[ Solved ] W7 system severely mucked up

[mij]

SWMBO set about personalizing her desktop after her grandson completed his teacher training course. Having looked at it it seems she was trying to put the whole of the C drive in to the recycle bin. I found the contents all over the place too bad for me to sort - where could I start? I could not find any beginning.

SWMBO has an upgrade disk and has a number to go with it. Can I reinstall using that?

jim

[DSTM]

Hi Jim. Try a system restore first.

[mij]

Hi Jim. Try a system restore first.

Ok, that is currently in progress.

jim

[mij]

That has now been completed and SWMBO has lost the majority of her documents and files. Also the music that was stored on it. She has been in control panel going through the uninstall procedure, deleting stuff that she doesn't need and the up-dating software that slows down the computer.

It now looks as if it may have something it shouldn't. It is awfully slow.

jim

[Plastic Nev]

The upgrade disk is unfortunately not a complete operating system as far as I know Jim, it just upgrades certain sections of the old Vista to the Windows 7 level.

 

You might be able to do a repair from the Advanced Boot Options screen, (Tap F8 from start up)

 

Or, providing you have the correct windows 7 product key, which actually will be the one that came with the upgrade disk, you could try a complete reinstall, however make sure whatever can be rescued is backed up first whichever way you try.

 

To be sure you do have the correct product key, and you do know how to use Speccy, or even the Belarc advisor, they should tell you what it is.

 

Nev.

[DSTM]

Hi Jim. You seem to be in a real pickle. Further to what Nev has advised I would run sfc /scannow (note the space) only from elevated Command Prompt and see if you can recover any lost system files. Nothing to lose really.

[KenB]

SWMBO has lost the majority of her documents and files.

Hi Jim

These may be recoverable using something like Recuva - click here

You want the free version.

 

If that machine is as slow as you say it may take a very long time.

 

The problem is - if you want the files back, the more you do with the machine the less chance you have of recovering files.

[mij]

I put in 'Recuva' and it found 29000 files that SWMBO was not amenable to going through. I also found that she thought that by copying her back-up from her memory stick erased her files - which of course it doesn't. So we are saved both ways. It's just that it is so slow. I have gone through 'uninstall' in control panel and can see nothing there to hold up proceedings. There is nothing in 'start-up' that means nothing is ready to go, does that make for a slow computer?

jim

[KenB]

there is nothing in 'start-up'

I assume that this is Start ....type in msconfig .....startup ?

 

When you say nothing .....do you mean nothing or are all entries unchecked ?

 

CTRL+ALT+DEL ............then click "Startup"

Is there anything there ?

[mij]

I assume that this is Start ....type in msconfig .....startup ?

Errr no. I mean the start-up as shown in 'all programs' having clicked on start and it shows the shortcuts that are on the desktop. But it's empty. Click on 'all programs' and it shows windows etc and 'start-up'. Click to expand it and it says 'empty'

 

When you say nothing .....do you mean nothing or are all entries unchecked ?

I'll have to try that later when SWMBO is mobile.

CTRL+ALT+DEL ............then click "Startup"

I'll try that as well.

jim

[DSTM]

Hi Jim. Further to what Ken is saying, are the programs still in "Program Files"

Start > Computer > C: > Program Files.

 

Shortcuts get screwed very easily.

Edited October 31, 2014 by DSTM

[mij]

Using 'Task Manager' the computer shows 50% + usage of the CPU, mine shows maximum of 1%

So something is hogging all the CPU.

The files under Start>Computer>Program files..... looks dodgy to say the least as I cannot recognize most of them.

I tried to disconnect 'Stuart' (the grandson that used the computer and gamed a lot) using task master but each time it activated him again as soon as I fired up the computer.

It really is painfully slow to accomplish anything on it at all.

jim

[KenB]

It really is painfully slow to accomplish anything on it at all.

 

Hi Jim

Did you try sfc /scannow as DSTM suggested earlier ?

 

Start > type in ,,..cmd.exe ..... right click on the cmd.exe that shows top left of screen > then click on Run as Administrator.

