MSinfo32.exe help

[Guest]

MSinfo32.exe when i open system info in system tools menu it opens help_
support
it should open advanced system info. o.k when i open advanced system info in
the
help_ support browser it opens another help support window. any ideas. im
all updated xp.sp2 all no matter where i locate the MSinfo32.exe from
backup
or service pack files it does the same . thanks george

 

[S.Sengupta]

Start>Run>winmsd>ok

or,

Start>Run>msinfo32 /showcategories>ok

both will open System Information.

Direct registry edit:-
Restore System Information (Msinfo32)[line 221 right]
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm


regards,
ssg MS-MVP

 

[Guest]

thank you for help! (msinfo32 /showcategories-this opens systeminfo but in
help_support which is a start).
Start>Run>winmsd>ok(tells me cant locate ).(PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache is
not there it was before. i know a little bit about the files and it was there
before? downloaded zip file do i create a new offline folder?+ any idea why
or what i did to make this happen

The index.dat file may be missing from >>
C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache
or
%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache if Windows is not on C:\

First. Set Hidden files and folders to display.

Start | Settings | Control Panel | Folder Options | View tab
Check:
 Display the contents of system folders
 Show hidden files and folders
UNCheck:
 Hide protected operating system files
Apply | OK

[[Hidden files and folders will appear dimmed to indicate they are not
typical items.]]

Second. Paste this in the Start | Run box...

%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache

Click OK.

Look for a file called index.dat. Is one there?

If not, save the attached zip file and unzip it to ...

%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache

The zip file contains the appropriate index.dat file.


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

MSinfo32.exe when i open system info in system tools menu it opens help_
support
it should open advanced system info. o.k when i open advanced system info
in the
help_ support browser it opens another help support window. any ideas. im
all updated xp.sp2 all no matter where i locate the MSinfo32.exe from
backup
or service pack files it does the same . thanks george

 

[Wesley Vogel]

george,

winmsd is winmsd.exe. winmsd.exe should open System Information.

%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache folder should contain:
Professional_32#0409 folder if XP is Professional version.
or
Personal_32#0409 folder if XP is Home version.
and
index.dat
-----

Usually what happens is that a utility program deletes the index.dat from
the
%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache folder.

I have not heard of the folder itself going missing.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

thank you for help! (msinfo32 /showcategories-this opens systeminfo but
in help_support which is a start).
Start>Run>winmsd>ok(tells me cant locate ).(PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache
is not there it was before. i know a little bit about the files and it
was there before? downloaded zip file do i create a new offline folder?+
any idea why or what i did to make this happen

The index.dat file may be missing from >>
C:\WINDOWS\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache
or
%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache if Windows is not on C:\

First. Set Hidden files and folders to display.

Start | Settings | Control Panel | Folder Options | View tab
Check:
 Display the contents of system folders
 Show hidden files and folders
UNCheck:
 Hide protected operating system files
Apply | OK

[[Hidden files and folders will appear dimmed to indicate they are not
typical items.]]

Second. Paste this in the Start | Run box...

%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache

Click OK.

Look for a file called index.dat. Is one there?

If not, save the attached zip file and unzip it to ...

%windir%\PCHealth\HelpCtr\OfflineCache

The zip file contains the appropriate index.dat file.


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

MSinfo32.exe when i open system info in system tools menu it opens help_
support
it should open advanced system info. o.k when i open advanced system
info in the
help_ support browser it opens another help support window. any ideas.
im all updated xp.sp2 all no matter where i locate the MSinfo32.exe
from backup
or service pack files it does the same . thanks george

 

[djs0302]

MSinfo32.exe when i open system info in system tools menu it opens help_
support
it should open advanced system info. o.k when i open advanced system info in
the
help_ support browser it opens another help support window. any ideas. im
all updated xp.sp2 all no matter where i locate the MSinfo32.exe from
backup
or service pack files it does the same . thanks george

That seems to be a common problem. It occurs when the index.dat file
in the Windows\pchealth\helpctr\offlinecache folder gets deleted or
damaged. I found these instructions in another message and they worked
for me. If you want to find the original message and the link to those
instructions then do a search for the message that starts out as
"msinfo32 will not open" Here are the instructions for restoring the
index.dat file.

