Windows XP Stuff I didn’t use Vista, except to help troubleshoot when friends have problems. Now I have several machines on Windows 7. It looks like a streamlined Vista. WinXP is more stable than Win98, Win98se, WinMe however the weak point has always been the registry and other supporting files. A necessary measure is to generate a bootable CD that can work on windows files that are opened by the system. It boots into a minimal Windows OS so you can copy files that XP and Vista prohibits. Even in Safe Mode, these files cannot be worked on. This has save me countless numbers of times. Windows XP - I have had corrupted registries that have prevented the computer from booting normally or even into Safe Mode. The first step is to get into System Restore and ”Restore my computer to an earlier time.” Restore Points are saved in c:\System Volume Information that can be used for restoration if overlaying the OS does not fix it. That folder is hidden, so Properties | Security | Add you as User, Turn on Write Privileges to gain access to this. Individually or all files DEFAULT, SAM, SECURITY, SOFTWARE, SYSTEM can replace the ones in c:\windows\system32\config to fix registry problems. Every now and then, I back up a folder from SVI to another hard drive in case Restore Points get wiped out. Do not turn off System Restore as it will delete all Restore Points and then create a new one (if it can.) I have one machine here that cannot create Restore Points - either automatically or manually. It was the WinAntivirus virus (see Malware in right column) that cause this and other problems. There are also some program registration data in \Documents and Settings\username\ntuser.dat so that file needs to be backed up. Five files in c:\windows\repair - default, sam, security, software, system can be used to repair registry problems. But they are generally so old, it is basically worthless. Windows CE - Pocket PC 2002, Windows Mobile 2003, Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition still have problems with memory leaks, in which closing applications do not release the used memory back to the OS. It is particularly bad in WM2003se as the OS take more space and some programs just do not run well on it versus WM2003 or PPC2002. Also manufacturers tailor newer versions of CE for their models thus the newer OSs may not be available for your device. |
Not so nifty problems in WinXP A month after initial XP installation, I had networking problems with shares not accessible until 10 minutes later. That resolution is to disable the WebClient service. The Microsoft Knowledge Base has only technical programming information on WebClient. The registry is Microsoft's weakness. When you install, uninstall, program information is not entirely deleted. Even temporary file pointers are kept here. Use a registry cleaner to clean that up. Windows Installer - What brainchild dreamt this up? Install an application based on Installer, e.g. Office 2000, add a hard drive after this, return to add or reinstall some Office modules, and Installer stops you right there. According to the MS Knowledge Base, you must return the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM drive letter to its original drive letter or uninstall and reinstall Office 2000. Another case is if you installed from a network drive (remote server), the uninstall requires you to have the network drive available! Stuff Stop non-essential services in WinXP - Black Viper Avira AntiVir Personal I use this now. Had been using AVG Free Networking Malware |