At the prompt type in ....sfc /scannow .....ENTER [ there is a space after sfc ]

 

You may be asked to pop in the Installation Disk

[mij]

I have just done the sfc /scannow, it did not find any integrity violations.

jim

[KenB]

Hi Jim

 

Try taking one of the RAM modules out and run the machine.

If it is still slow ....swap over to the other one.

 

It could be just a co-incidence and it may not be anything system based but the RAM may be slowing it down if one of the modules has gone west.

 

Also try - Safe Mode

Boot up in safe mode ..... Switch on ...tap F8 about once per second ....select Safe Mode from the list.

Does it still run slow ?

[mij]

I think I have solved the slow running side of that computer. 'Task Manager' showed what was overworking and the extent. Removing this using a tool available for a 30day trial solved that problem. The CPU is now ticking over at 1% :o

The errant proggie was UMonit.exe

The computer is in a mess though as nothing is where it should be.

I'll be working on it as and when SWMBO wants me to.

jim

[Plastic Nev]

Hi Jim, out of interest, what was the tool you used on the 30 day trial please, may be of help for someone.

 

Nev.

[mij]

Information about UMonit.exe was on file.net. They recommended 'Security Task Manager' found on http://www.neuber.com/taskmanager/index.html?ref=file.net

It gave the errant proggie an 80% probability of it being not wanted for SWMBO's Windows 7 OS. It must have had something to do with the online connection which I lost immediately after but trouble shooter mended that for me :).

SWMBO is of the mind to get a new W7 OS though. She will want a clean install of that so I'll be back.

Thanks for all the support and helpful suggestions.

Jim

[KenB]

Jim

I am not sure if your last post implied that you were going to BUY a new version of Win7

 

If you don't have an installation disk there is no need to buy one.

 

We have a link here to a free ISO download - as long as you have the 25 character Product Key from the original installation :)

This would need to be an OEM installation I think ....Dell / HP / Acer etc.

[mij]

Jim

I am not sure if your last post implied that you were going to BUY a new version of Win7

That was SWMBO's intention.

If you don't have an installation disk there is no need to buy one.

We have a link here to a free ISO download - as long as you have the 25 character Product Key from the original installation :)

This would need to be an OEM installation I think ....Dell / HP / Acer etc.

The disk ( and product key number) is an upgrade I think and IIRC it was done when SWMBO's grand son came twelve months ago last May/June. The disk was a special I believe which he got as a student. We do have the disk and computer as he was supplied with an Apple Mac because he is teaching programming etc as his teaching job.

Re-reading your post you could be referring to the original OS. Hmmm it was upgraded from Vista, but the original may have been XP. I can't remember....

jim (I'll have to ask SWMBO)

[mij]

I have just spoken to SWMBO and she says it would have gone in the bin as soon as W7 was working. Unlike myself she is no hoarder. Also she says that W7 has been unsupported since October last and that W8 is rather problematic. She will hang until the next version she says.

jim

[DSTM]

Hi Jim. SWMBO has it wrong. It's XP that is no longer supported. Windows7 will be supported for some years to come.

Most Techies use Windows7 as our default Operating System. I recommend a clean install of Windows7 SP1.

[Plastic Nev]

Some slight confusion about sales of Windows 7 rather than support perhaps.

It seems that Microsoft stopped sales of retail versions of Windows 7 last year, and have now cut off supply of OEM versions to the computer manufacturers on Friday just gone, the end of October 2014.

More here about that.

 

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2839479/microsoft-subnet/windows-7-sales-end-this-friday.html

 

If requiring a new copy of Windows 7 license, you might get lucky with some retailers still having a few in stock, otherwise it will mean waiting till next year when Windows 10 is released. I wouldn't bother with Windows 8 in any of its forms.

[mij]

Some slight confusion about sales of Windows 7 rather than support perhaps.

 

it will mean waiting till next year when Windows 10 is released. I wouldn't bother with Windows 8 in any of its forms.

Yes this was it. She said she will see how she gets on and how much she misses the other proggies she had. She has no intention whatsoever of getting W8.

jim

[mij]

SWMBO has just bought an Amazon copied OEM version of W7Home premium. This is for a clean install.

I assume I will need to erase the HDD completely before trying to install this. I presume I need a format CD to do this?

Jim