XP Default Screensaver settings by lurker

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• Icons on taskbar stop working
  • A co-worker of mine has XP SP3 and is having an issue with the taskbar's icons. They all work fine until you right-click on one. Doing so brings up the right-click menu correctly, including additional options for things like sending to files to WinRAR. These options are the same for icons on the desktop. However, even if you didn't actually select one of these options and just canceled it by clicking elsewhere, the very next time you right-click on a taskbar icon, you get a generic right-click menu (similar to right-clicking on an empty area of the taskbar). More importantly, normal left clicking on any taskbar icon then does nothing. Neither does clicking on any program "bars" that are open to the right of the icons. We have done all the basics such as scanning for viruses, making sure windows and display drivers are up-to-date. But this problem is even occurring in Safe Mode. Any ideas where to turn next? Thanks in advance, NHAnimator
• Missing windows/sys32/config/system - any easy fix please?
  • I have noted all the references to the MS support for this problem at startup. I am trying to help a friend who unfortunately does not have (and cannot get) the Windows XP disk (as was pre-installed, and purchased 3 years ago in another country). He crsahed his pc by panicking & "pulling the electricity plug" during a Windows update! I have an "Operating System Reinstallation cd" for my pc. Can I (in terms of both practically, securely & legally) use my disk to help restart his pc? If not, is there an "easy fix" for this problem that does not require any disks (e.g. via the F8 menus at startup)? Thanks for any advice - I want to avoid corrupting his pc or mine as a consequence!
• Dedicated hdd for page file, outer disc space used
  • Windows XP latest SP Hdd dedicated for page file installed, single partition. Page file of fixed size generated on this disc. While reviewing the partition with Windows on-board defragmentation utility, the page file is presented in outer partition sections. It doesn't start from partition beginning. I guess files critical for system performance should be placed at inner section - faster read/write access. Does windows on-board defrag utility really show the facts? Does this file is really placed in outer partition section? If yes, why does windows do that this way?
• IE8 Oleacc: Find on page intermittent performance ?
  • Does 'find on page' not work on some web pages or does XP3 just lose oleacc.dll registration ?
• Please help desktop/icons won't load
  • My computer will no longer boot up properly. I'm running windows xp It loads up but only the wallpaper no icons or task bar. I can't right click and it takes a while before ctrl, alt, and del wil work. I've tried doing new task > explorer.exe and it has worked a fe times but it's restricted. For example my second hard drive wouldn' load it freezes (only an egg time and then nothing) The browsers worke at first but the last few times again nothing. It seems to freeze a lo with the egg timer System restore I've tried about 5 times and it hasn't worked. I'm no sure if this is Malware, Trojan or my hard drive is dieing. I'm prett sure I have some virus's but I don't know if that's the problem. I'm only able to use windows in safe mode now. here is the HijackThis log from safe mode http://pastebin.ca/1792124 Any help you can give me would be very much appreciated -- AlexFir ----------------------------------------------------------------------- AlexFire's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/183438.ht View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-support/1303876.ht http://forums.techarena.i
• Advice regarding a strange MS-DOS Batch File
  • Recently the HR Block tax program installed a pdf printer. It works fine and created pdfs of my returns. Here's my question. The install left a batch file in C/ Program Files. Its title is "temp995." I've never seen such a file in that folder before and wonder if it's just an "orphan." Could it be deleted--or perhaps "run"? Here's the text of the file: :again del "C:\Program Files\pdf995\res\utilities\thinsetup.exe" if exist C:\Program Files\pdf995\res\utilities\thinsetup.exe goto again rmdir /Q "C:\Program Files\pdf995\res\utilities" rmdir /Q "C:\Program Files\pdf995\res" rmdir /Q "C:\Program Files\pdf995" rmdir /Q C:\Program Files\pdf995 del "C:\Program Files\temp995.bat" If I read the last line correctly, the file in question should have been deleted after the install was completed. Any advice will be appreciated.
