Begging for Help!!!

[Guest]

Ok I did something really stupid and will neaver mess with again. I was
having trouble with MS Anti-Spyware and was trying everythin to get it to
work. Well, not such a good idea as I now can no longer access any programs
at all! This is why I am begging for help. ANyway, here are the details of
what I did.


I ran regedit;
go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes registry key
Right Click and go to permissions
Remove "everyone"
Add "SYSTEM" and give full access rights

Only I read "everyone" as all of the users and removed all of them. I
thought this registry edit was only for MS Anti Spy, but now I can't do
anything!!!!! Please help, ,I have all kinds of pictures I haven't backed up
recently. I keep getting the followinng error "The file does not have a
program assocaited with it for performing this action. Create an association
in the Folder options control panel." I get this error in safe mode when I go
in as the administrator as well.

Is there a way to restore my computer?

I'm desperate. All I really care about in this computer are pictures of my 2
year old daughter that I have not backed up in about 6 months. It is
currently 4:30 AM and I Can't sleep because I am so upset. Please Help!!

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

Try a System Restore back to a point before the problem started.

Not a good idea to fiddle about with the Registry unless you know
***exactly*** what you are doing!!!!

--


Will Denny
MS MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

 

[Guest]

I no, I no,

I thought of that and will not touch it again!!! ANyway I already thought
about the system restore and I can't get that far. I might be able to in
through DOS, but I'm not all all familar with DOS.

More info:
When I go inot my profile it's blank and I can hit control alt delete and
see all of my files, but can't access them and get the error below. The same
thing happens when I go in as administrator in safe mode.

Thanks Will. I feel very alone and scared that I will lose my daughter
pictures. Those are the only things I really care about. Do you know of a way
I can access those and copy to a disc or do a system restore through either
DOS or Booting from a CD?

 

[David Candy]

Why can't you reverse what you did. Your pictures aren't going anywhere. What can you do. Can you run regedit, Can you get a Run dialog anywhere (remember Task Manager has one). Can you boot to command prompt only.

Tell us what you can do and we'll tell you how to fix it.

Hint.

Try this.
Ctrl + Click Run in Task Manager's File menu Starts a command prompt.

Can you start regedit here.

Are you able to copy files.

 

[Jon]

Some options to try

(1) System Restore
Bring up ctrl-alt-delete
File > New Task > %SystemRoot%\System32\restore\rstrui.exe

(If above fails..)

(2) Regedit
Bring up ctrl-alt-delete
File > New Task > regedit
Re-add the users you removed for the key via
"Permissions" > Add.. > Advanced > Find now > Click on "Administrators" > ok
Ensure "Administrators" has full control

Jon

 

[Richard Urban]

Have someone who knows what they are doing connect the hard drive up to
another computer as a slave drive. You can then browse to the folder where
the pictures reside. You will likely have to take ownership of the folder
and everything within the folder. Once that is done you can copy the
pictures to a CD for safe keeping. Make certain to check that the copy was
successful - in other words, open the pictures with the resident photo
viewer "before" you remove your hard drive for reinstallation back into YOUR
computer.

After you have the drive back in your computer you can wipe the system and
reinstall the operating system as a clean install.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Guest]

Don't panic.
You have two options. You say you can see your folders (fotos) but you
cannot open them.
Option no.1.
Install a small program or re-install your program that you used for viewing
your pictures. If you used windows's own viewer install a program like acdsee
or xnview. These programs will automaticly open all pictures on your computer.
Option 2.
Create a new folder on your C Drive and move all your photos to this folder.
(get them out of my documents and settings folder). Take your computer to a
friend or shop and remove your hard drive. They will be able to acess your
new folder and save your photos to a new drive or disc.
Good luck.

 

[Talahasee]

x-no-archive: yes

Ok I did something really stupid and will neaver mess with again. I was
having trouble with MS Anti-Spyware and was trying everythin to get it to
work. Well, not such a good idea as I now can no longer access any programs
at all! This is why I am begging for help. ANyway, here are the details of
what I did.


