XP Pro unable to launch programs or shut down

[Bill's News]

Hi,

I'm trying to help a friend who bought an XP Pro system from its
previous owner (I personally use XPHE). After startup (during which
time Outlook Express is launched and we are able to connect with the
ISP and do most other OE functions) no other program will launch -
either from desktop icons, start menu, or Program Files folder.

Start - shut down - then restart or shut down do nothing after a brief
display of the hour glass. We are unable to print from OE. Control
panel folder opens and lower level folders can be navigated but no
procedures will run.

Start - Run and enter any valid program (i.e. msconfig) also does
nothing.

The only way we can turn off the PC is with the Power On/Off button.
If I close OE, which launches at startup, I can not restart it without
shutting down.

This is a single user system and the new owner never tried to create
another account. If I select Start - Log off then Log off or Switch
User the system hangs with a grayed screen.

It is an inexpensive Compaq and is probably 3-4 years old; my friend
has had it for about a year and it only started acting up a few days
ago before she called me.

Neither the prior owner nor the current owner has a CD of Windows.
The "backup" drive (in this case E might be valid, but I can not
start anything it contains.

I've never seen anything like this, but then I only help neighbors
when they cry for it - so my experience is not very deep. If anyone
has seen this behavior in the past or has any recovery ideas short of
buying a new version of the OS. Please help.

If we can't solve the problem by Monday we will buy a new copy of XP
pro (or HE, as I feel a tad more comfy with that).

Many thanks in advance.

 

[WTC]

I'm trying to help a friend who bought an XP Pro system
from its previous owner (I personally use XPHE).

IMHO, I would perform a clean install of Windows XP when purchasing a
computer and Windows has been already used by a third party.

It is an inexpensive Compaq Neither the prior owner nor the current owner
has a CD
of Windows.

Try and contant Compaq, they may be able to help you in obtaining a Windows
XP CD for a small fee.

The "backup" drive (in this case E might be valid, but
I can not start anything it contains.

See if you can find the manual for the Compaq machine on their website. This
may help you start the Recovery opertions if "drive d" is a recovery
partition/drive to re-install Windows

If we can't solve the problem by Monday we will buy a
new copy of XP pro (or HE, as I feel a tad more comfy
with that).

If Compaq cannot help you then I would purchase a copy of Windows XP from a
reputable dealer.

 

[Bill's News]

IMHO, I would perform a clean install of Windows XP when purchasing
a
computer and Windows has been already used by a third party.


Try and contant Compaq, they may be able to help you in obtaining a
Windows XP CD for a small fee.


See if you can find the manual for the Compaq machine on their
website. This may help you start the Recovery opertions if "drive d"
is a recovery partition/drive to re-install Windows


If Compaq cannot help you then I would purchase a copy of Windows XP
from a reputable dealer.

Thanks, WTC! Compaq site is a good idea. I've yet to own a PC that
did not come with a disc - just lucky I guess. The "recovery
partition" has an Install.INF but no .EXE and no file names at the
root which begin with a letter higher than "M" So there is no Setup
or
the like.

Since I can't actually launch anything once the OS takes hold, it
probably wouldn't matter anyway. I'll drift back over there tomorrow
and poke some more. Does XP Pro have "Safe Mode"?

 

[WTC]

Thanks, WTC!

You're welcome.

Compaq site is a good idea. I've yet to own a PC that
did not come with a disc - just lucky I guess. The "recovery
partition" has an Install.INF but no .EXE and no file names at the
root which begin with a letter higher than "M" So there is no Setup or
the like.

Since I can't actually launch anything once the OS takes hold, it
probably wouldn't matter anyway.

Is only EXE files not working properly? If so try this file association fix
from Doug Knox's [MVP] site:

Windows® XP File Association Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm

and poke some more. Does XP Pro have "Safe Mode"?

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315222

Watch out for the next URL, it might break due to text wrapping.

Starting your computer in Safe mode
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...pen&docid=2002051515385512&nsf=pca.nsf&view=0

 

[Bill's News]

You're welcome.


Is only EXE files not working properly? If so try this file
association fix from Doug Knox's [MVP] site:

Windows® XP File Association Fixes
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/file_assoc.htm


A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315222

Watch out for the next URL, it might break due to text wrapping.

Starting your computer in Safe mode
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...pen&docid=2002051515385512&nsf=pca.nsf&view=0

Thanks again, Bill. I'm off to give it a try.

 

[Bill's News]

Thanks again, Bill. I'm off to give it a try.

