Saving Files

[Jerry8B]

My issue recently appeared.

In my Documents folder I keep an icon list of links I use on a daily basis. I have a Word document where I save specific links from the Documents folder.

When I copy a link from the Document folder and paste it into the Word document, it will not save it.

Thanks,

Jerry

11/26/2024

 

[lmacri]

Hi Jerry8B:

What antivirus, default browser and Microsoft Office product do you use on your Vista computer? Have you tried creating a new (blank) Word document to see if you can copy and paste links into that new document?

It would also be helpful if you could include an image in your next post showing the "icon list" in your Documents folder, since I'm not really clear from your description exactly what you're trying to accomplish. Do you mean you've created shortcuts to frequently used documents located on your hard drive and/or web sites you visit on a regular basis and saved those shortcut icons in your Documents folder (i.e., instead of saving those shortcuts on your desktop or pinned to your taskbar as described in Brinks tutorials at How to Create a Shortcut for a File, Folder, Drive, or Program in Windows and How to Create an Internet Website Shortcut in Windows)?

I normally save shortcuts to frequently used files and folders on my desktop (or taskbar) and create bookmarks in my browser for sites I visit on a regular basis.

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello –
So nice of you to reply.
I use Microsoft Office Small Business 2007, I use Google. I don’t know how to find what my default browser is, but I doubt it is Google. I use Malwarebytes for antivirus.
Yes, I have tried creating a new Word document and I was able to save it.
Sorry, but I cannot include an image. That print option does not work on the computer.
You asked: “Do you mean you've created shortcuts to frequently used documents located on your hard drive and/or web sites you visit on a regular basis and saved those shortcut icons in your Documents folder?” The answer is Yes.
You mention Brinks tutorial. I tried Brinks link on another computer twice. Both times I got a spam screen that locked out my computer. Also, Brinks tutorial title seems to imply how to create a shortcut and not how to save it, which is my problem.
And finally, my save option had worked before, but now not so.
Thanks,
Jerry
11/27/2024

 

[lmacri]

I use Google. I don’t know how to find what my default browser is, but I doubt it is Google.

Hi Jerry8B:

Can you tell me what browser you normally use on your Vista machine (e.g., Internet Explorer v9, Chrome v49, Firefox ESR v52, etc.) when you browse the internet? The Bob's Guide article Set the Vista Default Browser Manually explains how you can check which browser is currently your default browser.

I use Malwarebytes for antivirus.

Are you using Malwarebytes v3.5.1 (the legacy version for Win XP and Vista available at https://downloads.malwarebytes.com/file/mb3_legacy) on your Vista machine, and do you use Malwarebytes Free to run manual on-demand Threat scans or the paid Malwarebytes Premium edition that includes real-time protection? Regardless, Malwarebytes is an anti-malware scanner, not a full antivirus (see Porthos' 24-Dec-2023 post <here> in the Malwarebytes for Windows forum) and Malwarebytes v3.5.1 reached end-of-life in August 2024 (see employee jtodd234’s 08-Aug-2024 post in anon74’s Malwarebytes 3.5.1 not updating definitions… again) and is no longer receiving regular virus definition updates, so any protection it was providing is now severely diminished and of little use. Post back if you need some suggestions for a Vista-compatible antivirus.

I tried Brinks link on another computer twice. Both times I got a spam screen that locked out my computer.

That is not normal. When you browse to any of Brink's tutorials on the SevenForums at Seven Forums - Tutorials you should not see a "spam screen" that locks out your computer, which makes me wonder if one or more of your computers is infected with malware or a lower-risk PUP (e.g., a potentially unwanted program like an unwanted browser toolbar, adware, tech support scam, etc.). If you need more help with this and can't capture an image of this "spam screen" then post back with a detailed description of the exact warning you see.

my save option had worked before, but now not so

Open File Explorer, right-click on a Word .DOC document or Excel .XLS worksheet you frequently use, and choose Send To | Desktop (create shortcut) from the pop-up context menu as shown below. Does that save a new shortcut on your desktop, and if so does your .DOC or .XLS file open correctly when you double-click on that shortcut? If that works then you'll have to explain why you are moving your shortcuts to your Documents folder and exactly what you mean when you say that you are trying to "copy a link from the Document folder and paste it into the Word document", because still don't understand what you are trying to do.

