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you can get to system restore point by clicking ” start ” & then ” help & support ” Thats if you can get that far with it ?
(Wake up Dumbo – he just said he couldn’t do that !!!!! ….Ed)
OK Rob – if you’ve really really stuffed up your Registry files and you have no idea at all which ones (so you might replace them) or even how many there are …..
the only thing that springs to mind is to re-format the hard disk so as to wipe Windows XP off it completely – together with every other file and bit of information currently on there …. and start over. OK you will lose everything that is currently on the Lapdog …. unless you have made a back up of your files (which I bet you haven’t) … but you will at least have a fully functional computer afterwards.
Simply load the ”boot disc” into the CD drive (D: ???) and follow the instructions …. remembering to select the option that re-installs Windows XP after the C: dive has been re-formatted.
what a funny c00nt you are PB editing a post …….
sorryim not as well up on puters as you :shock:
@ugo wrote:
what a funny c00nt you are PB editing a post …….
sorryim not as well up on puters as you :shock:
You don’t need to be …. Dumbo – all you have to do is to read the post immediatly above yours. To save you the trouble of scrolling back … this is the salient part:
@rob wrote:
” ….unfortuntely it doesnt get that far it never reaches help and support page all i get is a page telling me that my disc is being chacked for cconsistency and then i geta blue screen….”
hello pb i do not have a boot disc but i have seen what i think am boot recovery discs will these do the same job rob 46
I borrowed a disk off a friend to do that before. Do remember what PB said though… you will lose absolutely everything, but if it gets it working again it may well be worth it.
I think certain anit virus discs can be used to re-boot, I dont know if thats the same as formatting a whole system :oops:
No Sharon it isn’t. An anti virus disc / CD will usually boot your PC into safe mode or some of them boot it into DOS. Then it runs a full anti-virus scan in an attempt to detect and repair any that it finds
Problem is that the library of virus definitions are only as current as the date the disc was burnt and if your virus infection is SUBSEQUENT to that information, it might not ”see” it and therefore won’t be able to guide you through the removal / repair process.. So these discs (sometimes they are 3 1/2” floppys) are only useful if you have been infected by a virus and are unable to start Windows normally – or at all AND if the virus is one of the more common ones.
A boot disc, by contrast, usually contains the computer manufacturer’s (OEM) version of the Operating System installed onto the computer – in this case Windows XP. It doesn’t contain anti-virus stuff so it won’t detect & repair virus infections, but it WILL allow you to boot up an unresponsive computer.
However, they also contain BIOS and other information peculiar to the particular manufacturer. So for example a Dell boot disc MAY not work on, for example, a Maxdata computer and so on. Basically, you need the boot disc for the particular make of computer in order that it will successfully either boot it, or re-instal the Operating System.
But it seems to me, from what you have posted so far, that the software that you downloaded and installed several days ago has corrupted or deleted essential files from your Registry. As you don’t know what these files are or how many have been buggered – so you can’t repair or replace them – you appear to have two choices:
1) attempt to re-install the Operating System in a ”clean environment”. This means inserting and running a ‘boot disc” and allowing the computer to fully format (i.e. wipe clean) its hard disc (C: drive). Then it will go on to completely re-install the Operating System (Windows XP Home or Pro whichever one you had) leaving you with a fully functioning, but free of ALL information, files, etc etc, computer.
Remember, doing this will TOTALLY WIPE CLEAN ALL and ANY INFORMATION that you had on the computer.
2) smash it up with a hammer, or set fire to it, and claim on the insurance. If you are uninsured then option 1 is your best bet.
If you don’t have a boot disc (sometimes referred to as a ”recovery disc”) that came supplied with your computer, you can attempt to use another boot disc and see if it will instal correctly.
However you MUST instal Windows XP Home if that is what you had to start with,or Windows XP Pro – whichever one was on the computer. Don’t try to get sneaky and attempt to upgrade from Home to Pro (or vice versa) because the licence will only allow you to register the correct version of Windows.
This user licence, which is usually a Microsoft sticker on the side or bottom of the machine casing, has a registration number which is unique to that particular Operating System and most times unique to that particular computer.
