[exparisstevie]

Hey there - sorry for delay.

K. We have to try another route here to find the cause of our issues. I've done some research on the dde server problem that you described and the results are random and very difficult to apply to your problem, in that they apply to several windows products.

Can I ask you, do you have IE7 installed? Are you running Outlook (either express or microsoft outlook)

I'm going to try a more general fix first with some trialware in the meantime as this will help your system regardless (30 days free - you may want to consider purchasing this after using it - but you'll find you can buy the license key legitimately on ebay for a decent price should you want to and you wont need a cd posted to you as you already have the software installed so it's a simple purchase - up to you after you've used it!)

Download and install tune up 2006 trial which you'll find here - http://www.tune-up.com/

Run Tune Up Disc Clean Up

Run Tune Up Registry Clean Up

Click Optimize and Improve to run Reg Defrag, which will take a few minutes and need a reboot. You should disable the antivirus programme to run this

Check the anti virus is running after the reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to optimize the computer, select computer with an internet connection from the drop down menu, this also requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to accelerate downloads, select the speed just above your actual connection speed, this requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to run system advisor. Follow advice given

-----------------

This program is a very comprehensive system optimizer and is able to locate and repair many issues in your sytem registry.

******* CANNOT BE STRESSED ENOUGH - UNDER NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES, REGISTRY REPAIR SOFTWARE/TOOLS SHOULD ONLY BE USED BY THOSE COMFORTABLE EDITING THEIR REGISTRY THROUGH THE REGEDIT HEIRARCHY. IN OTHER WORDS - DO NOT TOUCH YOUR REGISTRY EVEN WITH A FIX PROGRAM UNLESS YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING ******

This particular program is trusted by this site. It DOES NOT fix unnecessary "fix" phantom issues and is NOT trying to illicit payment from you for these "fixes" - it will highlight issues and then repair them. You should follow the advise it gives.

I have this software on my own pc. It gives you full functionality even from the trial version.

Try the above. Please be patient with these fixes. We WILL get there. Sometimes these issues are harder to find than a needle in a haystack. We'll get there.


Speak soon


Steve
(always have my support)

[Advertisements]

Hi Steve,

To answer your questions... No, I'm not using IE7. I use IE 6. Is IE 7 a problem child? I was thinking of switching. And yes, I do use Outlook Express.

I will download the software and follow the rest of your instructions. This may take a day or two though. I don't have a lot of time right now since I spend most of my time at work and can't do any of this there. Hope you will bear with me.

GT

[gtshadow]

Hi Steve,

To answer your questions... No, I'm not using IE7. I use IE 6. Is IE 7 a problem child? I was thinking of switching. And yes, I do use Outlook Express.

I will download the software and follow the rest of your instructions. This may take a day or two though. I don't have a lot of time right now since I spend most of my time at work and can't do any of this there. Hope you will bear with me.

GT

[exparisstevie]

Hey there,

IE7? - My advice? - for now steer clear. This product is in beta testing. As with all beta products, the software developers assume no responsibility for loss or damage to your system during development testing. Very few "experienced techs" will test this stuff unless they have a system to spare and the time to recover their data. This should tell you that anyone (including those MORE qualified) should give them a miss unless they are comfortable losing data

In particualar IE7 RC1 (the current version) is having an impact at present as many users are switching to IE7 assuming that this is a "finished system" and then to their cost realising their mistake far too late. I have many axes to grind with microsoft - however this is not a microsoft issue in my eyes. They are very clear that this application is in beta testing, users DO NOT READ THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS which is ALWAYS a mistake.

Even with a great many malware programs, a little reading of t+c's will save you. always read these and always make sure you understand. if not, DO NOT CONTINUE.

For your system, this seems to be an issue that is an effect of MS software - my research returned results on many of their products.

I'm hoping this is a registry mismatch and can be solved with the program I mentioned earlier. If not I have one more non invasive fix to try. Next one after that SHOULD be safe but will require a BACK UP before we try it as there IS A CHANCE of DATA LOSS. to keep you in the loop completely (as I always try and do) the step after that will be a repair install. This involves using your initial install cd and your serial key for that product.

Hope you're well and that this is not too distressing for you.

I will be very busy on sunday. I am (as I type) building a system for a colleague - it is 4.53am, i am doing a tutorial for a course on hardware (that I teach) at 9.30am (video conf) - I have a freinds pc to repair tomorrow - (good friend! it''s sunday!!) and I have the same forums as always to support.