• Running Windows XP on a MacBook
  • Hello, I will soon be getting my Refurbished MacBook which will be able to run Windows XP. I plan to buy the home version on ebay for a low cost. How much do you recommend I allocate to Windows XP? I was planning on giving XP 30GB's but not sure if that can be changed once allocated. I do not have much to run in Windows, however most apps work only on Windows, and some job websites or online applications will not work in a mac browser so it would be helpful to have Windows. (Although I have a job, I would like a higher paying job and it frustrates me going to company job applications that work only in Windows). For most of my day to day work I will be using Snow Leopard. Also another advantage of XP is the much superior BlackBerry desktop Manager. For the time being I will be booting into Windows and eventually may run them side by side, but this will require more RAM and I think Windows may not work as well in such an environment, although I do not know. Also can someone tell me if Windows hardware will work on my MacBook? I may want to get a USB to serial adaptor for some hardware and eventually dump my old 1999 Compaq Windows 98 laptop, but may keep it for the old hardware. I have a GPS and a Jornada 720 which I use to connect t the Compaq via Serial. Will it work in Windows XP on the Macbook? Also where will the XP files be stored? Can I use XP to access the Mac files and vice versa in the boot camp mode? May install Office 2003 on MacBook (as its much nicer than the Macs Office and Outlook beats Entourage for most uses. Thanks for your help. John -- Are there errors in the Bible? How should a church conduct its worship services? Is drinking Alcohol a sin? If you want to learn, get answers, and be able to defend the faith, CERM is your place. http://www.cerm.info
• MS COFEE
  • http://www.microsoft.com/industry/government/solutions/cofee/default.aspx Computer Online Forensic Evidence Extractor (COFEE) "If it's vital to government, it's mission critical to Microsoft." GACK!
• Graphics Problem
  • I have a computer that just freezes up when booted normally. I've installed latest drivers. I turn the computer on. Windows XP loads About a minute or 2 it freezes up with like horizontal bars, all the pixels are shifted or the monitor just turns off. I think it works fine in 8 and 16 bit color. But when I set it to 32, it froze. The graphics card is: GeForce4 MX 440 with AGP8X Has SP3. Works just fine in safe mode.
• 3 copies of systray.exe
  • Can anyone explain why I have 3 copies of the above file in : c:\windows\temp 68KB c:\windows\system32 3KB c:\windows\system32\dllcache 3KB I was alerted to this when the one in the temp file was identified as trying to run on startup by my AV. I blocked it without any problems with the system tray. Thanks in advance.
• Launch folder windows in separate processe
  • The setting as in subject selected under Control Panel -> Folder Options More than one windows explorer open. Each of them opened in other folder. One of them opened for search function. However, if investigating with Task Manager all windows explorer windows lead to the same explorer process (task right click -> Go to process). The list "Processes" of task manager presents only one explorer window. So the setting as mentioned above not really functional. What's the reason?
• Dvd/Cdrw not recognized?
  • I have a Dell Inspiron 5000 laptop.I am running windows xp professional.I was running a cd drive perfectly, when I took a cdrw/dvd from another Dell Inspiron 5000 and installed it in my laptop it does not recognize any hardware for new dvd drive anywhere. I have tried mr.fix it,3hrs and no result. I have tried the registry fix, did not work. I have looked for a driver, none found. Please tell me if it is possible to have a dvd cdrw while running xp professional? If so HOW! Please help!
• Install failed
  • I'm running XP Pro SP2 academic version. I've been having network issues for awhile and thought reinstalling the network might fix things. I loaded the install cd and when it came up elected install thinking I would have an option to load windows components but that is a thing of the past. Windows ran the complete install program. I tried to stop it by hitting the esc key but to no avail. I was forced to allow it to run to the end. And herein lies my problem. install froze on a light blue screen with an inoperable mouse. After many minutes I figured it was dead. I hit reset and got the screen with the boot choices: normal, last good and the safe choices. No matter what I select windows keeps returning to the same screen. I've been reading some posts with the same problem but nothing works. I've done bootcfg. I've been to /michaelstevenstech.com, did fixmbr (probably a mistake!) nothing makes a difference. The only thing that did anything helpful was how to turn off auto restart on errors by pressing F8. Here is the error message I get: A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer. If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps: Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer. Technical Information: *** STOP: 0x0000007B (0f78A6528,0XC0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000) CHKDSK /F is not available to me. This my boot.ini: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT ]operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastcheck Would greatly appreciate any help. I've been trying to repair this for about a week now.
