MMC

[David Kelsey]

Does anyone know how to repair the Management Console? Somehow, I have two
versions, one of which does not show the tree, (the column is empty and
headed 'Local Services') but does allow 'author' saving; the other shows the
tree, but if I try to set author, it brings up the one without the tree, so
I can't save the one I want. If I could identify which is which, maybe I
could delete the one without the tree, so only one is left, which should
then permit the author setting. I can't use Sysytem Restore, because that
is one of the disabled services, which deletes all restore points when
switched off, for some unbelievable reason, but I did use Last Known Good,
which is where the second MMC came from.

The problem arises because my services are almost all disabled from time to
time by some unknown cause, possibly a trojan trying to disable Norton
Antivirus. There are no other symptoms apart from disabled services, but
Norton has reported one exploit two days ago, and an attempted trojan
placing yesterday. I can reset the services manually, but this is tedious,
and I can't figure out how to use the saved version to restore the settings.

All solutions gratefully received!

David Kelsey

 

[Wesley Vogel]

How are you opening these two Consoles?



--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[David Kelsey]

Hi Wes. Thanks for responding.
The correct one is opened by right clicking on my computer and selecting
manage. This one does not have author privileges. The problem one without
the tree opens if I right click on the services.msc file and select author.
There are two services.msc files, one in system32 and the other I saved in
my documents so as to differentiate them. That seems to mean that I can't
save the one I want, and selecting author brings up the one I don't want.
The wrong one retains its author privileges through a restart. I am scared
to delete anything in case I end up with no services management.

David

 

[David Kelsey]

I should have said that the console without the tree went wrong because I
clicked on the services.msc file in the recent files list, which instantly
deleted the tree. I was hoping to find a way to restore my services setup
by calling the file, but I was wrong. If I could just get the tree back, I
would be happy, I think.

David

 

[Wesley Vogel]

David,

You can start Services by typing services.msc in the Start | Run box. It is
a stand alone.

You can create a shortcut to Services by using this as the target:
%SystemRoot%\system32\services.msc /s

You can add Administrative Tools to your Start Menu.
Classic Start Menu...
Right click the Start button | Properties | Customize button |
Check Display Administrative Tools | OK | Apply

XP Start Menu...
Right click the Start button | Properties | Customize button |
Advanced tab | System Administrative Tools Display on the All
Programs menu and the Start Menu | OK | Apply | OK

Open Computer Management...

Click on View in the top Toolbar | Customize | Check Console tree and any
other options that you want, heck, check 'em all | OK

See these for setting up your own custom Console...

MMC - Microsoft Management Console
http://www.theeldergeek.com/microsoft_management_console.htm

HOW TO Create Custom MMC Snap-in Tools Using Microsoft Management Console
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;230263

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[David Kelsey]

Hi Wes,

Thanks for all the very useful information you sent. I learned a lot about
the functioning of the Console, especially from the site you gave, the
eldergeek. Eventually, the penny dropped, and I realised that when I
clicked on the file services.msc, the console that came up would contain
only the services, and none of the other snap-ins. It should have been
obvious, but I just didn't twig it. So I populated the tree-less console
with the 17 snap-ins I found by searching for *.msc, and that filled it up
so I had two identical consoles. That problem solved, I guess, thanks to
you.

However, I still don't have a solution to the original problem, which was
that my services were being disabled by some unknown agency, possibly in an
attempt to remove Norton Antivirus. At least I can now put the snap-ins
into a separate file, so in theory, I should be able to restore all the
settings at one go. This deals with that small aspect, but still leaves the
problem of restore points being deleted because the service is disabled. I
feel kind of naked without any restore points.

Do you have any thoughts on this specific problem please?

David

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Hi David,

I don't know, virus/trojan maybe. I have seen a couple other posts on that.