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello lmacri –

So nice of you to reply with detailed suggestions.

I am using Malwarebytes v3.5.1. Thanks for the feedback on using it.

On the File Explorer question, yes it seems to perform as you mentioned.

As for me moving shortcuts to my Documents folder, I prefer that process at this time for reasons that aren’t important.

Anyway, it appears my post was not clearly written and others probably agree.

So, I think it best if I close out this post and give me time to see if I can restudy your comments and get back with additional comments.

Regards,

Jerry

 

[lmacri]

On the File Explorer question, yes it seems to perform as you mentioned.

Hi Jerry8B:

I'm not sure if this would suit your needs, but if you want to create a single Word document with links to all your favorite documents and web sites then see the GCF Global support article Word 2007 - Working with Hyperlinks.

I have MS Word 2019 on my Win 10 machine but here's an image of a sample Word document I created called My Favorite Links.doc where I pasted the location of three items (an Excel spreadsheet, a Word document, and an internet URL) as plain text and then converted each to a clickable hyperlink so I could launch those files and web site directly from that Word document.

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello lmacri –

Thanks for your suggestion. Not sure if I would want to undertake it. It seems a bit involved. However, I did have a thought. Is it possible to reinstall Vista with all of the past updates?

Also, I forgot to answer your question about what version of Malwarebytes I used. I use the paid version, which as you said can give me better protection.

Thanks,

Jerry

 

[lmacri]

Is it possible to reinstall Vista with all of the past updates?

Hi Jerry8B:

If you are missing Vista Service Pack 1 (KB936330, released March 2008) and/or Service Pack 2 (KB948465, released May 2009) then standalone .exe installers are still available for download from the Microsoft Update Catalog . See my 21-Oct-2021 post in Brink's Why SP1 may not be available for you and how to get it for download links and installation instructions. To find your current Service Pack level go to Control Panel | System and Maintenance | System.



Windows Update has been broken on Win XP and Vista computers since Microsoft deactivated the Windows Update servers for these unsupported operating systems on 03-Aug-2020 (see my topic What To Do if Windows Update Hangs or Throws an Error [UPDATED August 2020] for further details) but I believe it is still possible to patch a Vista SP2 OS with all updates released prior to end of support on 11-Apr-2017 using third-party tools like Dism++ or Legacy Update. See my 04-Mar-2024 post in Vistamalc's topic KB****** for more information about these tools.

As I noted in Vistamalc's topic, there still might be a way to perform a clean reinstall of Vista SP2 using an ISO installation file slipstreamed with SP2 (released May 2009) and all ~ 220 security updates released between May 2009 and April 2017. However, that would require a backup of personal data files to an external drive for recovery after the clean reinstall is completed, reactivation of the Vista OS using the slui 4.exe phone activation method, and a reinstall of third-party software and hardware drivers. I don't know of anyone who has attempted a clean reinstall of their Vista SP2 OS in the past year, so I cannot guarantee that the slui.exe 4 phone activation method described in Step 2 / Option 2 of Brink's tutorial How to Activate Vista Normally and by Phone Activation would still work in 2024.

If you want to obtain one of these slipstreamed ISO installation files (originally created by SIW2) then post in the topic Vista ISO Download and specify if you have a 32-bit or 64-bit Vista OS as well as your Vista edition (e.g., 32-bit Vista Home Premium, 64-bit Vista Ultimate, etc.). I believe wither3 is subscribed to that topic and still hosts SIW2's slipstreamed ISO installation files on the MEGA site so they might still be able to provide a download link for the correct ISO for your system. However, I would not recommend that anyone try a clean reinstall of their Vista SP2 OS in 2024 (especially when I don't know if you could still reactivate your OS with slui.exe 4) so if you do attempt a clean reinstall you do so at your own risk because I would not be able to help if you run into problems.
______________________________________

If your Vista SP2 machine is becoming unstable and/or throwing errors I'd suggest you create a new topic asking for assistance with that particular problem before you even consider a clean reinstall. There are Check Disk (ChkDsk) and System File Checker (SFC) scans you can run from an elevated command prompt with Administrator rights that might be able to detect and repair missing or damaged Vista system files (see my 12-May-2023 post in mollytown's Can’t Use Browsers After Attempting to Install legacyupdate for Windows Vista) but if your Vista SP2 machine is getting old then it's just as likely a hardware component like your RAM or hard drive is starting to fail, and you would need to run third-party hardware diagnostic tools to analyze the problem.

