Program Errors

[Adam]

Hello

I'm in pretty desperate need of some help.
For some reason im unable to run any program without it
closing and coming up with the Program Error Message.
This happens for pretty much everything from internet
explorer and media player to my trusty norton antivirus.

Now my first thought was that i got a virus that somehow
got past my firewall but as norton wont even open up im
unable to check this out. I was however able to run norton
in safe mode, but this came up with nothing.

I thought that maybe reformatting my hard drive was the
way to go. I had been considering it for a while now so i
decided to try it, but the same Program Error arose when i
chose to reinstall.

Ive really no idea what has happened, so any help would be
greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[dcdon]

Hi Adam,

Let's try running an online scan from Symantec first.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/ Look under Virus Definitions for
Online Virus Scan.

When you get through, if it comes up with anything, print it, and run a
Google search with the name of the infection. If you have done this before,
you should know the drill, but if you haven't, find the fix sheet(s), print
them, and do all that they say in the order on the fix sheets. Also if you
have anything, "stinger", can fix a variety of infections. If you have
anything, you can d/l it, and keep it around until you get all cleaned up.
Just type "Stinger" in a google search. It fixes more than thirty
infections.

If you haven't found anything, I would run System File Checker first and
then a "repair install". To run SFC do this"
Start
Run...
"type" CMD /K <enter>
"type" C:\ <enter>
"type" SFC /SCANNOW <enter>

It may need your OS CD, so I would have it available.

If your not fixed up try this
Shutdown

Boot up
Using your 4 Floppy Diskettes or OS CD (may need to go into the BIOS to
change the first boot device to CD-ROM from Floppy)
Either one works fine, but the CD-ROM loads all the necessary files much
faster.
When you are asked if you want to run setup on "repair" choose "repair", and
let it do it's thing.
Afterward Restart, and see if all is well.
If it is not, you actually can do the Inplace Upgrade, but choose "setup",
go through the questions until it comes up again to "repair" or go ahead
with the installation, choose load the OS. After you get through, you will
need to d/l SP4 again, and do all of your Hotpatches again.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=292175 explains it better
than me.

After you complete all of this and boot, I would go to www.belarc.com and
d/l the small utility to get all of your information. Hardware, Software,
Service Pack installed, all hotpatches will show, also. This is important,
because the Belarc utility will tell you if any of the Hotpatches did or
didn't take by showing a check mark, or an "x". If you need to reinstall
any, click next to the "x", and you will be taken directly to that Hotpatch.

After you restart, try running a "CHKDSK /R", which will do a thorough
checkdisk (scandisk in 98), and will repair any other problems.

Always do an ERD, and back up your data at a time when your system is
healthy. You can find the ERD in the backup program. Click the check mark to
also backup you System State.

Hope this fixes you up completely.

You may also want to go to www.spychecker.com and d/l Adaware, SpyBot S & D,
Zone Alarm, , and Hijack This. These are very helpful, but will not take the
place of your setting "strong passwords", not using you Administrative
Account, creating another Administrator account for backup in case your
primary Admin. account becomes accessible of the password or user is
corrupted. As a normal User Account use a Power User account with a strong
password also. The hacks are getting better everyday.

Good Computing,
don

 

[dcdon]

Remember to go back into the BIOS to set your first boot dive to Floppy

don
good computing,

 

[David]

Don,

Sorry to butt in on your help with Adam, but I wanted to
thank you for this procedure list. I posted the problem
on this same board today a msvcrt.dll error msg. I tried
your System File Checker procedure and it must have fixed
that file since I was able to get my program to install
and run. Thanks!!

I'm new to Win2K (but not new to Windows) on my home
computer (no network) and was wondering if you think any
of the books on Win2k are better than others. I don't
need to be a network admin, but need to keep my machine
running! The kind of procedures you have here are needed!

TIA,

David

 

[dcdon]

Hi David,

I am glad you are up and running.
I don't have a preference in any books. I started with NT 4.0 the day it
came out, and never did read any of the books. I made a habit of trying to
learn all possible about the Help files. None of the help files made sense
to me until I learned the terminology they use. To do that I studied the
problems and great help that the caregivers support in these IG's. These
guys and gals are absolutely the greatest in my book. I take my hat off to
all of them. After reading problems and fixes, generally I follow up by
checking it out on one of my boxes. And I save the .nws files and go back
through to make a folder for each category.

I also add the links used to explain to my favorites. I know it sounds like
a backward way, but I completely learned HTML the same way. Go to the source
code and more or reverse engineer. I only do this to learn and not take code
from others. It probably takes more time, but working backward from the
answer, now makes sense to me.

And to be perfectly honest, the Help file writers have had to learn as they
went also. They started by telling the last stroke a person makes and by the
time you get to where you would start, I was completely confused as to what
I should do. Had to write it out first to last. Thank goodness most have
learned and use this method now.

One source is very good. That is the Resource Kit book and CD.

There are basics to keeping your systems working. That is to understand how
to setup you system from the beginning. It made sense to me, after I read
it, but would not have known, if I hadn't read the NG's where someone had a
problem at first.

First set up your box with the standard Administrative account with "strong"
password. Make another Administrative account to use in case the primary
account password is lost, or if the user gets corrupted and you need another
way to get in to work on the primary user account. It is very important to
set up a third account for your user. It should be a Power User account with
a strong password also. Reason - hackers computers are continuously getting
faster and their programs are continuously looking for holes in the security
of the OS.

Also you can read the help files on "Run As" command to do administrative
tasks, like Disk Defragmenter, etc..

Also, don't allow others to use your computer from your account. Set up a
separate account for other users with a "Basic Account" and give them only
the permissions you need to keep the computer protected. With broad band, it
is important to have "strong passwords" on your Router.