Google Search for disabled services
http://groups-beta.google.com/group...81&as_maxd=11&as_maxm=4&as_maxy=2005&safe=off

Have a look at this...
http://groups-beta.google.com/group...ic.windowsxp.general&rnum=10#207af03b03b2b23b

I realized that the thread I had read was from you...
http://groups-beta.google.com/group...lic.windowsxp.general&rnum=5#530c1fb1c30d402c

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[David Kelsey]

Wes - I had a look in msconfig services tab, and found practically no
services are ticked, even though they are enabled and started in MMC. Is it
vital that the services should be ticked, or what? Could the fact that only
some Norton items, savscan, two RPCs, and DCOM Server Process Launcher are
ticked be the reason why the services in MMC become disabled - I note that
the Norton items are not disabled , nor are the RPCs presumably when the
problem arises. The settings in msconfig are just enable or disable, as far
as I can see, so they do not match the MMC settings of disable, manual or
automatic. Would you advise me to tick the appropriate services in
msconfig, or not?

I've looked at the Google stuff you suggested. Doesn't seem to be anything
positive there, just speculation. What is capable of disabling services?
How would a trojan etc. do it - i.e through what agency? The services files
are not trashed, as far as I can tell. Could there be something operating
through msconfig rather than directly with MMC, and selectively unticking
most of the services? Would such an act then disable the services in MMC?
Perhaps on a reset? Do you think we might be getting warm here?

David

 

[David Kelsey]

Wes - Curioser and curioser - it appears the msconfig services setting
dominates the MMC. I was doing some firewall tests, and decided to Live
Update Norton Antivirus. While on their site, I tried one of the online
tests, which advised me that eight symantec services were disabled. I
checked MMC, and found virtually all services were disabled yet again. So I
decided to follow Norton's advice and reset the services in msconfig, which
I did, and while there, I reset all bar fax, Ipod service, UPS, and Sandra
to enable. Then restarted, and checked the MMC, and found the services had
been reset to their proper settings. So it appears that something may be
getting at msconfig, rather than MMC, unticking most of the services, and in
due course, the services in MMC follow suit. Somebody in Microsoft must
have a clue as to what could be doing this, surely, although no-one has
responded. Nothing I have looked at, whether at MS, in Google, or here is
making any kind of connection between msconfig and MMC, although there
obviously is one. Which is supposed to drive what? The settings in MMC
differentiated between manual and auto, so that information must be stored
somewhere, presumably in the .msc file. How can the system work with two
different places to set services? Silly question, I know, since there are
seventeen different ways of doing everything in XP, but somebody must have
decided which is the boss here. Currently msconfig and MMC are hanging on
to their respective settings. It will be interesting to see which cracks
first.

David

 

[Wesley Vogel]

David,

Stay away from messing with services using msconfig.

[[The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you can disable
services that may be vital to boot your system. With the management console
(services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig, while unchecking the box, is
disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be there as no
reason exists to justify disabling "everything."]]
Why can't I use msconfig to change my services?
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Beats me. ;-(

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[David Kelsey]

Hi Wes - Black Viper is not responding at the moment, with any part of the
URL or through Google, or even the cached page. Has he upset someone?
However, I did print off his advice on services the last time I was on his
site. He is concerned about disabling services in msconfig, but that isn't
the problem. Nearly all the services were already disabled when I looked at
msconfig, as were the services in MMC. I don't want to disable services - I
would be perfectly happy if they were never ever disabled. Having said
that, I can't believe it is desirable to have all the services disabled in
msconfig, and I therefore enabled them, except for the few I mentioned that
I don't need. This, as I said, promptly restored the correct settings in
MMC, which had been disabled by the ghost in the machine. One might think,
too, that as all services in msconfig were disabled, except for a few
Symantec items, and the machine started normally, it does not seem to have
the power to prevent the machine starting. In fact, one is bound to wonder
what one or other is for, since they both apparently do more or less the
same job, and some of the vital ones cannot be disabled in MMC anyway,
according to BV. It's not exactly overkill, more like overmanslaughter.
It's a pity someone who is privy to the innermost thoughts of the XP
programmers cannot enlighten all of us as to what they had in mind with this
peculiar setup. One might think it would have been better to have optimum
services cast in stone and locked down firmly so they cannot be altered
either by internal or external agencies. After all, memory and disk space
is not a problem any more, so what does it matter if a few unnecessary
services are started in some configurations.

David

David,

Stay away from messing with services using msconfig.