I forgot to answer your question about what version of Malwarebytes I used. I use the paid version, which as you said can give me better protection.

The legacy Malwarebytes Premium v3.5.1 does include real-time protection, but as I said in post # 4, it is not a full antivirus and it no longer receives malware definition updates so you should not depend on this unsupported anti-malware software to protect your system.

 

[wither 3]

I'm still confused as to what this means- "icon list of links." As mentioned by Imacri, it would be great to see a screenshot of your Documents folder.

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello lmacri -

My goodness. You did a splendid job in your explanation. It will take me time to absorb your feedback. Thanks for taking the time and I hope your Thanksgiving went well.
Best wishes!!
Jerry

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello lmacri -

My goodness. You did a splendid job in your explanation. It will take me time to absorb your feedback. Thanks for taking the time and I hope your Thanksgiving went well.
Best wishes!!
Jerry

 

[lmacri]

Hi Jerry 8B:

Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. Be sure to post back if you have any questions once you've had a chance to digest the information in my previous posts (as well as your leftover turkey!). No rush.

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello Imacri –

I thought I would update on where I am.

I tried Chk Disk and it came back with no errors. I then tried (SFC) and the computer would not open the (SFC) link.

Also, I tried to do a Restore on two different days (11/27 and 11/30). When I selected Restore, it would not show the available Restore dates. Instead on those different days, it automatically did a System Restore for 11/27 and 11/30, the days I was on the computer.

So, it appears I have some system errors. And, as you said, I could have a hardware component failing.

Jerry

 

[lmacri]

I tried Chk Disk and it came back with no errors.

Hi Jerry8B:

That's good news. I don't think I ever ran a Check Disk on the SATA hard drive of my Vista machine that didn't clean up hundreds of unused security descriptors or find a bad cluster (a more serious problem that began to appear as my hard drive got older). The Ask Leo! article How do I see the results of a CHKDSK that ran on boot? shows how to find the ChkDsk results in your Windows Event Viewer - look for an event with the Source listed as Wininit.

I then tried (SFC) and the computer would not open the (SFC) link

Are you sure you opened an elevated command prompt (e.g., by right-clicking and choosing Run as Administrator) before entering the command sfc /scannow? Note the space after "sfc".



When you open an elevated command prompt it will have the word "Administrator" in the title bar and will open at C:\Windows\system32 as shown below. If you are certain you are using an elevated command prompt post back and let us know the exact error message you see when you try to run System File Checker (SFC)

Also, I tried to do a Restore on two different days (11/27 and 11/30). When I selected Restore, it would not show the available Restore dates. Instead on those different days, it automatically did a System Restore for 11/27 and 11/30, the days I was on the computer.

So, it appears I have some system errors. And, as you said, I could have a hardware component failing.

Do you mean you went to Start | All Programs | Accessories | System Tools | System Restore and clicked the Next button to view a list of recent restore points as described in the Windows 7 for Dummies article How to Restore Your Windows System to an Earlier Point? If so, did you enable the Show Restore Points Older Than 5 Days checkbox? Here's an old image I captured on my Vista SP2 machine in June 2018 :



NOTE: Unlike Win 10 and Win 11, System Restore is enabled by default in Vista SP2 and a scheduled task should a create a new restore point every few days if your computer is booted up daily and used on a regular basis. See BleepingComputer's 2007 Windows Vista System Restore Guide for additional information

In my personal experience, System Restores on Vista SP2 machines will often cause more problems than they fix and should only be used for emergency recovery (e.g., if your computer will not boot in normal mode) and only after other attempts to troubleshoot your problem have failed. At this point, a System Restore sounds a bit drastic if you're trying to fix a minor Word 2017 glitch like the one you described in your original post. Did someone else suggest a System Restore, and if so did they explain the possible harm it can do if you don't take proper precautions [e.g., turning off the self-protection (a.k.a. tamper protection) module of your realtime antivirus / anti-malware before starting to avoid a partial restore]?

