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Messages - BoCat

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1
Have tried all the "quick" fixes I am comfortable with off of internet.  There is TMI to proceed with along those lines unless I absolutely have to and was hoping somebody would have pertinent, focused input.  Just acquired a DELL 970 8GB/1TB & have no idea what it was used for originally.  When I checked Installed Updates I found that, minus an update (KB2685811) Kernel-Mode Driver Framework v1.11 which had installed on 4/2/21, there are no other Updates listed after January 2017 and there are only about 20 updates listed total since placed in service in 2010.  Obviously, whomever had this rig did not pay any attention to it which leaves me with the thought that this was a task-dedicated unit and not used in a regular desktop fashion. :confused:
 I do connect to the internet and have no problems downloading anything else.  I also found that the BIOS revision is @ A-13 - the latest I could find was A-22, but still, my bios is 9 revisions short of current.  Any help or direction would be appreciated.  I have a disc, but it is for the OS only....

2
Yesterday downloaded and installed latest "Windows Repair" and "Registry Backup".  After installing WR wanted to reboot in safe mode and used WR for that.  No reboot to Safe Mode, machine shut off.  Restarted, screen skipped normal notification for "F2 & F12" options, screen stayed black for longer than normal, then booted to normal desktop with (apparently) all functions working.  Did emergency shut-down.  When I rebooted I again got no safe boot options, screen remained black then booted to normal Windows.  I have no Safe Mode.  As far as the Registry Backup, I only included that because I did both updates in same session.
The "Right Click Allow" is a question:  After I installed the program I noticed that on every reboot or start-up the option disappears from all the right click menus and has to be reinitialized - Is that normal?

3
I had already uninstalled the original SoundMax....Have just learned (in cases like this) to read the primer before proceeding  Should I install it again and run it in compatibility mode, install the one you recommended and run it in compatibility mode, or just not at all? 

4
TKS again, Samson.  When I downloaded I noticed that a 745 is not listed, but 760 is.  Part of the same group/platform?  Also, my Optiplex is a W7, 32-bit and the file info says the download is for W7, 64-bit - Is O.K.?      :smiley:

5
Ran ST last night and I was not disappointed.  Very, very snappy now, and (I can tell), a much happier machine.  This is such a great site.

Two glitches have showed up:
The first one I'm now having might (MAY?) be related to the now fixed, thanks to Samson, prior F1 issue, but I suspect not.

On boot this a.m. I was flagged: "This version of AudioESP not intended for this Operating System".  I am unsure of just where this program came from or why it took so long to activate a flag, but I suspect it entered when I updated my drivers thru Dell, and picked a wrong version, or?  I disabled it, noticed no change, and wonder if I should delete it or go back to the Dell site, run another diagnostic and update (needed) and see what I can see.  The program is called SoundMax.  The title on the flag box was SMax4PNP.exe.

Second:  Since my attempts to correct the F1 issue started I have not checked my updates.  My update is set to automatic download and install, and I have not, before the 14th, experienced any problems.   I now find that I show no updates for Windows or MS since the a.m. of 7/14.  The only update I see is for Adobe on 7/17.  Nothing else installed or in history since the 14th.  I tried to run MrFixIt, but found no program but one screen showing me how to push the "Update" button.  I know MS, in their hubris and strong-arm drive to force us all to adopt W10, is backing out of W7 support, but until 7/14 have never gone a whole day without at least one update, usually more, and I am now up to 5 days.   I then went to Windows Update Troubleshooter and got this after running diagnostic:

Fixed service registration is missing or corrupt/0x80070005(2015-07-20-T-09_42_37A)
When I saw "missing or corrupt" I ran /scannow, but it said everything O.K.

The synopsis of the code is: ERROR ACCESS DENIED  The authentication method is not supported - CoCreateInstance(BackgroundCopyManager) fails with E ACCESSDENIED (0x80070005) in this condition.  PROBLEM: NOT FIXED

Also: Problem installing recent updates     PROBLEM: NOT FIXED

The main screen in the Troubleshooter says that these two problems are not fixed, but when I open up Details it says they are...?

I have surfed for information and corrections, but there are gaggles of sites with more than one opinion and usually with more than one corrective, and gaggles of sites that want to take over your machine, register your software, and muck around in the registry.  I am not particularly down with that.  Is there any way to find out if MS has promulgated any updates in a particular time period?  I have also realized that my updating stopped (apparently) just about the time that my update load-bar got covered up by a banner exhorting me to "Reserve my FREE UPGRADE to W10".  No, I'm not a conspiracy freak.  Just sayin'....

I have scanned and cleaned and found nothing.  AVG2015FREE/MalwarebytesFREE/Revo 1.95 Uninstaller/SpywareBlaster/CCleaner/MS MaliciousSoftwareRemovalTool

Any direction or opinions?      :confused:  again.





