"Search" missing

[William B. Lurie]

In deleting some Symantec software, the "Start>>Search"
function on one of my systems was damaged, and now hangs with
the usual first split-screen "Search results" window on my
monitor. Any simple way to restore that function?
(My system has no Recovery Console).... Thank you.

William B. Lurie

(Unhelpful comments are a disservice to the Group)

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Bill.

What did Symantec say when you asked them?

And WHY does your system have no Recovery Console? What make and model
computer do you have? Or which OEM version of WinXP? The Recovery Console
is on every legitimate WinXP CD-ROM.

RC

 

[William B. Lurie]

Hi, Bill.

What did Symantec say when you asked them?

And WHY does your system have no Recovery Console? What make and model
computer do you have? Or which OEM version of WinXP? The Recovery
Console is on every legitimate WinXP CD-ROM.

RC

MY machine is an eMachines T2080, and it comes with two
CDs: One is a "Ghost" Restore CD, the other contains
"Drivers". MVP told me to run winnt32.exe /cmdcons but
that gives error messages, not RC. What that OEM fornishes
is not a "legitimate WinXP CD-DOM".

Symantec hasn't answered me yet....

Thanks, R.C.

William B. Lurie

 

[William B. Lurie]

MY machine is an eMachines T2080, and it comes with two
CDs: One is a "Ghost" Restore CD, the other contains
"Drivers". MVP told me to run winnt32.exe /cmdcons but
that gives error messages, not RC. What that OEM fornishes
is not a "legitimate WinXP CD-ROM".

Symantec hasn't answered me yet....

Thanks, R.C.

Symantec says they can only fix their software, I should hev
Microsoft tell me how to fix XP. They have a point, in that
there can be no doubt that Microsoft knows how to fix XP and
Symantec only knows how to break it.

But seriously, R. C., isn't there some way I can get a patch to
fix just a portion of XP OS? Or can I do some kind of a "Repair
Install", (bearing in mind that I have CDs for original XP Pro
installation, and my system is already in SP2 status).

William B. Lurie

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Bill.

I guess I jumped at Symantec when you started this thread by saying, "In
deleting some Symantec software..." You didn't mention which software,
specifically, or any other details, so I probably was too quick to point the
finger in that direction.

But seriously, R. C., isn't there some way I can get a patch to
fix just a portion of XP OS?

Well, the first step in this direction is the System File Checker. At the
Run prompt, type: sfc /scannow

SFC will compare each WinXP operating system file with the "known good" copy
held in your on-disk cache and replace any missing or damaged ones. We
always advise having the WinXP CD-ROM at hand, because SFC probably will
want to see it. I don't know whether an OEM version of the CD will suffice.

Or can I do some kind of a "Repair
Install", (bearing in mind that I have CDs for original XP Pro
installation, and my system is already in SP2 status).

The next level of repair is exactly that, a Repair Install, also called a
Reinstallation or an In-Place Upgrade. Full instructions from Microsoft are
in this KB article:
How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q315341

Also see MVP Michael Stevens' version of the same thing:
How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

The in-place upgrade completely reinstalls WinXP itself while preserving
your installed applications and data (and most of your tweaks). It will
take as long as a clean install of WinXP, but you won't have to reformat or
reinstall your apps. Note that this will put you back to whatever version
of WinXP is on the CD-ROM that you use. If you use the "gold" or RTM
version of WinXP from 3 years ago, you will need to reinstall SP2 after
doing the in-place upgrade. If you have a very recent CD-ROM, it should
have SP2 included. If you have an older WinXP CD, plus SP2 on your HD or on
the CD from MS, plus CD-burning ability, then you can create a
"slip-streamed" CD with SP2 integrated into WinXP and use that to do the
in-place upgrade.

(bearing in mind that I have CDs for original XP Pro
installation

I don't know what that means, Bill. You said earlier that:

MY machine is an eMachines T2080, and it comes with two
CDs: One is a "Ghost" Restore CD, the other contains
"Drivers". MVP told me to run winnt32.exe /cmdcons but
that gives error messages, not RC. What that OEM fornishes
is not a "legitimate WinXP CD-DOM".

