[MRmonster]

Has anyone here had any problems with programs not working on a system
with XP SP2?
I just got a brand new Dell Dimension E521 & today I began the task of installing all of my programs/applications. It took most of the day after running into several little issues here & there (at one point I received an error msg that I never full caught before a reboot after which the system hung on the boot window where you can go into BIOS. When I shut down & restarted it was ok even though this happened a few more times).
But now, I have almost everything done & discovered that some programs wont start unless I use an associated file & 'open with' to get the program opened. VLC media player, a free application does this. Some others do it as well.

What I dont understand is, WHY ME?
Also, I had this happen on my old system when I attempted to install XP SP2 earlier this year & had to resort back to my old copy of windows that came with my first Dell.
Last year as well, I helped my mother get her new pc set up & programs like VLC, Firefox & Kazaa wouldn't work. It's still like it because I have no idea what to do so she's got to open some programs by way of 'open with' like I said before.

I CANT be the only one to whom this has happened.
PLEASE, someone help me.
I've heard bad things about SP2 but I refuse to believe everyone using it is having these problems. It CANT be insurmountable.
I'm still feeling panic.
THX.

 

[MRmonster]

maybe fixed

I tried using the Program Compatibility Wizard on VLC & set it to be compatible with Windows 2000 & now it works fine. :smile:

Haven't tried it with any others yet as I had uninstalled them hoping to ifnd a solution before this one.

I'll post again soon.

 

[Kalim]

Hi there

Well, SP2 won't hinder your application usage, no not really. Its more developed for security reasons and fixes.

I still don't understand what you get when you try opening VLC from start menu?
Whats the exact error message

One thing you have to remember is that, hardware is just that, components. In due time and usage they will begin to fail. Thus you have to run appropriate tests for them. First checkup before installing an OS would be through running the HDD diagnostic tools provided by your HDD manufacturer for your HDD. Second would be to run Memtest86 and Windows Memory Diagnostic tool to test your RAM. These two and an underpowered PSU can cause too many problems, everywhere.

What I would first advise is that you run these:

1: Restoring corrupt/missing Windows files.
------------------
-Press: Winkey+r
-Type: sfc /scannow
-Hit Enter

It will try and restore missing or corrupt Windows Protected Files and may take a long time (although you'll see a progress bar).

Restart your system when it finishes.

2: Next, Checkdisk
------------
- Press the keyboard buttons: Winkey+r
- Paste in the slot: chkdsk /r
- Press: enter
( black window appears)
- Press: Y button
- Press: enter
- Reboot the comp
(this process is the longest, worse the screen may be
lost before hours later the computer arrives at the welcome screen)

See how that goes to fix these issues. You could very easily have a corrupt download (caused by net problems) which causes these errors.

 

[MRmonster]

will see

well, the thing is, this pc came with xp sp2 preinstalled.
I never had this problem with sp1 at all. EVER.
VLC works but a music production application only works when you open with a project file. otherwise it says 'the operation could not be completed because a file could not be found'.

going to try your ways although i dont understand why this is happening.
thx.



also, when I do a regular reboot it still hangs on the window before BIOS.
I have to power down & restart.

 

[MRmonster]

tried scannow & chkdsk

Kalim, I tried both of your suggestions to no avail.
I can't understand why sp2 is causing so much hassle.

Appreciate your help.

 

[Kalim]

Ok.

Can you clarify which applications don't work (all of them) and all the errors they are giving, after what command you give please.

I repeat. This isn't a SP2 problem. Its elsewhere.

Thanks.

 

[MRmonster]

errors

Propellerheads' 'Reason' says 'the operation could not be completed because a file could not be found' . Double clicking a Reason project file launches the program & opens the project.

Quicktime's error i do not remember at all.
it was a lot of //`1/\/-\=/-``/\/ & stuff.
Seriously. I could never make sense of it & I wish I memorized it or copied it down because I know that wasn't accurate.
(I've since installed a quicktime alternative app which I believe is Media Player Classic. Great free app that runs on little memory & plays almost as much as vlc.

VLC wouldn't say anything unless you opened it in the start menu / all programs. Then it would say something about command line parameters, which I guess makes sense. The progams would all run, you just need to open them with an associated [right click, open with for VLC]. So something is wrong with the shortcut & the .exe as well. And like I said, I changed the compatibility on vlc to go with Windows 98 or 2000 & it starts fine now.

I also had a problem installing a lot of Windows updates. 21/44 installed fine and the rest didn't. That's a lot. I was told by a friend that when he's had this same sort of problem with sp2 [apparently a lot of people have] that he just updates from the microsoft site until he can't anymore & then it's fine. This is an A+ certified 'technician' basically who knows quite a lot more than I do about computers. Another friend who knows almost as much as the last guy says he usually just reformats & starts all over. "Rebuild" he said. A third this evening (a man in his late 40's who has worked with computers longer than those other 2 combined) said something about updating as much as you can also.
So, I couldnt even update everything & kept trying but I couldn't get the failed updates & install them again. I updated a couple more times but it still didn't help my problem with Reason. I can't see how secruity updates & whatnot would help programs to start again.

The hanging of the page on restart worries me too ( as i may have repeated too many times already). Just when you have the option to go into boot menu or setup it just gets 1/2 across the bar. Then I have to power down & start up again. It doesnt always happen, but it never happens on my old pc.

I hope that's more clear. let me know if you need to know anything else.
I really want to know how to fix this. To me it seems like some kind of sp2 issue. I NEVER had these problems on my old pc with sp1...until i once installed sp2. Reformat, XP Home again sp1. Perfect. To me it's scary that something a lot of people are practically forced to use seems to have a lot of people speaking quite negatively about its function.
:normal:

I don't know if there are anymore programs. On my mothers pc it was also Kazaa (could never open) & I think firefox (would open with a saved HTML file). I'm pretty sure I couldn't install ZoneAlarm on hers either.

 

[MRmonster]

I found the problem.
A program called "Trojan Guarder".
I have it on my old system with sp1 but it's never caused this issue.
I figured this out after having reformatted basically for nothing.
When I was reinstalling all of my programs I was keeping track of everything, weary that something was going to cause this problem again. Sure enough, I installed Trojan Guarder, ran it, found 2 'trojans' & deleted them. Immediately I knew something wasn't right as I hadn't been connected to the net yet. I tried VLC & all the other apps that had failed before & they were corrupt. It seems there IS some correlation between SP2 & TG that has caused this.
I did a system restore back to before I installed TG & luckily it fixed it (I've had bad luck with sys restore).
Everything is pretty much on the up & up...... With the exception of the buggy BIOS that needs updating & the one time it restarted when I attempted to plug a usb cable & then removed it just as my system recognized it. I hope that's relatively normal. I just won't do that anymore.

Anyway, thanks guys for your input. Hopefully people might learn from my mistakes & steer clear of Trojan Guarder.

 

[Kalim]

Well there you go then MRmonster :smile:

Any recent changes would explain that one I guess.

Thanks for letting us know.