Messages

9301

General Computer Support / Re: Catastrophic failure 0x8000FFFF, possibly caused by running Tweaking.com

« on: November 25, 2014, 01:33:35 am »

After re-reading that attachment, this article could help should the problem reoccur https://www.safebackup.com/faq/content/5/117/en/volume-shadow-copy-service-vss-troubleshooting.html

9302

General Computer Support / Re: Computer -Randomly- Freezes

« on: November 25, 2014, 01:18:58 am »

Just to recap, did you work your way through the blue Online help link for each of the recent errors in Event Viewer ?

For it to occur when the HDD activity picks up could point to memory but you've said it can also occur when just idle.

When a computer is idle there is still activity as Windows usually takes that opportunity to create a restore point.

When you did the memory test, did you perform it on individual sticks or with them all installed.

The latter can produce a false reading which is why the test should be done on individual sticks.

An example I've came across was where a computer had boot problems having had a successful memtest, but when the boot was tried with just one stick installed the machine booted up fine and not when the other stick was installed on its own.

9303

General Computer Support / Re: Catastrophic failure 0x8000FFFF, possibly caused by running Tweaking.com

« on: November 24, 2014, 05:05:29 pm »

The blue Online link I was referring to is what you get when you highlight an error in Event Viewer - apologies - was thinking you'd obtained the error from Event Viewer.

9304

General Computer Support / Re: unable to start tweaking repair.exe

« on: November 24, 2014, 05:01:16 pm »

That's great news.   

Can you add (Solved) to your thread title now so Shane and others will know that you have a result.

Just a note - when posting in CAPITALS - it's viewed as shouting, but I find it's easier to read. 

9305

General Computer Support / Re: bad internet connection - need help

« on: November 24, 2014, 04:57:49 pm »

Just for reference, the easiest way to post the output of a command window is to right click in the text area, click on Select all then press enter.

You can post this by placing the cursor in the reply box then right click and select Paste.

You can also do this to put it in a Notepad or Wordpad doc if you want to print it out for future ref.

When you download and boot up inSSIDer3 click on Networks and it will show your SSID as well as any others you are picking up and the channels each router is broadcasting on.

Your Signal strength should be around the 50 mark or less, but if you are channel sharing with other users who have a signal strength within 20 of yours or are less than yours (forget about the minus value) then they will interfere with your WiFi connection.

Mine varies between -48dBm and -52dBM and while I can channel share or be overlapped by other users, none are usually less than 70 so I don't normally have any problems - although occasionally it can spike downwards and "hit" one of the other users but very rarely do I experience disconnects.

You will need to log into the router and navigate to the Wireless settings (probably) to change the channel, usually by means of a dropdown.

Routers can be default set to Auto, 1 or 6 but using the Link Score in inSSIDer3 to give the best channel will help to avoid disconnects if they are the cause.

While this speed estimator is for the UK, take the figure for ADSL2+ as a guide. http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/max_speed_calc.php

Enter your Downstream Attenuation then hit Calculate.

Using the side menu in the article can give you some useful info, so is worth a read.

9306

General Computer Support / Re: unable to start tweaking repair.exe

« on: November 24, 2014, 02:48:26 pm »

Download Windows Installer v4.5 and try the download/install again. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942288

If it still fails then directly download 2005 Redistributable and then try the install. http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=18471

If 2005 is already listed in Programs and Features, see if uninstalling that first helps.

9307

General Computer Support / Re: Catastrophic failure 0x8000FFFF, possibly caused by running Tweaking.com

« on: November 24, 2014, 02:31:24 pm »

Does the blue Online help link give a why and possible solutions ?

9308

General Computer Support / Re: Computer -Randomly- Freezes

« on: November 24, 2014, 02:04:32 pm »

Run HDDScan-3.3 to see what that gives http://hddscan.soft32.com/

You can click on S.M.A.R.T. and/or click on the HDD symbol to choose other tests.

As an added but longer method, you could use Sea Tools for DOS http://www.seagate.com/gb/en/support/downloads/seatools/

You need to create a bootable disk which you can do with ImgBurn http://filehippo.com/download_imgburn but read the user guide for Sea Tools for DOS.

As you say the freeze is more common when you are downloading, see if it happens when downloading either of those programs.

If it does then check Event Viewer for the time stamp then try the downloads in Safe Mode with Networking to see if it still happens.

9309

General Computer Support / Re: Can't connect to any network and trouble in windows time

« on: November 24, 2014, 01:57:41 pm »

If you've reset the clock and it is now showing the correct time, open a command prompt as an admin and enter -

netsh winsock reset

netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt

exit

Now reboot to see if you regain connectivity.

If it still fails then you'll need to check that the Network services are started by going Start - type services.msc and press enter.

Their start up type should be Automatic or Manual

COM+ Event System
Computer Browser
DHCP Client
DNS Client
Network Connections
Network Location Awareness
Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
Server
TCP/IP Netbios helper
Wired Autoconfig is set to manual.
WLAN AutoConfig (Vista/7 wireless configurations only)
Workstation

If a service is not running, click on it to highlight then click on Start (top left).

