Active Desktop Recovery problem

Discussion in 'Software' started by Balvedius, Apr 25, 2012.

  1. Balvedius

    Balvedius Private E-2

    Hello, I'm using an XP with SP3 and I've been searching the internet for a fix to this problem (using another pc to do so) and everything that I've come across hasn't been working.

    Recently after my computer freezing and telling me that there was no input to the screen, I restarted my computer, and upon it rebooting I was given the "Active Desktop Recovery" on my desktop.

    At this point the things I can do involve:

    Clicking the button that says "Restore my Active Desktop" however I am then given a script error

    Internet Explorer Script Error
    Line: 65
    Char: 1
    Error: Object doesn't support this action
    Code: 0
    URL: file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/Applications%20Data/microsft/Internet/Desktop.htt

    Do you want to continue runnibg scripts on this page?
    Yes/No

    Or something very similar.(No matter what I select nothing works)

    I've seen suggestions on how to fix the problem that involve going into Run>regedit and changing a certain value, deleting the desktop.htt file and rebooting, right clicking the desktop and changing the resolution/background picture and as much as I would love to do this, I can't.

    The only thing I can do is click the "Restore Active Desktop" button where I get the error mentioned above and that's it. Right clicking causes the mouse to change into the hourglass and nothing happens, pushing the windows button and attempting to go into either Run/Control Panel makes it look like the Windows panel is still there but from then on I cannot click anything and the computer acts frozen however I can still move the mouse around.

    So basically I am unable to recover the desktop due to the error, and cannot attempt to try to fix the error because it freezes before I can open any of the required windows.

    If I find my Windows CD and insert it, is there anything I can do while the computer is starting up that could possibly fix this while still keeping all of my data?
     
  2. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    Hi,

    It seems that changing the desktop wallpaper will fix the problem. Can you get into Safe Mode or Safe Mode with command prompt by pressing F8 repeatedly as you start your computer? That might allow you to try to edit the registry or try to change the desktop wallpaper.

    If that doesn't work then I think you may have to use an offline registry editor by burning a bootable CD or boot from a linux CD and delete/rename the problem file and let it be recreated by Windows. Do you have a blank CD and the ability to download a large (~100mb) file on the computer you are using? (A bootable Linux distro could also be put on an empty USB flash drive if your problem computer supports booting from USB)

    Edit: Does ctrl + alt +shift bring up task manager? Or ctrl + alt + delete? That would allow you to try choosing New Task and typing cmd to open a command prompt to start regedit.
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2012
  3. Balvedius

    Balvedius Private E-2

    Hello sach2

    Going into safemode (previously pushing f8 just asked where I wanted to boot from) allowed me to go into Regedit and change the file so now I have my desktop back again:). However now I'm not in safemode and within maybe 10 seconds or so of the computer starting up and showing the desktop it freezes as mentioned before yet I can still move the mouse around.

    I cannot click anything, Ctrl-Alt-Delete doesn't open the Task Manager and whenever I hover over the taskbar at the bottom my cursor turns into the hourglass until I stop hovering over it.

    The only things I have done before the whole freezing/desktop recovery were
    Updating Avast
    Updating my NVIDIA drivers for my graphics card
    Getting the "No signal" from my monitor whenever I went into a fullscreen game (only happened within the last 2 days, today and yesterday for me)
    And removing some old games that I did not play anymore.

    Do you know what could be the cause of this and a possible solution?

    (Also to answer your question before, no I do not have any blank CD's and if I did, the only thing I am able to put in my computers disk drive is the windows installation cd. Everything else I put in once it applies some effort my computer freezes up)
     
  4. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    I'm not sure what to tell you on the freezing.

    See if you can disable Active Desktop as this link says http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000593.htm and see if that makes a difference. Just in case it something to do with that.

    Maybe do a quick chkdsk to see if there is any file system error causing the desktop freeze. You can just do the first three stages of chkdsk which doesn't take very long. My Computer>right-click C: drive and select Properties. Under the Tools tab choose Error Checking. Just leave the first box ticked and hit Check now button. It will schedule for next reboot. Reboot to let it run and then see if any difference.

    Since you have the no signal problem, I think I would consider going back a version or two on the Nvidia drivers. That sounds like a graphics problem.

    Maybe someone else has some suggestions.
     
  5. Balvedius

    Balvedius Private E-2

    Thank you for your suggestions on how to fix my problem, the chkdsk seemed to fix the freezing on desktop problem.

    However after that I encountered an error with only getting system sounds (fixed now, for some reason it was disabled) and I've been able to go fullscreen in games again.

    Again, thanks for the help:)
     
  6. sach2

    sach2 Major Geek Extraordinaire

    You're welcome. :)

    Since the chkdsk did find some errors it is probably a good idea to run it again. This time ticking both boxes to include the surface scan. It will add about 20 minutes to the test as it will try to read every sector on the HD to see if any are bad. You can just schedule it and let it run the next time you reboot.

    I know the results flash by very quickly but scan for the line "in bad sectors" and see if it has a number greater than zero. That will tell you if your HD may be going bad. It doesn't men it is bad but it may something you want to keep an eye on.

    [​IMG]
     
  7. jfmeachamiii

    jfmeachamiii Private E-2

    If non of the above worked, there is a very basic registry fix we use here at the shop all the time. I must warn that if you deviate from the instructions, it could resolve with crashing windows. So please pay close attention. It does work.

    Go to Start, Run, Then type in regedit.
    • HKEY_Current_user\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Desktop\Safe Mode \Components
    • Once you highlight Safe Mode on your right you will see folder named Components. Modify file name: DeskHtmlVersion Reg_DWORD 0x00000110(272).
    • You will need to right click on it, select modify and change the value to 0

    After you complete these steps, close regedit, log out then back in. If you have done the steps correctly, you will have lost the active desktop recovery. Please pay attention as you do this please.
     

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