Themes Service turning itself off?!

[Guest]

Hi all,

I really hope you can help me, as this is driving me nuts!
I have WinXP Pro SP2, and all was working perfectly fine, no probs at all.
The other day, I switched on my PC, and thought "Something doesn't look
right here", and eventually worked out that my "Windows and Buttons" was set
as Windows Classic.
I tried to scroll to Windows XP (under the Windows and Buttons tab), yet it
was there.
I went into services.msc, and the Themes service wasn't running (set to
Automatic, but had stopped). I restarted it, and my buttons etc returned to
normal.
After about a minute, my taskbar had returned to Windows Classic, and any
windows I opened were using the Windows Classic theme. Sure enough, the
Themes Service had stopped.

I scanned my pc with Norton AV and Pest Patrol, and found nothing unsavoury
at all.

I do a windows update, (security fixes from April), rebooted, and all was ok
for a few minutes (Windows XP theme being used), before it flipped back to
Windows Classic theme again.
Themes service had stopped again.

I've google'd it, and most sites simply are advising on turning the Themes
service off, yet I actually want it on!

Hope someone can help!
Thanks in advance,

Joe

 

[Galen]

In crazyjoe_uk <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

I've google'd it, and most sites simply are advising on turning the
Themes service off, yet I actually want it on!

Is the service set to automatic?

Click Start button
Click Run
Type "services.msc" without the quotes
Hit Enter
Scroll down to Themes service
Right click it
Click Properties
Set it to automatic
Click Recovery tab
Under first and second failure set it to restart, take no action on the
third failure (three strikes and you're out)
Click OK
Close Services window
Keep computing.
Leave it that way for a couple of days and see if there's any problems.

Questions to ask?

Did you install any additional themes?
Have you used a theme manager?
Have you installed any software that had to do with themes lately?
Have you checked your system for malware?
Do you have enough resources for your themes to run without problem?

You don't have to answer those in a post to me, they're things that you
could/should check to troubleshoot the problem on your own.

Galen

 

[Guest]

Hi Galen,
Thanks for the reply, but yes, the service was already on Automatic.
That's the problem, everything is as it should be, I've scanned for
spyware/malware/virues etc etc with nothing found.
It's at the stage now where I start my PC, the themes service is started,
then after a few seconds, the taskbar reverts back to Windows Classic view, I
go back into services.msc, see that the Themes service is stopped, restart
the service (it's already set as automatic), taskbar goes back to Windows XP
style, then a few seconds later the service stops itself again.
I have set the service to manual, started it, everything ok for a couple of
minutes, then it switches itself off again.

Any other ideas than those in your original reply?

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Galen]

In crazyjoe_uk <[email protected]> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

Hi Galen,
Thanks for the reply, but yes, the service was already on Automatic.
That's the problem, everything is as it should be, I've scanned for
spyware/malware/virues etc etc with nothing found.
It's at the stage now where I start my PC, the themes service is
started, then after a few seconds, the taskbar reverts back to
Windows Classic view, I go back into services.msc, see that the
Themes service is stopped, restart the service (it's already set as
automatic), taskbar goes back to Windows XP style, then a few seconds
later the service stops itself again.
I have set the service to manual, started it, everything ok for a
couple of minutes, then it switches itself off again.

Any other ideas than those in your original reply?

Thanks,
Joe

Is the service set to automatically start itself back up again as suggested
in the first post?

Are you using a themes manager? If so which one? As in are you using StyleXP
or WindowBlinds?

Something, perhaps some software that you have running, is disabling it. You
could try disabling some of the running applications (while disconnected
from the internet) and see what happens when you enable them all ONE BY ONE
to figure out which one it is. That's about all the ideas that I have on
this.

Galen

 

[T. Waters]

Joe, since this problem has just come about, you might try a System Restore.
Note that any applications you have installed since the restore point will
have to be reinstalled. If you get no joy, you can undo the System Restore.