XP keeps restarting on its own

[snow]

Here is the section of HP's website about recovery CD's and ordering them:

Obtaining a Recovery Disc set in Europe, Middle East and Africa Compaq Presario SR1429UK Desktop PC - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

 

If you have already created a recovery disk then it should work just fine.

 

The only time you will lose your data is when the computer begins the recovery process. It will overwrite all of the data currently on the hard disk. Simply changing the settings in the BIOS (step one above), or just inserting the recovery disk won't delete anything. The data will be deleted once the full recovery option has been selected and you choose 'Yes' to begin.

 

Give it a shot, and let us know how it goes :)

[simbasgang]

Hi snow,

 

I've just done a recovery as per your instructions. a few things were slightly different but I managed OK without any hitches.

 

Everything looks brighter and I have got Internet Explorer on and Google Chrome.

 

With AOL being my ISP and still have 5 months to run on the contract, I tried to get AOL on line.....no such luck there!

 

I can get to my Mail through IE of Google, but the proper home page refuses to come on, and I have gone through the process of signing in etc with all my account security. The only time the page did try to come on, it half got there and stuck...wouldn't even close down!

 

I'm thinking AOL could have been the problem all along!!

 

I have a couple of error messages on startup....the logitech one I'll reinstall with the disc and hope that cures it, but there is another I don't recognise :

 

" sinf.exe - application has failed to start because xprt.dll was not found. Reinstallation may solve the problem. "

 

I have just reinstalled Adobe flash player for IE and that seems to be OK.

 

By the way, all my icons are still on the desk top...I thought I would have lost them..??

 

I'll let you know if anything else is not right.

 

Again, I must thank you for all the help and advice...it has been much appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Sheilah

[Plastic Nev]

Hi Sheilah, I had a look round and found that sinf.exe, and the missing xprt dll file are part of AOL. Do you still have the AOL disk? if so reinstalling that should cure that problem for you.

However wait and see first if the restarting problem has definitely gone before doing so. Once you are sure all is OK, then try the reinstall.

Nev.

[simbasgang]

Hi Nev,

 

I thought everything was going OK until I tried to reply to you....then as i type it flicks right back to the freepchelp home page. If you are reading this, then it has stabilised. Hope this is not the start of more problems.

Yes, I have the AOL installation disc. I haven't been directly on their website yet...just got my AOL mail through IE.

Till just now it was working well. Maybe just a glitch. Seems OK now.

 

I still have all my data and desk top....hope I did the recovery right!. I thought it was going back to factory settings ??

 

Thanks again

 

Sheilah

[Plastic Nev]

Hi Sheilah, this sounds more like you did a Windows repair rather than the full reformat, which would have taken you back to the factory settings.

However for now just see how it goes, the repair may have sorted things out anyway.

Nev.

[simbasgang]

Hi again,

Since the recovery, Windows has been updating itself regularly...seems like every couple hours! Yesterday the install for XP SP3 failed as did the install for IE8 and the update for .NETFramework.

 

Today these have all installed and restarted but I am having problems with IE freezing and having to send error messages in.

 

Could this be because of IE8? it seemed like it jumped from the IE6 to IE8 instead of going via IE7.

Before the recovery, I uninstalled IE8 due to thinking it was the problem with the PC and that's when my major problems began so I am needing your advice now again.

 

Thanks again

Sheilah

[simbasgang]

Just been to the event viewer and last 2 messages were:

 

"Hanging application iexplore.exe version 8.0.6001.18702 hang module hung app. version 0.0.0.0 hang address 0x00000000"

 

"Fault bucket 1180947459"

 

There were an awful lot of error messages!

[Plastic Nev]

Hi again, I take it that IE6 would have been reinstalled during the recovery, so at the moment IE7 will not be available to roll back to. It would only go back to IE6 if you uninstalled IE8. I am a little unsure whether to go back to IE6, as this will mean IE8 will try to install again.

 

There are also the issues with the Net framework, and also with Windows update in general.

