XP pro won't backup or defrag.

That just means that you haven't setup your user accounts. It's possible that you did create an Administrator password during install.

That's a password I keep in a very, very safe place.

 

OK, so all those details would still be on the computer even after the repair install?

 

No I had assumed that you didn't run it.
Since we have all ready done the sfc /scannow---- please take your time and apply the second method "Note have your cd ready"
from elder geek Quote
Repair Internet Explorer 6

A number of XP users have reported situations with Internet Explorer 6 becoming corrupted and reporting a number of different errors. While there is certainly no guarantee, the two procedures listed below have restored functionality to IE6 for many users experiencing problems.

Note: Both methods listed require that the Microsoft Windows XP CD-ROM be available.

Method 1: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x Repair for Windows XP

* From the Start menu, select Run.
* In the Open field, type sfc /scannow (Note: There is a space between sfc and /scannow)
* Select the OK button.
* Follow the prompts throughout the System File Checker process.
* Reboot the computer when System File Checker completes.

Method 2: Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.x Repair for Windows XP

* From the Start menu, select Search, select All Files and Folders.
* Select More Advanced Options and place a checkmark beside Search Hidden Files and Folders option.
* Ensure that Search System Folders and Search Subfolders are also checked.
* In the All or Part of the File Name box, type ie.inf
* In the Look In drop-down menu, select C: or the letter of the hard drive that contains the Windows folder.
* Click the Search button.
* In the search results pane, find the ie.inf file located in Windows\Inf folder.
* Right click the ie.inf file and click Install on the context menu.
* Reboot the computer when the file copy process is complete.

 

OK, i reached as far as *Right click the ie.inf file and click Install on the context menu. ( the second line from the bottom ).
A screen came up saying " Copy Error " Setup cannot copy the file iedw.exe
Ensure that the disk labeled Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 CD is in the drive selected below, or provide the location were the file can be found.
I put the disk in the drive and selected D: but it just came up as an error. So i tried all the other options on the drop down, they all recieved the error message, so i could not get any further?

 

Is this a typo error file iedw.exe should be ie.inf

 

Wow this problem is tough. I starting to think that we may just need to do a clean wipe of windows because these repairs are getting us nowhere. Also try cleaning out your pc maybe scince it could be that there is too much data in the drive by uninstalling unused programs and such. Let us know what happens.
-the new tech guy

 

Hi, it found 6 files with ie.inf in them:-

ie.inf.................My Computer.
fixie.inf..............C:\Program files\Internet Explorer
amovie.inf..........C:\WINNT\inf
ie.inf.................C:\WINNT\inf
fixie.inf..............C:\WINNT\Windows Update Set.....
ie.inf.................C:\Documents and Settings\Win.....

I right clicked on the one in the 4th line, and clicked on install.
The message came up titled..... "Files Needed" and
The files IXPLORE.EXE on Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 cd is needed, Then.... Type the path where the file is located.
In the drop down window i clicked on D:, put the XP cd in the drive and clicked on the D: option.
It just repeats the same message. Funny thing is that last night it was asking for files.... iedw.exe.

With regard to a clean wipe, i don't know what that is or how to do it. This is an oldish computer that came with Windows 2000 pro installed on it, i have no disc's for that, i only have the disk that i used to upgrade the OS to XP Pro.
This lap top does only have a 20GB hard drive so i bought a 250GB external hard drive where i keep all my music and movie files, but is still almost empty. I do have a lot of programs on the computer had drive, some that i don't use very often but would like to keep. So i don't know if i could a lot of these programs on to the external hard drive and free up more space on the computer. If so, how do you go about doing that?

 

Also, from the Start\Search, I find that i have a lot of files with a .bak and .old extension, my book says that is OK to delete them all, is that the case?

 

Quote:With regard to a clean wipe, i don't know what that is or how to do it. This is an oldish computer that came with Windows 2000 pro installed on it, i have no disc's for that, i only have the disk that i used to upgrade the OS to XP Pro.
I sure wish we had known the full details on your setup geeeeeezzzzzzzzzz----
for now download Ccleaner and do a cleanup
http://www.majorgeeks.com/CCleaner_d4191.html

 

I had a look back over the posts and you right, i didn't give that info, i thought i had, but when i looked back i had given that info on a different thread on Hardware "Trying to Upgrade Memory in a Laptop". Sorry about that.
Also I have carried out all that was posted by "chaslang" in "Read and Run Me First Before asking for Support" I thought it would be worth doing to make sure that that side of things was OK. So i have already installed CCleaner and ran it a few times!

