Windows XP User Questions

Question 13. When I go to log onto WinXP it's telling me I have 4 unread mail messages.I don't have any unread mail messages. Is there somewhere I can reset this?

Answer.Download and install TweakUI:

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP (TweakUI) For Systems With SP1/SP2 Installed:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP (TweakUI) For Systems WithOUT SP1 Installed:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/whistler/Install/2/WXP/EN-US/TweakUiPowertoySetup.exe

After installing, go to Start | Programs | PowerToys for Windows XP | TweakUI. Expand "Logon" and uncheck "Show unread mail on Welcome screen".

Note: Unread message alerts may indicate you have unread messages not only in Outlook Express, but Hotmail and/or MSN email accounts as well.

For some background - Overview of the Mail Notification Display on the Windows XP Welcome Screen

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=304148

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Question 14. The "My Documents" Folder Is Locked After A Reinstall And I Cant Access My Files. [I tells me I don't have permision.]

Answer.HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308421

NOTE: You must be logged on to the computer using an account that has administrative privileges. If you are running Windows XP Home Edition, in order to have access to the Security tab, you must first start in Safe Mode and log on with an account that has Administrative rights.

You need to take ownership of them. Right-click the folder, select properties. Go to the security tab and click advanced. You can take control of the folders on the owner tab. For the security tab to appear in a WinXP Pro system, you must disable simple file sharing in the control panel/folder options/view tab. For a WinXP Home system, you must restart in safe mode and logon as administrator.

An additional note for WinXP Pro users: This procedure will not help you recover data if the files are encrypted. All you will be able to do is delete them. To recover encrypted files you will need the original encryption certificate or a Recovery Agent from the installation under which they were encrypted. Without one of these, the files are not recoverable.

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Question 15. I installed some bad software and now my restore points dont work. Also, in the past sometimes I lost a document due to a crash and system restore, when it was working, didn't get the document back for me.

Question 15.1 Windows will not restore to any date even a restore point that I have made it just says that it was unable to restore to this date choose another.

Answer.Well, it wasn't the bad software or other reason that caused your restore points to go bad. XP can manage this all by itself as system restore is really not perfected just yet. To fix it, disable it, reboot and your existing _bad_ points should be deleted. Now enable it again and it should work in the future. It's also a good idea to use a third party registry backup and restore program as another form of system recovery.

System restore is basically a registry restore utility, not a data recovery utility. It doesn't address your personal data.

More info:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302796

http://bertk.mvps.org/index.html
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

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Question 16. My PC runs really slow and takes ages to bootup.

Answer.Windows XP runs best with at least 512 megs of RAM. It's preferred that you have at least 1 Gig of Ram however for much better results.

Second, background applications, viruses, trojans, and spyware often slow a system way down. Check your tray for icons that load up each time Windows starts. Click on that app and look for a configuration or setting to stop it from loading when windows starts.

Third, download 2 different anti-virus programs and 2 different anti-spyware programs that you dont have currently installed on the pc. Free ones can be found on my Utilities Page. Note that your existing anti-virus app may have been disabled by a trojan or virus and my not even be working.

Boot to safe mode and install all 4 applications and run each of them, choosing to remove any nasty found in the process. Then boot normally, run each of the 4 apps again, updating each one first with the latest defns., etc. Delete all files in any temp/tmp folder. Delete all the files in all your internet cache folders aka temporary internet files. Use add/remove and uninstall any unused and or unneeded programs.

Make sure you have enough free disk space available for the swap/page file. It's recommended that you have at least 10 gigs free on C: at all times. Run a chkdisk /f on each drive and then, after deleting all temp/tmp/cache files, run defrag.

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Question 17. I cant stop XP Chkdsk from running

Answer.Chkdsk does not correct errors without the /F parameter. Go to Run, type CHKDSK /F and say yes to run at next boot. Then reboot and let it run and fix the errors. (note the space before the /F)

A reminder to also set the drive letter you want to be checked, if applicable.

http://www.fsref.com/pr/dosxp.htm
You'll have to scroll down to chkdsk.

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Question 18. I have the following message Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM

Answer.How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry that Prevents Windows XP from Starting:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

Once you've recovered, you might want to look here as well:

How to Troubleshoot Registry Corruption Issues:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=822705

For credit, you can visit the official Credit Cards Express site for more information.

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Question 19. Why do I get "OE has removed the unsafe attachment "on all my e-mail attachments? This has just started to happen in the past couple of weeks. It is doing it to all attachments.

Or, on another pc the Pictures received as attachments in Outlook Express cannot be opened. They are greyed out.

Or, I can not see pictures people send me in my email. It is just a plain box with a small X on the upper left hand corner.