Re: Ongoing Computer Corruption issues

Thanks very much. Looks like I'm going to have to rebuild.

Ted


"Twayne" wrote:

See inline and bottom:

With the help of several people on this Forum I've been working on the
problem described below. I created a slipstreamed XP/SP2 Bootable CD
and tried to Repair Windows. The process of repair proceded as
expected to normal conclusion but did not correct the problem. Does
anyone have a suggestion or do I have to rebuild the computer (which
in my opinion may not work either)? By the way, what is the Indows
Forms Parking Window? The last time I shut down the computer I got a
message that Windows Forms Parking Window was not responding.

Have you tried past Restore Points? I suppose those are gone now since
you slipstreamed, assuming the slipstream wasn 't faulty, but how about
before that?


Thanks for your help.

Ted

Here's the original problem description:

The computer is running Windows XP Home Edition. The computer may
have been accidentally "rebooted" by turning the power off and back
on. Since then the operational environment has been corrupted as
follows:

Accidentally? Are you sure it was an accident and that there wasn't a
reason someone killed/reapplied power? How much time passed between the
power down and power up? If it was nearly instantaneous, there could be
a LOT of corruption occurred.

When booting up, the typical logon window no longer displays the
icons and names of the various users defined on the system. Instead,
a small "Log On To Windows" box appears with the name of one of the
users.

Since the user names are still there, then whatever you "slipstreamed"
did NOT do a reinstall of Windows. They would need to be rebuilt if it
had been reinstalled. Therefore, nothing happened that would have fixed
the problem appears very likely.

Once logged on, the Task Bar is blank/white from left to right
except the clock is showing. There is no Start button. If a window is
minimized it disappears behind the white task bar area and is
unretrievable. If I press the Windows key on the keyboard, the Start
Menu appears but all is blank except the All Programs option and the
options for Windows Update, Windows Catalog, etc. as well as options
to Log Off and Turn Off the Computer.

Corrupted System file. Needs to be reinstalled IMO. At this point it's
serious corruption.

I can navigate the All Programs paths to get to the various programs
on the system.
Alt/Ctl/Del does not bring up Windows Task Manager. I can navigate the
internet but cannot download a file from the internet. The problem
persists when running in Safe Mode. And using System Restore to reset
the system to an earlier date when the problems were not occurring
does not solve the problem.

Again, if there were Restore points available after the slipstream, the
OS has not been reinstalled.

On a separate computer I downloaded
RegCure to try to work on the Registry. I transferred RegCure to the
Desktop of the ailing computer, but RegCure will not execute.

When I right clicked My Computer on the Deskktop and selected Manage,
I received the following error message in a Window entitled Microsoft
Management Console: "MMC failed to initialize because it was installed
incorrectly or because a portion of the registry has been corrupted.

Plausible.


Make sure the file mmcndmgr.dll is registered by running
regsvr32%SystemRoot%\System32\mmcndmgr.dll." I have no idea how to
run this file. (The Run... option usually available in the Start Menu
is not accessible.)

Open a command prompt and type/paste the command in there. Press
Return, close the Command Prompt, and Restart.

I don't think that's going to help, but it's worth trying, i agree with
that. IMO, whatever you're calling "slipstream" isn't. It's either
borked or not a slipstreamed installer in the usual sense of the word.

At this point and because of all the apparent corruption I don't think
there is any sensible action but to do a Clean Install. Lots of sites
with Clean Install step by step solutions if you need them. If there is
ANY way you can get at your data, back it up so you have the most recent
stuff. But, be aware that this problem could be IN that backup, so when
you reinstall, keep a close eye on things.

I Basically, just:

Disconnect ALL peripherals from the computer. Don't just power them
down; disconnect their cables.
Disconnect from your modem.
Collect together your keycodes, etc.
Boot from the XP CD
Take note of the existing partitions
Delete all the partitions
Recreate all the extensions with their previous sizes etc.
Continue, following the onscreen instructions to install XP.
Install SP2.
Check that everything is working right so far.
Turn on the XP Firewall
Install your AV (it'll be out of date but still provides substantial
protection)
Power down for 30 seconds or more, then restart the computer.
Connect your modem and go online
Allow all the updates to auto update and install plus your AV to
update.
Power down for 30 seconds or more, then restart the computer.
All should still be fine operationally now.
Reconnect peripherals one at a time, updating and setting up as you go
along.
Restart
Install any spyware/malware software you wish to install; the rest of
your protection pkgs.
Restart after each one
Be sure they're all updated & working.
Restart

Now install the rest of the applications you need. Restart after each
one, and check each one. Use the original CDs, not copies; copies can
be corrupted. Be sure all is still working fine.

Assuming you have them: Start restoring your data from backups, DVDs,
images, whatever method you used to create them.

Caveat: Watch CLOSELY as you do each install and check thoroughly or
you might just reinstall the previous "problem", whatever it was. I
suspect the only problem really was likely the power-switching that
happened, but you never know. Malware can hide in many forms, so be on
the lookout.

This sounds like a lot of work, but it's a lot faster in the end than
troubleshooting and fixing fixes for two to seven days. The clean
install should only take about 4-6 hours max, most of it sitting and
waiting for the machine to do its work.

HTH

--
--
Regards,

Twayne

Open Office isn't just for wimps anymore;
OOo is a GREAT MS Office replacement
www.openoffice.org




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