The schedules of myself and friend didn't agree until today, so I just
got to trying Safe Mode with this issue. Here's how it went:

1) in Safe Mode, items which could not be launched when full is OS
loaded, launched fine.

2) While in Safe Mode, using MSCONFIG, I turned off all services which
were not MS. Rebooted and the problem returned.

To reiterate, OE is a startup file and it runs at startup - in turn
invoking the dial up program which contacts PCMagic.net. These work
as expected and email is received, read, and composed. However, it
can not be sent. In order to do so, I need to shut down the PC by
power on/off button - as Start, Shut Down won't run.

Likewise, I could not export addresses in preparation for an OS
reload. In order to "save" existing email I forwarded them to the
same email address, hanging up before they were sent back.

3) Disabling any MS services which seemed unrelated to operation and
then rebooting, the problem was averted, however at least one of the
services I did not enable was required to launch the dialer and before
I could figure out which it is, my friend suggested just buying the
new WinMXHE-SP2 and abandoning a repair effort - with which I happily
concurred.

4) With new disc in hand, I checked the device names of the only three
for which I might need drivers - as we have no restore disc I expected
to download them, if required.

I booted from an old WinME startup diskette in order to format the
hard drive. Inserted the MXHE disc - the CD drive failed;-0) To
check, I rebooted from the diskette, navigated to the E: directory and
ran StartUp. The drive failed. I then tried my own purchased
MXHE-SP0 with the same result. A WinME disc began to boot, but failed
at the first user interaction.

Tomorrow I'll swap the CD drive (I have several spares accumulated
over the years) and if we don't get much further, it'll be a new PC
next.

At any rate, thanks for your suggestions. To pin this down, my
thought is that I need to locate what starts AFTER OE is loaded at
start up. But considering the general state of this system, it just
doesn't seem worth any additional effort.

 

[WTC]

I booted from an old WinME startup diskette in order to format the hard
drive. Inserted the MXHE disc - the CD drive failed;-0) To check, I
rebooted from the diskette, navigated to the E: directory and ran StartUp.
The drive failed. I then tried my own purchased MXHE-SP0 with the same
result. A WinME disc began to boot, but failed at the first user
interaction.

Try booting from the Windows XP CD. You can reformat the drive using the
Windows XP CD. You will need to ensure your CD drive is the first boot
device in the BIOS.

Clean Install Windows XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

How to install or upgrade to Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=316941

 

[Bill's News]

The saga, continued:

As mentioned before, the CD drive would not read the new WinXPHE-SP2
disc fresh out of the CostCo box. The replacement drive (quite an old
one) read the disc until the second user response - at which time XP
installer said it was not a valid disc! (repeatable over four
attempts - the disc looked clean and unscratched, properly inscribed
too).

I removed the replacement drive and dug out an old WinME CD from which
the install went perfectly, using the original CD drive. I had to
download modem and printer drivers at home, which I wrote to a CD90 -
the first one in reach - which also failed on the original drive. A
CD-R and a CD-RW were tried next, with the RW working properly while
the CD-R failed. It would be reasonable to say that my friend got
herself a POS Compaq PC!!!

At any rate, the machine is now running WinME quite happily, using the
modem and printer. She really has no need for anything more as it is
used exclusively to enter student analyses in both Excel & Word, and
exchange email which is primarily work related. When operational,
it's used less than 8 hours per week.

Thanks again for your efforts.

BTW, CostCo refunded the US$103 price of WinXPHE quickly and without
question!

 

[WTC]

The saga, continued:

As mentioned before, the CD drive would not read the new WinXPHE-SP2 disc
fresh out of the CostCo box. The replacement drive (quite an old one)
read the disc until the second user response - at which time XP installer
said it was not a valid disc! (repeatable over four attempts - the disc
looked clean and unscratched, properly inscribed too).

I removed the replacement drive and dug out an old WinME CD from which the
install went perfectly, using the original CD drive. I had to download
modem and printer drivers at home, which I wrote to a CD90 - the first one
in reach - which also failed on the original drive. A CD-R and a CD-RW
were tried next, with the RW working properly while the CD-R failed. It
would be reasonable to say that my friend got herself a POS Compaq PC!!!

At any rate, the machine is now running WinME quite happily, using the
modem and printer. She really has no need for anything more as it is used
exclusively to enter student analyses in both Excel & Word, and exchange
email which is primarily work related. When operational, it's used less
than 8 hours per week.

Thanks again for your efforts.

BTW, CostCo refunded the US$103 price of WinXPHE quickly and without
question!

Sorry to hear about all the problems, glad something worked for ya.
Computers can be quite frustrating at time. Yes, I truly hate Compaq
computers.