[[The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you can
disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With the
management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig, while
unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be there
as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."]]
Why can't I use msconfig to change my services?
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Beats me. ;-(

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Wes - I had a look in msconfig services tab, and found practically no
services are ticked, even though they are enabled and started in
MMC. Is it vital that the services should be ticked, or what?
Could the fact that only some Norton items, savscan, two RPCs, and
DCOM Server Process Launcher are ticked be the reason why the
services in MMC become disabled - I note that the Norton items are
not disabled , nor are the RPCs presumably when the problem arises.
The settings in msconfig are just enable or disable, as far as I can
see, so they do not match the MMC settings of disable, manual or
automatic. Would you advise me to tick the appropriate services in
msconfig, or not?

I've looked at the Google stuff you suggested. Doesn't seem to be
anything positive there, just speculation. What is capable of
disabling services? How would a trojan etc. do it - i.e through what
agency? The services files are not trashed, as far as I can tell.
Could there be something operating through msconfig rather than
directly with MMC, and selectively unticking most of the services?
Would such an act then disable the services in MMC? Perhaps on a
reset? Do you think we might be getting warm here?

David

beta.google.com/groups?as_q=disabled+services&num=10&scoring=r&hl=en&ie=UTF-
8&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_ugroup=microsoft.public.windowsxp.general&as_usub
ject=&as_uauthors=&lr=&as_drrb=q&as_qdr=&as_mind=1&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as
_maxd=11&as_maxm=4&as_maxy=2005&safe=off beta.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/browse_thread/threa
d/576d9502f15a0f83/207af03b03b2b23b?q=disabled+services+group:microsoft.publ
ic.windowsxp.general&rnum=10#207af03b03b2b23b beta.google.com/group/microsoft.public.windowsxp.general/browse_thread/threa
d/6d8b319e9da403de/530c1fb1c30d402c?q=disabled+services+group:microsoft.publ
ic.windowsxp.general&rnum=5#530c1fb1c30d402c

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Hi David,

Msconig.exe is the System Configuration Utility. msconfig is supposed to be
used for troubleshooting.

[[System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) allows you to temporarily
change the way Windows XP Professional starts by disabling startup programs
and services individually or several at a time.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_dxth.asp

[[System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) automates the routine
troubleshooting steps that Microsoft Product Support Services technicians
use when diagnosing Windows configuration issues. You can use this tool to
modify the system configuration through a process of elimination with check
boxes, reducing the risk of typing errors.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/msconfig_usage.mspx

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wes - Black Viper is not responding at the moment, with any part of the
URL or through Google, or even the cached page. Has he upset someone?
However, I did print off his advice on services the last time I was on his
site. He is concerned about disabling services in msconfig, but that
isn't the problem. Nearly all the services were already disabled when I
looked at msconfig, as were the services in MMC. I don't want to disable
services - I would be perfectly happy if they were never ever disabled.
Having said that, I can't believe it is desirable to have all the
services disabled in msconfig, and I therefore enabled them, except for
the few I mentioned that I don't need. This, as I said, promptly
restored the correct settings in MMC, which had been disabled by the
ghost in the machine. One might think, too, that as all services in
msconfig were disabled, except for a few Symantec items, and the machine
started normally, it does not seem to have the power to prevent the
machine starting. In fact, one is bound to wonder what one or other is
for, since they both apparently do more or less the same job, and some of
the vital ones cannot be disabled in MMC anyway, according to BV. It's
not exactly overkill, more like overmanslaughter. It's a pity someone who
is privy to the innermost thoughts of the XP programmers cannot enlighten
all of us as to what they had in mind with this peculiar setup. One
might think it would have been better to have optimum services cast in
stone and locked down firmly so they cannot be altered either by internal
or external agencies. After all, memory and disk space is not a problem
any more, so what does it matter if a few unnecessary services are
started in some configurations.

David

David,

Stay away from messing with services using msconfig.

[[The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you can
disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With the
management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig, while
unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be there
as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."]]
Why can't I use msconfig to change my services?
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Beats me. ;-(

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

<snip>

 

[David Kelsey]

Exactly. So if msconfig shows all the services as disabled, it will prevent
those services from running, presumably, otherwise it wouldn't do anything.
So it controls MMC to that extent, and may be the cause of my services being
disabled in MMC. I didn't notice that all the services were disabled in
msconfig until a day or so ago, but if they have been disabled for some
time, by what agency I know not, that would account for MMC services
frequently reverting to disabled after a restart. Still doesn't help to
nail the culprit though. Symantec might know something, but these days you
can't communicate with them unless you want to buy something. You don't
happen to know a back door into Symantec, do you?