Please be patient (your doing marvellously so far!!!!) I will as always help you as fast as is humanly possible. (at the mo - I am checking your messages as a priority (anything over 4days in progress is a priority case for me)

Hope you're well and coping



stay safe


Steve

[gtshadow]

I'm back to happy... For now anyway...

I downloaded the software you suggested and ran Disk Clean Up and Registry Clean Up. Registry Clean Up found somewhere around 800 problems in the initial scan! After I had it fix those problems, it suggested doing an aditional scan to check for more problems, caused by the fix I had just made. It ended up finding a total of 1206 problems! After fixing the problems in the second scan I did another scan and no problems were found.

I then decided to try restarting the computer and to my delight, found that it worked perfectly again.

My question now is, should I still do the other things you suggested, such as the Reg Defrag and System Optimizer?

This software seems like some great stuff and I will most likely keep it after the trial period. Any advice you can give on how to use it, what to use, what not to use, and how often it should be used, would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for your help. Hope you stay around here as I'm sure you can help many people.

GT

[exparisstevie]

Hi there,

Woo hoo!! - Your success with this has put a smile on my face today!

As far as the other options that I asked you to do - yes please carry out all of those steps - this will optimize your system for best performance.

The program has many many features for you to try. I personally have never used the functions that change the appearance of windows - however, that doesn't mean that they're no good - i've just never gotten around to using them. I use the ram optimizer in addition to the steps already mentioned.

It wont hurt to try any of the functionality of the program.

Glad everything is better now.

Let me know if you have any further issues.


Steve


Also with reference to security - Have you tried firefox as a browser rather than IE6? - It is very secure, can be personalised (with addons) and skins.

[b1caez01]

Steve: I've enjoyed the read...like a mystery story... you sure know your stuff... I take lots of notes from this forum... there is always something new to learn, what with MS changing its clothes so often...it's hard to keep up with the changes...

Did I miss something or was the main issue pointing back to his wife's log on setup? Did you tell him to delete his wife's settings and start over with her log on info? Just wondering if that could have caused the registry problems...or had any role to play in the mess?

It sure points to the issue of an almost daily registy cleaning. When I try to help others with their software issues, it blows me away how many errors some have allowed to go unchecked. I had a business client a couple of weeks ago that had almost 2000 errors and he wondered why his system was not working properly, and this is after I told him repeatedly to follow a ruthless regimine of maintenance... It took about four tries to really beat it into submission via a reg cleaner.

I am paranoid...I do daily maintenance before shut down, and play a few games while the utilities are working in the back ground...an ounce of prevention...and all that ...

[sam-my]

Hi Steve

I was delighted to follow up this thread and to see how patiently but surely you planned
and solved this issue.
I have learnt a lot from your corrective action and recommendations.
I have also some issues which are managed in two different threads, but it seems that
the software you warmly recommended is a must for OS maintenance.
I'm using CCleaner, RegSeeker (both free) and Ace and I am also using an old version of
Norton Disk Doctor. Is Tune-Up interfering with these (or other) programs?
Please, can you give a little more detail how often to use/run Tune-Up?

Many Thanks

[gtshadow]

Hi Steve,

I just wanted to let you know that I've gone through the other steps you mentioned and things are running fine at this time.

I also downloaded Firefox and will give it a whirl. I have heard a lot about it, but never got around to trying it out.

Again, thanks so much for your help. Keep up the good work.

GT

[exparisstevie]

Hey,

As far as conflicts go - i'm not aware of any - the guys at tuneup would certainly let you know of any known conflicts though - so drop them a line.

As far as how often to run it - i'd say you can leave it alone for as long as a month, but at the first signs of system instabilities (however they avail themselves - you know your own system and you KNOW when it's not behaving correctly) - run it and see what it can find.

**Word of warning - this program is great, but it is not a substitute for safe practice already done by yourselves. By this I mean, stay safe online and in file sharing etc - keep your software updated (this fixes known security 'holes')
Do regular scans with antimalware software - loads of free stuff out there that is more than adequate
make sure you have a functioning antivirus running at all times (unless told by those in the know to temporarily deactivate as part of a fix) - Same for your firewall

Consider using an alternate browser (the most prevalent hacks of prowsers are on IE)

Hope your systems stay healthy and happy, the same sentiment extends to you.....



Steve


** To make one point about the use of registry cleaning/fixing tools - my stance on these programs generally is that you shouldn't use them at all unless you would be comfortable using regedit to fix the 'fixes' done by said software. **