Tried to use sys restore to fix a small window prob, doesn't resto

[dikgee]

I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop running XP home edition (Service Pack 2
installed) Operating System. Its about 8-9 years old. I have had a problem
that when the cover is closed while the power in on, the next time I start,
the desktop is much smaller. There is about 2 to 3 inches of black screen
around all the edges of the window. I stumbled on to a fix. Just run system
restore. Problem goes away. the desk top screen and all others are back to
full screen. Never did get this resolved with Dell.
Well it happened again yesterday, however running system restore did not
fix the problem because system restore does not successfully complete. Only
message is "Your computer system files and settings were not changed. An
unspecified error occurred during System Restore". I have tried to "Restore"
to every individual Restore Point created and none of them work.

Im not sure its a virus, all my programs seem to be working fine.
But I did shut down Mcafee real time virus scanning, disconnected my
network and ran system restore. Still have same problem.

I also did the same in safe mode. No luck.

I downloaded "malwarebytes.org, free version" it found ""sysrestore.dll,
(google flaged it as dangerous) removed it, but again no luck gettig a new
restore point.

Also ran spybot amd my mcafee virus scan

Any help will be appreciated (I.m getting too old for these problems (77)).
I read some of the answers and they suggeted to clear out the restore points.
I do not want to take that approach because I do not know what system retsore
was doing to ge my windows back to full size. But i may have to bite the
bullet.

thanks in advance....... dikgee

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop running XP home edition (Service
Pack 2 installed) Operating System. Its about 8-9 years old. I have
had a problem that when the cover is closed while the power in on,
the next time I start, the desktop is much smaller. There is about
2 to 3 inches of black screen around all the edges of the window. I
stumbled on to a fix. Just run system restore. Problem goes away.
the desk top screen and all others are back to full screen. Never
did get this resolved with Dell.
Well it happened again yesterday, however running system restore
did not
fix the problem because system restore does not successfully
complete. Only message is "Your computer system files and settings
were not changed. An unspecified error occurred during System
Restore". I have tried to "Restore" to every individual Restore
Point created and none of them work.

Im not sure its a virus, all my programs seem to be working fine.
But I did shut down Mcafee real time virus scanning, disconnected
my network and ran system restore. Still have same problem.

I also did the same in safe mode. No luck.

I downloaded "malwarebytes.org, free version" it found
""sysrestore.dll, (google flaged it as dangerous) removed it, but
again no luck gettig a new restore point.

Also ran spybot amd my mcafee virus scan

Any help will be appreciated (I.m getting too old for these
problems (77)). I read some of the answers and they suggeted to
clear out the restore points. I do not want to take that approach
because I do not know what system retsore was doing to ge my
windows back to full size. But i may have to bite the bullet.

thanks in advance....... dikgee

Update your video card driver and you may want to update your BIOS as well.
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=gen&SystemID=INS_PNT_P3CT_8100&os=WW1&osl=en
(Do you have the ATI or nVidia video card?)

After you do that, do the following:

Fix your file/registry permissions...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under "Advanced Troubleshooting"
titled, "Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time
(** Ignore the last step - you *should* install SP3, but not now.)

Reboot and ...

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan (separately) with the
following two applications (freeware versions are the ones to use for this):

SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/

MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/

After performing a full scan with one and then the other and removing
whatever they both find completely, you may uninstall these products,
if you wish.

Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

Reboot.

Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/...6F-60B6-4412-95B9-54D056D6F9F4&displaylang=en

Reboot.

and...

Download the latest version of the Windows Update agent from here (x86):
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
.... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving it to the root
of the C:\ drive, do the following:

Close all Internet Explorer windows and other applications.

Start button --> RUN and type in:
%SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
--> Click OK.

(If asked, select "Run.) --> Click on NEXT --> Select "I agree" and click on
NEXT --> When it finishes installing, click on "Finish"...

Reboot.

Then follow the instructions here:

How do I reset Windows Update components?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

Reboot.

CHKDSK
How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time and a reboot

Defragment
How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

Ensure your hardware drivers are up to date (from the hardware
manufacturer's respective web pages.) Never get hardware drivers
for hardware that was not created/sold by Microsoft from Microsoft.

Reboot right before you continue - even if you rebooted throughout the
tasks above.

Log on as an user with administrative rights and open Internet Explorer
and visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select to do a
CUSTOM scan...

Every time you are about to click on something while at these web pages -
first press and hold down the CTRL key while you click on it. You can
release the CTRL key after clicking each time.

Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high priority updates
(deselect any others) and install it.

Reboot again.

If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no more than 3-5 at a
time. Rebooting as needed.