 

There are fixes for these and though I know of how to fix the Windows update in XP after a repair, I think Snow may be able to talk you through them better than I can.

Nev.

[snow]

Glad to hear it went OK,

 

It's normal for windows to do so much updating after a recovery as there have been so manny additions to XP in it's history.

 

It seems the problems with .NET and IE8 have come back.

 

Firstly, I'm going to guess, and point at AOL's software. I know this integrates with IE, and since that is where these errors are coming from, I think that these new windows updates don't like working with AOL installed.

 

It's definatly worth removing to see if the problem goes away. Try uninstalling AOL from Add/remove programs in the control panel, and then re-starting.

 

Can you browse the web ok without it installed? Try using the computer and seeing if the errors stop.

 

Let us know how you get on, and if any more errors appear.

[simbasgang]

Hello there,

 

Well, i've been trying to get my PC back to normality, and not been doing too badly. WE had a short break of a few days so not been able eto get back to you.

 

Most of my programmes reloaded easily, and I even got IE8 to install eventually!!

 

I was still getting messages on start up about easyshare, webshots, java and other '.dll' messages that i haven't a clue as to what they are.

 

Today, I tried to reinstall the Kodak easyshare and webshots and am told that the '.NET framework ' needs repair. I was pointed in the right direction by a message from microsoft which popped up and said go to control panel >.Net framework2.0> add/remove> repair, then go to easyshare site and reinstall.

I tried this 3 times and the software won't install at all.

I then tried with Webshots and that wouldn't install either, although they didn't give me the message re. .NET repair.

Java is also trying to update without success.

Every night when I switch off, Windows tries to install updates, also without success.

 

Sorry to bother you again, but apparently I need this .NET for my photo apps.

Hope you can help again.

 

Warm wishes,

Sheilah

[simbasgang]

Sorry, forgot to say, the updates windows tries to install are for .NET framework 3.5. ......I can't get 3.5 to install manually, let alone the update!

[RandyL]

I don't think you ever managed to a full system recovery since you said you never lost your data files. Untill you do I don't think this can be resolved. One more thing. After you do manage to completely reinstall Windows don't install any programs untill after you get Windows updated. And even then you might want to reconsider what you install. Webshots for instance.

[snow]

Hi again Sheilah, it does sound as though a partial system recovery was performed, and not a full one, as Randy said.

 

You mentioned that the instructions I posted from HP's website were slightly different than what you actually had to do?

 

There might have been some differences with your version of the software. Can you describe what you did to recover from the disk?

[simbasgang]

Hi again Snow,

 

Yes, and I have a feeling I know where it went wrong. I pressed the R key and then the F key again as you said. After the recovery, I got a mesage that said if I need to recover again, press the F10 key and then either the F key or the R key....not both.....think that could be the problem...??????

 

Anyway today I managed to update Windows to SP3 eventually...I was getting error code 1603 when .NET wouldn't install so I looked it up on microsoft's site. It said the problem could arise if the system wasn't configured correctly, so I tried again for the SP3....I downloaded the file through Firefox and saved it. Then I closed the internet and switched off the windows firewall temporarily, then I opened and installed the service pack and turned the firewall back on....it actually worked!! So now I'm wondering if I could get the .NET framework to download the same way. Maybe it was after all, the fact that SP3 wasn't installed...

 

I'll wait and see what you think. Everything else seems to be much better. Easyshare and Webshots apparently need the .Net framework, so that's the problem there.

 

What's the matter with webshots?? I've had it for about 3 years on the PC and never had any trouble with it until the recovery. Perhaps you could let me know of a similar site that doesn't have problems. I use it for pictures of barns and covered bridges that i like to paint..for pleasure only.

 

Thanks again,

 

 

Sheilah

[GeekFreak]

I dont know if this has anything to do with it - but getting back to Sheilahs first post - Her PC keeps resetting itself.

 

On the course that im doing we have just been working on the power supply unit and one of the main symptons (we are told) of this going faulty is the pc keeps re-seting itself.

