By admin on Jan 29, 2009 | In Hardware, Windows XP | No Comments »
Have you ever experienced this problem: When you plug in a new USB device such as mouse, external hard drive or digital camera, the new hardware is detected but automatic driver installation fails every time with a ‘data invalid’ error message? Don’t worry, there are several possible solutions that you can test.
Solution 1: Use the advanced installation option and manually select the Windows folder which holds the drivers. The location is C:\Windows\inf (keep in mind that this folder may be hidden. To unhide the folder, open Windows Explorer, click on Tools, Folder Options, View and select the ’show hidden files and folders‘ option). If you have the CD with the drivers, try to find and select the folder that contains the driver files.
Solution 2: Go to C:\Windows\Driver Cache\i386 and find SP2.cab. Right click on this file and select explore. Next, find usbstor.sys, right click on it and extract to desktop. Insert the USB device and try to install again (use automatic installation option).
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By admin on Jan 28, 2009 | In Windows XP | No Comments »
If you have a Windows XP Service Pack 2 that displays the message ‘for testing purposes only’ in the bottom right corner, you can follow these simple steps to remove the message.
Go to Start, Run and type regedit. The registry window will open. To remove the message you have to find two keys and delete them. Navigate to this location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\ ROOT\Certificates and delete the Key: 2BD63D28D7BCD0E251195AEB519243C13142EBC3
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SystemCertificates\ CA\Certificates and delete the Key: FEE449EE0E3965A5246F000E87FDE2A065FD89D4
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By admin on Jan 26, 2009 | In Viruses and Spyware, Windows XP | No Comments »
You may have come across the following error message:
“The system is shutting down. Please save all work in progress and log off. Any unsaved changes will be lost. This shutdown was initiated by NT Authority\System
Time before shutdown: 59,58,57,….
Windows must now restart because the RPC service terminated unexpectedly.”
Unfortunately, this is a sign that there is a virus or a bug in the system file. There has been an access violation in svchost.exe, which caused the error message to appear.
To fix this, install the latest service pack (Start, All Programs, Windows Update) and see this Microsoft support page. There is a hotfix at the top of the Microsoft article that you can install. This should take care of the problem. You should also scan your hard drive for virus and spyware threats and remove them if you find any.
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By admin on Jan 25, 2009 | In Viruses and Spyware, Windows XP | No Comments »
When you first turn on your PC and load your Windows system, several applications are set to start automatically. Besides essential system files, they can include antivirus programs, communicators, media players and file sharing programs. You can find these programs or taskbar icons in the lower right corner. Usually you want them there, especially the antivirus program, messenger or volume icon, because you use them all the time or it’s just the way they work. Some programs, however, don’t need to be there as they can take up resources (RAM) and slow down your computer.
This is why you should inspect all your taskbar icons and decide if you really need them there. Once you do this, you can use the System Configuration Utility and untick these programs from the startup menu. This is how it’s done: Go to the Start menu, click on Run, type msconfig and when the next window opens, go to the Startup tab. In the list you will see programs that you will recognise and some that you may not. If you know which program you are after, simply untick it and it won’t run at startup after the next reboot. If you are not sure, leave it or type the file name in Google and find out what it does first.
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By admin on Jan 23, 2009 | In Windows XP | No Comments »
Windows XP sometimes displays the following error message: “Windows Installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running in Safe Mode or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed.”
This was probably caused by a damaged registration service. To repair the registration service, follow these steps:
- Open cmd.exe by clicking Start, then Run and typing cmd. Alternatively, you can find cmd in Start, All Programs, Accessories and selecting Command Prompt.
- type msiexec /unregister and press Enter
- type msiexec /regserver and press Enter
- close cmd window
This should resolve the problem.
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