First remove the .cab files from the Packagestore folder, and then
rebuild the original Help and Support Center:


a. Click Start, click Run, type cmd to open a command prompt.
Type the
following commands:


net stop helpsvc
cd /d C:\Windows\pchealth\helpctr
rd packagestore /s /q
cd binaries
start /w helpsvc /svchostnetsvcs /regserver /install


b. Run Taskmgr.exe to launch Task Manager. If any of the
following
processes are running, stop them:


helpsvc.exe
helphost.exe
helpctr.exe


c. At the command prompt, type: net start helpsvc


If the problem remains, I suggest you perform an In-Place Upgrade:

 

[djs0302]

I'm not sure if there was a problem with the text appearing on
different lines but the one command line should read as follows:
start /w helpsvc /svchostnetsvcs /regserver /install

 

[djs0302]

Oops goofed again. I think it's time for new contact lenses. Anyway,
just follow the instructions I gave for finding the original
instructions.

 

[Guest]

thanks that would have done it but i cant even locate the pkg.store folder
know? i should travel though my folders more often not that i would notice
unless somthing
was wrong.i wounder what else is missing? and i have boot disk so i just
cant copy from that.and i have no idea what this means (In-Place Upgrade so
im missing offlinecache folder_packagestore folder how bad is this and what
else may i do. did sp2 have a hand in this? like you guys said i probley
deleted it destroying slackfiles(index.dat) but whole folders this is weird.
i have no clue. thanks

 

[Guest]

plus wesley says somthing about a zip folder with the dat. file in it. i
merged the
reg. file from kellys but that didnt work.thanks wesley im sorry i didnt
search more or i would have seen you guys were allready fixing the problem.

 

[djs0302]

thanks that would have done it but i cant even locate the pkg.store folder

Just do a search for packagestore(all one word) on your computer.
Incidentally, my packagestore folder didn't have any .cab files in it
to delete. The in place upgrade mentioned at the end of the
instructions was the first thing I tried when I started experiencing
the same problem as you. It didn't work. Typing in those commands I
listed fixed it right away.

Click Start, click run, type cmd to open a command prompt

Type the following commands. I'm typing (press ENTER) after each
command in case there's a problem with word wrap. Be sure to note the
spacing in each line.

net stop helpsvc (press ENTER)
cd /d C:\Windows\pchealth\helpctr (press ENTER)
rd packagestore /s /q (press ENTER)
cd binaries (press ENTER)
start /w helpsvc /svchost netsvcs /regserver /install (press ENTER)


Run taskmgr.exe
Stop the following processes if they are running: (please note the .exe
extension)
helpsvc.exe
helphost.exe
helpctr.exe

Close the task manager.

At the command prompt type

net start helpsvc (press Enter)

If that doesn't work then you can try an in place install by simply
inserting your Windows XP cd and rebooting your computer. Select to
install Windows and then select repair installation. If your computer
doesn't have a Windows XP cd but has a restore cd instead then you will
not be able to do this.

 

[Guest]

when i do the cmd for rd packagestore /s /q( system cant find file
specified.so it is gone i did a search and by everyfolder i didnt find
it.(start /w helpsvc /svchost netsvcs /regserver /install )system cant find
helpsvc.(net start helpsvc) to turn on the service again.msinfo32
/showcategories opens advanced system info in help support so at least i cane
use it even though i have to use cmd to open it.this bothers me alot i defrag
scan my disk for errors i use win 1click i got 5 yrs ago .i do this at the
end of any session i might do even if its eveyday.iv learned the hard way
awhile ago not to mess with free program and tweaks very few of them are
worth the risk.but i do use spyblaster+spybot sd_Disk Cleaner_dustbuster
pro_zonealarm.these i trust, they dont harm my mach.but bottem line. is there
anyway to find what im missing online. thank you everyone who helped me. you
all did solve my problem its because of my files i couldnt get it done.thanks
again george