The Optional Software updates are generally safe - although I recommend
against the "Windows Search" one and any of the "Office Live" ones or
"Windows Live" ones for now. I would completely avoid the
Optional Hardware updates. Also - I do not see any urgent need to install
Internet Explorer 8 at this time.

 

[trog69]

I hope someone can help you with this, as I haven't had any luck with restore
points, ever. They always tell me the same thing yours did. I blundered and
completely wiped my system because I couldn't resolve a simple problem using
a restore point.( Lost all my iTunes albums and songs as well.)

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop running XP home edition (Service
Pack 2 installed) Operating System. Its about 8-9 years old. I have
had a problem that when the cover is closed while the power in on,
the next time I start, the desktop is much smaller. There is about
2 to 3 inches of black screen around all the edges of the window. I
stumbled on to a fix. Just run system restore. Problem goes away.
the desk top screen and all others are back to full screen. Never
did get this resolved with Dell.
Well it happened again yesterday, however running system restore
did not
fix the problem because system restore does not successfully
complete. Only message is "Your computer system files and settings
were not changed. An unspecified error occurred during System
Restore". I have tried to "Restore" to every individual Restore
Point created and none of them work.

Im not sure its a virus, all my programs seem to be working fine.
But I did shut down Mcafee real time virus scanning, disconnected
my network and ran system restore. Still have same problem.

I also did the same in safe mode. No luck.

I downloaded "malwarebytes.org, free version" it found
""sysrestore.dll, (google flaged it as dangerous) removed it, but
again no luck gettig a new restore point.

Also ran spybot amd my mcafee virus scan

Any help will be appreciated (I.m getting too old for these
problems (77)). I read some of the answers and they suggeted to
clear out the restore points. I do not want to take that approach
because I do not know what system retsore was doing to ge my
windows back to full size. But i may have to bite the bullet.

thanks in advance....... dikgee

Update your video card driver and you may want to update your BIOS
as well.
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=gen&SystemID=INS_PNT_P3CT_8100&os=WW1&osl=en
(Do you have the ATI or nVidia video card?)
After you do that, do the following:

Fix your file/registry permissions...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under "Advanced
Troubleshooting" titled, "Method 1: Reset the registry and the file
permissions" http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time
(** Ignore the last step - you *should* install SP3, but not now.)

Reboot and ...

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be
exact.)
Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan (separately)
with the following two applications (freeware versions are the ones
to use for this):
SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/

MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/

After performing a full scan with one and then the other and
removing whatever they both find completely, you may uninstall
these products, if you wish.

Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

Reboot.

Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/...6F-60B6-4412-95B9-54D056D6F9F4&displaylang=en

Reboot.

and...

Download the latest version of the Windows Update agent from here
(x86): http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving it to
the root of the C:\ drive, do the following:

Close all Internet Explorer windows and other applications.

Start button --> RUN and type in:
%SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
--> Click OK.

(If asked, select "Run.) --> Click on NEXT --> Select "I agree" and
click on NEXT --> When it finishes installing, click on "Finish"...

Reboot.

Then follow the instructions here:

How do I reset Windows Update components?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

Reboot.

CHKDSK
How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time and a reboot

Defragment
How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

Ensure your hardware drivers are up to date (from the hardware
manufacturer's respective web pages.) Never get hardware drivers
for hardware that was not created/sold by Microsoft from Microsoft.

Reboot right before you continue - even if you rebooted throughout
the tasks above.

Log on as an user with administrative rights and open Internet
Explorer and visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select to do a
CUSTOM scan...

Every time you are about to click on something while at these web
pages - first press and hold down the CTRL key while you click on
it. You can release the CTRL key after clicking each time.

Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high priority
updates (deselect any others) and install it.

Reboot again.

If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no more than
3-5 at a time. Rebooting as needed.

The Optional Software updates are generally safe - although I
recommend against the "Windows Search" one and any of the "Office
Live" ones or "Windows Live" ones for now. I would completely
avoid the Optional Hardware updates. Also - I do not see any
urgent need to install Internet Explorer 8 at this time.

System Restore information...

http://bertk.mvps.org/
Menu at top - "System Restore in WinXP"...

Like the "Troubleshoot System Restore “Restore Point Failures” in Windows
XP" section:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

** System Restore does not replace backups!

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have a Dell Inspiron 8100 laptop running XP home edition (Service
Pack 2 installed) Operating System. Its about 8-9 years old. I have
had a problem that when the cover is closed while the power in on,
the next time I start, the desktop is much smaller. There is about
2 to 3 inches of black screen around all the edges of the window. I
stumbled on to a fix. Just run system restore. Problem goes away.
the desk top screen and all others are back to full screen. Never
did get this resolved with Dell.
Well it happened again yesterday, however running system restore
did not
fix the problem because system restore does not successfully
complete. Only message is "Your computer system files and settings
were not changed. An unspecified error occurred during System
Restore". I have tried to "Restore" to every individual Restore
Point created and none of them work.