As for the most important issue is to shutdown, when you are going to be
away from the box for some time and disable you broadband modem to keep out
invaders on shorter times away. There are more than 65,000 ports on the back
of the computer, like doors on a house. And to add to that, wireless is very
vulnerable. I still use hardwired network on boxes where my important files
and others data are located.

Before I forget, use the backup program faithfully. That means learning how
to use the ERD program (with the backup "system state" checked). The files
are very small, and should have the Floppy formatted first, and the Volume
entered (like "ERD 040704")( I use Year/Month/Day). Also you can make
regular CD's for most data, and make a backup and burn it to CD after to be
able to go back, put it on the HDD, and restore from there. I use two
CD-RW's to keep the data CD's current. I like to leave the files I am using
on the HDD also to keep my sanity about where are the lost recent appended
files.

Also, Belarc Advisor is very nice to have printout of exactly where you are
with respect to current status of almost everything running. I think I gave
you this before, but if I overlooked it go to www.belarc.com and it also
gives you your CD Key (25 characters with 5 in each box)

I guess I could go on and on, but I hope this gives you a basic safe place
to start.

Oh, before I go, you should want to know how to use the ERD and backup, so
you will definitely want to use the ERD and back up to restore. Just saying
not to wait until you really need them and get into a pickle, not having
ever actually them to know you can get restored.

good computing,
don

Sorry for the length.

 

[dcdon]

IG's = NG's

Hi David,

I am glad you are up and running.
I don't have a preference in any books. I started with NT 4.0 the day it
came out, and never did read any of the books. I made a habit of trying to
learn all possible about the Help files. None of the help files made sense
to me until I learned the terminology they use. To do that I studied the
problems and great help that the caregivers support in these IG's. These
guys and gals are absolutely the greatest in my book. I take my hat off to
all of them. After reading problems and fixes, generally I follow up by
checking it out on one of my boxes. And I save the .nws files and go back
through to make a folder for each category.

I also add the links used to explain to my favorites. I know it sounds like
a backward way, but I completely learned HTML the same way. Go to the source
code and more or reverse engineer. I only do this to learn and not take code
from others. It probably takes more time, but working backward from the
answer, now makes sense to me.

And to be perfectly honest, the Help file writers have had to learn as they
went also. They started by telling the last stroke a person makes and by the
time you get to where you would start, I was completely confused as to what
I should do. Had to write it out first to last. Thank goodness most have
learned and use this method now.

One source is very good. That is the Resource Kit book and CD.

There are basics to keeping your systems working. That is to understand how
to setup you system from the beginning. It made sense to me, after I read
it, but would not have known, if I hadn't read the NG's where someone had a
problem at first.

First set up your box with the standard Administrative account with "strong"
password. Make another Administrative account to use in case the primary
account password is lost, or if the user gets corrupted and you need another
way to get in to work on the primary user account. It is very important to
set up a third account for your user. It should be a Power User account with
a strong password also. Reason - hackers computers are continuously getting
faster and their programs are continuously looking for holes in the security
of the OS.

Also you can read the help files on "Run As" command to do administrative
tasks, like Disk Defragmenter, etc..

Also, don't allow others to use your computer from your account. Set up a
separate account for other users with a "Basic Account" and give them only
the permissions you need to keep the computer protected. With broad band, it
is important to have "strong passwords" on your Router.

As for the most important issue is to shutdown, when you are going to be
away from the box for some time and disable you broadband modem to keep out
invaders on shorter times away. There are more than 65,000 ports on the back
of the computer, like doors on a house. And to add to that, wireless is very
vulnerable. I still use hardwired network on boxes where my important files
and others data are located.

Before I forget, use the backup program faithfully. That means learning how
to use the ERD program (with the backup "system state" checked). The files
are very small, and should have the Floppy formatted first, and the Volume
entered (like "ERD 040704")( I use Year/Month/Day). Also you can make
regular CD's for most data, and make a backup and burn it to CD after to be
able to go back, put it on the HDD, and restore from there. I use two
CD-RW's to keep the data CD's current. I like to leave the files I am using
on the HDD also to keep my sanity about where are the lost recent appended
files.

Also, Belarc Advisor is very nice to have printout of exactly where you are
with respect to current status of almost everything running. I think I gave
you this before, but if I overlooked it go to www.belarc.com and it also
gives you your CD Key (25 characters with 5 in each box)

I guess I could go on and on, but I hope this gives you a basic safe place
to start.

Oh, before I go, you should want to know how to use the ERD and backup, so
you will definitely want to use the ERD and back up to restore. Just saying
not to wait until you really need them and get into a pickle, not having
ever actually them to know you can get restored.

good computing,
don

Sorry for the length.

 

[Adam]

Hello

Thanks for all the help. I got it sorted by booting up
with my os cd and then repairing whatever it was that
needed repaired. Ive still no idea what was wrong, but
there dosnt seem to be any other damage, so its all good.

Thanks again,
Adam

 

[David]

Thanks again, Don. I went in my local Half Price Books
yesterday and they had the Sybex MCSE Exam Prep book for
Win2K Pro and it looked pretty thorough. More so than the
Dummies or Idiots books which don't go much into security
and troubleshooting. Of course, I don't need all the info
in this book myself, but for 12 bucks, its a nice
reference. Since I had the HD space, I think I'll load the
Resource Kit on it for quicker reference.

Thanks again! David

PS-I'm taking advantage of you, but my HD keeps working
(light keeps blinking) on something well after all the
startup progs are loaded. I tried looking in Task Manager
to see what it was, but winlogon and system idle are the
only things churning. Ideas?