Fix: Bluescreen after installing SP3

For all those suckers who encountered this problem and reformatted their computer…this ones for you.

Problem: You install Windows XP Service Pack 3 and upon reboot you’re faced a with a BSOD saying: “SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED.” You can’t boot into windows.

Fix: You need to boot into safe mode and change an HKLM registry key.

THE FIRST METHOD:

  1. Turn off you computer then turn it back on and boot into safe mode by pressing and holding down F8. Choose “Safe Mode.”
  2. Click Start>Run
  3. Type “regedit”
  4. Navigate to the following key: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\intelppm”
  5. The DWORD value will be set to 1, change it to 4. This is to stop it from loading automatically on boot up.

Restart the computer and everything should be groovy!

THE SECOND METHOD:

  1. Turn off you computer then turn it back on and boot into safe mode by pressing and holding down F8. Choose “Safe Mode.”
  2. Browse to “C:\Windows\System32\Drivers.”
  3. There you will find a file named “intelppm.sys.” Delete it.

Restart the computer and everything should be groovy!

How to explain this problem to the client: Exalted customer, it would appear that there is a bug when installing the SP3 update onto HP AMD based computers. It installs a file called “intelppm.sys” which helps intel-based power management immensely Unfortunately it does not help AMD-based power management, in fact it breaks it….

Good luck and tell me how it goes on the forums.

 

Fix: Infinite “Configuring Updates 3 of 3. 0% complete.”

This one was apparently fixed by Microsoft a while ago but in case you run into something similar it’s helpful. It will work on any problem where an update has hijacked the screen with an “Update in progress” type of message and won’t let you finish booting windows. This fix will clear that bad update.

Problem: You run Windows Update and select your updates. Once they download everything they prompt you to restart your system. You do so, the computer turns off then on again and windows starts to boot until you see a screen saying: “Configuring updates 3 of 3. 0% complete.” No matter how long you wait and no matter how many times you restart the screen does not go away.

Fix: You need to delete the “pending.xml” file. The file has a list of updates and forces windows to install those updates at startup. By deleting the file you delete the list so Windows ignores the updates.

THE FIRST METHOD:

Microsoft has a fix for this problem up on their website (here) and we’ll take a look at that method first.

The Microsoft “fix” basically tells you to use restore points to send your computer back in time. How far back? Well just far enough so that your computer is in a state before the broken updates were downloaded. The closer this date is to the present the better. If you restore too far back you end up with programs that don’t work and have a confused computer.

So how do you restore without being able to boot into windows? Again, there are two methods:

  1. Take your Vista disc and insert it into the computer. Ensure that your booting with the CD and when the disc loads press “R” as soon as you see the option. Invoking this command will launch the repair section of the Windows CD which contains a System Restore program. Just select the closest time to the present and restore to that.
  2. Boot into safe mode.
  3. Click Start, a menu will pop up.
  4. Click Run from the menu. A window will pop up.
  5. Type in: “rstrui.exe” This will launch the system restore utility.
  6. Select the closest restore point to the present.

After the restore is done you will find that you can boot into windows once again! There is one more step that you need to do. Microsoft recommends installing an update to windows update, crazy eh? You can find that update here make sure that you download and install this right away.

THE SECOND METHOD:

Now in case for some reason the restore point solution doesn’t work for you there is a second method. I got this fix from a fellow tech and unlike the recovery points method this one just modifies the “pending.xml” file. What you basically need to do is delete “pending.xml”. It is not a file that can be deleted easily when you don’t have access to Windows. But of course our favorite tool comes in handy again-

Download and install a copy of The Ultimate Boot Disc for Windows it’s a useful tool to have for these and other kinds of windows problems. Boot from the disc and in the menu that pops up choose Ultimate Boot Disc for Windows (or something of the like.) The next step will take a few moments so get some coffee, or alcohol depending on your mood. There! You will see that we have loaded a modified version of Windows! One filled to the brim with cool tech tools!

Select the “Computer” or “My Computer” icon. This will launch a folder with a list of all of your drives. Select the drive that contains your windows installation.

  1. Click on the Windows folder.
  2. Click on the Winsxs folder.
  3. Find the file pending.xml.
  4. Right click>Properties.
  5. Go to the Permissions tab and give yourself full control over the file.
  6. Click Apply.
  7. Delete pending.xml.

Once we delete the “pending.xml” file windows no longer looks to it for instructions to install updates and we are free to boot into windows normally.

The next time you download updates that need to be installed Windows will recreate the pending.xml file with new correct updates and you’ll be good to go. Once you get into Windows don’t forget to download and install the windows update fix, it can be found here.