If it fails to start then right click to open its Properties and check the Dependencies and that each of them are running.

Any Dependences not listed in Services can be found in Device Manager/View/Show hidden devices/Non-Plug and Play Drivers.

9310

General Computer Support / Re: Many Blue screens no mnatter how many Tweaks I run

« on: November 23, 2014, 01:55:12 pm »

The PCI Bus Controller is usually either part of the Chipset or Video drivers (AMD), so I would suggest going to Dell Support and downloading those for your laptop model.

BSODs are usually caused by driver problems.

I'm not familiar with that Dell repair and where reimages are concerned, there is a risk of losing all of your personal stuff as you would with a factory reset.

See if downloading those drivers makes a difference.

9311

General Computer Support / Re: Can't connect to any network and trouble in windows time

« on: November 23, 2014, 01:41:33 pm »

You haven't said if you tried the steps in that article I'd linked.

As for the cause(s) - what exactly did you do in services and can you post a link for that tutorial you said you'd followed.

Depending upon what you did in services could also have deleted your restore points.

Basically, because we don't know what you have done, we are working blind.

What did the previous sfc /scannow report ?

9312

General Computer Support / Re: Can't connect to any network and trouble in windows time

« on: November 23, 2014, 09:22:27 am »

Your restore points are still your best bet and if you click on Scan for affected programs after selecting one, that will list what you may have to reinstall.

It's possible opening a command prompt as an admin and running sfc /scannow would restore those services - give that a try first.

9313

General Computer Support / Re: Still not repaired the windows update error code 80245001

« on: November 23, 2014, 03:41:51 am »

It's Shane who has the professional eye and will leave those to him to peruse - I get lost off in those CBS logs as does the average user. 

I'm always wary of Betas - how did you end up with .NET Framework 4.5.3 Beta installed.

I only have up to 4.5.1 but get WUs for up to 4.5.2

Aaron Stebner probably knows more about .NET Framework than MS does as it seems to have been a life-long work.

Shane doesn't have much faith in the .NET repair tool and just uninstalls/reinstalls them - but they have to be reinstalled in sequence.

Were you able to use the article for running MSDTC tracing ?

9314

General Computer Support / Re: bad internet connection - need help

« on: November 23, 2014, 01:36:58 am »

Did you initially have to log into the router to enter your broadband username and password ?

Opening a command prompt and entering ipconfig /all will display the Default Gateway which is the router's log in URL address.

Can you post the make and model of the router and then we can have a Google to see if anyone has posted user instructions.

It doesn't matter what language a Google link is in as we can use Translate with Bing.

If you are free to do so and you have alternative broadband suppliers, I would suggest that you Google to see if they have a forum and check out their most common complaints to determine that you're not going to be going from bad to worse.

Normally threatening to leave a supplier can sometimes motivate them to take some remedial action.

Did you try inSSIDer3 to see if you could change to another channel ?

While this could help with a WiFi connection, it won't do much if what you have coming down the line is poor.

When you wire up do you disconnect from the SSID so that you are just Ethernet connected as wiring up and having WiFi enabled as well wouldn't determine if Ethernet is any better.

With ADSL your connection quality and speed are determined by the length and quality of cable between you and the exchange.

As a rough guide, in the router stats look for the Downstream Attenuation and divide that by 13.81 and that will give the answer as kms.

To power cycle a router you switch it and your computer off as well as disconnecting all cables.

After it has sat like that for a couple of minutes, connect all of the cables and just switch on the modem if separate to the router.

Wait until all of the lights are back on and solid then do the same for the router and then switch the computer back on.

You can check your speed at www.speedtest.net and doing this before and after the power cycle will show if there has been any improvement, but I suspect your problems are due to either your ISP's equipment at the exchange or the quality of the cable between you and the exchange if your Downstream Attenuation isn't over 60dBM.

9315

General Computer Support / Re: Still not repaired the windows update error code 80245001

« on: November 23, 2014, 12:54:38 am »

It seems strange that it is snagging sample pictures as I wouldn't have thought they would be related to WUs.

Have you tried opening a command prompt as an admin and running sfc /scannow to see what that reports ?

Edit

A couple of articles on MSDTC - but I'm not sure where you would find the MSDTC tab as described in the first article.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/distributedservices/archive/2009/02/07/the-hidden-tool-msdtc-transaction-tracing.aspx

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ms678917(v=vs.85).aspx

9316

General Computer Support / Re: Can't connect to any network and trouble in windows time

« on: November 22, 2014, 03:49:56 pm »

What were you doing with the services ?

First thing to try are your restore points prior to this.

If the restore points report as unsuccessful then try them in Safe Mode.