 

6
Advice on BIOS noted and you're right.  If there is no import or gain then "it ain't broke".  Don't need anymore doorstops.  Have three of them now and running out of doors...I was a Radioman U.S.N. back when it was still tubes and hard-wiring. My knowledge may be ancient but the philosophy, basics, and approach are the same.

Have more than a great day. Thanks again!   


7
Samson, IT DID WORK!

Exiting Setup I now boot right to Windows.  It always helps when there are no Operator Problems....After going to Windows I completely forgot ( :rolleyes:) to shut down and start up again to see if turning off the Floppy fixed it.  Yep, sure did.

You get a really big ATTA-BOY! and several OUTSTANDING'S!  Very much appreciated.

One of the first things I did after installing Windows was to hook-up with the Dell site and do all the diagnostics I could find as well as have them check for any and all necessary updates.  Need to go back and get after that BIOS update.

Now that I don't have to baby-sit this thing through Startup or Restart I'll run the SimpleTweaking after I get the BIOS.

Once again, Thank You so much.   :smiley:




8
More for Samson:

The CMOS is dead-on correct for date and time.  I did change the battery, although it tested good, when I was cleaning the garbage out of the frame before I installed the new memory cards. 

Under Drives: The Diskette WAS on.  I changed it to the choice "All Floppy Drives are disabled".

SATA-0 is the H.D.

SATA-1 is the CD-ROM.  The CD doesn't work.  I actually have two of these 745's (using one for parts), and neither CD-ROM was in operable condition. With the portable DVD-RW installed I don't need a CD.  Turn it off?

SATA Operation: Two choices. "Normal" & "Legacy".  Normal is configuration for "Native" mode: Best performance and flexibility.  "Legacy": For compatibility with older systems that do not support native resources.  Parameter is set to "Normal"

SMART Error Reporting is "Off".

And now, two uneducated questions: Could this have anything to do with POST behavior?

Also, there is a 160GB H.D. upgrade for this machine.  Since I am not a Gamer or doing programs that require tons of resources I didn't think doubling the size of the H.D. would be beneficial.  The bigger H.D. isn't very expensive ($55) - Would upgrading the H.D. get me anything other than a bigger gun? 

9
Thanks, Samson. No, there are no other messages with the F1/F2 prompt.  Just for info., this machine never came with anything but a CD-ROM and Floppy drive. The Floppy drive was removed (or never had it installed) long before I got the unit, and the CD doesn't work.  Dell never upgraded to a DVD-RW for it.. Fortunately I had an old portable DVD-RW and it worked just fine installing Windows.  Thanks for the info on the BIOS edition.  Apparently I chose the wrong one when upgrading.  I'll remember to read better and tend to the BIOS post-paste.  So, I take it that short of being a fully vetted programmer myself I'm stuck with baby-sitting F1?   

10
Thanks for the try, Samson.  Followed the trail to Security, but had no listing for Chassis Intrusion or any reset function.  Security listed: Administrative Password/System Password/Drive 0 Password/Drive 1 Password/Password Changes/TPM Security/Execute Disable/Computrace.  Have watched a couple of video and they showed me exactly your instructions, but my 745 doesn't present as seen in video.  Don't know the history of this machine, but it had an Ubuntu OS on it when I got it and I had a fine time getting to the point where I could get rid of it because the original owner couldn't remember any of the passwords.  According to Dell this machine should have also had Windows in a separate partition, but did not.  My BIOS is 2.6.4 and is current, as far as I know.   :confused:

11
Tweaking.com Support & Help / Will F1 to boot Windows be a problem?
« on: July 18, 2015, 10:19:24 am »
Hello, Shane.  I'm the guy whose old MSI-7058 took a header a few months back after running the full Tweaking program.  After determining that I didn't have enough knowledge (yet) to find the problem(s), I acquired a Dell OptiPlex 745, (Service Tag F8XXBD1) 2GB/80GB with Ubuntu OS ( :evil:).  After reformatting the drive (I bought a Windows 7 Home Premium), upgrading to 5GB/80Gb (soon to be 8GB), doing a clean install, updating BIOS/drivers/etc. I find that I have what seems to be a very solid and responsive machine.  I want to run SimpleTweaking, mostly to ensure that I have missed nothing in set-up, and also because I was very impressed with the very noticeable upgrade in performance when done to my old MSI.  Concern:  When first started I have to either F1 to boot normally or F2 to enter set-up and cannot just walk away when doing restarts or other things that require a straight boot.  There are a lot of people out there who have this glitch and everybody has a different answer. I have not been able to pin the corrective procedure down to make the machine boot right to Windows, YET.  Want to know if this annoying problem will affect or cause problems with the Tweaking program or Windows when run.?.  The old MSI is now a curiosity project and I'm probably going to do the same with it that I did with the Dell, but going to keep it in-house as the Home Premium was only licensed for one computer.   :smiley:      :confused:   