How to explain this problem to the client:This is caused by a bad update Mr. Customer, you know how Microsoft is (insert bonding laugh here.) I’ve usually seen it affect HP/Compaq AMD based unit mostly and you will now be safe from this error in the future. Hooray!

Good luck and tell me how it goes on the forums.

 

Question: What is a NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity Error?

Welcome to the first Question page! Questions can be asked through the widget to the left of the screen and are posted to the forums where the guys there shoot out some ideas. The best questions/answers are posted to the main page.

Question: My IBM “Stinkpad” R60 constantly has a BSOD saying:

*** Hardware Malfucntion
Call your hardware vendor for support
NMI: Parity Check / Memory Parity Error
*** The System has halted ***

I have ran MemTest and Hard disk diagnostics and they come out clean. What’s going on? I have Vista, but the problem is there on XP as well.

Answered by theFakeGeek:

A parity error will usually indicate a memory issue, which you’ve correctly surmised. Now using MemTest you’ve ruled out that there is an issue with the RAM. This is good.

For the benefit of those readers who don’t know what MemTest is I’ll do a quick plug here: MemTest is probably one of the greatest friends a technician can have. MemTest is a software program that randomly reads and writes data to the RAM installed on your computer. If it finds that some of that data is corrupted it notes the sector and classifies the RAM as “bad.” It’s a free program you can download from the MemTest website.

Now back to the problem at hand. Just because your RAM doesn’t have any bad sectors does not mean that we should rule out a memory issue. The first thing that MemTest ignores is any dedicated video memory you might have on your computer (such as a video card.) The parity error might be from that. You can try to rule this out by disabling the video card, if when disabled you no longer get the error then you know where the problem is coming from (hard to do on a laptop however). You might be able to fix it by getting updated drivers.

A second cause of this error could be a problem with the laptop’s power supply (unlikely however.) Memory needs power like every other component in your computer, if that power becomes destabilized or it isn’t receiving enough power problems can occur. The only way to test this is by using a multimeter or swapping in a different power supply (find a different AC adapter.)

Hope that helps ya. If anyone would like to contribute more on the subject just follow the link to the forums.

 

The Computer Technician

The word Computer Technician is defined by theFakeGeek in the following ways:

  1. Those who people go to when their computer hasn’t worked right since they downloaded a whole bunch of porn… and then swear up and down that they didn’t.
  2. Those who open up clients computer and find it coated in a yellow sticky smelly residue and contemplate raising the price of computer cleaning to include a gas mask…and a full body clean suit.
  3. Those who deem it satisfactory to answer tech questions on the phone and are yelled at by the guy at the other end because they can’t see the screen 100 miles away.
  4. Those who are certified and trained yet make little more then the kid working at the local McDonald’s. And less then the kid working as a manager at the local McDonald’s.
  5. Those who are expected to spend 4 hours painstakingly removing malware from a friends computer and then are given a beer “for their time.” Or a big cookie.
  6. Those who are called geeks and tech monkeys. And like it.
  7. And so on and so forth. But let’s think positively shall we?
  8. Those who love computers. So much they spend more time with the family computer then with the family.
  9. Those who know what a boot sector corruption is. And have been asked 1,786 times by their clients: “But what causes this? I’ve never dropped it!”
  10. Those who never buy the $300 computer. But they don’t buy the $3000 one either, they get something they will actually use.
  11. Those who read theFakeGeek.com

Enjoy the site. It’s a site for computer technicians.

 

How to remove Nero Scout

How do I uninstall Nero Scout?

Geez I hate that program. Why did the guys behind Nero think we needed yet another indexing service? Fortunately there is a simple registry edit you can do. Simply click Start, go to Run and type in the following:

regsvr32 /u “%COMMONPROGRAMFILES%AheadLibMediaLibraryNSE.dll”

Then press enter and restart your computer.

Good riddance I say.

 

Monitoring Temperature on a MacBook

I’m thinking about downloading iStat for my MacBook Pro so that I can keep a eye on things but ive read that the temp and fan monitor gauge doesn’t work with macbooks is this true? Also I wanted to know if iStat sucks your computer’s processing power and make it run slow, if it does can you recommend any other monitoring software? Thanks, Neil

Thanks for asking!istat1.jpg

I’ve tried out iStat in the past and it’s worked fine on the iMac that I use. It also works fine on a G4. I haven’t tried it yet on a MacBook so I can’t guarantee that it’ll work completely. Some users have been complaining that it doesn’t display the temperature correctly. I’ll test iStat out on a MacBook and I’ll get back to you on that.

As far as usability goes iStat works fairly fine. It has a nice interface (as every Mac app does) and gives you the information you need with simplicity.

