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"My Computer" system folder freezes



 
 
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  #16  
Old November 12th 04, 07:30 PM
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)
external usenet poster
 
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Default "My Computer" system folder freezes

Well, I'm glad you got it sorted out. Unless your XP Pro was an upgrade
version, I'm don't see any reason why it wouldn't install clean, especially
if Home Edition installed clean since XP Home and Pro are essentially
identical with the exception of a few of the XP Pro features not being
available in Home. Home is a subset of Pro.

Nonetheless, I'm glad you got it sorted out and without loss of data.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"C.M.G." wrote in message
...

Michael:

You were correct, I was able to initiate the repair install, but it failed
miserably. I was unable to do an xp pro clean install, eventually I did a
xp home edition clean install, followed by xp pro clean install, I am now
in the process of reloading programs etc, no data lost, machine runs much
better, but much time expended...

Thanks again,

Clem.

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
You must have gone to the Recovery Console which is the first "R"
selection that comes up during bootup even though it comes up in response
to the selection to repair setup. The repair install is later. Try again
as follows as you should not be asked for an administrator password to do
a repair install:

NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data files intact, if
something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be forced to
start
over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your data backed
up,
you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive and you have an
actual XP CD as opposed to a recovery CD, boot with the XP
CD in the drive and perform a repair install as outlined below. If the
system isn't set to boot from the CD or you are not sure, you need to
enter
the system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually
has
instructions that if you wish to enter set press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence.
Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will
reboot.

When the system boots, a few screens into the process you may see a
message instructing you
to hit any key in order to boot from the CD along with a countdown. When
you see this be sure to
hit a key on the keyboard, if you miss this instruction and the system
fails to boot from the CD, it's too
late, you'll need to reboot and try again.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a
reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a
screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console. ***The selection you want at this screen is
"Setup Windows,"
NOT "Repair Windows Installation.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you
to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement.
Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.

Note, in some cases, you won't receive the repair option, only an option
to reinstall. We have discovered that sometimes this is caused by
damaged boot.ini file that can be repaired as follows and also note, in
the instructions, "K" refers to the CD drive in which you have placed the
XP CD, replace that drive letter with the appropriate letter on your
system, "K" is simply an example.

Reboot, this time taking the immediate R option (this is the section I
told you to skip above. In this case, you will need to get to the
Recovery Console to perform the function below), and if the CD letter is
say K: give these commands

COPY K:\i386\ntldr C:
COPY K:\i386\ntdetect.com C:
(two other files needed - just in case)
ATTRIB -H -R -S C:\boot.ini
DEL C:\boot.ini
BootCfg /Rebuild

Once you've completed this function, reboot and see if you can access XP
as sometimes, the problem is the damaged boot.ini. If you still cannot
access XP, then reboot and re-run the repair install instructions at the
beginning of this message.

If you only have a recovery CD, your options are quite limited. You can
either purchase a retail version of XP which will allow you to perform
the above
among other tools and options it has or you can run your system recovery
routine with the Recovery CD which will likely wipe your drive, deleting
all
files but will restore your setup to factory fresh condition.



--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"C. M. G." wrote in message
...

Michael,

sfc did not fix the problem. I therefore tried the repair installation.
The system boots off the CD, ask me for the administrator password that
I enter, and then just stops (I removed and then added the password
after booting from the HD, and it still happens like that. If I enter
the wrong password, the system prompts me for the password again).

Any other ideas?

Thanks,

Clem.


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
Two other things I can offer as follows:

The following assumes you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a restore
CD or
restore partition supplied by your PC manufacturer.

Go to Start, type sfc /scannow in the run box and press enter. Note,
there
is a space between sfc and the forward slash. You will be asked for
your XP
CD. Be aware, upon inserting the CD the XP setup screen may appear,
this is
not a part of sfc /scannow, rather it is being invoked by autorun.
Simply
minimize the screen and allow sfc to continue.

If the above fails to resolve the issue, try a repair install as
follows:

Be sure you are well backed up in case there is a problem from which
you are
unable to recover. NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
files intact, if something goes wrong during the repair install, you
may be
forced to start over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have
your
data backed up, you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.

Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with
the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter
the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when
you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence,
if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence.
Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will
reboot.

Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the
CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if
you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.

Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a
reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if
you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just
let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and
drivers.

Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a
screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.

The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you
to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement.
Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From
there
on, follow the screens.


--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"C. M. G." wrote in message
...


Michael,

I did get the upgrade advisor (version 6.0.2448.0) from the web site
you
suggested. I get the same error message:

==============================================
Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer
is
newer than the version on the CD.

Warning: If you decide to delete the newer version of Windows that is
currently installed on your computer, the files and settings cannot be
recovered.
==============================================

Any idea why I keep getting this error message?

Thanks,

Clem.


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
Obviously, something is corrupted in the old account but the
information
you posted from event log is symptomatic as opposed to causal.

You might try downloading the compatibility checker from the
following
site, it is known as the Upgrade Advisor:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...g/advisor.mspx


--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"C. M. G." wrote in message
...