 

[djs0302]

when i do the cmd for rd packagestore /s /q( system cant find file
specified.so it is gone i did a search and by everyfolder i didnt find
it.(start /w helpsvc /svchost netsvcs /regserver /install )system cant find
helpsvc.(net start helpsvc) to turn on the service again.msinfo32
/showcategories opens advanced system info in help support so at least i cane
use it even though i have to use cmd to open it.this bothers me alot i defrag
scan my disk for errors i use win 1click i got 5 yrs ago .i do this at the
end of any session i might do even if its eveyday.iv learned the hard way
awhile ago not to mess with free program and tweaks very few of them are
worth the risk.but i do use spyblaster+spybot sd_Disk Cleaner_dustbuster
pro_zonealarm.these i trust, they dont harm my mach.but bottem line. is there
anyway to find what im missing online. thank you everyone who helped me. you
all did solve my problem its because of my files i couldnt get it done.thanks
again george

Sorry you didn't get your problem fixed. It sounds like the problem is
bigger than originally thought. Incidentally, when I first encountered
the problem I too found the trick about the /showcategories. It seems
that the command I found was /showcategories +all. I'm not sure what
the +all means. Anyway, what I did was right click on the shortcut for
System Information and in the target box on the shortcut tab I simply
added the /showcategories after the msinfo32.exe. I could then click
on the shortcut and have it open System Information, albeit inside Help
and Support.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

+all
[[with all available information displayed]]

/showcategories
[[Starts System Information with the category IDs displayed instead of the
friendly names or the localized names. For example, when you use this
switch, the Software Environment category is displayed as the SWEnv
category. SWEnv is a valid categoryID argument for the /category switch and
the /categories switch.]]

/categories {+categoryID(+categoryID)|+all(-categoryID)}
Starts System Information with only the specified category or categories
displayed. It also limits the output to the selected category or categories.
Use /showcategories to display a list of available category IDs.

To start System Information with all available information displayed, except
Loaded Modules, type:

msinfo32 /categories +all -loadedmodules

How to Use System Information (MSINFO32) Switches
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300887

msinfo32
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/msinfo.mspx

Description of Windows XP System Information (Msinfo32.exe) Tool
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308549

Description of the My Computer Information Tool in Help and Support
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308920


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

thanks i was just going though the knowledgebase looking for more answers and
saw somthing on that and sure enough sw was infrot of each category i didnt
think about then started reading and checked over here your command line
shows without the sw in front to me they bothed showed the same info i really
dont understand it much but ill keep reading thanks george

+all
[[with all available information displayed]]

/showcategories
[[Starts System Information with the category IDs displayed instead of the
friendly names or the localized names. For example, when you use this
switch, the Software Environment category is displayed as the SWEnv
category. SWEnv is a valid categoryID argument for the /category switch and
the /categories switch.]]

/categories {+categoryID(+categoryID)|+all(-categoryID)}
Starts System Information with only the specified category or categories
displayed. It also limits the output to the selected category or categories.
Use /showcategories to display a list of available category IDs.

To start System Information with all available information displayed, except
Loaded Modules, type:

msinfo32 /categories +all -loadedmodules

How to Use System Information (MSINFO32) Switches
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/300887

msinfo32
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/msinfo.mspx

Description of Windows XP System Information (Msinfo32.exe) Tool
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308549

Description of the My Computer Information Tool in Help and Support
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308920


--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Sorry you didn't get your problem fixed. It sounds like the problem is
bigger than originally thought. Incidentally, when I first encountered
the problem I too found the trick about the /showcategories. It seems
that the command I found was /showcategories +all. I'm not sure what
the +all means. Anyway, what I did was right click on the shortcut for
System Information and in the target box on the shortcut tab I simply
added the /showcategories after the msinfo32.exe. I could then click
on the shortcut and have it open System Information, albeit inside Help
and Support.