I ran regedit;
go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes registry key
Right Click and go to permissions
Remove "everyone"
Add "SYSTEM" and give full access rights

Only I read "everyone" as all of the users and removed all of them. I
thought this registry edit was only for MS Anti Spy, but now I can't do
anything!!!!! Please help, ,I have all kinds of pictures I haven't backed up
recently. I keep getting the followinng error "The file does not have a
program assocaited with it for performing this action. Create an association
in the Folder options control panel." I get this error in safe mode when I go
in as the administrator as well.

Is there a way to restore my computer?

If you have a few bucks, say $100, get yourself a brand new
hard drive, say a 40 Gb ($40 or less) , that is big enough
to install your system (WIN XP). Also get an adapter cable
(ide to usb) $20 or less.

Pull your hard drive out without doing anything else to it.
Jumper it as "Cable Select" (CS)

Install your new hard drive just like normal. Once you have
Windows XP installed,

connect your screwed up hard drive with the pictures of your
daughter

(any dad relates to what you're saying)

to the ide / usb cable, and hook it up to the computer via
the usb port.

XP will read the screwed up hard drive as a "usb mass
storage device", and you will then be able to download your
precious photos.

(I've done all the above, so I KNOW this works.)

In the future, be sure you're properly backed up BEFORE you
screw the pooch!

I've been telling people "back up" "back up" "back up" for
25 YEARS, now and I STILL see this stuff.

Are backup systems REALLY more valuable $$$ - wise than your
child's photos?

Think about it.


I'll let others advise you on how to restore your screwed up
hard drive.

I did something similar 10 years ago, and I finally
formatted the thing, and lost probably a years' worth of
data!


And good luck!


Tallahassee

 

[Alias]

x-no-archive: yes



If you have a few bucks, say $100, get yourself a brand new
hard drive, say a 40 Gb ($40 or less) , that is big enough
to install your system (WIN XP). Also get an adapter cable
(ide to usb) $20 or less.

Pull your hard drive out without doing anything else to it.
Jumper it as "Cable Select" (CS)

Install your new hard drive just like normal. Once you have
Windows XP installed,

connect your screwed up hard drive with the pictures of your
daughter

(any dad relates to what you're saying)

to the ide / usb cable, and hook it up to the computer via
the usb port.

Wouldn't you need an external case for the hard drive to use the USB?

 

[Guest]

Thank you all for your help!!!!! The reason why I'm panicing is that I do not
understand the registry and how it works. I should have never been in there
in the first place. Normally I can feel my way around windows and get things
to work and probably have a slightly above average understanding of computers
than the normal every day user, but that basically says I can do anything
that is user friendly. This is what makes me dangerous or stupid Ok both!

Answers to some questions:

1.) I can't access any folders or windows based activities. I tried to run
regedit and it gave me the famous "The file does not have a program
assocaited with it for performing this action. Create an associationin the
Folder options control pane".

I did not try and run dialog out of the task manager - as the task manager
is the only thing I can get when I pull up my profile.

I did not try to run the system restore command because I did not know the
command terminology. I tried to type in system restore, but it looked at me
like I'm stupid (I know it's right!) (Like I said, I'm better than the normal
every day user, but not much!) I will try that out the system restore command
after I take out my C drive copy the pictures out of it. This way the only
thing I will have is a ton of work installing all of the other crap that I
already have in it. But that's OK.

 

[Guest]

Remember, A photo isn't a photo until it's on paper.

 

[David Candy]

I did not try and run dialog out of the task manager - as the task manager

is the only thing I can get when I pull up my profile.

Why not?

Tell us what you can do and we'll tell you how to fix.

 

[David Candy]

I* asked two specific things about command prompts. You answered neither.

 

[Guest]

David and all others:

I can't thank you each enough for all of your help and support. For now I
think I'm going to take the highest percentage move by taking my computer to
our IT guy and getting my pictures backed up on another media. I know they
are there as they are taunting me on my screen saver. Anyway, once I get them
on another media (Something I should have been doing all along) I will try
and post other things to try as I am away from my home computer currently.
This will all occur sometime next week as it will be monday before I can
bring in my PC to the IT guy. Once I am able to do that, who cares if I
destroy the computer. It can be replaced. It's then that I will re-try
posting to all of you and seeing what will work. Hopefully if I'm posting
next week you all will continue to feed me ideas. I scincerly hope that if
any of you have any type of problems in the future that you all run into
people as nice and helpful as yourselves. You all deserve it for your help
with me. (Ok this is a bit cheesey, but I mean it and hope you all can see
how gratefull I really am. - Ok I'm done rambling!)