 

Just a thought

[simbasgang]

Thanks for the reply, Geek.

It was shutting down and restarting itself....the power remained OK. The messages I was getting were...'your PC has just recovered from a serious crash...' etc . BSOD I think!

I seem to have resolved this by doing the recovery. It's just this .NET framework thing now. Microsoft couldn't update also but I resolved that yesterday as I posted above.

[snow]

That's good news, I'm glad you got SP3 installed OK.

 

Now that I look back through this thread, I'm starting to think that the problem is with Kodak easyshare and webshots, and not with Windows.

 

First, uninstall both programs completely using Add/Remove programs, or their own uninstallers.

 

Once you've done this, remove the internet explorer add-ons used by them both by doing the following:

 

1. Open Internet Explorer
   
2. Click the Tools button, and then click Manage Add-ons.
   
3. Under Add-on Types, click Toolbars and Extensions.
   
4. Under Show, click All add-ons.
   
5. Remove all entires relating to Kodak or webshots.
   

Now re-start the machine. Once it's booted back up, go to windows update, and select 'Custom'

 

Once it is done checking for updates, go to 'Software, Optional' on the left hand side. You should see the .NET framework there, possibly several versions.

 

Tick the latest one (I think it should be 3.5), and then let windows update install it for you.

 

If everything goes according to plan, re-boot again, and then reinstall Kodak easyshare and webshots if you want to have them.

[simbasgang]

Hi Snow, Thank you again for your help.

 

Neither Kodak Easyshare or Webshots are in the control panel.

they both appear in the All Programmes though.

 

Neither have an uninstaller.

 

To click on Kodak brings : "Microsoft .XML Parser [MSXML] component is not installed on this system. Please select 'Repair' when prompted to fix this installation". and a box with 'OK'..clicked this and get "Cannot boot the application" Clicked 'OK' and it vanishes. This is just going round in circles!

 

To click Webshots brings "Your webshots installation is corrupt. You must reinstall webshots".

 

I followed your instructions for IE and there is nothing I can see relating to either Kodak or Webshots. The only one I don't recognise is 'Husdawg .LLC' ???

 

I started getting these error messages from these 2 progs after the first recovery a few weeks ago. Kodak was installed from a CD that came with the camera. I have since tried to reinstall it and it says 'install latest version from the web' which I have tried and it fails.

 

I can still get on Webshots OK. I think it is their desktop that is causing the problem. I didn't have a problem with this either before the recovery of a few weeks ago.

 

I 'm going to try the .NET update now and will get back with the result!!

 

Sheilah

[snow]

Ok, it seems like these two programs have been damaged during your system recovery.

 

Go here to download Kodak's own uninstall utility for easyshare:

Clear Utility for KODAK Software

 

Run it, and it should compltelely remove your current install. If you still want it afterwards, you can then download the latest and install it from scratch again.

 

As for webshots, they don't seem to provide any such tool on their site. I think your best bet is to download the latest version and install it over your current, broken copy:

http://www.webshots.com/page/apps

 

I'm not sure how this will effect IE8 though, as it seems to bundle a toolbar along with it. If you can choose not to install the toolbar, then don't, just to be on the safe side.

[simbasgang]

I shall do that snow...I don't need the webshots toolbar anyway...seems like everyone wants to install their toolbar these days!

 

Meanwhile, I've been trying again with .NET. It didn't work with your instructions so I tried to download and install without the firewall...no luck this time. The error code was 1603 so I looked it up....seems like I need this MSXML Parser, but after trying on Microsoft to find it and download, it has come up with the answer that my processor doesn't support it! this I can't understand as I had no trouble before the original recovery. I have run CCleaner and Malware bytes a few times in the past couple weeks but all they find is adware. I have Avira as you reccomended. No virus has been found.

 

So, I'm completely stumped!!! I'll let you know how I get on with the uninstall soon.

 

Sheilah

[simbasgang]

Aha, got rid of Kodak easyshare! Thank you snow.