(It is in the form either ****-OEM-*******-***** where ”*” is a number – for OEM licences, OR five banks of five alpha/numeric characters for a retail version).
Just a thought. If your attempts to re-instal the Operating System from a boot disc fail, because you don’t have one – or not the correct one anyway – you could always whizz down to PC World (or similar) and buy a new retail version of Windows XP and instal that. It’s got to be a lot cheaper that binning the computer and buying another one.
@rob 46 wrote:
hi i have just downloaded adaware spy ware too my laptop everything was going fine till i elected too clean my registry now my lap top wont start up its keeps telling me that hive file /systemroot/system 32/it is corrupt orabsent or not wrirable this is an old laptop but worked fine till this happend all it keeps doing is trying too boot up over and over again any help would be useful .thanks
rob 46Now isn’t that weird, I just had a mate drop of his PC, he wanted more memory installed, ok…..and a firewall????? ‘firewall?’ said I, ‘but Windows has a firewall’.
Well this one didn’t, in fact all it had was ‘Spyware Doctor’ and an out of date ‘Zone Alarm’ that had mysteriously shut down and was refusing to start or install (hmmmmm).
So, I installed memory…fine, went on to Microsoft behind a router (natural firewall) and downloaded all 62 updates, (62?? thought I but that only happens after a clean install?) btw this machine only had Service pack 1 (scratches head).
After the last up-date it re-booted and started doing similair stuff to rob’s machine, but I was able to get into ‘safe mode’, I nipped into ‘event viewer’ and somehow this so called Spyware Doctor was preventing the system from restarting normally as it ‘thought’ that the updates from good ol’ Billy where spyware…..nice, so I uninstalled Spyware Doctor….cleared the start up folder in msconfig, nope still the same, somehow the registry had become corrupt, probably well before my gubby hands got on it and also probably more so during the update installs, in my opinion once the registry is corrupt and there is no back up to hand, it ain’t worth arsing around any longer.
So, in went the system disc, re-started, (laptops should go right into the CD) selected ‘repair’, waited for system and admin password requests to go and hit ‘format c:’
I left the disc in after the format and did a soft boot straight into the install, ok I lost all the drivers in the meanwhile, but Service Pack 2 carries all the latest generic drivers for most systems and away it went, then did the updates ( :roll: ) after installing AVG 7.
Result, nice spanking new ‘puter in an old case :wink: , it took all of 40 mins to do.
Sometimes it’s better to throw in the towel, the end results are always worth it and just don’t use that type of adaware again.
I never ever trust third party registry cleaners, you just don’t know what they are putting in your system or doing to it, I keep a back up of my registry on my USB stick, useful little gizmo, no good if your registry is already naff I know.i always find its a good idea to do a clean OS install once every 6 months or so, just to clean out all the accumulated rubbish that clogs up your hard drive. Of course make sure you back up any data before doing so. tis always handy if you are technologically minded to install a small (20 gig or so) hard drive, just for backing up any data you want to keep.
mind you saying that, it is a shame that good old gates, has never thought of giving people the option to run windows from the cd, like certain open source operating systems do. would be a lot easier for people to fix problems, without going through the whole reinstall process.
oh and a hint, never delete anything from the registry unless you are absolutley certain you know what you are doing. :wink:
So there you have it Rob …. the consensus of opinion is that you need to format your C: Drive and do a ”clean” instal of your Operating System.
Just a thought that occurs to me. You say that ”Spyware Doctor” was apparently the cause of this issue. Is this the same ”Spyware Doctor” supplied by PC Tools??? – because I have had this installed for a couple of years now (currently version 4.0) and have run it without any problems of any sort at all.
All it does is to clean out ”cookies” and the like, that it regards as spyware or malware (i.e. those that track and report on your internet surfing habits etc etc). It has a library of spyware definitions that is kept updated daily – in the same way that an anti-vitrus utility does – against which it checks every time you do a scan.
It also has a number of useful filters that prevent your computer being infected with ”drive-by malware” for example.
As far as I am aware it does NOT amend, alter or delete any Registry values so I am a bit puzzled as to what exactly corrupted your Registry.
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