• reinstating genuine xp software
  • I had my Packard Bell computer stripped and re-formatted a while ago by a 'friend of a friend' after picking up some nasty virus(es). Once returned the computer worked fine for a while, but then started diplaying pop-ups saying the windows was not genuine. I can only assume the IT guy installed a rip off version of windows XP rather than the genuine one. The original Microsoft sticker with the product key is attached to the computer but I didn't get a disk when I bought the PC several years ago. Can I reinstall the genuine software by simply entering the product key somewhere?
• Rebooting cycle that is endless and any safe mode is unavailable..
  • hi and thanks for your help. after runniong malwarebytes and not finding any malware, i shut down for the evening. the next morning, i restarted only to end up with a generic host 32 window pop up. but by desktop came up and all looked fine. i clicked on a folder and a word doc appeared, but then everything froze. after some time it was apparent that nothing was going to happen, so i shut down. since then the system has been in a constant cycle of rebooting. i have also made mulitiple attempts to get into any safe mode option, but the computer still reboots. i have learned that there are some viruses that cause this problem, but i have also learned that this could mean the drive has also gone bad. i run xp, sp3, 64bit. what are my options and can i ever get into my hd again to extract data? the o/s i run is an oem, so there is no recovery console or repair available as an option.
• new windows now open behind old windows
  • Just recently, new windows have started opening behind present (old) windows. For example, I'll have windows explorer open in a window showing a list of files in a directory(folder). When I double click on one of the files (e.g. a text file), it opens *behind* the windows explorer window, not in front of it (as it used to), so I can't see the text file. So I have to click on the text file tray icon below to see the text file. New windows always used to open in front of old windows. I don't know what I did to change this. Does anyone know how to switch back to "new windows open in front of old windows"? Any help appreciated. TIA, Paul
• Documents and Settings
  • I am the only administrator of my win xp professional sp3 notebook. In my D & S folder y get 7 users [3 of them user.PC192371242527 then the same plus .000, .001, and .002 agregate]some with dif sizes (from48,6 MB to 9,02 GB) and different creation dates. Would like to know if, and which I can delete to recover space. Thanks beforehand. Much obliged Dimitry
• error code 1000008e on or soon after boot up
  • I have a 4 yr old Compaq Pressario running Windows XP Service Pack 3 with 2GB of Ram and 300GB hard disc and NVidia GeForce 7500LE video. No ports are open externally on my wireless router, I run Windows Firewall and AVG antivirus software. During boot up or within 10 mins of boot up the PC unexpectedly reboots. If this doesn't happen within the first 10 mins then the PC operates as expected for as long as I want. Sometimes I get the serious error window on reboot with the option to report the incident to Microsoft, sometimes not. However the information in the system event log is consistent: System Error, Error Code 1000008e, Category (102) Event 1003, User N/A and then 4 parameter hex codes which vary each time. Using F8 to boot into safe mode allows for stable performance and I have run complete command line virus scans with AVG which take several hours but report no errors. One time when the PC was stable I ran the online virus/spyware scan from live.com, again no problems found. The event log provides a link to the microsoft website and sends error information. One of the options there was the Haxdoor virus but I've searched for some of the files associated with it, with search hidden files selected, but didn't find any, and there is nothing unexpected in the registry area of winlogin/notify. Can anyone help me with a cure to this problem, other than reinstalling Windows which to me would be the last resort. I apologise for not searching the newsgroup archive for this, but the more observant may notice I am sending this message from my Mac portable and its taken me enough time already to find some newsreader software and set it up. For the 18 years I have used Usenet, its always been on the PC, and since about 1995 using a Demon Internet developed program called Turnpike. Thanks for any help folk can provide. K.
• Removing apparent Temp files
  • I seem to have a number of files characterized by having a tilde in the extension. For example, I have: Outlook.pst~T7743IMC and Outlook.pst in the same folder. I have over 9,500 of these files on my system. Can they safely be deleted? Thanks. --ron
• XP Won't recognize CD/DVD ROM Drives
  • My install of XP was workings fine until a couple of days ago. Now XP has a problen with any CD/DVD ROM drive, even virtual ones like Daemon Tools. The Drives are not assigned drive letters, device manager shows any CD/DVD drive with a Yellow Exclamation mark. The error message under properties says: "Windows cannot start this hardware device because its configuration information (in the registry) is incomplete or damaged. (Code 19)" I've tried deleting the drives from the device driver and reinstalling, but I have the same problem. The DVD drive is recognized by the bios when I check for it at boot up. How can I get XP to recognize my DVD Drives? Thanks DR M -- --------------------------------- --- -- - Posted with NewsLeecher v4.0 Beta 9 Web @ http://www.newsleecher.com/?usenet ------------------- ----- ---- -- -
• Re-booting
  • I am running Windows XP on a Dell machine. For about a month now, I have had a problem of it re-booting for no apparent reason. There is no pattern to the re-booting. What causes this problem and how can I correct it?
