Archive for the ‘Windows XP’ Category

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On Resume, Password Protect vs on Resume, Display Welcome Screen Setting in Windows XP

When you open the Display Settings Control Panel applet and click the Screensaver tab, one of the following options are shown:

  • On resume, display Welcome screen
  • On resume, password protect

The second option is seen in systems which are connected to domain (which disables the Welcome screen.) If you enable this option, you’ll see the "Unlock Computer" classic logon prompt when resuming from screensaver mode. Whereas the former displays the Welcome screen when resuming from screensaver mode.

What if the "On resume, password protect" option is shown in a standalone system where the Welcome screen is enabled? What causes the "On resume, password protect" option to be shown in standalone systems and systems in a Workgroup?

This was asked by many Windows XP users over these years in various forums where I participate, but no entire explanation for this observation has been found anywhere. Hence this article was written.

The "On resume, password protect" is displayed if at least one the following conditions is true:

  1. Fast User Switching is disabled. (REF Enable Fast User Switching in Windows XP)
  2. There is only one user account in the system (not taking the "Guest" account into consideration)
  3. There are more than one user account, but only one is shown in the Welcome Screen and all others hidden.
  4. Terminal Services is not running. This in turn disables Fast User Switching. (To start Terminal Services, launch Services.msc, double-click Terminal Services, set its start type to Manual. Restart Windows.)

Published on 15th November 2009
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Posted in Windows XP | No Comments »

Fix Services MMC Extended View Is Blank in Windows XP

The Extended view of Services Management Console (services.msc) displays the service description and also has links to Start or Stop services. In some systems, the Extended view may appear blank, as in figure below:

This has to do with broken JScript.dll registration. To fix this problem, login as Administrator or equivalent, and then run the following command from Start, Run dialog:

regsvr32.exe  jscript.dll

Press {ENTER}

You should see the output message "DllRegisterServer in jscript.dll succeeded."

This fixes the Extended view. Close and re-open Services MMC.

Published on 14th November 2009
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Posted in Windows XP | 1 Comment »

Fix for Event Log Service Startup Error 1079

When you start the Event Viewer, the following error message may be shown.

Event Log service is unavailable. Verify that the service is running.

Any attempts to start the Event Log service results in the following error:

Windows could not start the Windows Event Log service on Local Computer.
Error 1079: The account specified for this service is different from the account specified for other services running in the same process.

As the Windows Event Log service isn’t running, starting Task Scheduler results in the following error:

Windows could not start the Task Scheduler service on Local Computer.
Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.

This problem was reported by one of our readers via email, and it has been fixed. Service startup error 1079 occurs if the logon account for the service is incorrectly set. Usually this is resolved by fixing the service logon account (via the Log On tab in the Property sheet) via the Services MMC (services.msc)

This can’t be done in case of Windows Event Log, where the Log On tab controls remain grayed out by default.

So, we need to alter the ObjectName registry value in the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\eventlog

Start the Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) and navigate to the above branch:

Double-click ObjectName value and set its data as NT AUTHORITY\LocalService {for Windows Vista & Windows 7}

Double-click ObjectName value and set its data as LocalSystem {for Windows XP}

Restart Windows.

Registry Fix

To automate the above setting, download eventlog-svc-fix.zip and run the REG file which is applicable for your Operating System. The zip file includes the REG fixes for Windows XP and Windows 7/Vista. Restart Windows after applying the fix.

Published on 7th October 2009
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Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments »

Using the Mouse to Copy Command Prompt Text to Clipboard

A useful tip for mousers. Earlier we saw how to copy Command Prompt output to the Windows Clipboard. Did you know that you can accomplish the same using your pointing device (mouse)? Also, you can select a particular section (word or line) and copy it to the Clipboard. Here is how to do so.