David

Hi David,

Msconig.exe is the System Configuration Utility. msconfig is
supposed to be used for troubleshooting.

[[System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) allows you to
temporarily change the way Windows XP Professional starts by
disabling startup programs and services individually or several at a
time.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_dxth.asp

[[System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) automates the routine
troubleshooting steps that Microsoft Product Support Services
technicians use when diagnosing Windows configuration issues. You can
use this tool to modify the system configuration through a process of
elimination with check boxes, reducing the risk of typing errors.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/msconfig_usage.mspx

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wes - Black Viper is not responding at the moment, with any part
of the URL or through Google, or even the cached page. Has he upset
someone? However, I did print off his advice on services the last
time I was on his site. He is concerned about disabling services in
msconfig, but that isn't the problem. Nearly all the services were
already disabled when I looked at msconfig, as were the services in
MMC. I don't want to disable services - I would be perfectly happy
if they were never ever disabled. Having said that, I can't believe
it is desirable to have all the services disabled in msconfig, and I
therefore enabled them, except for the few I mentioned that I don't
need. This, as I said, promptly restored the correct settings in
MMC, which had been disabled by the ghost in the machine. One might
think, too, that as all services in msconfig were disabled, except
for a few Symantec items, and the machine started normally, it does
not seem to have the power to prevent the machine starting. In
fact, one is bound to wonder what one or other is for, since they
both apparently do more or less the same job, and some of the vital
ones cannot be disabled in MMC anyway, according to BV. It's not
exactly overkill, more like overmanslaughter. It's a pity someone
who is privy to the innermost thoughts of the XP programmers cannot
enlighten all of us as to what they had in mind with this peculiar
setup. One might think it would have been better to have optimum
services cast in stone and locked down firmly so they cannot be
altered either by internal or external agencies. After all, memory
and disk space is not a problem any more, so what does it matter if
a few unnecessary services are started in some configurations.

David

David,

Stay away from messing with services using msconfig.

[[The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you can
disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With the
management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig, while
unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be there
as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."]]
Why can't I use msconfig to change my services?
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Beats me. ;-(

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

<snip>

 

[David Kelsey]

HI Wes - Another interesting development. When I went to the computer this
evening, there was a Norton screen with a progress bar and an install
button. I clicked it, and Norton began uninstalling itself. It finished,
bar two files left behind, and I reinstalled it without incident. The log
files show various access denieds and worms being monitored. I found a
Symantec e-mail thing, so sent my facts and some cut and pasted excerpts
from the logs, and now await their wisdom. It certainly does seem to have
something to do with Norton.

David

Exactly. So if msconfig shows all the services as disabled, it will
prevent those services from running, presumably, otherwise it
wouldn't do anything. So it controls MMC to that extent, and may be
the cause of my services being disabled in MMC. I didn't notice that
all the services were disabled in msconfig until a day or so ago, but
if they have been disabled for some time, by what agency I know not,
that would account for MMC services frequently reverting to disabled
after a restart. Still doesn't help to nail the culprit though. Symantec
might know something, but these days you can't communicate
with them unless you want to buy something. You don't happen to know
a back door into Symantec, do you?
David

Hi David,

Msconig.exe is the System Configuration Utility. msconfig is
supposed to be used for troubleshooting.

[[System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) allows you to
temporarily change the way Windows XP Professional starts by
disabling startup programs and services individually or several at a
time.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_dxth.asp

[[System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) automates the routine
troubleshooting steps that Microsoft Product Support Services
technicians use when diagnosing Windows configuration issues. You can
use this tool to modify the system configuration through a process of
elimination with check boxes, reducing the risk of typing errors.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/msconfig_usage.mspx