 

I dunno if much else can be done and when i say clean wipe i mean you just clean out everything on your pc and load it from scratch but were in a bit of a spot if you only have an upgrade version to winxp and not a full copy. But if you have ANY old windows cd even a 98 one will do. We can do it. Also scince you have such a small hd i would recommend getting a bigger internal one and if you want to move programs from the internal hd to the external you can simply do it by copying the folder from C:/program files to your external for that program. then find an icon for the program somewhere on your computer and copy that to the external hd. Plus, why are we looking at internet explorer when the problem has nothing to do with it? But it may be time just to format and install windows fresh.
-the new tech guy

 

OK, Thanks to all for you help, if i come across a CD i will be back!

 

Hi New Tech Guy. I'm just a little un-sure about moving programs onto the external hard drive.
You said to copy them from the "Program Files" into the external drive along with any "Icons". If that is making another copy of it, do i then delete the one in the "Program Files" to give me back the space on the C: drive and will i be able to run that program from the external drive, plus how would i run them, would i click on the icons that i copied with them, or would i have to move the program and icon back onto the C: drive in order the use that program?
Are there any limits or restrictions to which programs i can move into the external drive, what I'm thinking about is, don't some programs put instructions into other parts of the computer like start-up and updates and things like that. I was wondering if that would cause any problems if it can't find the program in the original place, or am I just thinking to much into it?

 

Hi. Can anyone help me with my last request?

 

Yes you would simply run the programs from the icons you copied. Simply drag and drop the programs entire folder from C:/program files into the drive and for the icons all you simply have to do is change their location from the one on the C:/ drive to the letter of your usb hd and it should work. If the icons fail you would go to the program's folder on the hd and find the executable that starts the program and create a shortcut to that. And no do not delete the folders from C:/program files because that is the original program. If you want to remove the program simply do it through add/remove programs. Dont worry about updates and whatnot as they should run from the drive without difficulty. Hope that answers your question. Also when you get your hands on a windows cd let us know and we will help you. Also post on this thread to tell us.
-the new tech guy

 

Ok,had a look at all the posts and I may have missed if someone has allready suggested this but I'll put my 20 cents worth in anyway.

In SP2 you have to have "DCOM Server Process Launcher" enabled in administrative tools> services for the defragger to work.

Fix defrag tips at the link below.

http://www.andreasroom.com/blog/archive/2004/01/18/defrag.aspx

 

Hi Franklin. I tried your fix, but it still does the same thing, reaches about 12%and the ends. When I view the Defragmentation Report, it gives the Volume information, then "Files that did not defragment" :- 545 fragments, 306mb file size, \Documents and Settings\Windows\Desktop....
810 fragments, 396mb file size, \RECYCLER\S-1-5-21-299502267-12026606...
Does this make sense to anybody?

 

This really sounds like a registry issue in windows. I really think you should get a windows disk, wipe clean (in other words format your drive and start fresh) and load windows again.
-the new tech guy

 

Hi Guys, I'm back.
OK i have got hold of a full version of windows xp,( it's the home edition though), i am still having all the same problems, ie.... won't defrag, won't backup, also won't restore or setup any restore points.
So, how do i go about doing this clean install???

 

Firstly lets asure your sys has removed as much crap as possible before undertaking any other task (why bother defragging crap!!!!!). Get CCleaner from this site for that purpose.

Alright why use the XP backup, these onboard apps can be very average at best. Do you have a burning app, i.e NERO, and therefore can do a backup via this. You should be using a 3rd party defrag because of above point. Use something like Diskeeper Lite v.7.1.xx (from this site) and if you don't have some sort of burning software well we'll find it here for you also. Your a sucker if you rely on the Windows onboard apps they are generally barebones, minimilastic crap and will most likely cause probs, hence your current situation.

 

Hi Bold Eagle.
I here what your saying, it's just that it seems every time i go to use something it no longer works. Can i find 3rd party software to take the place of the xp stuff that no longer works, for example i have made a number of boobs in the past and the only way that i could get out of the fix was to restore to an earlier date. I'm worried now that i don't have that facility now, I'm afraid to touch anything.
I don't have Nero, but i had a quick look on this site and there seems to be a lot of backup programs to choose from, would one of them take the place of my faulty restore facility, if so which should i choose? and what is it hat i would need to backup, the whole system? I have never backed up before because i don't know what i should be backing up?
A few other thing also don't work, like windows media player 10, won't play a DVD any more and so it goes on.
I do have CCleaner and have used it to get all the old crap of the computer.