1. Create a Command Prompt shortcut (cmd.exe) on the Desktop.

2. Right-click on the Command Prompt shortcut and choose Properties

3. In the Options tab, enable QuickEdit mode, and click OK.

4. Open a Command Prompt window (using the custom shortcut) and type a command.

5. To copy the output, select the text area using the mouse pointer and click the right-mouse button (or press ENTER.)

This tip applies to Windows Vista & Windows 7 as well.

Editor’s note: The above setting works only if you access the Command Prompt using the desktop shortcut that you created earlier. In one of the upcoming articles, we’ll instruct how to make the Quick Edit setting enabled by default, so that it works irrespective of the method you use to access the Command Prompt.

Published on 3rd September 2009
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Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | 3 Comments »

How to Remove “Always Use the Selected Program” Option From Open With Dialog

The Open With dialog in Windows allows you to open a file using different programs. Also, you can create or change the file type association by selecting the "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" checkbox in the Open With dialog. Sometimes, users wrongly associate file types and end up having to fix the associations manually. To prevent this, you can remove the "Always use the selected program to open this kind of file" checkbox so that file type association using Open With dialog is not possible.

1. Launch Regedit.exe and navigate to the following branch:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer

Note: If the above branch does not exist, you need to create it manually.

2. Create a new DWORD value named NoFileAssociate

3. Double-click NoFileAssociate and set its data to 1

4. Exit the Registry Editor.

The above registry change effects the current user account only. To implement the change for all users (machine-wide), create the NoFileAssociate value in the following branch:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer

Additional Information

The above edit when used in Windows 2000/XP, results in a grayed out "Always use the selected program…" checkbox. Whereas in Windows Vista & Windows 7, the checkbox is removed completely.

Published on 13th August 2009
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Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | 2 Comments »

Windows Easy Transfer Wizard Runs When Double-Clicking a Drive in Windows XP

After using the Windows Easy Transfer wizard to collect files and settings in the source computer running Windows XP, you may notice that the Windows Easy Transfer wizard runs every time when the drive is double-clicked in My Computer. Also, the drive icon is changed, representing the Windows Easy Transfer program icon.

(more…)

Published on 27th July 2009
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Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP | No Comments »

Fix: Places Bar in Open/Save as (Common Dialog) Box Is Empty in Windows XP

The places bar which appears in the left side of the Open and Save As dialog boxes in Windows XP, contains shortcuts to the following folders by default:

  • Recent
  • Desktop
  • My Documents
  • My Computer
  • My Network Places

The default places can be customized by editing the registry. After adding/removing custom places using a third-party tool, you may experience a problem where the places bar is completely empty.

(more…)

Published on 12th July 2009
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Posted in Windows XP | 2 Comments »

Checkbox Labels Appended With the Word “on” Or “OFF” In Various Dialog Boxes in Windows XP

When you open a dialog box (e.g. "View" tab under Folder Options, "Advanced" tab under Internet Options etc.) containing checkbox or radio button controls in Windows XP, the text labels may be appended with the word "ON" or "OFF" depending upon whether the option is enabled or not. (more…)

Published on 15th June 2009
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Posted in Windows XP | 1 Comment »

Fix for System File Checker Error 0×000006ba RPC Server Is Unavailable

When you attempt to run the System File Checker (sfc.exe /scannow command) to restore missing or corrupted system files, the following error message may be seen:

Windows File Protection could not be initiate a scan of protected system files.
The specific code is 0×000006ba [The RPC Server is unavailable.]

This happens if the Windows File Protection (WFP) is disabled in the registry. (more…)

Published on 7th May 2009
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Posted in Windows XP | 4 Comments »

Restore Missing Folders to the Group Policy Editor in Windows XP

When you open the Group Policy Editor in Windows XP Professional, some of the categories under Administrative Templates may be missing. For example when you expand Administrative Templates, the System category may be missing. This article provides information on how to restore the missing folders to the Group Policy Editor. (more…)

Published on 24th March 2009
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Posted in Windows XP | 9 Comments »

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