XP truly stuffed

[Solomon Grundy]

A download of direct-soft inc's avi to mpeg 4 converter didn't work properly
and when it unistalled, seemed to screw up loads of Windows XP settings.
I've spent the last 6 hours trying to figure out what exactly it has done to
XP Pro.

I rebooted after uninstalling and XP demanded the product activation
sequence. It now runs very slowly - even after reactivation. System Restore
won't work at all. it's lost all sound and communications - even after
uninstalling and reinstalling all of the major hardware drivers. Basically,
the system's now so screwed up that I might end up buying a second hard
drive, installing XP on that before transferring all my documents (not the
settings) from the old hard drive to the new and then reinstalling all my
software plus the windows updates etc. It's really rather infuriating and a
darned good nail in the coffin of direct-soft inc (may they roast in the
flames of damnation evermore).

synmptoms:
1. Starting Internet Explorer causes XP to go into fault-reporting mode BUT
I can still open an html document. Clicking an html document opens IE and it
works!
2. dial-up. Sometimes I get told the phone book does not exist and other
times, it dials, logs on and hangs up.
3. toolbar. 90% of the stuff that should normally be in the toolbar just
isn't.
4. Volume - not now in the toolbar. I am informed there's no sound device
available yet sound was working before.
5. LAN. The networking box is empty yet should have connections to my server
and the phone line.
6. Start button - it's turned grey instead of green. The colour schemes all
seem to have vanished.
7. slow boot up. Slow from clicking my login to showing the desktop.

I've tried:
uninstalling hardware and rebooting. I've tried the AOL dialler and that
doesn't even connect. The modem does work. I'm using it on a windows 98
machine right now.

I had to re-activate XP Pro because it wouldn't let me do anything until I
had.

I can access all of my drives and my data. I just can't use the persihing
computer much because of no networking though. Any suggestions aside from
buying an Apple Mac next time?

 

[ct]

So you are blaming MS for a poorly writen application that
hosed up your system. You should be directing your
frustrations at direct-soft inc's for releasing crap
software.

CT

 

[Guest]

I think regclean may work for you.

 

[Rock]

A download of direct-soft inc's avi to mpeg 4 converter didn't work properly
and when it unistalled, seemed to screw up loads of Windows XP settings.
I've spent the last 6 hours trying to figure out what exactly it has done to
XP Pro.

I rebooted after uninstalling and XP demanded the product activation
sequence. It now runs very slowly - even after reactivation. System Restore
won't work at all. it's lost all sound and communications - even after
uninstalling and reinstalling all of the major hardware drivers. Basically,
the system's now so screwed up that I might end up buying a second hard
drive, installing XP on that before transferring all my documents (not the
settings) from the old hard drive to the new and then reinstalling all my
software plus the windows updates etc. It's really rather infuriating and a
darned good nail in the coffin of direct-soft inc (may they roast in the
flames of damnation evermore).

synmptoms:
1. Starting Internet Explorer causes XP to go into fault-reporting mode BUT
I can still open an html document. Clicking an html document opens IE and it
works!
2. dial-up. Sometimes I get told the phone book does not exist and other
times, it dials, logs on and hangs up.
3. toolbar. 90% of the stuff that should normally be in the toolbar just
isn't.
4. Volume - not now in the toolbar. I am informed there's no sound device
available yet sound was working before.
5. LAN. The networking box is empty yet should have connections to my server
and the phone line.
6. Start button - it's turned grey instead of green. The colour schemes all
seem to have vanished.
7. slow boot up. Slow from clicking my login to showing the desktop.

I've tried:
uninstalling hardware and rebooting. I've tried the AOL dialler and that
doesn't even connect. The modem does work. I'm using it on a windows 98
machine right now.

I had to re-activate XP Pro because it wouldn't let me do anything until I
had.

I can access all of my drives and my data. I just can't use the persihing
computer much because of no networking though. Any suggestions aside from
buying an Apple Mac next time?

The first step to try, after a botched software install is System
Restore. It might be too late now. One option is to restore for any
backup image you have.
Another option is a repair install:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

If that doesn't work, a clean install:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

 

[Solomon Grundy]

So you are blaming MS for a poorly writen application that
hosed up your system. You should be directing your
frustrations at direct-soft inc's for releasing crap
software.

CT

I did email them but received no reply. Direct-soft must therefore be
deliberately putting out bad software. Perhaps they're paid by al-Quaida?

 

[Solomon Grundy]

I think regclean may work for you.

I've already tried with Norton - to no avail. The system runs - it just
won't communicate with the web or the land or with my modem.

 

[accounts]

A download of direct-soft inc's avi to mpeg 4 converter didn't work properly
and when it unistalled, seemed to screw up loads of Windows XP settings.
I've spent the last 6 hours trying to figure out what exactly it has done to
XP Pro.

I rebooted after uninstalling and XP demanded the product activation
sequence. It now runs very slowly - even after reactivation. System Restore
won't work at all. it's lost all sound and communications - even after

Reformat and reinstall?

r u virused?

 

[Solomon Grundy]

Reformat and reinstall?

r u virused?

I'm thinking of installing HDD #2, installing XP Pro on that and then
copying all the data from the previous XP disk and reformatting the previous
disk as a data disk.

Of course, I shall be replacing Norton as well. Norton destroys the restore
record pretty effectively every time it does its little reg-cleaning
routine. The original Norton was excellent. The current Norton is a POS and
bloatware.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I'm thinking of installing HDD #2, installing XP Pro on that and then
copying all the data from the previous XP disk and reformatting the previous
disk as a data disk.

Of course, I shall be replacing Norton as well. Norton destroys the restore
record pretty effectively every time it does its little reg-cleaning
routine.

As Rock suggested, first thing to try is a System Restore to a restore
point made before you installed the offending software.
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore

Provided there is such a point available that will put things back as
they were

If you have evidence of Norton damaging the Restore system, please give
details. I have heard of some nasty actions by Norton, but not this

 

[Solomon Grundy]

As Rock suggested, first thing to try is a System Restore to a restore
point made before you installed the offending software.
Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - System Restore

Provided there is such a point available that will put things back as
they were

If you have evidence of Norton damaging the Restore system, please give
details. I have heard of some nasty actions by Norton, but not this

Ok. The problem is that all the restore points thus far come up as unusable.
Each one that I've tried so far. It seems the whole restore system's broken.

As far as Norton goes, I have run Norton WinDoctor and found that no restore
point prior to running windoctor actually works. I know it edits the
rerstore files to remove pointers to deleted files (which IMHO it should
not).

 

[Raymond J. Johnson Jr.]

Ok. The problem is that all the restore points thus far come up as unusable.
Each one that I've tried so far. It seems the whole restore system's broken.

As far as Norton goes, I have run Norton WinDoctor and found that no restore
point prior to running windoctor actually works. I know it edits the
rerstore files to remove pointers to deleted files (which IMHO it should
not).

WinDoctor doesn't remove anything without *your* permission.