Board index » Windows Vista » Wierd disaster! I need a guru - PLEASE

Windows Vista32
Core Duo, 2GB RAM, Vista Home Premium



This computer was running flawlessly, and then I

stupidly decided to try Vista Manager. I looked through

the options, not intending to change anything. But when

Vista Manager checked UPDATES, it indicated that some

were necessary so I allowed them. It seemed fine at

first, but something bad happened and I need to fix it.



Now, most apps cannot be made to open by clicking on the

correct icon. And, I cannot go back to an earlier

Restore Point. When I try, a dialog box appears with

something like this:



********************************************

System Restore did not complete successfully.



System Restore failed due to unspecified error.

Parameter is incorrect (0x80070057)



Options are SHUT DOWN or RESTART

********************************************



I have tried several earlier dates with the same result,

even from safe mode. Avast thorough scan found nothing.



In most other respects, the computer seems stable though

slow.



HELP, PLEASE!!!



Silvy


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I just used Spybot, which found something with the words

"...disableWindowsRestore..." in it. I deleted and tried

again. This time the restore process went much further,

and the computer rebooted.



However, a minute after the desktop became stable, I got

that same Restore-Failure dialog box.

And, it's s--l--o--w.



HELP!



Silvy

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Just in case there's an expert around, here are more

observations.



Some icons will start apps properly, others won't. The

system tries, and the arrow cursor gets an hourglass for

a couple of seconds and then it returns to an arrow.

Shortcut doesn't matter.



Sidebar takes a long time to load.



Canon printer is inoperative - SETUP and PRINT look

okay, and then there's a box that says "Printer

inoperative". I reloaded the driver and also the Vista

patch, with no change.



Boot, shutdown, and restart are all okay now - speed is

reasonable.



I really, really, REALLY need to restore to a few days ago!



Silvy

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Format the drive, and reinstall.



Where did you find Vista Manager?



"notachance" wrote:

Mick Murphy wrote:

Manufacturer's description:



"All-in-One utility to optimize, tweak, tune up and clean up your Windows

Vista. It bundles more than 30 different utilities in one. Get access to

hundreds of hidden options to improve system's performance and security,

clean registry, junk files and defrag Registry, tune up Vista boot menu,

uninstall program smartly, mange startup items, and many other miscellaneous

utilitiesAll-in-One utility to optimize, tweak, tune up and clean up your

Windows Vista..."



Sounds like snake-oil. Posionous snake oil.





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It was well-reviewed, and looked very professional, so I

decided to give it a try.



I really cannot format and reinstall. For me it would

take a working day, and also I use some giveaway

software that would have to be purchased after a format.



I wrote to the publisher... let's see what they say.

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notachance wrote:

Well reviewed? Did anyone HERE recommend it? Or did the reviews come from

pubications that contain its advertising?



A "C" (3 of 5 stars)

www.download.com/Vista-Manager/3000-2086_4-10607653.html" >www.download.com/Vista-Manager/3000-2086_4-10607653.html



"Everything related to Vista (its tools) worked great. The rest of the

options introduced by Vista Manager still have a lot to be worked on. I

could find no Vista Manager option that did not have a bug, an error or an

issue."

www.softpedia.com/reviews/windows/Vista-Manager-Review-53537.shtml" >www.softpedia.com/reviews/windows/Vista-Manager-Review-53537.shtml



A "B" (4 of 5 stars)

www.laptopmag.com/Review/Vista-Manager.htm" >www.laptopmag.com/Review/Vista-Manager.htm



These were the first three Google hits.





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Please, whatever you do do NOT reformat; you'll just be creating so many more

problems for yourself and a very large headache. Sure, a re-format will leave

you with a working system but that's ALL. You'll have invested hours of

totally needless frustration and possibly TOTALLY messed-up your system for

nothing. The EASIEST, SAFEST way to fix your system is to refresh/reinstall

your system files. Just open a DOS window, having first given yourself

administrative permission if using Vista, and simply type exactly SFC

/scannow let that complete, it should take about 20 miniutes and you'll

have SAFELY re-installed your system files





"notachance" wrote:

been replaced by updates. makes for a flaky system in many instances.

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David wrote:



Then you have no idea what sfc is really to be used for do you?

Frank

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On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 21:56:02 -0700, Frank <fb@spamm.nrz>wrote:





You know what you're used for Frank? A doormat.



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I gave up -- need a working computer.



So, we formatted, installed, etc.



Works fine now, of course. What's interesting is that

the computer is far faster than it was yesterday. Word,

XL, PPT (all 2007) and FireFox, Thunderbird, etc. all

load in 1-3 seconds. Shutdown and boot are much faster.



???



Silvy

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Adam Albright wrote:

hehehe...if I want any sh*t out of you I'll squeeze your fat little pig

face...hahaha...lol!

Frank

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notachance wrote:



Hate to say this but my experience with "Make your computer faster"

software is always the same, And utilities making such claims tend to

sell magazines, so the products get good reviews because the journalist

is paid by the magazine, which gets paid by the advertisers...



Avoid add on toolbars and gadgets unless they are actually useful and

you won't need a program to clean up...

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On Fri, 02 Nov 2007 22:31:22 -0700, notachance <notachance@hell.com>

wrote:





Not really surprising. Windows is so screwed up internally in so many

different areas sometimes starting from scratch can result is marked

system improvement. While nobody can say how long a Vista based PC

should take to boot, shut down, load programs, etc., since there are

so many variables depending in part on the speed of your CPU, total

RAM, hard drives, features of your motherboard, how many and what kind

of programs load at boot and dozens of other things it would be at

best a guess 'how long' certain routine tasks should take.



That said, today's computer meaning one less than a couple years old

and having at least I GB of unshared RAM and a reasonably fast CPU

should on average:



1. Boot and be fully ready to use in less 90 seconds, 45 seconds would

be fairly typical.



2. Applications should load in ten seconds or less. Emphasis on less

except for some very complex demanding ones that may need to

pre load support files before being fully ready to use.



3. You should be easily able to multitask (run at least 4-6

applications)often more at the same time without seeing at slowdown

in overall system performance.



4. Keyboard response should be instantaneous, graphics should be drawn

on the screen so fast you can't see it happening, videos should

play without stuttering (assuming no problems with file), using

Photo Gallery you should be able to see the next image replace the

last instantaneously.



5. System should shut down fully in less than 30 seconds. Often

faster.



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notachance wrote:

Could be, but check the kitty. Firefox has been know to cause cat warts!





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On Nov 1, 9:24 pm, notachance <notacha...@hell.com>wrote:

Silvy,

I have never found a third party registry cleaner or computer "repair"

tool that doesn't have the ability to cause problems. You have to be

careful with most of these programs. I never let them diagnose

problems on a PC, even one that is running slow or showing problems.

These programs will find "problems" that don't exist.

Even Totalidea's software, www.totalidea.com/content/tweakvi/tweakvi-index.php," >www.totalidea.com/content/tweakvi/tweakvi-index.php,

has some dangers associated with it. But, they actually warn you that

you are about to use a tool that may cause problems. I have used some

of their memory tweaks and such, but I never let a third party program

update my computer.



Daryl



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