 

All right lets assess what doesn't work and why firstly. Have you done the spyware/AV/etc,etc link from this site yet???? You may just have gremlins messin with the world as you know it. When and only when you have done this we should reasonably take it to the next stage. Do this firstly as we could travel the world view all the wonders and come home to find the terriosts are still in your back yard (may take a prolonged time but a must every 3 months irrespective):

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=35407

After this we'll soar

 

Hi.
Yes i have done all in that thread last time, that's how I ended up with CCleaner and the other programs!

 

Sorry I should have said that, that procedure found nothing excepting CCleaner, which found a ton of crap, if that what you call it?

 

Try and download Diskeeper Lite:

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=1207

And run this. Then can you list what apps are giving you grief. I will have a look for a decent backup app.

 

OK installed diskeeper and ran it over and over.

windows media player won't play a regular dvd in the d:/ drive.
it shows this message " wmp cannot play the dvd because a compatible dvd decoder is not installed on the computer".
so i installed wmp and installed it again from ms but it still does the same thing.

system restore is not working i get this screen when i try " system restore is not able to create a restore point. restart the computer and run again".
I do that, try again and the same thing happens, same screen. when i try and restore to an earlier date, after i click on the date that i want to restore too, it does nothing at all.
when i click the defrag button now diskeeper comes up instead of windows defrag.

when i click on the backup from the accessories/system tools, no screen comes up for about 15 mins, then i get a blank white screen titled Backup utility and shows that hour glass the whole time the screen is on. the only way i can then get rid of that screen is to restart the computer.

also i have xp repair pro and registry mechanic, now on both of those programs they won't allow me to go back to a date before the last action was performed, i can't restore back on them either. i don't know if they are some how connected to the windows restore system?

 

So you installed and ran it and ran it, does this mean it worked (completed the defrag)? Windows XP uses Diskeeper as its defragging engine but it uses v6.0 (quite old). You now have v7.1.xx which I beleieve has a new engine and is more effecient. You can readliy go back to the old version if you want by uninstalling Diskeeper Lite (your choice).

Next WMP I think we need to thouroughly uninstall and then do a reinstall. I reccommend you use Your Uninstaller! 2006 (use the free 21 day trail) and this will remove corrupt and or impaired Registry Entries of WMP. Then reinstall and it should work again.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2439.html

If this version doesn't work I can get it. It can also be the disk your are trying to play anyway try this and try several disks once you have a fresh reinstall.

Be very careful of Reg Mechanic, sometimes these apps cause more probs than solve, but there are some more reputable ones but try the Your Uninstaller firstly. Start with this I have to do chores.

 

Hi,
yes the diskeeper does seem to be working, there is a slight change each time i run it.( defrag hasn't worked for a long time so i guess it has a lot to do!).
i removed WMP with "your uninstaller 2006" downloaded WMP 10 and installed it, but some how it came with "Interactual Player" which loads over the top of WMP. were did that come from, is it part of WMP or does it have to be removed. Any ways, WMP still won't work, "a compatible dvd decoder is not installed" is the same message as before. that interactual player won't play either. I tried several different shop bought dvd's, none would work.
I to have to go out, so Mr Compaq will have to wait until i get back.
speak to you later.

 

Good we have addressed this first issue (defrag) but you may want to get another app to defrag the page filing and registry hive I use this as well and run it once every couple of weeks:


I will find the link for this tomm.

I am no expert but I believe you need a codec (compression decoders I believe) to "decode the video" to play it, you can get CODEC packs here but once again I'm in a hurry but I will find it (here) for you.

Haven't had much time to look for the backup yet (very busy today). List any other things and we'll sort it.

 

OK, thanks for all your help and you time.
I think those are my main concerns, I tend to find things not working only as I go to use them!

 

Hi. You never said if you found out what safe mode is. If you hit F8 when the computer starts to boot up it gives you options. One of them is safe mode. It does not load your drivers and programs. What it does load is generic drivers. So boot into safe mode and try and run defrag. If it works in safe mode then you know your problem is either a driver issue or a program conflicting with defrag.

 

Okay I found one of the better CODEC packs and it notes at this link; "Codec is short for Compressor-Decompressor. Codecs are needed for encoding and decoding (playing) audio and video...", which I think may address the problem, "a compatible dvd decoder is not installed". Either way it is good to have a decent CODEC pack installed.

K-Lite Codec Pack Full 2.71 (18Mb):

http://majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4844

Hm not sure about that Interactual Player. You did download from MS didn't you? If so it maybe a recent part of the WMP bundle. If the CODEC doesn't address the issue you could try this player:

Zoom Player Standard 4.51 Final (only 1 Mb); Zoom Player is a robust Media and DVD Front-End Player.

http://majorgeeks.com/Zoom_Player_Standard_d413.html

I have no experience with this app (use PowerDVD) but it gets some good votes from those that do.

