[haganm]

I hope someone out there can help me out.

Yesterday, upon booting up my PC, I recieved a blue Windows welcome screen. A message at the bottom right states to click on my username to login but there is no usernames listed. The only other message or option on the screen is on the bottom lefthand corner which (if I recall correctly) is a buttom to Shutdown. That's it. There is no login Window prompting for username/password. Ctrl-Alt-Delete does nothing. No other key or mouse click does anything either.

I tired rebooting in Safe Mode - exact same thing. I tried booting up on the last working config - exact same thing. I only have one account on this machine and Windows never previously asked me to login - it just went directly to my desktop upon booting.

My level of PC knowledge is basic so I'm stuck and don't know what to do next.

The only thing unusual that has happened recently was that I noticed the last time I used the machine (a few days ago) was a new icon for MediaPipe and couple of Internet shortcuts to Movieland. I never directly downloaded this stuff so assumed it was spyware. I tried to remove using Ad-ware / Spybot but those tools didn't identify this as spyware. So, I directy uninstalled the MediaPipe. removed the shortcuts, and removed the startup process that seemed to be associated with Movieland (can't remember the exact name) using MSCONFIG. I did these things as my best guess and this was before I knew of the existance of this site. I took those actions as I was repeatedly getting popups and messages when attempting to shutdown from this Movieland place saying my trial period was over and I owed them money.

After taking these actions, I did confirm I was able to shutdown and restart my machine ok. It was only yesterday upon booting that I encountered the blue welcome screen described above.

Please help!!!
Thanks in advance.
haganm

Edited by haganm, 29 November 2005 - 11:33 AM.

[Advertisements]

ok....well...by your description..you do have some infections...but let's try to get you back into windows before i send you to malware....because...they can't help you if you can't log in..

so pressing ctrl alt delete at the log on screen does nothing?....even when trying to boot into safe mode?

do you have your xp cd handy?

[dsenette]

ok....well...by your description..you do have some infections...but let's try to get you back into windows before i send you to malware....because...they can't help you if you can't log in..

so pressing ctrl alt delete at the log on screen does nothing?....even when trying to boot into safe mode?

do you have your xp cd handy?

[haganm]

Thanks for the quick reply. I do have access to the XP CD. I actually have sent this message from my work PC so I don't currently have access to the personal system I'm having problems with. Won't until either this evening or tomorrow.

[haganm]

Ok - I have located my XP CD. Any specific steps I should follow next? All help / suggestions on what I need to do is greatly appreciated!

To specifically answer your question - once I boot up and get the "XP Blue Welcome screen", there is nothing that appears to work expect being able to click on the "close" button at the bottom left hand side of the screen. Then I can either Shutdown or Restart. Nothing else seems to work. I can't Ctlr-Alt-Delete or click on anything on the screen. The screen has a message saying to click on the username to login but none is listed. I can't click on the message either. Really nothing except being able to close windows.

Thanks - haganm

Edited by haganm, 02 December 2005 - 06:13 PM.

[haganm]

Not complaining here. Realize this is a free service and folks are doing this on their own time. I've never used this previously but applaud the forum and those that work it.

I'm simply just trying to understand what my expectations should be. Since getting an initial reply which was amazingly quick (and to which I replied back quickly), I haven't seen any replies from anyone. I was hoping that I would get a list of some things to try understanding that I'd need to take that list of suggestions and go work it and post back. I have no expectation of "real-time" support and couldn't do it anyway since the PC I am posting with is not located at the same place as my dead PC.

Again, just trying to understand what my expectations should be since I am Dead in the Water and don't know if I should try a service like Geek Squad (anyone with any experience with them?) as I need to get this system back up and running soon.

If there is someone out there that can provide some suggestions, great. If not, can someone share any thoughts on a service like a Geek Squad that I should consider?

again, many thanks in advance. I do appreciate the forum and those that work it!!

[SRX660]

I hope people don't mind me stepping in. Haganm, when you first come to the XP forum, at the top is pinned topics. One of these is how to do a "repair windows XP". Go there and read what you should do. It might help if you could print out some of the pages to take home.

SRX660

[haganm]

SRX660,
Personaly, I don't mind anyone stepping in. Again, realize that there are numerous threads / postings so my previous posting wasn't complaining in nature at all. I understand you can't get to everyone immediately - was just trying to figure out what I should do next. I truely appreciate / admire those that can and do volunteer to help us non-techies out! You guys/gals do a great service.

Just an obversation but being tech "basic", not sure I would have understood without the help from one of you "geek pros" to actually go to the link that you referenced. Probably makes a lot of sense to you, not so much for those of us with limited techie abilities.

Since all I was asking to was a point in possible direction that might help me out, you've definitely provided that and I'll go to the link you've referenced and try all that is suggested. I'll post back with any ? or clarifications needed.

Appreciate the suggestion.

Mucho thanks!
haganm

[dsenette]

sorry about starting..then dropping out...but..i only post during the week..while i'm at work..i've got a t1 here...andonly dialup at home...so it's hard to post from home...

do as srx suggested and try the repair of windows..if you need further instructions...let us know

[haganm]

Dsenette,
No apologies needed. Again, appreciate the forum and the free help. I've been absent myself for the last few days as my kids have had the flu bug. I hope to try today and will post an update or (most likely) questions when I get stuck.

