'Windows 16 Subsystem' error etc.

[Guest spamlet]

Situation is as follows:

 

XPPro SP2

 

40 gig hard drive been running nearly full for several months before I could

get around to offloading pictures.

 

At one point, when I used fast user switching to access a second profile

while the first was still running, I got a message something like 'can't

find profile' and then the system started to build a new one before I could

stop it with the result that the Outlook.pst for that side was lost. (thank

heavens for Google desktop!).

 

I assumed this must be a glitch related to the too full drive, but, now I

have external drives for my pics and have been moving them and creating

space.

 

Last night I completed the transfers and ran CCleaner and Spybot on my side

then fast user switched to run the same on the other, only to find that same

'can't find profile' message pop up and begin to build a new desktop for it.

 

This time I quickly pulled the plug, and the profile was back to normal on

the restart, so it luckily had not had time to corrupt the pst file (I'd

made a copy of it though.)

 

After that I completed the running of CCleaner; Spybot and AdAware on that

side, and left the pc to defrag over night.

 

Today I was expecting to see some performance improvements, but I still

notice some odd effects.

 

Windows that I close remain as ghosts on the taskbar until I right click on

them and close them again.

 

When I try to open some programmes such as Oxford dictionary and thesaurus I

get a sequence of error messages culminating in there being a problem in the

'Win 16 Subsystem'.

 

Googling, I find various mentions of fixes for this but all relating to NT

Servers, and requiring NT discs to fix.

 

Can anyone explain what is going on?

 

Many thanks for any light that can be thrown on this.

 

Cheers,

 

S

[Guest Peter Foldes]

Re: 'Windows 16 Subsystem' error etc.

 

See the following

 

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/16bit.htm

 

--

Peter

 

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others

Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

 

"spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message news:u0KCMME6IHA.4560@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Situation is as follows:

>

> XPPro SP2

>

> 40 gig hard drive been running nearly full for several months before I could

> get around to offloading pictures.

>

> At one point, when I used fast user switching to access a second profile

> while the first was still running, I got a message something like 'can't

> find profile' and then the system started to build a new one before I could

> stop it with the result that the Outlook.pst for that side was lost. (thank

> heavens for Google desktop!).

>

> I assumed this must be a glitch related to the too full drive, but, now I

> have external drives for my pics and have been moving them and creating

> space.

>

> Last night I completed the transfers and ran CCleaner and Spybot on my side

> then fast user switched to run the same on the other, only to find that same

> 'can't find profile' message pop up and begin to build a new desktop for it.

>

> This time I quickly pulled the plug, and the profile was back to normal on

> the restart, so it luckily had not had time to corrupt the pst file (I'd

> made a copy of it though.)

>

> After that I completed the running of CCleaner; Spybot and AdAware on that

> side, and left the pc to defrag over night.

>

> Today I was expecting to see some performance improvements, but I still

> notice some odd effects.

>

> Windows that I close remain as ghosts on the taskbar until I right click on

> them and close them again.

>

> When I try to open some programmes such as Oxford dictionary and thesaurus I

> get a sequence of error messages culminating in there being a problem in the

> 'Win 16 Subsystem'.

>

> Googling, I find various mentions of fixes for this but all relating to NT

> Servers, and requiring NT discs to fix.

>

> Can anyone explain what is going on?

>

> Many thanks for any light that can be thrown on this.

>

> Cheers,

>

> S

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest spamlet]

Re: 'Windows 16 Subsystem' error etc.

 

Thanks Peter.

That was very quick!

I'll get right on to it.

 

Regards,

S

 

 

"Peter Foldes" <okf22@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:uMqhUQE6IHA.1176@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

See the following

 

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/16bit.htm

 

--

Peter

 

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others

Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

 

"spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

news:u0KCMME6IHA.4560@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Situation is as follows:

>

> XPPro SP2

>

> 40 gig hard drive been running nearly full for several months before I

> could

> get around to offloading pictures.

>

> At one point, when I used fast user switching to access a second profile

> while the first was still running, I got a message something like 'can't

> find profile' and then the system started to build a new one before I

> could

> stop it with the result that the Outlook.pst for that side was lost.

> (thank

> heavens for Google desktop!).

>

> I assumed this must be a glitch related to the too full drive, but, now I

> have external drives for my pics and have been moving them and creating

> space.

