Windows cannot access the specified device,path or file"

Hey guys,
I think i have a major problem.
Since yesterday , after I uninstalled a few things including Internet Explorer and Windows genuine advantage, I have not been able to run any programs at all. It appears that internet explorer is still there now, despite uninstalling it with Revo uninstaller, but the security settings for it are gone.

I was/am running Windows XP Home Edition SP3, but i literally can not do anything at all
Is there a registry fix that will give me permission to fix this.

I have tried to run the installation CDS to reinstall windows but they wont boot, giving the message

"Windows cannot access the specified device,path or file, you may not have the appropriate permissions to access the item" for pretty much everything i try to do:confused

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated

 

You should not uninstall Windows' programs, can cause big problems.

Not sure what you mean by CDS disk, I assume it is either your install or recovery disk.

To boot from it you will first need to enter the BIOS and set "Boot from CD/DVD " as number 1 option.

Accessing the BIOS varies according to computer manufacturer. Either post back with your computer make and model or just enter same into a search with the words "access BIOS" following. Usually is accessed by tapping F2, F8, F11, or maybe the Esc key or the delete key.

Wouldn't it be nice if this were standardized!

Anyway, you should be able to to a repair from there, although you may have to do a complete reinstall, which will destroy your data.

If there is data you need, post back for how to save/recover it.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was able to access internet explorer 8 and just by chance when I was messing with the security settings it all came back and i have much more functionality.

However I can't run certain programs (Such as Msn messenger) and in folder options i cannot view hidden files and folders.

I presume over the next while I will find a lot more stuff I can't do.
I will in future not uninstall those windows programs.

What baffles me though is that i uninstalled them using "Revo Uninstaller" which claims to make restore points. However when I went into system restore there were none. Surprise surprise.

The error message i get for msn is "Signing into windows live messenger failed because the service is temporarily unavialable"

Does anyone have a fix for this or should I still reinstall windows.
Thanks for your help so far

Yours,
Jack

 

I see several possible issues here.

First, concerning the restore points, you should make sure that System Restore
is Enabled and then check the System Restore settings.
I also use Revo Uninstaller and I have seen where it has made a restore point
for some or all operations, but removing Internet Explorer is not a 'normal'? uninstall process.

I'll make this brief:
Start -> Run -> services.msc
click the Name column heading once or twice to sort the list alphabetically
look for System Restore Service
focus on that item and press Enter or double click to open the dialog box
make sure that the Startup Type is Automatic (there's a drop down list)
also that the Service Status is Started, if not, click the Start button
click Apply if it's not dimmed out
click OK

You should then Open Syetem Restore again and check the settings to see how much space is allocated - probably more than enough, but check anyway.
I'd say, do not reduce it right now as that might wipe out the restore point that you actually need, assuming that it was active.

Normally, you should use Add / Remove programs to add or remove Windows Components (option on the left panel).

No matter how much you may not like Internet Explorer, it May not be a good idea to remove it,
even through proper means as it is (or was) tightly integrated with the operating system.
This was a major issue in past lawsuits against Microsoft.

If you do have a System Restore point for a time just before you removed Internet Explorer, I would try that.
If it is successful, it will save you a bunch of trouble.

Hope this helps :wave

 

Hello,

I had this same problem so I duplicated the EXE file and changed the name and the EXE worked fine...


R