• windows xp & firewall.
  • Help please--My wife's thinkpad has xp home, serv pack3. No matter how many times I enable windows firewall it always is turned off when I reboot. I go to security center and set it. I also set it thru my wireless connection. But sure enough when I reboot I get the little red shield in the tray telling me no firewall. Any ideas? Thankyou for any and all help. -- Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/
• How to switch users in XP home edition
  • I would like to hnow how can I switch from user1 to user2 without completely logging of user1.
• web games
  • Computer wont download any games that require java or shockwave players even after trying to update or install updates. Can anyone help me resolv this?
• Can not get into safe mode
  • My computer, with XP, boots normally OK, however, I can not get into any of the 3 safe modes available. The files that show roll by until they get to the same one and then everyting stops. The only way out of this is to pull the plug and restart the computer. The file that it always stops on is: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0) partition(2)windows\system32\Drivers\agp440.sys Fortunately, I have not had to rely on getting in to Save Mode, but would sure like to get this fixed if possible. dsc
• Trying to download and install Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Hi, I'm trying to install the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 so I can run this game beta I applied for; I download the 2 MB package, go through the terms of service, accept, and finally get to the "download and install progress" screen, 60 MB, okay, click start, but nothing happens. No progress, nothing. I restarted and turned off my firewall, okay, so it starts to download, gets to 4 MB... cancels... starts over... 4 MB... cancels... starts over... 4 MB... cancels... 0 MB, 0 KB/s. Four or five restarts, then, nothing. What's the problem here? I'm using Comcast highspeed internet on a Pentium 4 machine with Windows XP Pro, 2.5 ram, 3.0 ghz processor, etc.
• Trying to download and install Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Hi, I'm trying to install the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 so I can run this game beta I applied for; I download the 2 MB package, go through the terms of service, accept, and finally get to the "download and install progress" screen, 60 MB, okay, click start, but nothing happens. No progress, nothing. I restarted and turned off my firewall, okay, so it starts to download, gets to 4 MB... cancels... starts over... 4 MB... cancels... starts over... 4 MB... cancels... 0 MB, 0 KB/s. Four or five restarts, then, nothing. What's the problem here? I'm using Comcast highspeed internet on a Pentium 4 machine with Windows XP Pro, 2.5 ram, 3.0 ghz processor, etc.
• Trying to download and install Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Hi, I'm trying to install the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 so I can run this game beta I applied for; I download the 2 MB package, go through the terms of service, accept, and finally get to the "download and install progress" screen, 60 MB, okay, click start, but nothing happens. No progress, nothing. I restarted and turned off my firewall, okay, so it starts to download, gets to 4 MB... cancels... starts over... 4 MB... cancels... starts over... 4 MB... cancels... 0 MB, 0 KB/s. Four or five restarts, then, nothing. What's the problem here? I'm using Comcast highspeed internet on a Pentium 4 machine with Windows XP Pro, 2.5 ram, 3.0 ghz processor, etc.
• IIS Installation Problem
  • Whenever I install or uninstall IIS in Windows XP professional, I get the following "Distributed Transaction Coordinator Setup Error": Sub-component Distributed Transaction Coordinator raised an exception while processing the OC_COMPLETE_INSTALLATION setup message. d:\xpsp\com\com1x\dtc\ntdtcsetup\src\csetuputil.cpp (line 2748) Error Code = 0x80004005 Unspecified error Failed to execute function 'DllRegisterServer()' in 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\mtxoci.dll'. I'll be very grateful if someone could help me fix this issue. Thanks!
• IIS Issue
  • Whenever I try to install or uninstall IIS from Windows components in Windows XP, I get the following "Distributed Transaction Coordinator Setup Error": Sub-component Distributed Transaction Coordinator raised an exception while processing the OC_COMPLETE_INSTALLATION setup message. d:\xpsp\com\com1x\dtc\ntdtcsetup\src\csetuputil.cpp (line 2748) Error Code = 0x80004005 Unspecified error Failed to execute function 'DllRegisterServer()' in 'C:\WINDOWS\system32\mtxoci.dll'. I'll be very grateful if someone could help me resolve this issue.
