Serious Help Needed: Drivers not updating, MS update not installing, Won't do System Resotre.

So after the Combo-Fix, do I just go ahead and try installing the NVidia driver again? or do I have to do other things first?

Originally posted by incoserv
I'm not being snarky here. I am an IT professional. I dealt with all kinds of MS issues for a long time. My solution - the best I've found yet - is here:

www.linuxmint.com...

I walked away from Micro$oft several years ago and have not looked back.

IT professional that can't operate within a M$ environment.

I don't see much work there.

But while M$ is the king of arrogance in the OS world, it has it's place. Linux does not completely fulfil this.

There are plenty of issues with linux that as yet are unresolved. Some even marked as Wontfix.

so.. if it's a matter of not knowing and the OP thinks ahha! It's good. But often it's not the case and they're running XP or older for a specific reason.

Personally, if it was hardware issues, I found windows 7 better than XP on older hardware.. go figure. And even the peeled back versions of ubuntu or variants were a bit sluggish on that hardware.

Not to mention driver issues for certain devices...

They each have their place. You can't bash one to fit the other. You break both.

Originally posted by winofiend

And now I'm on windows 8. surprisingly I like to better than 7. That's like saying the cookie monster suddenly likes lasagne and calls himself garfield.

A friend just BEGGED me to remove win 8 from her new laptop. I asked why? She said try it for a day or two. Had the laptop at home for about 15 mins before I started an install of win 7 Had to remove SEVEN!! partitions before it would let me install another OS, something to do with the boot sector!

For some its probably a nice OS but I absolutely loathed it. It was the hotspots that did it for me, got really pee'd of with things magicaly firing up on their own. Can probably be turned of somewhere no doubt. Then there's the NO START BUTTON, and then I learn that you can have one if you buy it!!!

A quick look about on the "interwebs" and I see MANY people dont like it.

So how are you getting on with it? Why do you like it?

Originally posted by winofiend

Originally posted by VoidHawk

Originally posted by incoserv
I'm not being snarky here. I am an IT professional. I dealt with all kinds of MS issues for a long time. My solution - the best I've found yet - is here:

www.linuxmint.com...

I walked away from Micro$oft several years ago and have not looked back.

Every so often I download and install one of the linux flavours, a few days ago I downloaded mint. Very nice! best I've seen so far. My problem is I've so many little programs I've created for myself and I'd be lost without them. I'm realy into vb6, do you know if there's anything simmilar for linux? Most of my time at my pc is spent hooking into windows and generaly messing about, I love it, one HUGE puzzle, this is the only reason I havent swithched to mint.
For anyone not messing with the OS I'd agree with incoserv, go get a copy of mint.

OMG a fellow vb6 maniac. Ugh I still have it all but I've had to get with the program.. vb.net

Oh for the slight learning curve, it is far better at getting things done. Pinvoke helps with api calls, converting old methods.

Surely you could install vb6 in Wine? I cannot see why not, and then your programs would run almost the same?

Never thought about it, wine can almost run anything I've thrown at it however, with the exception of getting media player classic to play mkv files. ha.

Description
Visual Basic 6 Enterprise Edition - Service Pack 5
Old test results
The test results you have selected are very old and may not represent the current state of Wine.
Selected Test Results (selected in 'Test Results' table below)
What works
Almost Everything

What does not
Didn't let me add the ADO Data Control 6.0 and the DataGrid Control 6.0
claims "Not enough Memory"
Also claims that when trying to compile.
Runtime Compiling works

if you've already got Mint somewhere, why not try it? Be interested to see if your existing applications work without having to do much to get them to.

You know, I just assumed they'd hate each other (linux/vb), First thing tomorrow I'll be chasing wine, if just for the hell of it

DOH!
Spoke too soon on the yellow update shield disappearing. After a re-start it was back and yet again the updates failed to install

Thank you all for your advice, Linux is totally alien to me, as is most of MS stuff if truth be told, but I do try! Will digest what you all have written better tomorrow when I am more awake as it is now 4.15am *yawn.

Thanks again and cya 2moz

CM

Microsoft and Linux are both needed in the modern world..To the OP dont get sucked into that "Linux is better because I dont like M$FT " crap..

Computers are only as good as all their components and the user behind them. I'm running Win 7, WIn 8 and multiple flavors of Linux and each does the things I need it to do..

One is not inherently better in everything than the other.

reply to post by CthulhuMythos

Hey OP.. It sounds like you have limited resources there both in time and IT techie experience so I might suggest one other thing then, since Combofix appears to have failed ya. Do you have a tech school or community college around? The one I attend has an extensive networking and tech program. Within that, is a full service tech shop that does 100% of the in-house IT AND .....fixes student/community machines on a flat rate basis. No one advertises and you'd need to know it's there to ask for it ...or at least know to ask at all (why I write this. ).

