticked to operate. It confuses me
> and causes me to wonder just what should and shouldn't se left as they
> have set it and I start to panic. I've installed and uninstalled it
> twice now, both times just because there's far too much there. I used
> to love the thing on win98

Paul

The reason I recommended TweakUI was because it provides an easy way to
check that the CP applets are working properly. If you do not wish to use
this utility, you can use the following procedure to confirm whether there
is a problem with a particular applet or not.

You can also simply locate all of the *.cpl files in the System32 folder
and double click these files to make sure they start the associated CP
applet. To do this, use the Search function and search that folder for
*.cpl. Double click the files, from within the search window, to open.

--

Ronnie Vernon
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

[Paul Heslop]

Ronnie Vernon MVP wrote:
>
> Paul Heslop wrote:
> > Thanks Ronnie. My main problem with tweakui in its present form is the
> > amount of stuff which comes already ticked to operate. It confuses me
> > and causes me to wonder just what should and shouldn't se left as they
> > have set it and I start to panic. I've installed and uninstalled it
> > twice now, both times just because there's far too much there. I used
> > to love the thing on win98
>
> Paul
>
> The reason I recommended TweakUI was because it provides an easy way to
> check that the CP applets are working properly. If you do not wish to use
> this utility, you can use the following procedure to confirm whether there
> is a problem with a particular applet or not.
>
> You can also simply locate all of the *.cpl files in the System32 folder
> and double click these files to make sure they start the associated CP
> applet. To do this, use the Search function and search that folder for
> *.cpl. Double click the files, from within the search window, to open.
>
> --
>
> Ronnie Vernon
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User

I'll try that, thanks. I really did find Tweakui very cumbersome this
time, and wasn't exactly sure just what everything was for.
--
Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

[Paul Heslop]

Paul Heslop wrote:

> > You can also simply locate all of the *.cpl files in the System32 folder
> > and double click these files to make sure they start the associated CP
> > applet. To do this, use the Search function and search that folder for
> > *.cpl. Double click the files, from within the search window, to open.
> >
I went through them and all opened except the one for quicktime, which
did nothing.
--
Paul (I see the bright and hollow sky)
------------------------------------------------------
Stop and Look
http://www.geocities.com/dreamst8me/

[Fernando Maldonado]

OK, here's what it looks like on two different machines I have. One is
from a recovery partition and one is fromXP original CD's. Both have
some programs installed but nothing out of the ordinary. Both have SP2
up to date.

When I open Control Panel, the options all appear. If I click on any
one option from there, CP hangs. Eventually the screen blanks, and I
come back to life, but with a few less programs running in the system
tray.

If I go to the system32 folder, I can click and successfully run any
..cpl I want. It's just that CP won't take me one level deeper.

Again, this happens on two different machines installed using two
entirely different methods. I see the problem being SP2 or possibly
one of the programs in the system tray. I have Mailwasher and Smasher
as common programs on both machines.

Anybody have any ideas?!?

Fernando

On Mon, 01 Nov 2004 18:00:04 GMT, Paul Heslop
> wrote:

>Ronnie Vernon MVP wrote:
>>
>> Paul Heslop wrote:
>> > Cheers Ronnie. It just did it again and there's nothing at all to show
>> > what happened. I had installed a small demo prog which I decided
>> > wasn't any real use and went to uninstall it, had to wait thirty
>> > seconds to a minute or so for the panel to open. No signs in events
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> Here are a couple of things to try and dig down to the cause of the problem.
>> Some of these steps you may not be able to perform constantly, but they can
>> be used when you have the time or if the problem becomes more prevalent.
>>
>> 1. Open the Task Manager and make sure that Options/Always On Top is
>> selected. Have the TM visible, with the Processes Tab selected, each time
>> you access the Control Panel. Double click the CPU column header to make the
>> busiest processes go to the top. Normally you should see the System Idle
>> Time at the top in this configuration. Monitor this window, as you access
>> the CP, to see if any particular process is using an extraordinary amount of
>> CPU time.
>>
>> 2. Go to Start/Run and type control and press OK. This command should
>> open the CP. You can also right click the Desktop and select New/Shortcut.
>> In the Location Box, type Control and click Next. In the Name Box, type
>> Control Panel and click Finish.
>>
>> 3. If you don't already have the free TweakUI Utility from Microsoft, go
>> here to download it.
>> Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp
>> This utility makes direct registry edits and can be used, in certain
>> situations, to troubleshoot problems.
>>
>> After TweakUI is installed, open the utility and go to Control Panel in the
>> menu. You will see all of the applets that appear in the CP with a check box
>> in the active applets. Remove the check mark from the items that you do not
>> normally use. Try removing the check mark from all of the applets and open
>> the CP, you should only see the main system applets like Folder Options,
>> Fonts, etc. Try replacing the applets, one at a time and access the CP after
>> each addition, to see if you can recreate the behavior.
>>
>> Let me know what you find. :)
>>
>> --
>> Ronnie Vernon
>> Microsoft MVP
>> Windows Shell/User
>
>Thanks Ronnie. My main problem with tweakui in its present form is the
>amount of stuff which comes already ticked to operate. It confuses me
>and causes me to wonder just what should and shouldn't se left as they
>have set it and I start to panic. I've installed and uninstalled it
>twice now, both times just because there's far too much there. I used
>to love the thing on win98