• How to stop screen so i can read blue screen message
  • Hi, I have XP pro and it has started to keep on rebooting at start up with a flash of a blue screen message which I can't read as it is so fast. It boots up with the Windows logo screen and the blue lines showing it working for a few seconds but then it goes black and then the blue screen flashes and it then reboots to the same thing again. How can I read that blue screen and how can I see what it wrong and fix it. Thanks oz
• Drops wireless conection
  • I have a customer with a dell computer Belkin wireless modem router and wireless dongle. The computer with the dongle works fine signal excelent and runs ok on the net. She uses facebook and takes part in a game called cafe as soon as she loads the game and logs in the wireless conection drops out. All other internet services work fine, any ideas would be welcome. Thanks in advance Ken
• XP SP2 Installation error
  • We are trying to install SP2 and during the install we get an error 0x80070080. Does anyone know what this error is? TIA Farley
• DVD-RAM Drive Displays As CD Drive In My Computer
  • When I insert a blank DVD into the drive, the icon changes from DVD-RAM Drive to CD Drive and a windows opens up asking what I would like to do with the CD. After I eject the blank DVD, the icon returns to displaying DVD-RAM Drive. However, when I insert a DVD video into the drive, it will be recognized as such. A DVD data disc is correctly displayed as DVD ROM. The drive reads any disk I insert, and the drive is also recognized by most of my DVD burning software. I've also updated to the latest firmware for the drive. I've checked online and this problem seems to have existed for years with Windows XP. The question is, why does the icon change to CD Drive when I insert a blank DVD disc and then only give me options for working with a CD? -- DaffyD® ( : []= If I knew where I was I'd be there now. __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4836 (20100204) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com
• KB953297 won't install
  • Every day Windows Update tries to install Microsoft.Net Framework1.1 service Pack 1 security update KB953297 & it fails. No error code is given, simply a message that it was not installed. According to my update history this has been happening since October. I've searched for advice on the MS site but it refers to a registry cleanup tool which I can't get to work. Searching on Google gets me to various bbs however I don't really understand the advice given as it seems to be aimed a people with far more pc knowledge than me, What do I need to do please? Tony
• All windows wont close; cant click on desktop icons...
  • hello: All of a sudden, any window i open wont minimize, icons on desktop wont open...white small boxes appear behind them when i click on them... It works ok in safe mode though. i installed system mechanic and got rid of excess clutter and any start up problems werent detected. Norton gets rid of any virus... what can be the matter? i tried shutting down, of course and restarting a lot... Has any one heard of windows not minimizing before...what is it? thanks, jeannie
• IE8 won't open
  • I'm having strange problems appearing on one of my XP Pro computers. Possible virus but McAfee does not show anything. Firefox, Safari, and Chrome all work fine but IE8 will not open (if it does, it will then close). Yes, I re-installed it. Also, when I boot this computer, the Windows firewall is turned off and I must reset it usually each time. Not certain what is happening, greatly appreciate any trouble shooting suggestions.
• cannot open internet browser
  • after getting rid of total pc defender my computer cannot locate any files..can work offline but no internet connection..I am asked to check name of file or use search. Search does the same thing
• xp cd
  • Is there a way to make a new cd off my computer of windows xp? I dont have mine and I need to clean my system its running really slow
• After getting rid of virus
  • After finally removing Total PC Defender..I have icons on desktop but when I click windows cannot find file. Same with using start..Have I deleted something maybe? Can only use computer off line..will not connect to internet...