Michael,

since my prior response, I have made some other discoveries:

1, drivers are up to date.

2, I have created a new account, and that account does not have the
problem with the "my computer" system folder crashing.

Does this help in figuring out the problem? (I would prefer to
continue
using the old account because of the many settings associated with
it...)

Thanks,

Clem.

"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
Yes, I would run the System Compatibility Check.

Also, check your device manufacturers websites for the latest
drivers.

Also, you might try temporarily disabling or otherwise
uninstalling
your antivirus as sometimes antivirus software can cause this type
of
issue. Do this as a last resort if none of the above help. If it
proves to be the issue, you'll enact to contact Trend Micro for
help
with this issue.

--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"C. M. G." wrote in message
...

Michael,

Thank you for your response.

I use Trend Micro Internet Security, my pattern version is
constantly
(sometimes several times daily) updated, and a system scan finds
no
viruses.

Ad-Aware SE v. 6._ w/ the latest pattern file finds only a few
tracking
cookies (deleted).

I unchecked "Automatically Restart" as you suggested, but when I
go to
"My
Computer" and click "Change a Setting," the system freezes until
I
close
the window, and no blue screen is displayed.

The event viewer shows the following info:
============================================
Event Type: Information
Event Source: Winlogon
Event Category: None
Event ID: 1002
Date: 10/26/2004
Time: 8:20:53 PM
User: N/A
Computer: DELL04
Description:
The shell stopped unexpectedly and Explorer.exe was restarted.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
================================================== ==========


I followed that link and get this information:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +
Details
Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 1002
Source: Winlogon
Version: 5.0
Component: Application Event Log
Symbolic Name: EVENT_SHELL_RESTARTED
Message: The shell stopped unexpectedly and %1 was
restarted.

Explanation
The shell was stopped and then restarted. By default,
the
shell
is explorer.exe; however, you might have a customized shell.


User Action
No user action is required.



Version: 5.2
Symbolic Name: EVENT_SHELL_RESTARTED
Message: The shell stopped unexpectedly and %1 was
restarted.

Explanation
The shell was stopped and then restarted. By default,
the
shell
is explorer.exe; however, you might have a customized shell.


User Action
No user action is required.



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

Related Knowledge Base articles
You can find additional information on this topic
in
the
following Microsoft Knowledge Base articles:
. A security policy does not process restricted
groups
correctly
If you configure a restricted group by using
Group
Policy,
the membership list is incomplete when the group is processed by
the
client.
This problem is indicated by events from the SceCle and Userenv
sources in
the application event log. For...


++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++++

I follow the link to

Article ID : 320099





but I do not, quite honestly, understand what that article is
about.

I imagine that this might be related to installing SP2?

Any advice where to go from here? Should I use my XP CD and
generate
the
"Check System Compatibility" report?

All help is appreciated!

Clem.


"Michael Solomon (MS-MVP)" wrote in message
...
First, be sure your antivirus software has the latest
definitions and
run
a
virus scan.

Second, download, install and run Ad Awa
www.lavasoftusa.com
Note: you should always be well backed up before running an
application of
this type.

If your system is clear of viruses, open Control Panel, open
System,
go to
the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery,
remove
the
check from "Automatically Restart" under System Failure. This
will
cause
the system to blue screen instead of restarting on errors and
the
information on the blue screen may give a clue as to the source
of
the
issue.

Open Control Panel, open Administrative Tools, open Event
Viewer,
look for
errors corresponding to the crash, double click the error, the
information
contained within may give a clue as to the
source of the problem. If you don't understand the information
inside,
the
third button down in that dialog box will copy the information,
you can then paste it into a message and post it here and maybe
we
can
figure out what is going on.

Assuming you have an XP CD and not a recovery CD, place the XP
CD in
the
drive, when the setup screen appears, select "Check System
Compatibility,"
the report it generates may point to problem hardware or
software on
your
system. If you do not have an XP CD, you can download this
application
known as the Upgrade Advisor from the following site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...ng/advisor.asp
Note: If you have access to a broadband connection it might be
best
to
download using that as this is a rather large download.

Check for the latest drivers for your hardware, especially your
graphics
card and soundcard and all peripherals connected to your system.
Do
not
use
Windows Update for this, go to the device manufacturer's web
sites
and if
you install updated drivers, ignore the message about drivers
being
unsigned
by Microsoft. *Before installing any drivers, be sure you are
well
backed
up and it's probably a good idea to manually create a restore
point
in
System Restore in case you have problems as a result of the
driver
update
and note, System Restore is not a substitute for a backup.
Start\All
Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Restore


--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/

"C. M. G." wrote in message
...
When I double-click "My Computer" on the desktop, the folder
opens,
but
almost all commands (change a setting, my network places, my
documents,
control panel) cause the "My Computer" window to freeze, and I
have
to
terminate it. I have no problem accessing the various system
folders
etc
from the "start" button.

Any idea what is going on?

Thanks,

Clem.




























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