Can't access System Information

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ken
  • Start date Start date
Wesley said:
Ken,

I wanted you to stop before you got that far.

%Windir%\ServicePackFiles\i386

Search will not find %Windir%. If you happen to have a document with
Windir in the name, it will find that. But the Run command will find
%windir%.

Search will find ServicePackFiles if it exists.

%windir% is an environment variable that is the location of the system
folder.

Typing or pasting %windir% into the Start | Run box opens to the Windows
folder on whatever drive it is located. I.e. C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINNT.

Windows XP can be installed in either WINDOWS or WINNT.

I do not have a ServicePackFiles folder. I do not have SP2 and SP1 was
installed with XP, so no ServicePackFiles folder.

You may not have that folder either if SP2 was installed along with XP and
not installed later.


Paste: %Windir% into the Start | Run box and click OK.

Paste: %Windir%\ServicePackFiles\i386 into the Start | Run box and click
OK.
Click to expand...
Dear Wes. Thanks greatly for persisting. Unfortunately, I'm beginning
to feel bushed (lost) as I can't always remember why we're doing certain
things! All I know for sure is thatI can't access System Information on
my computer (and that this might be connected to why Acer's so-called
eSettings Management reports 'cannot connect to service ... application
will be terminated', whatever exactly that means)!!!

Here now is what I found re your latest, kind post here (quoted above) ...
Search will not find %Windir%. If you happen to have a document with
Windir in the name, it will find that. But the Run command will find
%windir%.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Run command found %windir%
Search will find ServicePackFiles if it exists.
Click to expand...

It didn't. What does that tell us, please?
Typing or pasting %windir% into the Start | Run box opens to the Windows
folder on whatever drive it is located. I.e. C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINNT.
Click to expand...

It's located at C:\WINDOWS
Paste: %Windir% into the Start | Run box and click OK.
Click to expand...

I did that. Found %Windir% in above-indicated location.
Paste: %Windir%\ServicePackFiles\i386 into the Start | Run box and click
OK.
Click to expand...

I did that too. Result as previously reported:
"C:\WINDOW\ServicePackFiles refers to a location that is unavailable ...
The information might have been moved to a different location.'

I'm wondering this. I live in Melbourne, Australia, which is a city of
several million people. Is it likely that a technician exists who could
visit my house, for a professional fee, to fix this problem (not being
able to access System Information)? If so, how would I find him/her?
None of the computers-savvy people I know (e.g., a friend's two adult
sons, who both work in the computers industry) has solved the problem,
though they've made the sort of suggestions (e.g., check that WMI is
started) that you and I have worked through. Neither seemed to know
someone else to whom I could turn further.

Btw, I tried re-installing Acer's eSettings Management, but that didn't
work. (I ended up with an earlier version of it, downloaded from the
Web. I hope that doesn't do bad things to the running of my computer!)

Thanks - Ken
 
Btw, Wes, I should make clear that my computer using Windows XP Home
does have Service Pack 2 on board.

Thanks - Ken
 
Hi Ken,

I know of some MVPs in Australia, but none in Melbourne.

There are five Microsoft MVPs that live in Melbourne. None of them seem to
have a PC business. But that does indicate to me that there are some
knowledgeable PC people in Melbourne.

The first place that I would look is your telephone book yellow pages.

The second place is newspaper classified ads.

Look for a smaller business, the chances may be better that they make house
calls.

Look under Computer Service & Repair or similar.

My town is only 90,000 or so and there are several decent PC businesses
here.

Good luck! :-)

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Wesley said:
Hi Ken,

I know of some MVPs in Australia, but none in Melbourne.

There are five Microsoft MVPs that live in Melbourne. None of them seem to
have a PC business. But that does indicate to me that there are some
knowledgeable PC people in Melbourne.

The first place that I would look is your telephone book yellow pages.

The second place is newspaper classified ads.

Look for a smaller business, the chances may be better that they make house
calls.

Look under Computer Service & Repair or similar.

My town is only 90,000 or so and there are several decent PC businesses
here.

Good luck! :-)
Click to expand...
Dear Wes. So you think that there may still be hope, short of a total
Windows Reinstall? This morning I was referred by a friend, a top
Melbourne journalist (retired) and author, to a computers technician now
living in the country. When I rang this technician, he turned out to be
more of a Mac person than a PC one, but expressed the opinion that -
given the nature of this problem and all the things we've tried so far -
that a Windows Reinstall might be all that's left.

Thanks - Ken
 
Find someone who isn't a Mac person, Ken.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Wesley said:
Find someone who isn't a Mac person, Ken.
Click to expand...
Wes, today I contacted, first, a top local firm (boasting a Microsoft
Gold certificate), Invizage Technology, but after an hour or so the
technician hadn't been able to solve the problem. (He had direct access
to my computer using something called NetMeeting, which I'm sure you're
familiar with.) So he suggested I contact Microsoft, Australia. I did
so, and after their own technician also didn't make much headway, he
recommended that I be sent a Windows disk to do a repair job from. (My
Acer computer, remember, doesn't come with a Windows disk.) That disk
should get here on Monday.

Meanwhile, my Acer eSettings Manager (which, you'll remember, is partly
about accessing and tweaking one's System settings) has completely
vanished from within the (Acer) Empowering Technology suite on my
desktop. But I'll leave that matter until after I get the Windows disk
and have tried to repair System Information.

Cheers, and thanks - Ken
 
Message to Wes and you other good guys ...

Today, using a Windows disc sent to me by Microsoft, we did a repair
install. I can now access System Information. Also, I re-installed
Acer's eSettings Management (from a version on the Acer website) and it,
too, is now functioning for me. In short, mission/s successful.

Thanks - Ken
 
Hey Ken,

Glad to hear that! Keep having fun.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
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