You haven't said if you get an error code with this but you could try the steps in this article http://www.thewindowsclub.com/windows-time-service-not-working-synchronization-fails-error

9317

General Computer Support / Re: Computer -Randomly- Freezes

« on: November 22, 2014, 09:45:47 am »

If you scroll down through the errors, you will see one dated 20/11/2014 01:42:45 for the Service Control Manager Event ID 7000

For the reliability history, go Start and begin to type reliability and you'll see View reliability history highlighted at the top then press enter or click on it.

What is the date and event ID of that driver you have listed ?

9318

General Computer Support / Re: Still not repaired the windows update error code 80245001

« on: November 22, 2014, 07:24:19 am »

This article explains the System Update Readiness Tool http://www.sevenforums.com/windows-updates-activation/245239-system-update-readiness-tool.html

See if opening a command prompt as an admin and entering regsvr32 wups2.dll does anything for you.

9319

General Computer Support / Re: Many Blue screens no mnatter how many Tweaks I run

« on: November 22, 2014, 06:42:28 am »

WhoCrashed will be able to find it for you and give an interpretation which you can post http://www.resplendence.com/whocrashed

What security programs do you have installed and have you checked to see if the BSODs still occur in Safe Mode with Networking ?

Any Event Viewer errors with a time stamp the same as the BSODs occur will also help Shane, but he's not likely to be back until late Sunday or until Monday.

9320

General Computer Support / Re: bad internet connection - need help

« on: November 22, 2014, 06:23:00 am »

There can be a number of reasons for this, however - you haven't said if you are using ADSL or Fibre.

Do you get the same slow speeds when wired to the router as you do when connecting wirelessly or when directly wired into the modem if separate to router ?

If this is the case then reporting slow speeds to you ISP could identify a line fault.

Old routers can also be responsible for reduced speeds.

As Samson has suggested, check your router stats as a constantly low SNR Margin will reduce your speed.

This can either be because of a line fault or you are on a well populated channel which you can change with the help of inSSIDer3.

 http://www.techspot.com/downloads/5936-inssider.html

Has anything changed in your set up such as moving a cordless phone base nearer the router, additional electrical equipment, change of furniture or positioning etc.

Power cycling the router and checking for firmware updates for the router can also help.

Malware can also cause speed slow downs so run a scan with something like the free version of MBAM https://www.malwarebytes.org/

9321

General Computer Support / Re: Computer -Randomly- Freezes

« on: November 22, 2014, 02:35:06 am »

I've come across where Bitdefender has been a bit of a resource hog and changing the Paging File to the recommended max could help, which is also why I'd asked when you performed the last defrag as that can aid Virtual Memory. https://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/sysdm_advancd_perform_change_vmpagefile.mspx?mfr=true

As a trial, uninstall Bitdefender and install one of the freebies such as Avast Free to see if you still get the freezes.

AV programs can also cause hiccups in connectivity.

The Event Viewer errors are repetitive and you also have this one for the 20th http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/19405a2d-cea1-464f-92b2-5e9a34f8f9b5.aspx

Click on the blue Online help links for each error and where they give a solution, work your way through those.

The Event Viewer can't report something until it has happened so one or more will be related.

Does the Reliability History give any more info ?

9322

General Computer Support / Re: Computer -Randomly- Freezes

« on: November 21, 2014, 03:21:23 pm »

This is what MS gives for one of the errors http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2080bd89-9f14-4845-b8da-1e073045f98d.aspx

And this is for another http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/3336.event-id-1014-microsoft-windows-dns-client.aspx

You can get theses solutions by clicking on the blue Online help link when you click on any of the errors.

What % of free space do you have on your HDD and when did you last defrag ?

If you have more than one RAM module installed, just leave one in and run Windows memory test then repeat for the other(s).

Go Start - type memory then click on Windows Memory Diagnostic and follow the choices/prompts.

9323

General Computer Support / Re: propsys.dll error ... Solved !!

« on: November 21, 2014, 02:06:08 pm »

Another good result Shane 

9324

General Computer Support / Re: propsys.dll error ...

« on: November 21, 2014, 09:32:46 am »

And this is how to view the chkdsk/wininit report in Event Viewer http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/96938-check-disk-chkdsk-read-event-viewer-log.html

9325

General Computer Support / Re: propsys.dll error ...

« on: November 21, 2014, 02:53:24 am »

Does chkdsk /f report the same file as corrupt in the chkdsk/Wininit log in Event Viewer ?

Those reports tend to make for easier reading.

Just wondering if leaving %userprofile%\Desktop out and just using findstr /c: "[SR]" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >sfcdetails.txt would produce the edited file straight to Notepad.

The CBS.log was reporting a number of errors regarding the Windows Update Agent, so running the applicable System Update Readiness Tool may help with that. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/What-is-the-System-Update-Readiness-Tool

Not sure if updating the AMD drivers would help, but the latest Win 7 AMD graphics drivers installed from the auto detect was giving me a red hue for my HD6310 and I had to roll those back - although as your friend's is probably a newer build, you may not have that problem.