Calling all people who claim to never reinstall windows

[rxblitzrx]

OK all you l33t geeks who never reinstall windows. =)

I got one for ya: My sister's computer is giving errors on shutdown "end program igfxpers.exe" "end program avp.exe" "Program failed to shutdown" "system32.exe corruption" ... stuff like that.

How do you overcome things like this without reinstalling windows??

As a more general question: What do you do when you can't figure out how to fix error boxes that routinely pop up? I'm talking about everyday you get the same error messages when you do the same task.

 

[kag]

sometimes you just need to reinstall everything 🙂

 

[Cogman]

Sorry, this needs a fresh reinstall.I would check the hardware for corruption (make sure you go with a NTFS filesystem). By hardware corruption I mean make sure its not extreamly dusty in the computer case, check the MoBo temps and try and see if they are going above 70C. You also might want to do a memcheck to look for Ram corruption. On last thing is to check if the HD and power supply are ready to die.

 

[rxblitzrx]

See, I agree with you guys. But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary. If this is true, I'd like to know how they do it. I'm one of those guys who keeps a ghosted image of Windows on a separate hard drive for days like this.

 

[idiotekniQues]

holy cow u need 1.475 to be stable at 3.3?

 

[rxblitzrx]

Originally posted by: idiotekniQues
holy cow u need 1.475 to be stable at 3.3?

lol yeah. I wonder if using a motherboard to up the NB voltage would help that. I haven't tested it with less voltage yet. School started and I haven't had time to play with it anymore. Temperatures are good though.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
OK all you l33t geeks who never reinstall windows. =)

I got one for ya: My sister's computer is giving errors on shutdown "end program igfxpers.exe" "end program avp.exe" "Program failed to shutdown"

Could be spyware or other malware, or some sort of messed-up driver.

"system32.exe corruption"

'system32.exe' runs a lot of different things.

How do you overcome things like this without reinstalling windows??

Generally, you look at each error, figure out what is causing it, and fix it. Unless you're looking at things like filesystem corruption (due to bad hardware), or a virus that just makes many system files unusable, it has always been possible in my experience to get an installation back into working order without doing a full reinstall.

However, there is definitely a point beyond which it's probably not worth spending tens of hours fixing everything, and your best bet for a speedy recovery is just to back up critical data and reinstall or reimage.

As a more general question: What do you do when you can't figure out how to fix error boxes that routinely pop up? I'm talking about everyday you get the same error messages when you do the same task.

Depends on the error box. If the error happens reliably when you do a certain thing, you can try to trace down what the problem is (even if the error message itself is very vague).

See, I agree with you guys. But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary. If this is true, I'd like to know how they do it. I'm one of those guys who keeps a ghosted image of Windows on a separate hard drive for days like this.

Generally -- don't install lots of poorly written crap, spyware, or beta drivers, and don't have unstable overclocks. If you maintain the system properly, you'll never get to the point of it being so screwed up that fixing it isn't worth it.

 

[Nothinman]

But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary.

It's not if you maintain it properly which apparently your sister hasn't done.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary.

It's not if you maintain it properly which apparently your sister hasn't done.

Windows XP and Server 2003 don't typically "break by themselves". Either hardware fails (like a hard drive or controller), somebody misconfigures it, or a software flaw is introduced (either poorly written software or drivers or else malware). The only times I can recall totally re-installing Windows XP was when there was a hardware failure, or when the user had installed malware.

 

[Nothinman]

Windows XP and Server 2003 don't typically "break by themselves". Either hardware fails (like a hard drive or controller), somebody misconfigures it, or a software flaw is introduced (either poorly written software or drivers or else malware). The only times I can recall totally re-installing Windows XP was when there was a hardware failure, or when the user had installed malware.

Yes, and not installing malware is part of proper maintenance.

 

[rxblitzrx]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary.

It's not if you maintain it properly which apparently your sister hasn't done.

