"Power Options" in control panel deosn't work

[ne1scott]

I am getting an exception errror relating to a powercfg.cpl problem on a WindowsXP Pro SP3 system. (Sony VAIO laptop). I can run other .cpl files but I get an error message about powercfg.cpl when I try running "power Options" in the control panel or running the .cpl file from Start|RUN. I have backed up the 3 powercfg related files in system32 and replaced them with files from my XP Pro SP3 desktop system but it still works the same.

The exact error message is <An exception occurred while trying to run "shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL "C:\WINDOWS\system32\powercfg.cpl",">

I really don't want to reload the system for this small error...but I don't just want to live with it either.

Someone please help. I am a Windows/Linux Sysadmin.

[justpassingby]

Hi ne1scott and welcome to TSF !

Go to start => run and type
powercfg /RestoreDefaultPolicies

source : Power scheme options are unavailable on a Windows XP-based computer

[ne1scott]

I just heard back from my vaio user. The command brought up a 3 part menu. She tried option 1 and then rebooted the system. It DID NOT fix the problem. Option 2 would require exporting settings from another computer and importing them to hers....this was not possible since it was not here at the office when she tried it. Option 3 says something about "Reload in place" and so it wasn't ran since she didn't know what it was. Please advise .....

[justpassingby]

Try option 2 when you have the chance.

Option 3 is a repair installation of XP, unless the documentation that came with the laptop says the contrary it shouldn't be tried on laptops that only come with a recovery disk.

She can also try to run sfc /scannow (mind the space after sfc), this will replace some system files and reset some default registry settings.

[ne1scott]

I will try option 2 using my desktop XP Pro SP3 installation to provide the files per the instructions option 2 gives. I assume you are saying that option 3 does more than mess with the control panel .cpl files and may destroy the system so I guess I won't run it since it's not worth the hassle of backup/restoring the system if it goes wrong.

What is sfc ? and what is it going to do ? I should probably know this but realistically I hardly ever use any command line tools in windows except ipconfig and traceroute. I will be working on the phone with the vaio user in about 30 minutes. Please let me know if you have other suggestions as I have full access to all of the files on the PC from my desktop and can also remote desktop to it if necessary.

[justpassingby]

info on sfc :
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310747
http://ask-leo.com/what_is_the_syste..._i_run_it.html
With OEM installations you shouldn't be asked to insert an XP CD.

[ne1scott]

Option 2 didn't help since it appeareed to just be importing a power settings profile from another machine. Using the powerconfig /query command it shows that Portable/Laptop is what the power scheme is currently set to. Also using the query command we were able to read all of the other profiles. We eventually used it to modify the settings that prompted the need to run "Power Options". The Power Options button still give the exceptions error and will not run.

I am having the user run the sfc /scannow command after I tried it on my PC and had to mess with the CD. It replaced one dll file twice that pertained to my 3D Audio driver.

Assuming the sfc scan doesn't fix it, where do we go from here. I have seen at least 2 other people on other forums such as techarena that have this EXACT same issue.

[justpassingby]

Please notify us when you're also looking for help on other forums, we need to see what you've already tried. CCleaner and other registry cleaners can't possibly know about all entries used by all programs, they can cause more harm than good if they remove the wrong entries and shouldn't be used to solve such problems.

Go to start => run and type devmgmt.msc. Expand "computer" and check the presence of Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC. Enter the BIOS at startup and search for some setting with ACPI in its name, report the current value.

Update the laptop with the latest drivers from Sony, also update the BIOS. What's the exact model of the laptop ? If Sony provides a third-party power management program for that laptop reinstall it.

Unplug all usb devices, disconnect from the internet (physically : unplug the ethernet cord or turn the router off), restart the laptop and see how it goes. Could be some issue with shared files or some hardware component that doesn't support power saving mode.

If she can remember when the problem started she could restore the system to the date prior to its appearance using system restore, wouldn't do that if it's more than 1 or 2 weeks away or if she installed many programs inbetween.

Check this article for other troubleshooting clues :
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/907477

[ne1scott]

I searched and found this forum after not being confident that the responders in the other forum were ever going to come up with an answer as they were bickering childishly over whether I said I had ran CCleaner before the probelms started or not. Since I opened the thread there first I felt obligated to keep them in touch with any suggestions or progress that is made on the issue since there was at least one person on that forum with my exact error message.

This forum is the only forum that has had suggestions that I have tried. I have posted to other forums updates on what's been happening since working with you. I even posted a link to this post so they could follow it if need be.

The problem appeared months ago. She has just lived with it since then. It only came back to the forefront when she needed to change system standby time from 5 minutes to 20 minutes in battery mode. We have now used command line powercfg to accomplish that but the "Power Options" icon still doesn't work.

I will have her try the devmgmnt steps you mentioned and check to see if ANY Sony applications are on the box. Since the laptop probably came with WinXP Home from Sony we probably applied a retail copy of the XP Pro upgrade to it. I would think that all of the Sony applications would have been retained by whomever set up this laptop, but if she had problems with it later it could have been reloaded from scratch.

The Laptop model is a Sony Vaio VGN-FE770G.

Obviously the computer has been shutdown, put on standby, and rebooted hundreds of times since the problem began. USB devices and the network are not connected to this PC when it's away from the office most of the time.

[justpassingby]

Drivers and utilities for Sony Vaio VGN-FE770G

There are 2 ms updates under Windows operating system that are related to power management and standby features and that need to be installed if the system was reinstalled using a retail CD. Check in add/remove programs whether they're already installed (tick the show update box at the top), else install them. The sony notebook utility could also be needed. Also note that XP Pro and XP Home aren't listed as compatible OS, according to Sony's website that model should have come with XP Media Center Edition.

If the laptop came with XP Home or MCE and XP Pro was reinstalled from scratch she may have forgotten to reinstall the proper driver for some hardware device (chispet, sound, network, video, card reader, touchpad, ...). Check the device manager and update the drivers when a new version has been released. Wrong or outdated drivers will cause issues with standby options.

While you're in the device manager you could also check the power management tab of each device that has one, the "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power" option should be ticked for all network adapters and all usb hubs. If you find a device that has the power management tab and where the option is greyed out it could be the one causing your troubles.

If you were able to change the standby time using powercfg it's already good news. A complete system restore using the recovery partition or the original CD would almost certainly solve the problem but that's a last resort solution, if it happened on my computer I think I'd rather live with no power options.

To stay on the safe side I would backup the registry with erunt and create a system restore point manually (all programs => accessories => system tools => system restore) before applying any update or uninstalling/reinstalling any driver.

Keep us posted.