If you have a school offering that sort of thing, I'd say you'd have better odds of a clean fix than MOST brand name chain shops. After all, the tech school is where those guys come from ...and in the school? They have all the toys and very senior instructors in the field to fall back on for "err..help!". If it's hardware/software/malware/config.. Whatever.. They'll find it.

If not? Err... Well.. See my suggestion about LiLi USB Creator and there is another option there. Rather than going to System Restore CD first, burn yourself a USB stick with Avira Anti-Virus first. Again, this is from Linux, in Linux and booting linux. It can work with all the windows stuff but won't be impacted by what is hurting your windows install. (At least..it shouldn't be...and it I'm wrong, you've lost nothing. Nothing gets WORSE than where you are now)

Then ..if THAT fails? That's where I'd say pay for the tech help professionally ...since you've done so much now trying to fix it and each step MAY have added more variables to mess with now .... or LiLi yourself that System Restore 3.1.1 from the download options ...and use the cloning or copying features to backup what you have to something else before a total and complete wipe for reformat. My suggestion at this point.

Oh....one other VERY important step .. BEFORE doing much else, find yourself a good program for hunting down and recording all the serial numbers/CD keys for that machine. Several exist and several are free. Little things like Windows and Office keys are returned that way, as well as game and app keys. Just DO NOT NOT NOT NOT do that with Internet connected. This is your last step to do before you go for the USB stick to start your final copy of data off that drive, so net won't matter. Why? SOME of those key programs will work very well. You will get the data....but so will someone else. It's easier in your case to just say, unplug the Ethernet cable and remove the chance entirely

Good luck on this and I hope it works out well.

Originally posted by VoidHawk

Originally posted by winofiend

And now I'm on windows 8. surprisingly I like to better than 7. That's like saying the cookie monster suddenly likes lasagne and calls himself garfield.

A friend just BEGGED me to remove win 8 from her new laptop. I asked why? She said try it for a day or two. Had the laptop at home for about 15 mins before I started an install of win 7

Had to remove SEVEN!! partitions before it would let me install another OS, something to do with the boot sector!

For some its probably a nice OS but I absolutely loathed it. It was the hotspots that did it for me, got really pee'd of with things magicaly firing up on their own. Can probably be turned of somewhere no doubt. Then there's the NO START BUTTON, and then I learn that you can have one if you buy it!!!

A quick look about on the "interwebs" and I see MANY people dont like it.

So how are you getting on with it? Why do you like it?

There are definitely a few things I really wish I could resolve. But they're not show stoppers - Explorer freezes when I open a new instance of it, as if it's refreshing the drives. But another instance will browse fine..

Also yeah, it wakes up out of sleep on it's own to perform updates, which is annoying when suddenly you see the monitor turn on from the other room, but I can reschedule these or power the machine down.

I decided to stay in 8 rather than go back to 7, as I find I've grown completely used to the metro start menu. I look at the old Start Programs and it just feels clumsy to me now. The shortcut (winkey-x) to the power menu is a must in my opinion, and if I were to go back to 7 I'd need to find an alternative for that. The combined search feature could be a little more intuitive, but again, it seems to be how it should have been in the first incarnation of search.

I don't have any features missing that I'd need to purchase? the start charm is a bit annoying, but if you're a shortcut person then the start button brings up the start screen. The start charm opens if you place the mouse where the start button would have been. The charms are gimmicky, and on a dual monitor setup they can be a bit awkward...

I was also under the misunderstanding that the desktop was almost a separate 'metro app' to run. But it starts by default for me. With a dual monitor set up anyway, main screen is the metro start screen, second monitor is the desktop. Pretty much how I'd have it anyway.

I think the main thing for me was I expected to detest it. When I first migrated from win95 to XP I was furious that they'd changed so much to do the same things. Same from xp to vista - which I avoided like the plague.

But to be really honest, if someone were happy with 7, the change to 8 might not really make the difference it intends to make, and they may likely find the few annoyances (which I think may be related to my ssd for the explorer issue) something to put the move off.

It boots faster than 7 or XP. but this is a trick. It doesn't really shut down. It does a sort of hybrid sleep.

A few other things are buried in obscure areas which are definitely not a selling point. Google how to get into safe mode for a laugh.

I don't think I'm making a good case haha, but it's really down to personal preferences. I like the way it copies files for instance. It does it how it should have been done from the start. A proper estimate of time remaining, etc.

With 7, I felt M$ had stolen a lot of ideas from Ubuntu. 8 seems to have it's own direction, and sure it's a little convoluted but something in the right direction. In my opinion, thats rare for microsoft.