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Hi Wes - Black Viper is not responding at the moment, with any part
of the URL or through Google, or even the cached page. Has he upset
someone? However, I did print off his advice on services the last
time I was on his site. He is concerned about disabling services in
msconfig, but that isn't the problem. Nearly all the services were
already disabled when I looked at msconfig, as were the services in
MMC. I don't want to disable services - I would be perfectly happy
if they were never ever disabled. Having said that, I can't believe
it is desirable to have all the services disabled in msconfig, and I
therefore enabled them, except for the few I mentioned that I don't
need. This, as I said, promptly restored the correct settings in
MMC, which had been disabled by the ghost in the machine. One might
think, too, that as all services in msconfig were disabled, except
for a few Symantec items, and the machine started normally, it does
not seem to have the power to prevent the machine starting. In
fact, one is bound to wonder what one or other is for, since they
both apparently do more or less the same job, and some of the vital
ones cannot be disabled in MMC anyway, according to BV. It's not
exactly overkill, more like overmanslaughter. It's a pity someone
who is privy to the innermost thoughts of the XP programmers cannot
enlighten all of us as to what they had in mind with this peculiar
setup. One might think it would have been better to have optimum
services cast in stone and locked down firmly so they cannot be
altered either by internal or external agencies. After all, memory
and disk space is not a problem any more, so what does it matter if
a few unnecessary services are started in some configurations.

David

Wesley Vogel wrote:
David,

Stay away from messing with services using msconfig.

[[The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you
can disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With
the management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig,
while unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be
there as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."]]
Why can't I use msconfig to change my services?
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Beats me. ;-(

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

<snip>

 

[Wesley Vogel]

David,

I don't really see how I can be of much help.

Norton. My Mom told me if I couldn't say anything nice, not to say anything
at all.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

HI Wes - Another interesting development. When I went to the computer
this evening, there was a Norton screen with a progress bar and an install
button. I clicked it, and Norton began uninstalling itself. It finished,
bar two files left behind, and I reinstalled it without incident. The log
files show various access denieds and worms being monitored. I found a
Symantec e-mail thing, so sent my facts and some cut and pasted excerpts
from the logs, and now await their wisdom. It certainly does seem to have
something to do with Norton.

David

Exactly. So if msconfig shows all the services as disabled, it will
prevent those services from running, presumably, otherwise it
wouldn't do anything. So it controls MMC to that extent, and may be
the cause of my services being disabled in MMC. I didn't notice that
all the services were disabled in msconfig until a day or so ago, but
if they have been disabled for some time, by what agency I know not,
that would account for MMC services frequently reverting to disabled
after a restart. Still doesn't help to nail the culprit though. Symantec
might know something, but these days you can't communicate
with them unless you want to buy something. You don't happen to know
a back door into Symantec, do you?
David

Hi David,

Msconig.exe is the System Configuration Utility. msconfig is
supposed to be used for troubleshooting.

[[System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) allows you to
temporarily change the way Windows XP Professional starts by
disabling startup programs and services individually or several at a
time.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_dxth.asp

[[System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) automates the routine
troubleshooting steps that Microsoft Product Support Services
technicians use when diagnosing Windows configuration issues. You can
use this tool to modify the system configuration through a process of
elimination with check boxes, reducing the risk of typing errors.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/msconfig_usage.mspx

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In David Kelsey <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi Wes - Black Viper is not responding at the moment, with any part
of the URL or through Google, or even the cached page. Has he upset
someone? However, I did print off his advice on services the last
time I was on his site. He is concerned about disabling services in
msconfig, but that isn't the problem. Nearly all the services were
already disabled when I looked at msconfig, as were the services in
MMC. I don't want to disable services - I would be perfectly happy
if they were never ever disabled. Having said that, I can't believe
it is desirable to have all the services disabled in msconfig, and I
therefore enabled them, except for the few I mentioned that I don't
need. This, as I said, promptly restored the correct settings in
MMC, which had been disabled by the ghost in the machine. One might
think, too, that as all services in msconfig were disabled, except
for a few Symantec items, and the machine started normally, it does
not seem to have the power to prevent the machine starting. In
fact, one is bound to wonder what one or other is for, since they
both apparently do more or less the same job, and some of the vital
ones cannot be disabled in MMC anyway, according to BV. It's not
exactly overkill, more like overmanslaughter. It's a pity someone
who is privy to the innermost thoughts of the XP programmers cannot
enlighten all of us as to what they had in mind with this peculiar
setup. One might think it would have been better to have optimum
services cast in stone and locked down firmly so they cannot be
altered either by internal or external agencies. After all, memory
and disk space is not a problem any more, so what does it matter if
a few unnecessary services are started in some configurations.

