Compounded problems

S

siudan

New Member
Hi all,

I'm currently running Vista Home Premium 32bit on a Vaio CR T8100 Laptop, and I had a small problem that got a lot worse by trying to solve it by myself in a hurry.

Initially, I had a problem printing documents - the 'spooler subsystem app' was not functioning properly. So I found this site: You cannot add a printer, and you receive printer spooler error messages, and didn't see the fact that this troubleshooting page was for XP only. So I followed the instructions, and basically ended up deleting nearly all registry files in safe mode except the default ones. When I realized I had messed up, I performed a system restore that I had created immediately before editing the registry files. After the system restore, Vista wouldn't boot. So I restarted and booted in safe mode, got confirmation that the system had been restored, and restarted once again in Vista. Now, I have some annoying problems:
-the start menu freezes. I can click the menu, but i can't click any icons on the start menu itself.
-Windows Live OneCare won't start
-System restore will not boot. when I start it in the start menu (before start menu freezes), I see in task manager that rstrui.exe (the System restore file) is running as a process, but no application appears.

How can i restore my computer?

Thanks for your time in reading this.
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
    Memory
    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
    Sound Card
    creative x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    Both 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
    PSU
    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
    Case
    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
    Cooling
    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
    Mouse
    Technika TKOPTM2
    Keyboard
    Logik
    Internet Speed
    288 / 4000
    Other Info
    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers Trust Graphics Tablet
hmmm...I never got a vista disk, it came preinstalled on my laptop. Can I still do a repair install without a disk?

and thanks for the response :)
 

My Computer

System One

and will using vaio recovery center to wipe the C:/ drive uninstall vista? or just programs and files?

because there are a number of programs that don't work anymore (iTunes, Skype, OneCare), which I'm really concerned about, so I'm considering just wiping the C:/ drive and reinstalling all the programs and documents from an external drive
 

My Computer

System One

Hello suidan, welcome to Vista forums!

A "Factory Recovery" may be the best bet in your situation.
Just be aware that it will bring the machine back to when you first took it out of the box.
As you've said you can then re-install the programs in question from the external HDD.

Keep us informed!











Later :shock: Ted
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
A "Factory Recovery" may be the best bet in your situation.
Just be aware that it will bring the machine back to when you first took it out of the box.
As you've said you can then re-install the programs in question from the external HDD.
Click to expand...
So it returns it to the state when I took it out of the box. I know this means that programs like Firefox and Skype will be gone. But does this mean that Vista and the original bloatware that came with it (Click to Disc, Vaio Media Plus, Windows Calendar, etc.) will be untouched?
 

My Computer

System One

I don't know about Vaio laptops in particular.
With some brands of laptop, you get an option when doing the full recovery about which of the bloatware items you want to include. With other brands it offers no choice and installs the lot.

After the recovery has finished, you should be able to remove "bloatware" programs you don't want using the usual remove programs dialog - Control panel > Programs and Features.

If it also installs Norton antivirus, you can use the Norton Removal Tool
Download and run the Norton Removal Tool
which is the best program Norton / Symantec have made. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    Intel Q9450 quad core
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Pro, Intel P45 chipset
    Memory
    4GB : 2 x 2GB G.Skill DDR2 800MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte 9600GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek onboard the mobo
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    2 of Samsung HD501LJ SATA2 500GB and a few IDE hard disks on USB for backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX-650 and APC UPS
    Case
    Antec P180
    Cooling
    OCZ Vendetta2
The main thing I'm concerned about is whether Vista will still be on my laptop (with the default registry) even if I don't have an install disk. And do you know what the difference might be between a reformat and a factory reset?
 

My Computer

System One

siudan said:
The main thing I'm concerned about is whether Vista will still be on my laptop (with the default registry) even if I don't have an install disk.
Click to expand...

I'm sure that's what the recovery feature is meant to do. It takes the system back to factory condition, which means what it was like when you first received it, including Vista with a new working registry. Then you have to install your programs and update the drivers (the factory state made by the recovery feature includes suitable drivers, but maybe newer versions have been made recently).

siudan said:
And do you know what the difference might be between a reformat and a factory reset?
Click to expand...

Strictly speaking "reformat" just means wiping a partition clean, so it has a new empty file system on it. No folders or files. Reformatting would be the first step done by the recovery program, before it writes a new operating system onto the freshly formatted drive.

People often misuse the word reformat to mean "reinstall the operating system". With a laptop, the recovery program is usually the best way to do that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    Intel Q9450 quad core
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Pro, Intel P45 chipset
    Memory
    4GB : 2 x 2GB G.Skill DDR2 800MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte 9600GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek onboard the mobo
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    2 of Samsung HD501LJ SATA2 500GB and a few IDE hard disks on USB for backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX-650 and APC UPS
    Case
    Antec P180
    Cooling
    OCZ Vendetta2
siudan said:
Thanks so much! I'll be trying that tomorrow!
Click to expand...

Good idea.
That's definitely what I would be doing if it were my laptop, considering the various problems you have told us about.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    home assembled
    CPU
    Intel Q9450 quad core
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Pro, Intel P45 chipset
    Memory
    4GB : 2 x 2GB G.Skill DDR2 800MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Gigabyte 9600GT
    Sound Card
    Realtek onboard the mobo
    Monitor(s) Displays
    BenQ 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    2 of Samsung HD501LJ SATA2 500GB and a few IDE hard disks on USB for backups
    PSU
    Corsair TX-650 and APC UPS
    Case
    Antec P180
    Cooling
    OCZ Vendetta2
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