No link to the Control Panel??

[dannyleach]

Older Compaq Presario running XP that was originally set-up by someone
else. Prior to my deleting the old user account and adding in a new one
(put my son on a new pc, created a new user account for me, and then
deleted his), I could get into the control panel off the start button
and get to everything like Display and Add/Remove programs - etc, by
going through the steps of start/settings/contol panel and then
clicking on any of the icons in the control panel window. Now that I
have created the new account and only have the new one I created being
shown at the logo on window and the switch users windows - etc - note
there is no admin account - the control panel is no longer listed off
the settings and no matter how I try to access any of these features -
I get little warning windows to the effect that "due to restrictions
this feature is not available - please see your system account manager"
whether I try to sneak in through the right-click help options and/or
short cuts from the file areas - etc. I do not have the XP disks and I
do not know what to do. - It's also interesting that whenever I try to
go out to an officail Microsoft website - I get nothing on the internet
explorer page other then that generic default page stating that no link
could be found.....No matter what page I try including microsoft.com??
I could really use your help and advice - Thank you - Danny

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Older Compaq Presario running XP that was originally set-up by someone
else. Prior to my deleting the old user account and adding in a new one
(put my son on a new pc, created a new user account for me, and then
deleted his), I could get into the control panel off the start button
and get to everything like Display and Add/Remove programs - etc, by
going through the steps of start/settings/contol panel and then
clicking on any of the icons in the control panel window. Now that I
have created the new account and only have the new one I created being
shown at the logo on window and the switch users windows - etc - note
there is no admin account - the control panel is no longer listed off
the settings and no matter how I try to access any of these features -
I get little warning windows to the effect that "due to restrictions
this feature is not available - please see your system account manager"
whether I try to sneak in through the right-click help options and/or
short cuts from the file areas - etc. I do not have the XP disks and I
do not know what to do. - It's also interesting that whenever I try to
go out to an officail Microsoft website - I get nothing on the internet
explorer page other then that generic default page stating that no link
could be found.....No matter what page I try including microsoft.com??
I could really use your help and advice - Thank you - Danny

Create a shortcut on your desktop with a target of "control.exe"
(without the double quotes).

 

[dannyleach]

Create a shortcut on your desktop with a target of "control.exe"
(without the double quotes).

Thanks Pegasus - I get the same response when clicking on this short cut
I created: "Due to restrictions - Unable to complete this command. Please
see Systsem Admistrator." It looks like I am going to have to get a copy
of XP and reload it.........???

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Create a shortcut on your desktop with a target of "control.exe"
(without the double quotes).

Thanks Pegasus - I get the same response when clicking on this short cut
I created: "Due to restrictions - Unable to complete this command. Please
see Systsem Admistrator." It looks like I am going to have to get a copy
of XP and reload it.........???

This may be a good idea. Have a look at this link:
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/621462-solved-control-panel-gone-missing.html

It describes the same problem as yours and it appears that spyware/
malware was responsible. Reloading WinXP from scratch would
give you a clean machine. If you want to try sdfix.exe then you can
download it from here:
http://downloads.andymanchesta.com/RemovalTools/SDFix.exe
Note that sdfix.exe is not a Microsoft product. I have never tried it
myself.

 

[Terry R.]

On 10/1/2007 3:12 PM On a whim, Pegasus (MVP) pounded out on the keyboard

This may be a good idea. Have a look at this link:
http://forums.techguy.org/windows-nt-2000-xp/621462-solved-control-panel-gone-missing.html

It describes the same problem as yours and it appears that spyware/
malware was responsible. Reloading WinXP from scratch would
give you a clean machine. If you want to try sdfix.exe then you can
download it from here:
http://downloads.andymanchesta.com/RemovalTools/SDFix.exe
Note that sdfix.exe is not a Microsoft product. I have never tried it
myself.

Danny should also look for a file in the system32 folder called
cmcache.dat. If the file exists, he needs to boot with a BartPE disc
and access the disk outside of Windows, and delete the file. If the
file exists, even booting in Safe Mode and deleting it doesn't remove it
as it is active even there. I came across this issue on a workstation
for a network I admin a few weeks ago and no other method worked for
removing it (including sdfix.exe).



--
Terry R.

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