[bcripps]

Thanks everyone... your efforts are much appreciated.

The mouse settings all seem normal and I am using an optical mouse. Hope this isn't part of the problem. Have 256 MB RAM.

When I boot up with the Windows 2000 CD in the tray, the computer ignors it and opens normally. BIOS list boot up sequence CD-ROM, Diskette, Hard-Disk C and all are checked.

I go to My Computer and open D Drive and the install window opens. When I click on "Install Windows 2000", nothing happens. The "Install Add-On Components" opens as does "Browse" and "Exit" works.

And once again, I did have a similar problem several months ago which GTG helped me with. Use Cripps as key word to search the Malware Forum.

Once again, I am indebted to everyone at GTG. Many thanks...

Bry

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Can you try this please:

Click Start > Run type services.msc > OK
In the list of services find:
Windows Installer (MSIServer)
Rightclick that line and choose Properties.
On the General tab Stop and set the service to disabled.
In HijackThis click Config > Misc Tools > Delete an NT service
In the dialog box paste: MSIServer

Reboot and try again.

Regards,

[Metallica]

Can you try this please:

Click Start > Run type services.msc > OK
In the list of services find:
Windows Installer (MSIServer)
Rightclick that line and choose Properties.
On the General tab Stop and set the service to disabled.
In HijackThis click Config > Misc Tools > Delete an NT service
In the dialog box paste: MSIServer

Reboot and try again.

Regards,

[bcripps]

Hey Metallica... good to hear from you again. As you can see, still having problems. Don't know if this is related to the last time we corresponded in the Malware Forum. Anyway have followed the procedure outlined above in normal mode. No change in the computer operation. Still can't open the "Install" section of the Windows 2000 window. Still getting hung up.
Thanks for taking a look...
Bry

[Metallica]

This program has proven to be very valuable in resolving Windows Installer problems:
http://support.micro...kb;en-us;290301

Let us know if it helps for you.

Regards,

[bcripps]

No go I'm afraid. I saved the download to my desktop but when I try to open it, I get a window that says "Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. Can occur in Safe Mode or Windows Installers not correcty installed". I have tried opening in both Safe Mode and normal mode!!!
Bry

[Metallica]

1. Click Start, click Run, type or copy&paste MSIEXEC /UNREGISTER, and then click OK. Even if you do this correctly, it may look like nothing occurs.
2. Click Start, click Run, type or copy&paste MSIEXEC /REGSERVER, and then click OK. Even if you do this correctly, it may look like nothing occurs, or you may briefly see an hourglass. After you run this command, the operation is complete.
3. Try again.

Regards,

[bcripps]

Good morning Pieter:

Did as you suggested and tried to repair W2K in normal mode. Still could not run Install 2000 from the disc.

Repeated your instructions to delete NT Service but got window stating "The Service you entered is system-critical! It can't be deleted." I didn't get that the first time I did the proceedure.

Should I be able to complete this repair in Safe Mode? In normal mode, the drive thrashing really slows my progress. At least in Safe Mode, once the initial thrashing stops, I can proceed normally, more or less.

Anything else I can try?

Bry

[Metallica]

Hang on. That service is normal. It's just the location of the file that struck me as awkward.

• Download the Registry Search Tool.
• Unzip the contents of RegSrch.zip to a convenient location.
• Double-click on RegSrch.vbs.
• If you have an anti-virus installed it might prompt you about a running script. Please ignore this warning and allow the script to run.
• In the "Enter search string (case insensitive) and click OK..." box paste this string:
  • MsiExec.exe
• Click "OK" to search the registry for that string.
• Wait for a few minutes while it completes the search.
• Click "OK" to open the results in WordPad.
• Copy and paste the entire results into your next post.

Doing the repair in safe mode could be a problem if your account is not the Administrator account.
Wait for one of the win2k experts to comment on that please. I'm not completely sure.

Regards,

[bcripps]

REGEDIT4
; RegSrch.vbs © Bill James

; Registry search results for string "MsiExec.exe" 08/08/2005 11:37:02 AM

; NOTE: This file will be deleted when you close WordPad.
; You must manually save this file to a new location if you want to refer to it again later.
; (If you save the file with a .reg extension, you can use it to restore any Registry changes you make to these values.)


[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Applications\msiexec.exe]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Msi.Package\DefaultIcon]
@="C:\\WINNT\\system32\\MSIEXEC.exe,0"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Msi.Patch\DefaultIcon]
@="C:\\WINNT\\system32\\MSIEXEC.exe,0"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Updates\Windows 2000\SP5\KB893803\Filelist\1]
"FileName"="msiexec.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\M886903]
"DisplayIcon"="C:\\WINNT\\system32\\msiexec.exe"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 (1033)]
"UninstallString"="msiexec.exe /X {CB2F7EDD-9D1F-43C1-90FC-4F52EAE172A1}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{90280409-6000-11D3-8CFE-0050048383C9}]
"QuietUninstallString"="MsiExec.Exe /x {90280409-6000-11D3-8CFE-0050048383C9} /qn"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Control\Session Manager\AppCompatibility\msiexec.exe]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet003\Control\Session Manager\AppCompatibility\msiexec.exe]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet004\Control\Session Manager\AppCompatibility\msiexec.exe]

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\AppCompatibility\msiexec.exe]

[HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-839522115-706699826-842925246-500\Software\BillP Studios\WinPatrol\Class]
"Msi.Package"="C:\\WINNT\\System32\\msiexec.exe /i %1 %*"

Anything here, Pieter????

[The Skeptic]

The problem doesn't seem to be with the mouse but with other parts of the system which slow it down greatly. I would suspect the HD because of the the noise you described that could come from faulty read/write heads' mechanism. If possible, get another HD, even an old and small one, replace it with the present HD, install windows on the replacement and see what happens. I can't think of anything doing the noise you mentionmed, but the hard disk.

good luck

[bcripps]

Thanks, VA...

You may be right. I had a similar problem several months ago and Pieter solved the problem by having me delete the file C:\WINNT\System 32\wberm\Logs\wbemcore.log which caused the drive to thrash. Now I'm faced with the same old problem and not sure if the cause is the same, but the symptoms are certainly the same.

I don't have another driver to swap out. Is there another test which could pin-point the trouble?

Thank you once again...

Bryan

[The Skeptic]

If you already deleted the mentioned file then this bullet is spent. From what you wrote I am not sure if your your computer is operable or not. If it does, and if you don't have a replacement HD, then try repair installation of the operating system as pinned at the beginning of this forum. If it's an operating system problem it will be fixed. If that doesn't help than you should try to get an old HD from any laboratory at a next to nothing cost and try to replace the suspected drive.

[Metallica]

Anything here, Pieter????

Not really. Those are all pointing to the correct location.

Regards,

[bcripps]

Thanks Pieter...

Then do you agree with VA that it is most likely a hardware problem? If not, I have my files all backed up and a disc for XP. Is there a way to up grade from Windows 2000?

Maybe I should just toss this Dell into the river!!!

Bryan

[Metallica]

Hardware is not my strong point. My opinion on those matters isn't worth the electrons used to write it with.

Regards,