7 out of 9 System Tools programs won't open from Start menu

[Guest]

If I go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools, 7 of the 9 icons for my
system tools are the default icons you see when you have a file where there
is no program to open them. When I click on, for instance, Disk Defragmenter
or System Restore, nothing happens. The program won't open up and I don't
even get an error message. Got any idea what's going wrong or how to fix it?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Hi,

Type in Start, Run:

cmd /k reg export HKCR\CLSID\CLSID C:\regexp.txt

Then open C:\regexp.txt file using Notepad.
Copy the contents and paste it in your reply.

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


If I go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools, 7 of the 9 icons for my
system tools are the default icons you see when you have a file where there
is no program to open them. When I click on, for instance, Disk Defragmenter
or System Restore, nothing happens. The program won't open up and I don't
even get an error message. Got any idea what's going wrong or how to fix it?

 

[Guest]

Thanks for helping - here's what came up in notepad

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\CLSID]
@="{0000031A-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

The registry export looks OK. Are you able to launch System Restore screen
by typing the full path in Start-Run?

%SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Thanks for helping - here's what came up in notepad

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\CLSID]
@="{0000031A-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"

 

[Guest]

Yes, I tried it and was able to launch System Restore by typing the full path
in Start-Run. However, the two System Tools programs that were still able to
launch were: Security Center and System Information. I was able to launch
System Restore through the Tools drop down menu in System Information. When I
realized I could do this, I did a System Restore back to a point in time
where I thought for sure all 9 of the System Tools icons were able to launch
their respective programs, but that didn't remedy the problem. At the time
this whole thing started, I ran into a problem with Norton Anti-Virus's Auto
Protect feature failing. I ended up reinstalling Norton, then ran a virus
scan and found nothing.

Thanks

The registry export looks OK. Are you able to launch System Restore screen
by typing the full path in Start-Run?

%SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Thanks for helping - here's what came up in notepad

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\CLSID]
@="{0000031A-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}"

Hi,

Type in Start, Run:

cmd /k reg export HKCR\CLSID\CLSID C:\regexp.txt

Then open C:\regexp.txt file using Notepad.
Copy the contents and paste it in your reply.

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


If I go to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools, 7 of the 9 icons for
my
system tools are the default icons you see when you have a file where
there
is no program to open them. When I click on, for instance, Disk
Defragmenter
or System Restore, nothing happens. The program won't open up and I don't
even get an error message. Got any idea what's going wrong or how to fix
it?

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Just FYI: The System Restore has a last undo feature. Coming to the issue at
hand, can you verify the shortcut properties to see if they're pointing to
the correct location?

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Yes, I tried it and was able to launch System Restore by typing the full
path
in Start-Run. However, the two System Tools programs that were still able to
launch were: Security Center and System Information. I was able to launch
System Restore through the Tools drop down menu in System Information. When
I
realized I could do this, I did a System Restore back to a point in time
where I thought for sure all 9 of the System Tools icons were able to launch
their respective programs, but that didn't remedy the problem. At the time
this whole thing started, I ran into a problem with Norton Anti-Virus's Auto
Protect feature failing. I ended up reinstalling Norton, then ran a virus
scan and found nothing.

Thanks

 

[Guest]

For all 7 icon properties, they indicate "This is not a valid shortcut."

I wasn't knowlegable enough to figure this out before, but after applying
information that you sent me, I just started looking until I found the launch
icon for Disk Defragmenter in C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg. I then made a
shortcut and dragged and dropped it into System Tools from the Start menu.
This effectively fixes the problem of launching Disk Defragementer from the
Start menu. However, if there is a greater problem at hand, it would be good
to know what went wrong and how to fix it.

Thanks, photojoe

Just FYI: The System Restore has a last undo feature. Coming to the issue at
hand, can you verify the shortcut properties to see if they're pointing to
the correct location?

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Yes, I tried it and was able to launch System Restore by typing the full
path
in Start-Run. However, the two System Tools programs that were still able to
launch were: Security Center and System Information. I was able to launch
System Restore through the Tools drop down menu in System Information. When
I
realized I could do this, I did a System Restore back to a point in time
where I thought for sure all 9 of the System Tools icons were able to launch
their respective programs, but that didn't remedy the problem. At the time
this whole thing started, I ran into a problem with Norton Anti-Virus's Auto
Protect feature failing. I ended up reinstalling Norton, then ran a virus
scan and found nothing.

Thanks

The registry export looks OK. Are you able to launch System Restore screen
by typing the full path in Start-Run?

%SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com

 

[Ramesh, MS-MVP]

Glad that info helped, photojoe. No idea how the shorcut targets changed in
the first place!

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


For all 7 icon properties, they indicate "This is not a valid shortcut."

I wasn't knowlegable enough to figure this out before, but after applying
information that you sent me, I just started looking until I found the
launch
icon for Disk Defragmenter in C:\WINDOWS\system32\dfrg. I then made a
shortcut and dragged and dropped it into System Tools from the Start menu.
This effectively fixes the problem of launching Disk Defragementer from the
Start menu. However, if there is a greater problem at hand, it would be good
to know what went wrong and how to fix it.

Thanks, photojoe

Just FYI: The System Restore has a last undo feature. Coming to the issue
at
hand, can you verify the shortcut properties to see if they're pointing to
the correct location?

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com


Yes, I tried it and was able to launch System Restore by typing the full
path
in Start-Run. However, the two System Tools programs that were still able
to
launch were: Security Center and System Information. I was able to launch
System Restore through the Tools drop down menu in System Information.
When
I
realized I could do this, I did a System Restore back to a point in time
where I thought for sure all 9 of the System Tools icons were able to
launch
their respective programs, but that didn't remedy the problem. At the time
this whole thing started, I ran into a problem with Norton Anti-Virus's
Auto
Protect feature failing. I ended up reinstalling Norton, then ran a virus
scan and found nothing.

Thanks

The registry export looks OK. Are you able to launch System Restore
screen
by typing the full path in Start-Run?

%SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe

--
Regards,

Ramesh Srinivasan, Microsoft MVP [Windows XP Shell/User]
Windows® XP Troubleshooting http://www.winhelponline.com