XP not remembering desktop settings

  • Thread starter Thread starter robert.e.baker
  • Start date Start date
R

robert.e.baker

I recently purchased a new notebook that has XP Media Center installed.
Everything seems perfectly fine, but it doesn't remember my desktop
settings, specifically, Auto Arrange and Sort By Name, the fact that
the Quicklaunch toolbar should be turned on, and that the Taskbar
should be locked.

I've scanned these groups and I have verified that the "NoSaveSettings"
registry entries are ALL set to zero (0). I've tried 54 and 62 on
Kelly's page, as well as the fix on Doug's page.

There is only one account on this machine.
 
Simply open display,desktop,customize,web tab,chk the box "lock desktop items"
close out.
 
[email protected] said:
I recently purchased a new notebook that has XP Media Center installed.
Everything seems perfectly fine, but it doesn't remember my desktop
settings, specifically, Auto Arrange and Sort By Name, the fact that
the Quicklaunch toolbar should be turned on, and that the Taskbar
should be locked.

I've scanned these groups and I have verified that the "NoSaveSettings"
registry entries are ALL set to zero (0). I've tried 54 and 62 on
Kelly's page, as well as the fix on Doug's page.

There is only one account on this machine.
Click to expand...

Well, there is actually always the "Administrator" account in addition
to any User account. Any Norton/Symantec software installed? See also
http://groups.google.com/[email protected]
 
Yes, you are correct about the Administrator account. My PERSONAL
account is the only non-administrative account on the machine. I stand
corrected. :-)

Yes, there is Norton/Symantec software installed with the machine when
I bought it. Internet Security and one other, I believe. I went
through the options for those, and I didnt' see anything there that
could be related to this. Could this be causing the problem?

I just read the link below about Norton/Symantec. I had been thinking
about uninstalling that stuff anyway (I love Avast Antivirus,
SpamBayes, and Ad-Aware) since there are high quality packages for
those purposes that are FREE, but I figured since I had 60 days with it
I'd give it a try.

I will uninstall those when I get home tonight and report back.
Thanks!
 
[email protected] said:
I just read the link below about Norton/Symantec. I had been thinking
about uninstalling that stuff anyway (I love Avast Antivirus,
SpamBayes, and Ad-Aware) since there are high quality packages for
those purposes that are FREE, but I figured since I had 60 days with it
I'd give it a try.

I will uninstall those when I get home tonight and report back.
Thanks!
Click to expand...

You're welcome and good luck!
 
Well, fudge. That didn't work. Just uninstalling Symantec was a chore
- couldn't even uninstall it's own stuff. Had to download the manual
remover from the Symantec site.

I've got all my favorite security tools installed now, but the desktop
settings still don't work for me. :-( Any other suggestions?
 
Well, fudge. That didn't work. Just uninstalling Symantec was a chore
- couldn't even uninstall it's own stuff. Had to download the manual
remover from the Symantec site.

I've got all my favorite security tools installed now, but the desktop
settings still don't work for me. :-( Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Try running the edit on Kelly's site:
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm
Line 30: Windows XP Doesn't Save User Settings

See the top of the page for info on running the edit.
 
Well, fudge. That didn't work. Just uninstalling Symantec was a chore
- couldn't even uninstall it's own stuff. Had to download the manual
remover from the Symantec site.

I've got all my favorite security tools installed now, but the desktop
settings still don't work for me. :-( Any other suggestions?
Click to expand...

Norton/Symantec software digs deep into the system and removing that
stuff doesn't reset the system to "statu nascendi" in most cases. That's
why I flatten any system coming along with Norton preinstalled, saving a
lot of time. Anyway, you may want to follow Rock's advice. Good luck.
 
That was one of the changes I had previously made also. Unfortunately,
that didn't resolve it either ... but thanks for the suggestion.
 
What exactly do you mean by "flatten" ? Completely reinstalling
Windows?
Click to expand...

Yep. You may want to perform a repair install instead, however, I
wouldn't waste any more time since you may experience even more problems
caused by the previous Norton installation. Note also that all available
Windows updates have to be re-installed after applying a repair install.
 
That was one of the changes I had previously made also. Unfortunately,
that didn't resolve it either ... but thanks for the suggestion.
Click to expand...


Ahh sorry it doesn't help you. Detlev's flattening post might be the
recourse.
 
Yeah, me too. I think I'll just live with it for now. With it being a
new laptop and all (Best Buy Black Friday deal), I think I'll wait for
a better reason to go through all that trouble ...

Thanks guys ...
 
Tonight, for some strange reason, I started looking into this, and it
has been resolved. As it turns out, Kelly's registry edit wasn't even
fixing the right set of keys. In my case, the registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\1

had gotten it's permissions messed up - I couldn't read, write, rename,
delete. Nothing. In looking further into THIS issue, I came across
the following post on a guy's blog:

http://winonline.blogspot.com/2005/11/reset-entire-registry-permissions-to.html

I followed his instructions to the letter, and my problem is now
resolved. The Auto Arrange settings and the QuickLaunch toolbar now
work as expected.
 
Tonight, for some strange reason, I started looking into this, and it
has been resolved. As it turns out, Kelly's registry edit wasn't even
fixing the right set of keys. In my case, the registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\1

had gotten it's permissions messed up - I couldn't read, write, rename,
delete. Nothing. In looking further into THIS issue, I came across
the following post on a guy's blog:

http://winonline.blogspot.com/2005/11/reset-entire-registry-permissions-to.html

I followed his instructions to the letter, and my problem is now
resolved. The Auto Arrange settings and the QuickLaunch toolbar now
work as expected.
Click to expand...

Nice work. Thanks for posting back with the resolution.
 

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