OK, so it sounds like pros can handle one Windows installation every three years. For us in other professional fields, the easiest answer is just to reinstall. My sister is definitely a nub when it comes to computers, but I think she's come a long way to even have learned a Windows reinstall and some minor tweaking. Her time is better spent studying triphasic multidetector-row CT (MDCT) methods for ruling out the three most dangerous causes of chest pain. Thanks for the help. I'll be sure to pass the word along. And to return the favor... if you ever need a stent placed or a cardiac CT scan for coronary artery disease, I'm sure she'll be glad to help. If you can afford such services.

 

[mchammer]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx

Originally posted by: Nothinman

But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary.

It's not if you maintain it properly which apparently your sister hasn't done.

OK, so it sounds like pros can handle one Windows installation every three years. For us in other professional fields, the easiest answer is just to reinstall. My sister is definitely a nub when it comes to computers, but I think she's come a long way to even have learned a Windows reinstall and some minor tweaking. Her time is better spent studying triphasic multidetector-row CT (MDCT) methods for ruling out the three most dangerous causes of chest pain. Thanks for the help. I'll be sure to pass the word along. And to return the favor... if you ever need a stent placed or a cardiac CT scan for coronary artery disease, I'm sure she'll be glad to help. If you can afford such services.

Dude...

 

[Nothinman]

OK, so it sounds like pros can handle one Windows installation every three years. For us in other professional fields, the easiest answer is just to reinstall.

Well IMO it just takes common sense not to f' up your machine beyond repair.

 

[RandomFool]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

OK, so it sounds like pros can handle one Windows installation every three years. For us in other professional fields, the easiest answer is just to reinstall.

Well IMO it just takes common sense not to f' up your machine beyond repair.

Tell that to my mother, every time I came home I'd have to format. She'd click any link you sent her even if it had big red letters that said "Clicking this will f-up your computer!!!"

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
See, I agree with you guys. But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary. If this is true, I'd like to know how they do it. I'm one of those guys who keeps a ghosted image of Windows on a separate hard drive for days like this.

I am one of those - I have three computers, two desktops and one laptop. Each has XP Pro installed, and have never been reinstalled. The way that is done is daily maintenance and constant monitoring. Once you lose control, as is apparently the case you cite, the game is lost and reinstall is necessary.

The tools that get you to such nirvana include, active malware defense; good but non-intrusive AV (avoid Norton) such as AVG or Kaspersky; frequent HDD optimization; judicious installation of software; removal of software residue after uninstalling; occasional registry scrubbing; and use of System Restore when required to create restore points and to revert to good ones.

And, similar to your Ghosted image, a reserve HDD in the system that can be swapped by simply changing power connectors. Part of my preventive maintenance program is recloning the reserve drive every week - usually Saturday. I have reserve drives always ready for all three systems. I call it planned redundancy.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx

Originally posted by: Nothinman

But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary.

It's not if you maintain it properly which apparently your sister hasn't done.

OK, so it sounds like pros can handle one Windows installation every three years. For us in other professional fields, the easiest answer is just to reinstall. My sister is definitely a nub when it comes to computers, but I think she's come a long way to even have learned a Windows reinstall and some minor tweaking. Her time is better spent studying triphasic multidetector-row CT (MDCT) methods for ruling out the three most dangerous causes of chest pain. Thanks for the help. I'll be sure to pass the word along. And to return the favor... if you ever need a stent placed or a cardiac CT scan for coronary artery disease, I'm sure she'll be glad to help. If you can afford such services.

Was that really necessary?

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
. . . Thanks for the help. I'll be sure to pass the word along. And to return the favor... if you ever need a stent placed or a cardiac CT scan for coronary artery disease, I'm sure she'll be glad to help. If you can afford such services.

In that case, she really should be able to afford to have someone maintain her system for her. I'll keep her in mind should I ever need a CT scan or a stent emplaced. She can always consider professional courtesy with a computer pro - unfortunately, I don't happen to be one. 🙂

 

[Thor86]

I luv how so many experts suggest what should/could have been done to prevent things, but in real-life, things just don't work this way.