FYI, I have copied each of your posts for my future reference and things to
try once I'm home.

 

[Guest]

?? Ok I'm still a bit of a newbee. How do I do this?

 

[Saucy Lemon]

David and all others:

I can't thank you each enough for all of your help and support. For
now I think I'm going to take the highest percentage move by taking
my computer to our IT guy and getting my pictures backed up on
another media. I know they are there as they are taunting me on my
screen saver. Anyway, once I get them on another media (Something I
should have been doing all along) I will try and post other things to
try as I am away from my home computer currently. This will all occur
sometime next week as it will be monday before I can bring in my PC
to the IT guy. Once I am able to do that, who cares if I destroy the
computer. It can be replaced. It's then that I will re-try posting to
all of you and seeing what will work. Hopefully if I'm posting next
week you all will continue to feed me ideas. I scincerly hope that if
any of you have any type of problems in the future that you all run
into people as nice and helpful as yourselves. You all deserve it for
your help with me. (Ok this is a bit cheesey, but I mean it and hope
you all can see how gratefull I really am. - Ok I'm done rambling!)

FYI, I have copied each of your posts for my future reference and
things to try once I'm home.

Sounds like a good plan. They can pop the HDD into another computer or
somesuch, access the data for to make a backup .. and your data should be
fine.

 

[Alias]

?? Ok I'm still a bit of a newbee. How do I do this?

If you have another computer or a friend/relative has one, just take the
hard drive out of your computer. Look at the top of the hard drive to
see how to change the jumpers to slave. Open the side of your
other/friend's/realative's case and connect the hard drive to the same
flat cable that their hard drive is connected to and to the other cable
that is a small connecter with normal cables. You do not need to screw
it into the case, just connect it to the two cables. Do ALL of this with
the computers UNPLUGGED. Reboot the other computer, go to the place
where your photos are with Windows Explorer and merely copy them over to
the hard drive on the other computer. Burn them to a CD. Reformat and
install XP on your hard drive (after changing the jumpers back to
Master) and then use the CD to put them back.

If you don't have another computer, buy a new hard drive, install it on
your computer, install XP, set up the messed up hard drive as a slave
and do it that way. After you've retrieved everything you want, you can
use XP to format the old drive and use it for back up.

Remember, when you are installing hardware, unplug your computer first,
either from the wall or pull out the cord from the back of the computer.

I guess you now know that back up is a computer user's best friend

Alias

 

[Rock]

Ok I did something really stupid and will neaver mess with again. I was
having trouble with MS Anti-Spyware and was trying everythin to get it to
work. Well, not such a good idea as I now can no longer access any programs
at all! This is why I am begging for help. ANyway, here are the details of
what I did.


I ran regedit;
go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes registry key
Right Click and go to permissions
Remove "everyone"
Add "SYSTEM" and give full access rights

Only I read "everyone" as all of the users and removed all of them. I
thought this registry edit was only for MS Anti Spy, but now I can't do
anything!!!!! Please help, ,I have all kinds of pictures I haven't backed up
recently. I keep getting the followinng error "The file does not have a
program assocaited with it for performing this action. Create an association
in the Folder options control panel." I get this error in safe mode when I go
in as the administrator as well.

Is there a way to restore my computer?

I'm desperate. All I really care about in this computer are pictures of my 2
year old daughter that I have not backed up in about 6 months. It is
currently 4:30 AM and I Can't sleep because I am so upset. Please Help!!

Restart the computer in safe mode with command prompt. To do this
restart the computer, as the BIOS screen disappears repeatedly tap the
F8 key until the Advanced Options menu appears. Choose safe mode with
command prompt.

Once there do a system restore from the command line by typing this:

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe or
C:\Windows\System32\restore\rstrui.exe
then press Enter

Choose a date right before you messed with things.

How to start the System Restore tool at a command prompt in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=304449

After the system is back up make a full and complete backup, and have a
current one all the time.

 

[David Candy]

If they are going to do that, get them to load your registry and add everyone back. You can't add every person back.