• svchost.exe problem
  • Hi Please help me in solving this issue i am facing a problem in my company which to be seems like a conficker or other type of virus or trojan what this virus or trojan do to the PC's is:. 1. it change your PC to be a workgroup. 2. it stop the NET LOGON from services. 3. cannot access any share folder from any other PC. 4. disable change the computer name from my computer Properties. _______________________ what i did is: 1. scanning with mcafee and every time it gives me this message: "Blocked by Buffer Overflow Protection NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM C:\WINDOWS\System32\svchost.exe:KERNEL32.LoadLibraryA BO:Writable BO:Stack" 2. antimalware software to scan but find nothing 3. string software but find nothing as well 4. other antivirus software but all of them found nothing _____________- when this virus or trojan hit any pc i used to restart the pc and the issue solved for some time but it hits again. and when i restart the NET LOGON from the services the PC work fine for a while but it also get hit again after some time as well PLEASE help me in finding a solution for this issue Best Regards, -- Dooody66 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dooody66's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/181083.htm View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-support/1298622.htm http://forums.techarena.in
• Slipstreamed SATA Problems
  • I have a Gateway MX8734 that came loaded with Vista. I got the lap top from a friend of mine who had the original install of Vista Home Premium on it. Vista seemed to run a little sluggish on the dual core 1.6 so I decided to load XP, and that's when I discovered the laptops hard drive was a SATA drive. Fortunately Gateway released a SATA driver for Windows XP and this computer, unfortunately when I slip streamed them in to my Windows XP SP3 disk and burned a new one, everything was good untill the screen turns light blue after the install of the networking tools, then it shuts down, restarts and gives the xp boot screen, starts back in to setup and says "setup is being restarted.........." I'm sure this would all be much easier if I had an external Floppy drive to put the SATA drivers on, but I don't. Any one else had this problem or better yet, know a solution? I used nLight to slipstream the drivers. -- cylmischief ------------------------------------------------------------------------ cylmischief's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/181014.htm View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-support/1298570.htm http://forums.techarena.in
• No safe mode options with F8 on dual os dell system
  • I have Dell computer which i purchased from Dell with XP and Vista installed. It is currently set to XP. It is working fine. I am, however, trying to run a utility for AVG on it in Safe Mode and have found out that I am having a difficult time arriving to the Safe Mode options. Interestingly and, most frustrating, I have found out that Dell won't support a Dual OS system even though they are the folks who sold it to me that way brand new! The computer is only 5 months or so old. I try hitting the F8 immediately upon start up and I arrive at the "choose OS" menu/page. The instructions in the Help feature on XP says to then hit F8 again to arrive at the Safe Mode Options. Unfortunately that does not work and the only way out is to escape and then the computer proceeds to load up XP. Any suggestions? It is not an emergency now but I sure would like to know how to start up in Safe Mode. -- tsmith ------------------------------------------------------------------------ tsmith's Profile: http://forums.techarena.in/members/180974.htm View this thread: http://forums.techarena.in/windows-xp-support/1298532.htm http://forums.techarena.in
• Change in start-up behaviour after update
  • Hello! My IBM ThinkPad T42p laptop computer was delivered to me with Windows XP SP1 preinstalled from the factory. The very first time I turned it on I set up an account in my name "Theodore" with administrator's privileges as I was asked to do by the introductory registration screen which appeared before Windows XP Professional start loading. "Theodore" and "Guest" were then the only available in the User's Accounts dialogue box and every time I started my system I could see a plain Windows welcome screen with the word "Welcome" exactly in the middle, without the name of my account, and shortly afterwards my desktop with my wallpaper and icons appeared. However, as my system caught a virus, a few days ago, I had the Windows XP Professional SP1 reinstalled by the computer's Restore and Recovery feature to its factory delivery state and subsequently, I connected through the Internet to the Microsoft Update website and had Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3, Internet Explorer 8 as well as all the other available updates, including the latest version of .NET Framework, downloaded and installed on my system. From that time, however, the behaviour of my system at start up has changed and I do not know the reason. Namely, I can see again the Windows welcome screen but this time it is divided in the middle by a vertical line with the word "Welcome" appearing to the left and my account name "Theodore" to the right of this vertical line. The Windows start up process stops here and every time I have to click on the name of my account for the start up process to continue so that I will see my desktop with my wallpaper and icons. I have also noticed that after the installation of the latest version of .NET Framework, one more account, namely ASP.NET has been created in the User Account dialogue box and I naturally wonder if this is the reason for this change in my Windows start up behaviour as well as if there is something I can do to restore my system's behaviour EXACTLY to what it was before the upgrade as it has been analytically described above so that I can very briefly see the Windows XP Welcome screen without the vertical line and my account name before the system automatically loads my desktop. I would appreciate a lot a correct answer by someone who has the right knowledge on that matter.
