security center missing

[about to go nuts!!!!!]

my security center is missing inside of my control panel. bought the pc 2nd
hand. has windows xp pro. any help will be great.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

my security center is missing inside of my control panel. bought the pc
2nd
hand. has windows xp pro. any help will be great.

Your PC might be infected with all sorts of nasty things. It's like an
sandwich you picked up from the gutter. Would you eat it? Best to format the
hard disk and reload Windows.

 

[about to go nuts!!!!!]

i have taken a close look over everything updated all the drivers..etc..etc..
all thats left is to fix the security center icon missing and i cant seem to
find the answer about it anywhere.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Having had a close look over everything is equivalent to scraping the dirt
off your gutter sandwich. You still don't know what's inside and why the
Security Centre icon is missing. It's a risky game you're playing.

The missing icon is based on the file c:\Windows\System32\wscui.cpl. AFAIK,
this applet gets generated at install time. I do not know how regenerate it.
Maybe copying it from another machine will do the trick.

 

[Steve Winograd [MS-MVP]]

my security center is missing inside of my control panel. bought the pc 2nd
hand. has windows xp pro. any help will be great.

Make sure that the Security Center service is running.

Some security suites, such as Norton Internet Security, disable XP's
Security Center.
--
Best Wishes,
Steve Winograd, MS-MVP (Windows Desktop Experience)

Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Program
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Nil]

my security center is missing inside of my control panel. bought
the pc 2nd hand. has windows xp pro. any help will be great.

Try re-installing the latest service pack.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

bought the pc 2nd hand.

Now you know why the owner wanted to get rid of it and sold it so cheaply!

Format & do a clean install of Windows. Please note that a Repair Install
(AKA in-place upgrade) will NOT fix this!

cf. http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html#steps

After the clean install, you'll have the equivalent of a "new computer" so
take care of everything on the following page before otherwise connecting
the machine to the internet or a network and before using a USB key that
isn't brand-new or hasn't been freshly formatted:

5 steps to help protect your new computer before you go online
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/advanced/xppc.mspx

HOW TO get a computer running WinXP Gold (no Service Packs) fully patched
(after a clean install)
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsupdate/msg/3f5afa8ed33e121c

HOW TO get a computer running WinXP SP1(a) or SP2 fully patched (after a
clean install)
http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/msg/a066ae41add7dd2b

Also see:

Steps To Help Prevent Spyware
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/spyware/prevent.mspx

Rogue Security Software - Microsoft Security:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/computer/viruses/rogue.mspx

 

[about to go nuts!!!!!]

i dont have the items needed to do a restore or anything of that nature. on
another note everything is set and in order and in great working condition.
only catch is that the security center is missing. is there anyway that you
know of for me to get it back without having to wipe it completely then
reinstall it? the owner didnt get rid of it so cheaply considering the fact
that they just purchased anm alienware for gaming and didnt need both. i have
found out that it was most likely deleted by a type of malware. i have ran
several virus and spyware and malware checks just to make sure the intruder
itself is gone "which it is". i just dont have the disc needed to do the
system restore so basically im going to have to get around doing that. any
thought on it now that may come to mind would be a great help.

 

[Peter Foldes]

You are up the proverbial creek. When buying a second hand computer you should have
the capability of reformatting before usage which is a must in that case. Now you
know what the meaning of is "You get what you pay for"

--
Peter

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others
Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

 

[Mark Adams]

i dont have the items needed to do a restore or anything of that nature. on
another note everything is set and in order and in great working condition.
only catch is that the security center is missing. is there anyway that you
know of for me to get it back without having to wipe it completely then
reinstall it? the owner didnt get rid of it so cheaply considering the fact
that they just purchased anm alienware for gaming and didnt need both. i have
found out that it was most likely deleted by a type of malware. i have ran
several virus and spyware and malware checks just to make sure the intruder
itself is gone "which it is". i just dont have the disc needed to do the
system restore so basically im going to have to get around doing that. any
thought on it now that may come to mind would be a great help.

Right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, then select properties.
What Service Pack level for the operating system is listed?

 

[Tim Meddick]

Sorry, I did not see the re-titled tread, I answered first to your original post.

First, check to see that the file : wscui.cpl is present in your
[C:\WINDOWS\system32] folder.

Then make sure that this file is not in the registry under the keys :

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\don't load]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Control Panel\don't
load]

If it is, in either one, it will not appear in your Control Panel!


If you want a short-term solution - you can create a new shortcut on your desktop to
the file :

c:\windows\system32\wscui.cpl

...this shortcut will bring up the Security Center even if it does not appear in
Control Panel...



==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

i dont have the items needed to do a restore or anything of that nature.
on
another note everything is set and in order and in great working
condition.
only catch is that the security center is missing. is there anyway that
you
know of for me to get it back without having to wipe it completely then
reinstall it? the owner didnt get rid of it so cheaply considering the
fact
that they just purchased anm alienware for gaming and didnt need both. i
have
found out that it was most likely deleted by a type of malware.

Did you say "malware"? How do you know that the machine is now clean?

 

[Jonathan Harker]

You are up the proverbial creek. When buying a second hand computer you should have
the capability of reformatting before usage which is a must in that case. Now you
know what the meaning of is "You get what you pay for"

Up the proverbial creek, you say??

AHA! I think I have the solution!

http://www.bloodyhell.com/node/20

 

[Tim Meddick]

Jonathan,
did you even try to locate the file :

c:\windows\system32\wscui.cpl
???

If this file IS present and you can start the Security Center by typing (copy and
paste) the same into the "Run" box on your 'Start Menu' , then all is well with your
system.