David

Wesley Vogel wrote:
David,

Stay away from messing with services using msconfig.

[[The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you
can disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With
the management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig,
while unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be
there as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."]]
Why can't I use msconfig to change my services?
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Beats me. ;-(

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

<snip>

 

[David Kelsey]

Hi Wes - You've already helped a great deal, and I was just keeping you
informed in case it is of use for future problems. It rather depends on
what Symantec have to say now, and I have so far just had a confirmation and
a case number, to be followed by a technician.

Thanks again.

David

David,

I don't really see how I can be of much help.

Norton. My Mom told me if I couldn't say anything nice, not to say
anything at all.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

HI Wes - Another interesting development. When I went to the
computer this evening, there was a Norton screen with a progress bar
and an install button. I clicked it, and Norton began uninstalling
itself. It finished, bar two files left behind, and I reinstalled
it without incident. The log files show various access denieds and
worms being monitored. I found a Symantec e-mail thing, so sent my
facts and some cut and pasted excerpts from the logs, and now await
their wisdom. It certainly does seem to have something to do with
Norton.

David

Exactly. So if msconfig shows all the services as disabled, it will
prevent those services from running, presumably, otherwise it
wouldn't do anything. So it controls MMC to that extent, and may be
the cause of my services being disabled in MMC. I didn't notice
that all the services were disabled in msconfig until a day or so
ago, but if they have been disabled for some time, by what agency I
know not, that would account for MMC services frequently reverting
to disabled after a restart. Still doesn't help to nail the
culprit though. Symantec might know something, but these days you
can't communicate with them unless you want to buy something. You
don't happen to know a back door into Symantec, do you?
David

Wesley Vogel wrote:
Hi David,

Msconig.exe is the System Configuration Utility. msconfig is
supposed to be used for troubleshooting.

[[System Configuration Utility (msconfig.exe) allows you to
temporarily change the way Windows XP Professional starts by
disabling startup programs and services individually or several at
a time.]]

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmb_tol_dxth.asp

[[System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) automates the routine
troubleshooting steps that Microsoft Product Support Services
technicians use when diagnosing Windows configuration issues. You
can use this tool to modify the system configuration through a
process of elimination with check boxes, reducing the risk of
typing errors.]]
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/msconfig_usage.mspx

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In David Kelsey <[email protected]> hunted and pecked:
Hi Wes - Black Viper is not responding at the moment, with any
part of the URL or through Google, or even the cached page. Has
he upset someone? However, I did print off his advice on services
the last time I was on his site. He is concerned about disabling
services in msconfig, but that isn't the problem. Nearly all the
services were already disabled when I looked at msconfig, as were
the services in MMC. I don't want to disable services - I would
be perfectly happy if they were never ever disabled. Having said
that, I can't believe it is desirable to have all the services
disabled in msconfig, and I therefore enabled them, except for
the few I mentioned that I don't need. This, as I said, promptly
restored the correct settings in MMC, which had been disabled by
the ghost in the machine. One might think, too, that as all
services in msconfig were disabled, except for a few Symantec
items, and the machine started normally, it does not seem to have
the power to prevent the machine starting. In fact, one is bound
to wonder what one or other is for, since they both apparently do
more or less the same job, and some of the vital ones cannot be
disabled in MMC anyway, according to BV. It's not exactly
overkill, more like overmanslaughter. It's a pity someone who is
privy to the innermost thoughts of the XP programmers cannot
enlighten all of us as to what they had in mind with this
peculiar setup. One might think it would have been better to
have optimum services cast in stone and locked down firmly so
they cannot be altered either by internal or external agencies.
After all, memory and disk space is not a problem any more, so
what does it matter if a few unnecessary services are started in
some configurations.

David

Wesley Vogel wrote:
David,

Stay away from messing with services using msconfig.

[[The reason is because with msconfig and Hardware Profiles, you
can disable services that may be vital to boot your system. With
the management console (services.msc) you cannot. Also, msconfig,
while unchecking the box, is disabling the service.

The "Disable All" button also scares me. It should not even be
there as no reason exists to justify disabling "everything."]]
Why can't I use msconfig to change my services?
http://www.blackviper.com/AskBV/XP25.htm

Beats me. ;-(

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

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