I do know this however, if it were not for the few stubborn things I use daily, I would be on a flavour of linux.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
reply to post by CthulhuMythos

 

Hey OP.. It sounds like you have limited resources there both in time and IT techie experience so I might suggest one other thing then, since Combofix appears to have failed ya. Do you have a tech school or community college around?

Man this whole post was excellent Wrabbit2000..Solid advice all around.

Originally posted by winofiend

And now I'm on windows 8. surprisingly I like to better than 7. That's like saying the cookie monster suddenly likes lasagne and calls himself garfield.

On certain things I prefer Win8..Metro is pretty damn slick once you get past the UI shock of it being so different then everything else Microsoft has put out. As you grow accustomed to it things being very intuitive I think..
Having the ability to move to just a traditional Start button based interface is nice for those that need\want it but its a step backwards when using that compared to Metro.

Again though, running both Microsoft and Linux will give someone the best experience.

Sounds like the op had some bad updates on 'patch Tuesday' which happens on the second Tuesday of every month and yes Xp is still supported by Microsoft until mid next year.

People might be surprised to hear that Xp is still the second most used operating system in the world today. Thats overall including home users but in business it might even be number 1. Mainly because businesses have in the past invested money in software and training using specific programs and as long as they work exactly how they want them to there is no need to spend huge amounts of money in upgrading hardware , systems and if needs be a totaly new application to suit their needs along with training to go with it.

I've also had problems with the .net framework updates not installing. I've found that if you uninstall them (add & remove programs) and install them in order, it works better. Instead of letting them install automatically, you will need to select and install them one at a time. I believe (probably wrong) that once you install a newer update, the older ones look for versions older than themselves. So if you do it one at a time, in order, you should be ok.

reply to post by CthulhuMythos


Ok , CthulhuMythos im going to try to work through this with you today and see if we can find a way to solve some of the problems you are having

You problems are;

1 - Failed .net updates.
2 - Messed up GFX drivers.
3 - you want to remove the Nvidia Explorer Icon.
4 - Cant boot to safe mode.

The .net updates problem can sometimes be fixed easily enough on XP and other times it can be really stubborn. I can remember at least 2 times in the past where no matter what we tried we could not get get them to install correctly.

First off it is totally safe to remove all of the Nvidia drivers as Windows will revert to a backup default VGA driver in the absence of anything else. This is the driver that is used when you first install windows.

There is also a way to force XP to boot into safe mode using msconfig

heres some details :

In Windows XP, click on Start and then click Run.

In the text box, type the following:

msconfig

Tap or click on the OK button, or press Enter.

Note: Do not make changes in System Configuration other than those outlined here to avoid causing serious system issues. This utility controls a number of startup activities other than those involved with Safe Mode.

Click or tap on the Boot tab located at the top of the System Configuration window.

In Windows XP, this tab is labeled BOOT.INI

Check the checkbox the left of Safe boot (/SAFEBOOT in Windows XP).

The radio buttons under the Safe boot options start the various other modes of Safe Mode:

-Minimal: Starts the standard Safe Mode.
-Alternate shell: Starts Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
-Network: Starts Safe Mode with Networking.

Click or tap on OK.

You will then be prompted to either Restart, which will restart your computer immediately, or Exit without restart, which will close the window and allow you to continue to use your computer, in which case you'll need to restart manually.

After restarting, Windows will automatically boot to Safe Mode.

Important: Windows will continue to start in Safe Mode automatically until System Configuration is configured to again boot normally, which we'll do over the next several steps.

If you'd prefer to continue to start Windows in Safe Mode automatically each time you reboot, for example if you're troubleshooting a particularly nasty piece of malware, you can stop here.

When your work in Safe Mode is complete, again use msconfig to set the boot up option back to normal

Have a go at this and see if you can get into safe mode ok

Dual boot Windows & a Linux distro (K/X/Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or the Mint derivation thereof IMO) for the best of both worlds.

After I accidentally wiped out Vista (a blessing in disguise) I turned solely to Ubuntu for the last 6 months of my degree course without any major issues. I reinstalled Windows because I missed Call of Duty 4.

All my "real world" stuff goes on in the Linux OS & my Windows is pretty much a big video game machine.
I understand that there may be stuff that simply has to be done from Windows.

Do you use any programs that require .net framework v4? If not then I wouldn't worry to much about it. In regards to what I assume is a much bigger problem, Your graphics. Have you tried to install the latest drivers from Nvidia from this website www.nvidia.com... ? If you are unsure which drivers to download then you can have it autodetect for you by clicking the "graphics Drivers" button just to the right of where it say's option 2.

Once downloaded see if they will install, If they install successfully then reboot and you should be good to go (back to your normal resolution and able to use Photoshop again) If this doesn't work post back and we can go from there.

Originally posted by EnochRoot
Dual boot Windows & a Linux distro (K/X/Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or the Mint derivation thereof IMO) for the best of both worlds.