I would suggest the following things:

1) Try and install Spybot (Free spy/malware scan/cleaner).
2) Try and install AdAware (Free spy/malware scan/cleaner).
3) Try and install RegscrubXP (Free registry backup/cleaner).

If all these don't fixe the problem, then yes, we can only suggest a repair install or re-install from scratch. Just try and backup all pertinant data (ie: docs/emails/favorites/etc).

Good luck.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Thor86
I luv how so many experts suggest what should/could have been done to prevent things, but in real-life, things just don't work this way.

I would suggest the following things:

1) Try and install Spybot (Free spy/malware scan/cleaner).
2) Try and install AdAware (Free spy/malware scan/cleaner).
3) Try and install RegscrubXP (Free registry backup/cleaner).

If all these don't fixe the problem, then yes, we can only suggest a repair install or re-install from scratch. Just try and backup all pertinant data (ie: docs/emails/favorites/etc).

Good luck.

Prevention is the only cure. It works, if you do it right from the beginning.

To the OP: I hope this isn't happening on a computer she does work on...

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
I got one for ya: My sister's computer is giving errors on shutdown "end program igfxpers.exe" "end program avp.exe" "Program failed to shutdown" "system32.exe corruption" ... stuff like that.

You didn't make it clear that you wanted a specific solution...

Igfxpers.exe is an Intel Graphics driver. I'd update the video card driver to the latest version. That will likely fix it.

The only references to "avp.exe" that I can find are from a seven-year-old antivirus program, possbly from Kapersky's AV program, and from the game "Alien vs. Predator". You need to find out what avp.exe does. What folder is it located in? It's definitely not part of Windows XP itself.

As a more general question: What do you do when you can't figure out how to fix error boxes that routinely pop up? I'm talking about everyday you get the same error messages when you do the same task.

Fixing problems that occur routinely are often pretty straightforward. It's the ones that only occur once a week or once a month that can be a pain.

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: rxblitzrx
See, I agree with you guys. But some people on here claim that they never have to reinstall windows and that it's not necessary. If this is true, I'd like to know how they do it. I'm one of those guys who keeps a ghosted image of Windows on a separate hard drive for days like this.

Simple, we run clean systems. Malware tends to be buggy and fubar things up. As an example system32.exe is malware (from your list).

Heck, my Vista installs are all XP upgrades. The Vista box I'm on now had XP installed when it was a new machine 3 years ago, and I did the upgrade. No reinstalls or other tom foolery involved 🙂

Bill

 

[Nothinman]

Tell that to my mother, every time I came home I'd have to format. She'd click any link you sent her even if it had big red letters that said "Clicking this will f-up your computer!!!"

Does she also ignore "Do not Enter" signs and the like when driving?

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Tell that to my mother, every time I came home I'd have to format. She'd click any link you sent her even if it had big red letters that said "Clicking this will f-up your computer!!!"

Does she also ignore "Do not Enter" signs and the like when driving?

It's not so much that your sister went down the wrong way (all "users" do), it's that she didn't turn around when she drove past the warning sign.

As a very, very generic rule. If you f*** something up, do a system restore and you're good. If you f*** something up then run like that for six months, good luck!

I'm one of those "never need to reinstall windows" people. I don't claim that your sister is! 🙂


What version of windows is she running btw? At the minimum it sounds like she needs to reinstall her AV software.



edit: playing off nothinman's post, not actually replying directly to it.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Smilin
What version of windows is she running btw? At the minimum it sounds like she needs to reinstall her AV software.

You shouldn't need to know that. If you're good enough to not need to reinstall every couple of months you shouldn't need people feeding you with information when they report a problem. You should just know it.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: n0cmonkey

Originally posted by: Smilin
What version of windows is she running btw? At the minimum it sounds like she needs to reinstall her AV software.

You shouldn't need to know that. If you're good enough to not need to reinstall every couple of months you shouldn't need people feeding you with information when they report a problem. You should just know it.

Yeah, don't I know it. It's like the tech support calls where it takes 4 hrs of data gathering to find the problem but the guy wants the answer 5 minutes into the call, "So, what causes this error? You're tech support, you should know!"