12
General Computer Support / Re: Black screen
« on: March 18, 2015, 03:38:58 pm »
Again, my THANKS!, Shane and Boggin.  I had considered that the boot was taking place only with the registry backup, and that it simply could go no further because nothing was there to go to, but did not have a clue about where to go next. That may be an over simplification of what happened and not quite correct, but information and experience speaks for a lot, and my lack of both coupled with the age of the machine may have done me in. Being a Master Mechanic for 50 years, first and foremost taught me mistakes are how we learn.  I will dive into what you have given me tomorrow, educate myself, and go at it again. This was a time and toy project and I was under no illusions that sooner or later I might come up against the 'oops' factor.  I will post ya'll on the results as soon as I have some.  Talk to you soonest.      :smiley:

13
General Computer Support / Re: Black screen
« on: March 18, 2015, 08:24:05 am »
Thank you Shane.  Thank you Boggin.  Your inputs are most appreciated.  Yes, Windows 7-32bit. No, I am not in possession of the original Window disc.  The computer was given to my wife in an unusable condition and it was my project.  I approached these upgrades with a lot of caution, mostly because of the time and effort already spent in the running restoration, a total learning for me.  When I took on AVG Internet on a trial basis I decided that now was the time to proceed with SimpleTweaking and Tweaking.com.  I eliminated several programs I felt were superfluous, possible conflict, or unused.  I scanned and cleaned consistently over a 4 day period, including CheckDisc and File, each time after eliminating or changing I would scan again, with everything.  All came up clean. Considered everything I did and approached it with a meticulous mind-set.  When I applied SimpleTweaking it became immediately apparent that the utility had done a fine job, absolutely no doubt about it.  I decided to proceed with the main Tweaking.  I did not go into this totally blind.  If I didn't know what was being done I researched it and based my decision(s) in part on that research and partly what I had accumulated knowledge-wise and if there was any doubt stayed with the defaults.  I did (through Registry Backup) two registry backup, then two file, and 4 restore points.  At points along the way in running the utility I was flagged for missing or corrupt files, my hard drive was almost full, SOL(?) file missing, losing Homegroup, sporadic Internet (I'm wireless. Cable, but broadcast inside house and was now getting connections to weaker signals when before I had a solid '5-bye-5', no ability to update anything, and a BUNCH of other flags that came and went too quickly to write them down. If any connection to Internet was made it was SLOW and usually would not take any redirection.  Toward THE END I found that AVG had done something to my firewall and had a death grip on everything.  The Wdo's settings for the firewall were correct, but AVG would not let go, even when disabled.  I finally uninstalled AVG, but did not get firewall back or stable connection to the Internet.  The offline performance continued to deteriorate until I was left with nothing but a forced shut-down.  After restarting, which took inordinately long, I went into Safe Mode (no Internet) and again ran all scans and checks.  Nothing showed up. Tried, progressively older, 3 restore points.  Made it worse.  Then I made probably my final misstep and tried a registry restore.  That did it.  After (now always) a forced shut-down I have tried successively to boot in Safe/Safe with networking/cmd/normal.  After the Pentium logo it goes to loading Sys32 files, hesitates, then blackscreen with an active mouse and no cursor, although the cursor does appear momentarily in the upper left.  I have tried all that you suggested (and more) at different times in the boot process and the only thing that produces anything is ctrl+alt+del, which takes me back to the Pentium logo and we start all over again.  Ooops.  Looks like I'm gonna need a bigger boat....

14
General Computer Support / Black screen
« on: March 17, 2015, 09:37:07 am »
Good Day, Happy People
MSI-7058, 32bit, Windows 7 Professional//Pentiium 4 530//4GB RAM//59GB MEM//64GB SSD ATA//NVIDIA GeForce 6600GT.  All FREE: AVG/SPYWAREBLASTER/REVO 1.95/CCLEANER/MALWAREBYTES 2.0/Security Essentials. Yes, old but venerable and up to a few days ago had progressed well with the running restoration (a learning process) and educating myself, but obviously not well enough in this instance.  I have made what appears to be a major faux pax and do not know what to do....
Won't belabor everyone with the particulars of this story, unless there is some interest and a response to this posting, which has a four day time line and lots of progressively bad, and some strange (to me) stuff.  Simple Tweaking & tips (all 4, but no use of ClearMem), Registry backup, and the main Tweaking program are involved.  Doesn't matter how I load it, simply put, the end result of my problem is a black screen after Sys32 load, with an active mouse and no blinking cursor.  Have I sent my Byzantine coffee pot to byte heaven?   Do I now need an abacus and slide rule?    :confused:

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