• How to push traffic bandwidth on certain connections and limit others ?
  • On my remote WinXP system I have several programs (servers, remote desktop VNC, virus signature updates, remote monitoring,...) which share the bandwidth of an internet broadband connection. However if I connect to this server through remote desktop/VNC I want to limit/throttle all other connection traffic so that I can access the server without stuttering. I heard that there are tools which allow limiting of traffic for certain programs in certain conditions. Which programs are suitable for this purpose? Peter
• Full Screen
  • On one version of XP the same program pops up as a window and in another it pops up as full screen. I can't id any setting which led to this. - = - Vasos Panagiotopoulos, Columbia'81+, Reagan, Mozart, Pindus, BioStrategist http://www.panix.com/~vjp2/vasos.htm http://www.facebook.com/vasjpan2 ---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}--- [Homeland Security means private firearms not lazy obstructive guards] [Urb sprawl confounds terror] [Phooey on GUI: Windows for subprime Bimbos]
• Permanently setting process priority?
  • I am attempting to permanently change process priorities for certain apps on XP sp3 so that when I start them they start with a custom priority of my choosing rather than with the default priority of 'Normal' assigned by XP. I have tried both Prio and SetPriority, but neither app will permanently assign process priorities. When the app which is assigned a priority other than the default is closed and reopened, it reopens with the default priority of Normal rather than with the one of my choosing. I have .NET 2.0 installed, which is needed for SetPriority. Prio: http://www.prnwatch.com/prio.html SetPriority: http://www.sunsplash.org/software/setpriority/ I have also tried creating batch file of this kind: cmd /c start /AboveNormal appname.exe described here: http://www.petri.co.il/forums/showthread.php?t=2010 The batch file started the app, but the process priority was Normal rather than AboveNormal. Can anyone shed any light on why these methods might not be working? Would any particular service need to be enabled for these process priority-setting methods to work correctly?
• HP Recovery D., give more GBs?
  • I'm running XP Pro with SP3, 250 GBs I keep getting a pop-up window telling me I don't have enough back-up space. It claims to have 8.47 GB filled and 32 MB free space. But back-up folder only claims :171 MB (179,630,619 bytes) Removing 'all but most recent restore point' changes no numbers. Disc clean-up sez it would add 0 Tried Check Disk..'Automatically fix file system error', and also 'recover bad areas'.... This Changed used space to 7.55 GBs free space 970 MB Also defragged D I wouldn't mind giving it more, but how to do so, please? Shall I back-up the files to my external drive, then delete them all from D and cause a new recovery point? or...???
• Permanently change process priority?
  • I am attempting to permanently change process priorities for certain apps on XP sp3 so that when I start them they start with a custom priority of my choosing rather than with the default priority of 'Normal' assigned by XP. I have tried both Prio and SetPriority, but neither app will permanently assign process priorities. When the app which is assigned a priority other than the default is closed and reopened, it reopens with the default priority of Normal rather than with the one of my choosing. I have .NET 2.0 installed, which is needed for SetPriority. Can anyone shed any light on why these apps might not be working? Would any particular service be needed to enable these process priority-setting apps to work correctly? Prio: http://www.prnwatch.com/prio.html SetPriority: http://www.sunsplash.org/software/setpriority/
• XP Default Screensaver settings
  • When a user has a screensave configured, that is the screensaver that displays when the time lapses. When no user is logged on, a defalt screensaver is used. How to configure that default screensaver?
• Crackers into school files.
  • Hello All! The local papers have been much exercised by the fact that a bunch of junior crackers got into the online grade files at Winston Churchill High School in Montgomery County. Apparently, they placed USB key stroke recorders and freebie programs on teachers' computers and thus got the passwords. Not only did they modify their own grades but they reduced those of people they disliked. Tho' it is difficult to get people to change their passwords, are there not encrypting devices activated by fingerprints and other ways of achieving greater security? -- James Silverton Potomac, Maryland Email, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not
• startup upon stand-by -- no reactions to mouse and keyboard
  • Windows XP SP3 OS leaves the stand-by mode. The user has caused this by stroking some key (keyboard). The windows welcome screen, with several icons of defined accounts. Mouse cursor follows the mouse movements but no reaction to left click. Also no reaction to right click. No reaction to strokes on keyboard. What would be to check as first in this situation? Possible reasons? Thanks