This sounds like you do NOT have a full retail WinXP CD-ROM. Whether you
can do an in-place upgrade with this CD depends entirely on what eMachines
put onto that CD. My guess is that it will put your computer back to the
way it was when you bought it. That is, all your applications and data will
be gone, so you will have to reinstall the apps and restore the data from
backup.

RC

 

[William B. Lurie]

Hi, Bill.

I guess I jumped at Symantec when you started this thread by saying,
"In deleting some Symantec software..." You didn't mention which
software, specifically, or any other details, so I probably was too
quick to point the finger in that direction.

(Sorry....Norton System Works 2004....notoriously difficult to
uninstall, and
they tell you to uninstall it before installing Norton System Works 2005).
Uninstalling it involved deleting all files and folders with 'Symantec' in
the name, and deleting the last one, 'Symantec Shared', is what caused
"Search" to become clobbered.
The advice from here on down I shall copy and attempt to follows.

Well, the first step in this direction is the System File Checker. At
the Run prompt, type: sfc /scannow

SFC will compare each WinXP operating system file with the "known
good" copy held in your on-disk cache and replace any missing or
damaged ones. We always advise having the WinXP CD-ROM at hand,
because SFC probably will want to see it. I don't know whether an OEM
version of the CD will suffice.



The next level of repair is exactly that, a Repair Install, also
called a Reinstallation or an In-Place Upgrade. Full instructions
from Microsoft are in this KB article:
How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q315341

Also see MVP Michael Stevens' version of the same thing:
How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

The in-place upgrade completely reinstalls WinXP itself while
preserving your installed applications and data (and most of your
tweaks). It will take as long as a clean install of WinXP, but you
won't have to reformat or reinstall your apps. Note that this will
put you back to whatever version of WinXP is on the CD-ROM that you
use. If you use the "gold" or RTM version of WinXP from 3 years ago,
you will need to reinstall SP2 after doing the in-place upgrade. If
you have a very recent CD-ROM, it should have SP2 included. If you
have an older WinXP CD, plus SP2 on your HD or on the CD from MS, plus
CD-burning ability, then you can create a "slip-streamed" CD with SP2
integrated into WinXP and use that to do the in-place upgrade.

I do have a borrowed XP Installation CD which I might be able
to use as basis for some kind of Repair Installation. I really don't
know if it is a full retail WinXP CD-ROM as you call it; what I have
is a copy, and you know that those things don't make full clones.

I don't know what that means, Bill. You said earlier that:



This sounds like you do NOT have a full retail WinXP CD-ROM. Whether
you can do an in-place upgrade with this CD depends entirely on what
eMachines put onto that CD. My guess is that it will put your
computer back to the way it was when you bought it. That is, all your
applications and data will be gone, so you will have to reinstall the
apps and restore the data from backup.

RC

And that last line is exactly what I do not want to do. Their full
Restore CD would destroy
two years of work, so I'm going to try some of your excellent
suggestions.....and thank you!
Bill L.

 

[William B. Lurie]

Symantec says they can only fix their software, I should hev
Microsoft tell me how to fix XP. They have a point, in that
there can be no doubt that Microsoft knows how to fix XP and
Symantec only knows how to break it.

But seriously, R. C., isn't there some way I can get a patch to
fix just a portion of XP OS? Or can I do some kind of a "Repair
Install", (bearing in mind that I have CDs for original XP Pro
installation, and my system is already in SP2 status).

William B. Lurie

R. C. :

Progress Dec. 4 noon E.S.T.: I copied the fotder \Symantec Shared
back where it was, from my other hard drive. "Search" returned
with it. So I forwarded a screen shot of that folder's
contents to Symantec and asked them again to tell me what do I
have to delete from that folder, in order to have off the
system what I need off, in order to be able to install System
Works 2005. So I will not be doing any of the XP reinstallation.

By the way, I first ran sfc/scannow and it didn't bring 'Search'
back.

Bill L.

 

[JerryM \(ID\)]

Another place you can try:

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Scroll down to line 166 (left column) and download.
Install the fix on your Start, Run line.

Jerry