>

> Last night I completed the transfers and ran CCleaner and Spybot on my

> side

> then fast user switched to run the same on the other, only to find that

> same

> 'can't find profile' message pop up and begin to build a new desktop for

> it.

>

> This time I quickly pulled the plug, and the profile was back to normal on

> the restart, so it luckily had not had time to corrupt the pst file (I'd

> made a copy of it though.)

>

> After that I completed the running of CCleaner; Spybot and AdAware on that

> side, and left the pc to defrag over night.

>

> Today I was expecting to see some performance improvements, but I still

> notice some odd effects.

>

> Windows that I close remain as ghosts on the taskbar until I right click

> on

> them and close them again.

>

> When I try to open some programmes such as Oxford dictionary and thesaurus

> I

> get a sequence of error messages culminating in there being a problem in

> the

> 'Win 16 Subsystem'.

>

> Googling, I find various mentions of fixes for this but all relating to NT

> Servers, and requiring NT discs to fix.

>

> Can anyone explain what is going on?

>

> Many thanks for any light that can be thrown on this.

>

> Cheers,

>

> S

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest spamlet]

Re: 'Windows 16 Subsystem' error etc.

 

Now have gone through your link notes and deleted unnecessary or suspect

items from start up progs and done a full system scan with McAfee in safe

mode.

 

Also ran SpyBot in safe mode but AdAware would not run in that mode, giving

'EAccess violation' notices. It did run in normal mode though.

 

No viruses or other malware were detected, but I did have my dictionary

programmes back without invoking the '16 bit / NTVDM.exe' messages,

afterwards.

A pleasing result, but why would that be?

 

One of the 'suspicious' start up processs that I removed with SpyBot's start

up tracker, were a number of instances of 'ctfmon32'. SpyBot info seemed to

be rather ambivalent as to whether this was always spyware or sometimes

needed. Removing it from the start up list, I notice that one instance of

it has already returned on one of the plain numbered 'user accounts' that

seem to be part of the system.

 

Should I search for all ctfmon32 files and remove them?

 

Another puzzling finding is that running SpyBot's 'system internals' check,

it tells me that the registry has an entry:

HKEY_Local_Machine\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\AppPaths\Win32

Which points to a file which does not exist.

How can Win32 not exist?

Should I remove this entry?

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Regards,

S

 

 

"Peter Foldes" <okf22@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:uMqhUQE6IHA.1176@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

See the following

 

http://windowsxp.mvps.org/16bit.htm

 

--

Peter

 

Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others

Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged.

 

"spamlet" <spam.morespam@invalid.invalid> wrote in message

news:u0KCMME6IHA.4560@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> Situation is as follows:

>

> XPPro SP2

>

> 40 gig hard drive been running nearly full for several months before I

> could

> get around to offloading pictures.

>

> At one point, when I used fast user switching to access a second profile

> while the first was still running, I got a message something like 'can't

> find profile' and then the system started to build a new one before I

> could

> stop it with the result that the Outlook.pst for that side was lost.

> (thank

> heavens for Google desktop!).

>

> I assumed this must be a glitch related to the too full drive, but, now I

> have external drives for my pics and have been moving them and creating

> space.

>

> Last night I completed the transfers and ran CCleaner and Spybot on my

> side

> then fast user switched to run the same on the other, only to find that

> same

> 'can't find profile' message pop up and begin to build a new desktop for

> it.

>

> This time I quickly pulled the plug, and the profile was back to normal on

> the restart, so it luckily had not had time to corrupt the pst file (I'd

> made a copy of it though.)

>

> After that I completed the running of CCleaner; Spybot and AdAware on that

> side, and left the pc to defrag over night.

>

> Today I was expecting to see some performance improvements, but I still

> notice some odd effects.

>

> Windows that I close remain as ghosts on the taskbar until I right click

> on

> them and close them again.

>

> When I try to open some programmes such as Oxford dictionary and thesaurus

> I

> get a sequence of error messages culminating in there being a problem in

> the

> 'Win 16 Subsystem'.

>

> Googling, I find various mentions of fixes for this but all relating to NT

> Servers, and requiring NT discs to fix.

>

> Can anyone explain what is going on?

>

> Many thanks for any light that can be thrown on this.

>

> Cheers,

>

> S

>

>

>

>

>

>

>