I am still searching for a quality backup app but will post it. Let me know how the video session goes and keep Your Uninstaller! 2006. For the time being set up a program folder on your desktop and save any new seeds (prog .exe files) there. If you are having conflict issues with apps to a complete uninstall with this app and then reinstall.

 

Yes the more I look the more I'm certain it is a CODEC issue, just read this top paragraph:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codec

As for back-up try either of these and if you don't like uninstall them:

http://majorgeeks.com/CDBurnerXP_d4242.html
or
http://majorgeeks.com/EasyISO_d2499.html

Both have good votes from users at this site, once again I have'nt used. As to what you should backup, mostly all your personel, don't do the Windows Folder.

Start with this and keep me posted.

 

Um mm.
When I said that I uninstalled WMP and reinstalled it, I'm not sure that, that was what happened. I now think that what was uninstalled from the control panel/add and remove, might have just been the WMP fixes. the reason I say this is that when I installed the KLite codex, it came back and said that about 20 codex thingys where broken and did i want to remove them, i said yes, hey if there broken they're no good any way right, i thought maybe they would be replaced with good ones in the installation of klitecodec.
so did all that and still won't play a DVD, so OK uninstall WMP again and klitecodec and reinstall them again!
I went looking for WMP in your unistaller, add and remove, but can't find it, WMP is on the computer it's listed on the All Programs and it starts up when i click on it, but I don't know how to remove it, so that's what makes me think that I just removed the WMP fixes. So should one just install over the top of the old WMP, which i think is what i did last time? or does it live somewhere else and how do I remove it?
Is this making any sense to you, I'm getting lost myself?

 

Try the Advanced Uninstaller in Your Uninstaller! 2006 and see if you can find it there (WMP) if not just overwrite I suppose. Did you try the other player after the CODEC pack was installed and see if that helped?

 

OK, tried the advanced search in Your Uninstaller, didn't find it, so ran WMP install again over top. Re-installed klitecodec, tried WMP but didn't work.

Installed Zoom Player, tried it and got Error. " An Error Has Occurred " " unable to play. This may be due to a corrupt file, missing filters, filter conflicts, or hardware related issues."

I think I see were you are going with the backup program, if I want to backup photo's etc on to a disc, but how will that get me around the computer not restoring to an earlier date? do I have to backup the entire computer then if I have a problem put those discs back in again? or is this a different issue?

 

Ok I have'nt read the entire thread but lets have a look at a couple of things (you may have already done this but).

Right Click My Comp > System Restore (tab) is it on or off.

Lets have a look at Windows Disk Management tool and see what it says about the health of your HDD.

Goto Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Disk Management;

Right what does it say about the HDD (e.g. healthy) from here we will scan for errors. From langa.com, "You can do this easily from within the Disk Management tool by right-clicking on a drive and selecting "Properties/Tools/Error Checking.""

Run this and get back to me. I'm also interested in some of the apps you are running so we can rule out potential program conflict issues. Can you list what firewall, AV and Spyware stuff you are running and any other background apps. Sorry if I am taking it back a step but want to rule out some things before we progress and hopefully you wont have to consider a system restore. I certainly don't want to reccomend and this was the main purpose of the Back-up apps to ensure you don't lose any of your valuable personal data.

 

OK. The turn off system restore box is un- checked. The disc manager shows the HDD as being healthy. I ran the error checker from a reboot and it didn't say that it found anything.
The Apps i have are :- Kerio firewall. Trend micro pccillin internet security 2005, anti virus. Ad-Aware SE Plus with Ad-Watch Plus. A-squared. Microsoft Antispyware.

 

Okay so the prob is now that either or software players aren't recognising the DVD?!?

 

OK, I downloaded DVD X Pack and installed it and I have the DVD player working again.
I would like to resolve the restore problem.

 

Okay the only thing I can think off is the Sys Restore Window we were looking at, i.e. Right Click My Comp > Properties > System Restore. You said the box was unticked (Turn off System Restore) so it should be functioning. I have my slider at 1% (otherwise it uses up too much space) and Status: (C Monitoring. That is the way it is on my sys but I have never used it to date. Seriously if you have any application "misbehaving" in the near future use Your Uninstaller! 2006 to completely remove it from the sys (including potentially corrupt reg entries). I should have realised it is very hard to remove Windows Components (wrt WMP) and you need special software to do it (can't think of it now).

At least we have defrag working, it seems your HD is healthy and functioning and you can now play DVD's. Hopefully someone else can help with the system restore objective. If I find anything during my travels I will post back. You could PM me and I will save this as I check there from time to time.

 

OK, thankyou for all you help and your time.