Another program that I’d recommend is called MenuMeters it does the same thing as iStat but has a different interface, I haven’t used it but people who have highly recommend it. It’s not a widget but you can put it up in your menu bar. Give it a shot as well.

The Fake Geek

(P.S. Sorry about the lateness of the reply.)

 

How do I uninstall Norton Antivirus?

How can remove/uninstall the Norton Antivirus trial that was loaded into my new Toshiba Vista
laptop by Toshiba, but was never activated or used by me? There’s no uninstall program in add or remove programs.

nortonbox.jpg
Isn’t that tricky of Norton? They want to make it as hard as they can for you to remove their program. Especially if you don’t want/need it! Fortunately there is a relatively painless way to remove the program. Norton does give you a way to remove it’s programs from your computer. Basically it’s an uninstaller but they don’t include it with the program. Weird huh?

You can download the uninstaller here. Then just run it and follow the prompt and Norton will be gone!

The Fake Geek

 

Sympatico WiFi Router isn’t working

Question: I just got Bell Sympatico DSL internet and they gave me a modem/router combo. My problem is that when I try to use wireless it just won’t work. The internet works on my laptop when I use the cable but it doesn’t work with the wifi. I called Gateway (who made my laptop) and they told me that I needed to update my wifi card drivers. They said I had to open up my laptop to find out what adapter I have. But there are warranty stickers on the laptop and if I open the unit the warranty is void. What do I do!?! (PS the wifi works with the router in a nearby electronics store.)

sympatico.jpg
First things first: Do not open the laptop! You will void your warranty and that just wouldn’t do.

I don’t know why Gateway would tell you to open the thing up to find out what type of WiFi adapter you have. They should have that information on file. Someone in Gateway’s technical support probably needs some retraining…..

Now if your laptop’s internet works when it you plug it into the modem/router then we can rule out the following:

  • Firewall blocking internet ports
  • Disconnected cables
  • Something wrong on Sympatico’s end.

You say that the WiFi works at the electronics store? That means that it is connecting and the WiFi card is just fine and dandy. From here there are two likely reasons for this problem:

  1. Problem: The wireless radio on the Sympatico Router is turned off and not broadcasting. Solution: Turn on the radio. What you’ll need to do is go into the configuration page for the router. You’ll need the router’s IP address (it’ll be something like 198.168.0.1, the manual that came with the router should have the exact number) and look for a setting called Wireless Radio. Click the option On.
  2. Problem: Your laptop’s WiFi adapter doesn’t support the security your using on the router. Solution: Run Windows Update on the computer and download any WiFi drivers it may come up with. It could just be that the old driver doesn’t support WPA encryption.

Thanks for asking!

The Fake Geek

 

How to Update Norton AntiVirus

My computer came with Norton Antivirus and it recently expired so I purchased a new subscription from the Symantic website. I updates Norton but it keeps bugging me every few days saying that my Norton is not updated but it is.

Thanks for asking!

Basically when you buy an antivirus your buying a license and permission to download files from Norton. You have to download these files every few days for the simple fact that they are updated every few days. The reason behind this is because these files contain the instructions for the removal of any viruses that should infect your computer.

Since new viruses pop up all the time, the instructions must be continually updated to detect these viruses. Now what Norton is doing is checking the Norton website for any new instructions, if it finds them then it either downloads them automatically or prompts you to download them. (Depending on how your Norton program is set up.)

Here’s what to do to insure that your copy of Norton is up to date:

  1. Find Norton. There will be a Norton Icon somewhere around your System Tray (where your clock is). It should look like something like this:

    2. norton1.jpg

    Or like this:

    norton3.jpgnorton2.jpg

  2. Click on one of these icons. A screen will pop up (they’ll vary depending on what version your using) but somewhere on there you should be able to see the words: Run LiveUpdate.
  3. When you click this a window with a list of Norton components will appear.
  4. Click Start.

And your done! Norton should do this automatically but just in case check once a week. And viola that pesky message is gone!
The Fake Geek

 

What is a podcast?

I’ve just bought an iPod and my friend told me about something called a Podcast. What is it?

podcastlogo.jpg
A Podcast is basically a modern take on the radio show format. It’s available on the internet and you can download and listen to them at any time you want. The show can be about virtually any subject and they can be made by anyone with a computer and a microphone.

Podcasts are usually in mp3 format and can be played back on any mp3 player, it doesn’t have to be an iPod to play a podcast.

Podcasts are very interesting I download a lot that I listen to weekly while I’m traveling long distances. iTunes has a lot of podcasts listed on its pages.

The Fake Geek