Im not sure its a virus, all my programs seem to be working fine.
But I did shut down Mcafee real time virus scanning, disconnected
my network and ran system restore. Still have same problem.

I also did the same in safe mode. No luck.

I downloaded "malwarebytes.org, free version" it found
""sysrestore.dll, (google flaged it as dangerous) removed it, but
again no luck gettig a new restore point.

Also ran spybot amd my mcafee virus scan

Any help will be appreciated (I.m getting too old for these
problems (77)). I read some of the answers and they suggeted to
clear out the restore points. I do not want to take that approach
because I do not know what system retsore was doing to ge my
windows back to full size. But i may have to bite the bullet.

thanks in advance....... dikgee

I hope someone can help you with this, as I haven't had any luck
with restore points, ever. They always tell me the same thing yours
did. I blundered and completely wiped my system because I couldn't
resolve a simple problem using a restore point.( Lost all my iTunes
albums and songs as well.)

http://bertk.mvps.org/
Menu at top - "System Restore in WinXP"...

Like the "Troubleshoot System Restore "Restore Point Failures" in Windows
XP" section:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

As far as loss of data - that's a human mistake, not having backups.
Different issue all together - but one that is easily remedied. ;-)

 

[trog69]

Thank you for the links. And yes, you're right about the back up.

 

[dikgee]

Update your video card driver and you may want to update your BIOS as well.
http://support.dell.com/support/dow...=gen&SystemID=INS_PNT_P3CT_8100&os=WW1&osl=en
(Do you have the ATI or nVidia video card?)

After you do that, do the following:

Fix your file/registry permissions...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under "Advanced Troubleshooting"
titled, "Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time
(** Ignore the last step - you *should* install SP3, but not now.)

Reboot and ...

Download/install this:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN --> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan (separately) with the
following two applications (freeware versions are the ones to use for this):

SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/

MalwareBytes
http://www.malwarebytes.com/

After performing a full scan with one and then the other and removing
whatever they both find completely, you may uninstall these products,
if you wish.

Download and run the MSRT manually:
http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx

Reboot.

Download/Install the latest Windows Installer (for your OS):
( Windows XP 32-bit : WindowsXP-KB942288-v3-x86.exe )
http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/...6F-60B6-4412-95B9-54D056D6F9F4&displaylang=en

Reboot.

and...

Download the latest version of the Windows Update agent from here (x86):
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=91237
.... and save it to the root of your C:\ drive. After saving it to the root
of the C:\ drive, do the following:

Close all Internet Explorer windows and other applications.

Start button --> RUN and type in:
%SystemDrive%\windowsupdateagent30-x86.exe /WUFORCE
--> Click OK.

(If asked, select "Run.) --> Click on NEXT --> Select "I agree" and click on
NEXT --> When it finishes installing, click on "Finish"...

Reboot.

Then follow the instructions here:

How do I reset Windows Update components?
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971058

Reboot.

CHKDSK
How to scan your disks for errors
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265
* will take time and a reboot

Defragment
How to Defragment your hard drives
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314848
* will take time

Ensure your hardware drivers are up to date (from the hardware
manufacturer's respective web pages.) Never get hardware drivers
for hardware that was not created/sold by Microsoft from Microsoft.

Reboot right before you continue - even if you rebooted throughout the
tasks above.

Log on as an user with administrative rights and open Internet Explorer
and visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ and select to do a
CUSTOM scan...

Every time you are about to click on something while at these web pages -
first press and hold down the CTRL key while you click on it. You can
release the CTRL key after clicking each time.

Once the scan is done, select just _ONE_ of the high priority updates
(deselect any others) and install it.

Reboot again.

If it did work - try the web page again - selecting no more than 3-5 at a
time. Rebooting as needed.

The Optional Software updates are generally safe - although I recommend
against the "Windows Search" one and any of the "Office Live" ones or
"Windows Live" ones for now. I would completely avoid the
Optional Hardware updates. Also - I do not see any urgent need to install
Internet Explorer 8 at this time.

Shenan

thank you, This morning I tried seeing if there was a driver update for my
nVidia
vidieo card. there was an update, it installed, and I got my normal size
windows back. This didn't work 6 years ago when this problem first came up.

I also reset system restore since I have normal windows now.

I will try the other suggestion you made later today. Once again thank you
for your reply.

I guess I really miss my apple II, things were much simpler then

dikgee