THanks again.
haganm

[haganm]

ok - did the repair and everything seems to going great but I've hit a point where I'm stuck (remember, I'm not that computer savvy). I am in the "Installing Windows" part of the repair (I did select R, not install), and I have the current prompt:

The file 'ctlface.sys' on Creative WDM Audio Driver Disk is needed.
Type the path where this file is located then click Ok.

I understand a device driver is being asked for but I can't figure out where the heck it is. I've put in all the Dell disks that were sent with the system but no luck. I tried searching these disks in another computer for the file name being asked for - no luck. I would have thought the driver would have been on the Dell ResourceCD and perhaps it is, but I would have no idea where on the CD or if it is part of a ZIP, Install, or CAB (realize I might not be using the right terms) file, but again how would I know....

I even tried going to the Creative Labs web site and searching their site for this file name - it came back and said there were no updates available but didn't show me where the driver is so I could download it.

What do I do? Can I cancel without cancelling the repair? Is there somewhere other than the Dell disks that came with the system where this file would be located.

Frustrating since I understand what is being asked for but can't figure out how to find the file.

Any help / advice would be appreciated.
haganm

Edited by haganm, 10 December 2005 - 08:04 AM.

[SRX660]

That is the drivers for a Creative Sound Blaster Live sound card. If you do not have a Sb live sound card then it is probably for a onboard sound chipset. Heres a website with the WDM SB live drivers. Go ahead and register as they don't try sending you emails or such, they just keep records of what people download.

http://www.soundcard...rs/34/34683.htm

SRX660

[haganm]

Thanks for the suggestions. Actually, I was able to avoid all of that as my dad found the missing Sound Blaster CD (thank goodness).

However, now I've ran into another issue and this one seems much more serious. again, I'm not that computer savvy so I have no idea what this means. After putting in the Sound Blaster CD, the the repair installation proceeded ok until the following message appeared:


COM+ SETUP ERROR

Sub component COM+ raised an exception while processing the OC_COMPLETE INSTALLATION setup message.

d:\nt\com1x\src\complussetup\csetuputil.cpp (line 3406)

Error code = 0x8007007f

The specified procedure could not be found.

Failed to load library 'C:\Windows\System32\catsrc.dll'

The only option in the message window is 'OK'. There is no RETRY or CANCEL.

I haven't yet clicked on 'OK'.

My questions: Any idea what this message means? If I click ok, will I be able to continue the repair installation? If not, what options do I have to complete the repair installation? Any recommendations what I should do next?

Any help, assistance, suggestions are welcomed as I have no idea what this message means.

haganm

[haganm]

More info: I clicked on ok to see what would happen. The repair install concluded. However, upon reboot, I am getting the same thing happening that prompted my initial post - the blue windows login screen without the ability to login anywhere and with the only option a "Shutdown" button at the bottom left portion of the screen.

I tried doing the repair installation again and encountered the same COM+ message described in detail in my previous message

So - again questions are still: What does this message mean and is there anything I can do so that the repair installation can complete successfully? I can do a full re-installation but would prefer not to since I do have some data that is not backed up (most of it is).

Welcome any help, assistance, suggestions, etc
Thanks in advance,
haganm

[SRX660]

I really don't know what that is. here is a webpage on it.

http://www.mydllfile...580/catsrv.html

One of my main reasons to divide my hd's into at least 2 partitions is so i can get to any data i put on the computer. Three times i have been able to recover my data by installing the hd in another puter and copying the second partition over to the second partition of the drive of the receiving puter(bypassing the OS on the "C partition and copying the "D' partition). The "C" partition i use only for the OS and programs.

I know that it is too late for you to do this and i really don't have any other answer except to start over with a fresh fdisk, formatand windows reinstall of the drive. Perhaps someone else here can answer your question better than me.

SRX660

[haganm]

Update: I'm still stuck. I tried copying the file catsrc.dll to my hard drive. No difference.

So, here's my status.

If I boot up the system, I get a blue screen with a message saying click on user name to login but there are no user names listed. There is a Shutdown link at the bottom of the screen and that works - ie, I can turn the system off, do a restart, etc

Before, I couldn't even Alt-Ctlr-Del or do anything except the shutdown. Now, I can Alt-Ctrl-Del and I do get a login dialog window but I can't get any further. The account (only one) didn't have a password. If I try to login with that account, it says the password (no password) is invalid. I also tried to login as Administrator (that also didn't have a password) but that doesn't work either (it said that local policy did not permint login with that account). So, I still can not login to the system.

I have been able to boot with the XP CD. If I do repair, I get this COM+ message each time that I've described in one of my previous posts. I also can do the repair console and was able to get a DOS-like command prompt, and did confirm that I can see the directory structure on the C: drive including the data.

I'm resigned to thinking I need to do a fresh install with disk formatting but before I start I'd like to know if it is possible to get my data off the drive. Again, if I am in Recovery Console, I can traverse the directory structure on the C: drive and see the data - it's all there.

My key question at this point: How do I get my data off?

I have a USB drive that I can also see in recovery mode but it appears the only command available to me is the DOS COPY command which won't be practical due to the number of files and LFNs. I tried to put a copy of the XCOPY command on the USB drive and run it under Recovery Console mode, but it simply said that the command was not support. But, I can get to the USB drive under the DOS Recovery Console mode so I do have somewhere to copy the data to.

Is there a utility available that is bootable on it's own that I can download and put on a CD so I can boot this system with it and then copy my data to the USB drive?

Any help would be appreciated.
haganm