Windows XP Normal Startup Problems

[Havocmaker1211]

About a week ago I decided to start up windows home edition with a clean boot to test it out. It seemed to work properly, I didn't have any internet connection though, which I don't Know if that's suppose to happen. So when I went back to msconfig I selected normal startup and when i restarted my computer it seems a lot of things did not boot correctly. Norton doesnt load anymore, itunes does not play music, I have no network connection (ethernet not wireless), I can't bring my desktop out of the classic windows style and back into xp style. When I went back to msconfig to check and see if I missed anything i noticed that under the services tab almost all of the services were stopped except for Automatic liveUpdate scheduler (Norton), Ipod Service, Indexing Service, DCOM Server Process Launcher, Remote Procedure Call (RPC), and System Restore service. I also should mention I tried to system resotre but I didnt have any restore dates before the time of my problem. I know I probabley left out some vital informations so if theres anything you need just ask and I'll get it.

Thanks in Advance,
Joe

 

[muckshifter]

I find this very hard to follow.

About a week ago I decided to start up windows home edition with a clean boot to test it out.

Do you mean a clean 'install' or what ?

I didn't have any Internet connection though ...

Did you reinstall all the motherboard drivers, like Ethernet, sound, video just to name three.

msconfig should not be tampered with lightly, it's a way to diagnose problems, not fix them.

... need more info please.

https://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3048995.php

 

[Havocmaker1211]

When I say a clean boot I mean I went to msconfig and clicked diagnostic startup under the general tab. I did this just because my computer had been running particularly slow lately even after a defrag and disk cleanup. I was seeing if I just had to many programs running at one time, and so after selecting diagnostic startup i restarted my computer, realized that it was running much quicker, went to msconfig again and selected normal startup, restarted my computer again. When it restarted this time though it didnt go back to 'normal,' some of my programs were unable to run properly, my network connection was not working. So I went back to msconfig and started looking around for some abnormalities and what I noticed was that under the services tab all but the few services i mentioned had a status of stopped. I am fairly sure this is mainly software related and my computer specs do not mean much but here they are:

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe
4200 dual-core AMD
1024 mb ram
2 - 256 mb 7800 gtx NVidia in SLI

I also use norton for both spyware and virus protection, and connect to the internet via comcast cable. I hope that this will be a little bit more help to you. sorry for my ignorance with these topics

 

[muckshifter]

Computer 'specs' help us determine or eliminate possible hardware conflicts or problems.


A PC that 'slows' down over time is usually attributed to one of two things ... too many unnecessary programs being loaded, or, some sort of nastie.

Go to your Startup Folder and remove anything and everything you don't 'need' ... this is usually empty on any of my PCs, I don't 'need' any Scanner, printer, iTune, calender, camera software, picture software, Microsoft Office Startup and the kitchen sink ... it seems every program one installs thinks you need it running a boot up ... You can freely delete any items in this folder without risking modifying or damaging any existing programs, because everything in this folder is a shortcut.

By all means, look in msconfig to see what else is starting up, but if you do not 'need' that program then uninstall it, or tell it not to load at Windows boot.

Norton in it's own right is bloody drag ... uninstall that, you will need their special uninstaller, and you'll find your PC will whiz along ... of course, you will need an AV program, it is Windows. There are better AV programs than Norton.

Now, if you have a nastie (my word for, Virus, Malware, Spyware, Trojan & Worm) on your system, then you may also have a performance hit while it goes about its business. A good program to "see" if anything is there is HijackThis ... run it, and post a log here, and we'll take a look.

 

[Havocmaker1211]

ok well I did what you said, I disabled most all of the startup programs, and then I ran Hijackthis but I can't get the log onto a computer with internet access, the computer I ran the program on won't burn discs, doesnt detect floppies, and wont detect flash drives either. I know this isnt really all that helpful, but thank you for helping me out.

 

[muckshifter]

ouch!


Time for a reinstall of Windows ...

Dirty Install ...
Boot from the XP CD. Go through the beginning process of a standard installation.

You will see at the bottum of your screen where it says type "R" to repair, do not type the "R" at this point in time, just type "C" for continue.

The next time you see the "R" for repair, I cant remember how many screens on this is, not many ... go ahead and type the "R" this time and it will start a repair of all your system files.

You will have to have your CD key to hand. It will seem like it is doing a fresh install but, it ain't.

oh ... YOU WILL NOT LOOSE ANY OF YOUR DATA

The only thing that really happened was Windows replaced the system files.

You will need to reinstall all and any Windows Updates.


If you have any questions ... I will try to answer the best I can.

 

[Havocmaker1211]

ok so I did that but i had a few problems. When booting from the cd and trying to do the install process I never reached any part that asked for a repair, and now that Windows has been reinstalled I can't access my old login accounts, and the files that were in them, like all my music and pictures.

 

[Abarbarian]

Same thing happened to me when I tried the Dirty install . Luckily I have my OS on a seperate partition .

 

[Havocmaker1211]

so is there any way to get back to my old users? or atleast get the files that are locked in the folders.

 

[muckshifter]

Hmmm, if you pressed R (repair) then you should still have your data ...


Try ...

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

... if Windows was reinstalled completely, then you have lost the lot.

 

[Nishikanth Reddy]

From Run open services.msc and in the services console search for themes service and start themes service.