As I noted in my 26-Nov-2024 post # 8, if your Vista SP2 machine is displaying more serious problems (e.g., you've started seeing BSODs or startup errors) I'd suggest you create a new topic and ask for assistance from someone with advanced technical expertise who can help you run some diagnostic scan and might be able to suggest a targeted fix. There are probably better forums to post in like BleepingComputer if you believe your problems are that serious and buying a new computer is not a viable option.

 

[Jerry8B]

I ran the following tools at the elevated command: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth ( a tool I have used before) and sfc /scannow. The DISM tool did not recognize DISM.exe and did not open. The sfc tool indicated I had corrupt files and did not fix them. For some reason the first time I ran the sfc tool, it did not work; probably a mistake on my end. The ChkDsk tool indicated No Problems.

Also, when trying to run a Restore, a message came up saying, “No backups on this system.” And no, no one else suggested Restore. I did that on my own. And, I do use Vista on a regular basis.

So, perhaps if I want to continue, I should post new topics on my issues and/or use Vista as it is. It does function.

Jerry

 

[lmacri]

I ran the following tools at the elevated command: DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth ( a tool I have used before) ...The DISM tool did not recognize DISM.exe and did not open.

Hi Jerry8B:

I occasionally run those Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) commands like DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth on my Win 10 machine but AFAIK those commands are not available with the Vista SP2 OS.

The sfc tool indicated I had corrupt files and did not fix them.

From Brink's tutorial How to Repair and Verify the Integrity of Vista System Files with System File Checker:

If SFC could not fix something, then run the command again to see if it may be able to the next time. Sometimes it may take running the sfc /scannow command 3 times restarting the PC after each time to completely fix everything that it's able to.

There are also instructions in that tutorial on how to view your System File Checker scan logs. These scan logs are stored in C:\Windows\Logs\CBS\CBS.log and are tagged with the string "[SR]". If you enter the following findstr command in an elevated command prompt with Administrator rights this will extract your recent SFC scan logs from CBS.log and save them to a text file called SFCdetails.txt on your desktop. NOTE: Instead of re-typing this long command you can copy and paste it into your elevated command prompt.

findstr /c:"[SR]" %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log >%userprofile%\Desktop\SFCdetails.txt

I'm not trained to diagnose CBS.log files so I won't be of much help if running sfc /scannow a few more times (with a system restart between scans) is unable to repair your corrupted or missing system files, but the MS support article Analyze the Log File Entries That SFC.exe Generates in Windows has some basic information on interpreting the output.

I should post new topics on my issues and/or use Vista as it is. It does function

If you still need assistance with your original Word 2007 problem it would be helpful if you posted step-by-step instructions in this topic on how you're trying to create links in your Word document (or just try the method I suggested in my 27-Nov-2024 post # 6) because we still aren't clear what you meant when you said "I copy a link from the Document folder and paste it into the Word document, it will not save it". If your Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 installation is corrupted then repairing your Vista OS system files probably isn't going to fix this particular problem.

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello Imacri -

Again, you provided useful information

Thanks,
Jerry

 

[wither 3]

Did you get your problem resolved?

 

[Jerry8B]

Hello wither 3 -
No
Imacri made some suggestions that I am still reviewing. But, at this point I think I will move on and continue to use Vista as it is still functioning.

Thanks,
Jerry

 

[lmacri]

... at this point I think I will move on and continue to use Vista as it is still functioning.

Hi Jerry8B:

Just to clarify, does that mean you can still edit and save MOST of your Word 2007 .DOC documents, and that the only exception is the one .DOC file you described in your original post that you use to "save specific links from the Documents folder"? If that's the case I'd agree that you probably shouldn't waste too much time trying to troubleshoot this issue, as long as your Vista SP2 OS and Microsoft Office Small Business 2007 programs are generally working as expected.

In any case, just be sure you keep a backup of all your important files on an external backup drive in case you ever have to transfer those files to another computer. If your hard drive is failing you could suddenly be left with an unbootable computer and loose access to all the data stored on your hard drive, so you want to have a good backup and recovery plan in place for your personal data.