Re: How can you tell if MS "shut off" your XP OS?

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance



I'd check for hijackware.

Help with Hijackware
http://aumha.org/a/parasite.htm
  http://aumha.org/a/quickfix.htm
  http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=5878
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm
http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/prevention.htm
  http://inetexplorer.mvps.org/data/tshoot.htm
http://www.mvps.org/sramesh2k/Malware_Defence.htm
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE) & Security


KWW wrote:
Before I do brain surgery on my Windows XP Pro PC (with SP2), I thought I
should ask the question I almost hate to hear the answer to:  how can I
tell if my PC's problem is simply that MS "shut down" my PC when I did
the last Security update?

1) I had verified (voluntarily) that the OS is authentic when they first
had the program because I though it might be cool to try their free SW
that they used as a carrot. (No problems there.)

2) However, with the February update, after I'd had SP2 on the system,
three of the patches caused problems (so I had to back them out).  One
was to IE 6 (it locked up IE and Windows Explorer), the 2nd and 3rd ones
were to XP... The February problem ones were referenced to:
KB867282
KB891781 (Explorer problem)
KB888223

So I had been installing later updates but skipping these.

----------
Here is what happened just before it died:  Finished last update/install.
Click to reboot (OK, fine) just before clicking OK I closed a file manager
(Win Explorer) window that was open, then clicked OK.   While it was
shutting down I got a popup that it could not close Explorer.exe and said
"End Now" or "Wait".  I clicked "Wait" a few times as it came back... then
"End Now" a few times as it (still) came back, so finally I simply held in
the power button and shut down.  It has not made it back up since.  I can
see the contents of the drive if I use Repair Console (or whatever it is
called...) or if I make the drive a slave in another system, but I cannot
boot in Safe, normal or ANY mode on that drive.


=========== ============== Here on is from my previous post on the subject.... I am hesitant to try these things since I did try booting with an XP boot floppy and got no errors, but then when I tried starting XP it went on to the black screen. ======== ======== ==========

Found a thread where somebody posted a similar problem after this was
posted... and another user posted what is probably the answer:
Computer stops responding with a black screen when you start Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=314503

Windows XP logon screen does not appear and the computer continuously
restarts
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=310396

Thanks anyway..  I believe one of these should answer it.... now to just
backup stuff before trying the fixes...
KWW

"KWW" <kwalker@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1113529008.344852.76740@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Windows XP Pro, SP2... had all latest patches (except for 3 from Feb
> that locked up system). So I installed all of the newest patches -
> still keeping those old ones from loading because I know they cause
> problems.
>
> Well... I had to shut down last time (vs. reboot) and, as it was
> shutting down I closed the Explorer window rather than letting the
> reboot do it. Well, from there I kept getting "Explorer trying to shut
> down 'End Now' or 'Wait'" with the buttons... I waited twice but when
> it kept coming back I hit "End Now"... then it came back and I hit it
> again... so finally I held in the power button and shut down. OK... I
> was tired....
>
> Anyway, today I try to start it up and it boots, shows the Windows XP
> Pro Black splash screen with the little 2" bar in the middle bottom,
> then it blinks like it is about to start up, and I see a momentary
> flash of blue, followed by a click of the hard drive as it starts to
> spin down... and the screen "clicks" (adjusts) and goes gray. So I
> tried each of the SAFE mode options and at least I momentarily see a
> blue screen with something about "Except" in the middle of the first
> row...
>
> I tried "last known good"... and it did the same thing.
>
> Finally I got my CD out and started up the repair console. I was able
> to navagate through the hard drive... see the files, etc, so the drive
> is not dead, but I could not/can not start the system.
>
> Right now I am back on an old Windows 2000 system (had 6 months worth
> of updates to load... lots of fun!) so I could work and post this.
>
> Any suggestions? Oh, and I HAD (voluntarily) verified on the MS
> Website that my Windows XP (SP2) is a legitemate installation.
>
> History of the drive: Initially I had Win95, transitioned to Win98,
> then to Windows 2000 Pro. When went to new Drive I could not clone the
> system, so I COPIED the Win2000 Pro files and then did an install of
> the full version of Windows XP Pro. It made it easier to pull in my
> loaded apps.
>
> I had not wanted a TOTALLY clean install because some of my apps are
> updates of updates of the original and, while I have the original
> CD/disks, some of the updates are no longer available. Anyway, this
> history MAY be why things were flaky with that last update... though
> SP2 was a snap (months before that).
>
> So, if I were to try to get the XP disk going, must I use the repair
> console? Anybody seen anything like this?
>
> TIA,
> KWW
>
> IE 6 patch from Feb - caused IE/Windows explorer to fail)

.



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