The problem could have been caused by something as simple as a single registry entry
in one of the keys I specified in my earlier post in this thread.

There are quite a few possible explanations for this happening only a few of which
would need you to re-install Windows.

Please, at least check this out for starters...
==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[PA Bear [MS MVP]]

There may be a hidden Recovery partition (not to be confused with Windows
System Restore, please). Otherwise, you're up the proverbial creek. If you
can't get your money back, your only recourse is to *purchase* a full-retail
version of Windows then do the wipe & reload.

 

[Daave]

i dont have the items needed to do a restore or anything of that
nature. on another note everything is set and in order and in great
working condition. only catch is that the security center is missing.
is there anyway that you know of for me to get it back without having
to wipe it completely then reinstall it? the owner didnt get rid of
it so cheaply considering the fact that they just purchased anm
alienware for gaming and didnt need both. i have found out that it
was most likely deleted by a type of malware. i have ran several
virus and spyware and malware checks just to make sure the intruder
itself is gone "which it is". i just dont have the disc needed to do
the system restore so basically im going to have to get around doing
that. any thought on it now that may come to mind would be a great
help.

What is the make and model of this PC?

 

[about to go nuts!!!!!]

this pc has windows xp pro version 2002 doesnt mention anything about any
certain sp. i also searched for the file by looking for
c:\windows\system32\wscui.cpl . but it was nowhere to be found. all you guys
saying that im up the creek all i can do is laugh...i will find the answer to
this minor issue and when i do ill post it back just for you to read and
maybe pass along one day when someone else has the same problem lol. so do me
this favor....if you dont know the answer or anything helpful that i may be
able to do beside reformatting....then please dont reply to this.

 

[Paul]

this pc has windows xp pro version 2002 doesnt mention anything about any
certain sp. i also searched for the file by looking for
c:\windows\system32\wscui.cpl . but it was nowhere to be found. all you guys
saying that im up the creek all i can do is laugh...i will find the answer to
this minor issue and when i do ill post it back just for you to read and
maybe pass along one day when someone else has the same problem lol. so do me
this favor....if you dont know the answer or anything helpful that i may be
able to do beside reformatting....then please dont reply to this.

This shows how to remove it. The security center runs as a service.
Mine is set to "Automatic". It should be listed in Services if
it is installed.

http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_remove_the_security_ale.htm

According to this, Windows Security Center was added in SP2.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Security_Center

I keep copies of these around for a rainy day. The files inside
are what I could find that seemed to match. The files names
I list here, are for when the files have been decompressed.
The compressed versions have an underscore on the end of the
file name.

WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe

wscsvc.dll
wscui.cpl

WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe

wscsvc.dll
wscui.cpl

So if things like that are missing, maybe you're running SP1 or
earlier ? Maybe that is why people want to know what Service
Pack you're at.

Paul

 

[Tim Meddick]

*Please read all of the following;

After establishing that your copy of the file [c:\windows\system32\wscui.cpl] is
missing, the next step is to determine if the Security Centre service is present and
/ or running.

Go to your 'Administrative Tools' menu (you may have to set it to be shown on the
Start Menu by going into the settings for Start Menu and checkmark the box named
"Show Administrative Tools") and click on "Local Services".

....or, type [services.msc] into the "Run" box.

Next, scroll down and locate the item "Security Center" and double-click on it to
bring up it's 'properties'.

Is the service listed?
Is the service started?
What is it's "startup type" set to?

If the answers to these three questions are : yes; yes and Automatic, then all you
will probably have to do is replace your copy of [c:\windows\system32\wscui.cpl]

You can do this by looking for it in a few possible locations on your system or the
XP installation disk (if you have one).

First look in the following folder for the file [wscui.cpl] :

C:\Windows\System32\dllcache

If not there, look for it in;

C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386

If not there either, look for it in;

X:\i386

....on your XP cd-rom (where [x:] is your cd/dvd drive-letter).

If you cannot find it in any of these locations then you may be able to download a
copy online from a website that provides replacement files for XP.

Here is a link to download the file :

http://www.4shared.com/file/98851397/acb52df2/wscui.html

....and click on the "Download" button.

Then copy the file to your [system32] directory (folder).

The icon in "Control Panel" should re-appear automatically, once the file is replaced
into this folder.

As long as the "Security Center" service is set to "Automatic", clicking on the icon
in "Control Panel" should bring up the Security Center as before.


For Your Added Information.
====================

The reason that some of the other contributors have cited a complete reinstall as
the sensible solution is that the mere fact that this file can be missing in the
first place draws on wider issues.

One is that it should not be possible for this file to be missing because of another
Window's component called WFP (Windows File Protection) which should jump in and
immediately replace the file should it be accidentally deleted.

So WFP must be dysfunctional, wholly or in part!

This means your most important operating system files are not protected properly by
it.

Also, although they have not got an answer from you about it, they a supposing a
"worst case scenario" where the "Security Center" service has been somehow deleted
from "Local Services".

If this has happened, downloading the file [wscui.cpl] will not help you anyway, and
points to a possible much larger problem with malware - the most likely cause.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Mark Adams]

this pc has windows xp pro version 2002 doesnt mention anything about any
certain sp.

There is the source of your problem. Security Center was introduced with
SP2. Since you are running XP Pro without any Service Packs; that is why you
don't have Security Center. Download SP2 from Microsoft and install it. The
Security Center will appear. Reboot the machine and download SP3 and install
that as well. Do it in this order, XP must be at SP1 or SP2 level before you
install SP3. If you had followed Nil's advice at 4:38AM yesterday, you
wouldn't still be here.




i also searched for the file by looking for