After I accidentally wiped out Vista (a blessing in disguise) I turned solely to Ubuntu for the last 6 months of my degree course without any major issues. I reinstalled Windows because I missed Call of Duty 4.

All my "real world" stuff goes on in the Linux OS & my Windows is pretty much a big video game machine.
I understand that there may be stuff that simply has to be done from Windows.

A viable alternative to dual booting is just running Linux virtualized.
Currently I have Mint and Ubuntu running in Vbox and that works great.

reply to post by VoidHawk


I don't do programming, so can't really answer your questions there.

Do give WINE a spin. I think it might work. Do a search with the terms "vb6 linux" and see what you turn up. Might be surprised.

I'd recommend setting up a dual boot, and work on migrating over. Learn as you go. It'll be an adventure.

Originally posted by winofiend

Originally posted by incoserv

IT professional that can't operate within a M$ environment.

I don't see much work there.

I do web design, so most of my work is on my own. And I didn't say can't operate in an M$ environment. I choose not to do most of my work there.

Yeah, M$ is still around, and I have to deal with it to some degree, but only when I have to.

Originally posted by PhoenixOD
reply to post by CthulhuMythos

 

Ok , CthulhuMythos im going to try to work through this with you today and see if we can find a way to solve some of the problems you are having

You problems are;

1 - Failed .net updates.
2 - Messed up GFX drivers.
3 - you want to remove the Nvidia Explorer Icon.
4 - Cant boot to safe mode.

The .net updates problem can sometimes be fixed easily enough on XP and other times it can be really stubborn. I can remember at least 2 times in the past where no matter what we tried we could not get get them to install correctly.

First off it is totally safe to remove all of the Nvidia drivers as Windows will revert to a backup default VGA driver in the absence of anything else. This is the driver that is used when you first install windows.

There is also a way to force XP to boot into safe mode using msconfig

heres some details :

In Windows XP, click on Start and then click Run.

In the text box, type the following:

msconfig

Tap or click on the OK button, or press Enter.

Note: Do not make changes in System Configuration other than those outlined here to avoid causing serious system issues. This utility controls a number of startup activities other than those involved with Safe Mode.

Click or tap on the Boot tab located at the top of the System Configuration window.

In Windows XP, this tab is labeled BOOT.INI

Check the checkbox the left of Safe boot (/SAFEBOOT in Windows XP).

The radio buttons under the Safe boot options start the various other modes of Safe Mode:

-Minimal: Starts the standard Safe Mode.
-Alternate shell: Starts Safe Mode with Command Prompt.
-Network: Starts Safe Mode with Networking.

Click or tap on OK.

You will then be prompted to either Restart, which will restart your computer immediately, or Exit without restart, which will close the window and allow you to continue to use your computer, in which case you'll need to restart manually.

After restarting, Windows will automatically boot to Safe Mode.

Important: Windows will continue to start in Safe Mode automatically until System Configuration is configured to again boot normally, which we'll do over the next several steps.

If you'd prefer to continue to start Windows in Safe Mode automatically each time you reboot, for example if you're troubleshooting a particularly nasty piece of malware, you can stop here.

When your work in Safe Mode is complete, again use msconfig to set the boot up option back to normal

Have a go at this and see if you can get into safe mode ok

ok I have now managed to get into safe mode with internet access, but I don't know what to do now.

Ok , thats great. Now we can try to strip out the GFX drivers cleanly and re-install them in normal mode to see if that clears things up at all. Read all of this post first before you begin..

First off you need to set a restore point so if anything goes wrong you can restore to that point to fix it.

please follow the guide here : support.microsoft.com...

Then after you have set the restore point you need to download a driver cleaner :

Theres a couple to choose from and its been a while since ive used one, heres 3 of the most popular , driver sweeper and driver cleaner and a newer one called driver fusion

treexy.com...://download.cnet.com/Driver-Fusion/3000-2086_4-75748005.html?part=dl-&subj=dl&tag=button&dlm=0

www.guru3d.com...

www.afterdawn.com...

You need to clean out the old nvidia drivers using one of these.

Then reboot your computer in normal mode. You will have to set msconfig to normal startup mode to do this. Then when windows boots up and tries to automatically install a gfx driver you cancel out all of that. Then reinstall either using a new driver from nvidia or the old one that you said you had saved from before.

If it was me id try the new one first and if that doesnt work, repeat the process for removing it and try the older one.

If the system should completely fail to boot (not likely) , try to reboot it a few times. If it still wont reboot you tap f8 to get into recovery mode.

Then first try 'last known configuration'

if it still fails to boot do the f8 thing again and this time choose 'restore' and pick the restore point you set before you started.

Its probably not going to go wrong but its better to be safe than sorry.