Please help get rid of smitfraud remnants

Dear Mosaic,

When I open display properties and click the desktop tab, the list of files is white. It's normal.


I' ve emailed you the files.

thx
 
I had a look at your results. You sent me two searches for Restrictions.

Please do one for policies and send it.

Did you do the other where I asked you to look for the .pol files?


The fact that the Display properties list is white points to no policy in place. But Smitfraudfix can fix the problem until reboot. So this would point to some restriction in the registry. But none has shown up anywhere in any log.
 
Hello Millslord,

Thanks for the files. We have no added information from them.
This is quite a mystery. So far there has been no progress.

Will you do something for me please?

Fix using smitfraudfix again. Then change your wallpaper to be sure it can be done.

then gio to start >Run and paste in this command:

sc stop Themes
Press enter

This is going to stop the themes service. You taskbar and windows will look different. The taskbar will be tan. Don't be concerned.
Wait a minute to let everything settle. Now go back to start >Run

Paste this comand in:
sc start themes

Press enter.

Let the themes load back up. It will take a minute.
Now go into display properties and see if you can change your wallpaper.


This is a test only.
 
Well do one more registry export after you reboot and know that display properties is broken.
 
Dear Mosaic,

I followed all the steps. Before reboot I was able to change the wallpaper. After reboot the chosen wallpaper remained as the background of choice but I could not even open display properties. I had to rerun smitfraud fix to correct the problem i.e. to be able to open display properties, since as to the wallpaper issue things are the same. Unable to effect any change after reboot.

Another thing I have noticed after all times I have run smitfraud, is that the NETGEAR configuration utility on taskbar disappears. I have to reboot for it to reappear.

Thx
 
So then shutting down and restarting themes didn't disable display properties?

I wonder if you have a problem registering themeui.dll now.

When Smitfraudfix is run it kills explorer and restarts it.

When Explorer is killed, the systray icons disappear. Most come back because the programmer who wrote the program coded it so the program would recognise the crash, ir check periodically to be sure its icon was there.

This one must not be putting its icon back in the tray. If you look in Task Manager, though, the program is generally running. Closing and restarting the program manually should put the icon back. If not, try a log off and back on.
 
I use this little utility on my own system. It may not be much help here, but let's give it a try.

Download Regshot from this link, extract and put it in its own folder. That folder will have two zips. The one you want to extract and use is:regshot1_7_2.zip
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/regshot.html

Be sure the display properties is broken.

Double click on regshot.exe to run it.

Click the 1st shot button. This is going to make a snapshot of your registry. Let it go. Do not close the program. When it has finished , then run Smitfraudfix.

When smitfraudfix finises, go back to tyhe regshot window and click the 2nd shot button. This will take a snapshot of your registry in its current state.


When this finishes, click the compare button. This will do a comparison of the two registry snapshots and when finished, will open a file with the results.


Do not close that file. Save it as a text file and upload here please. Let's see if we can spot something in the registry changes.
 
Hi Millslord,

That is showing us nothing. Darn it.

To double check. You cant change anything in display properties?

So you do shot1

Run Smitfraudfix
Do shot2
Press compare

And this is the result?

Restarting themes doesn't break display properties.

A friend is going to read this. I am not sure she'll have any ideas. IF she does, we'll take them.

Do you still have that disable active desktop script you downloaded nad used before? IF you do, try that to see if it fixes this before a reboot. And if after a reboot, you have the same problem again or not.

I keep thinking it is either the themes or your active desktop at the root of the problem. BUT smitfraud fixes the problem temporarily.
 
If we continue to get nowhere, I am going to suggest you uninstall Service Pack 2 and then do a repair install of Windows using your original install CD. Do yo have that? IF youy use a restore CD that is not the same. Let me know please. Then reapply Service Pack2 and Immediately go to Windows Update so that your updates can be reapplied.
 
My friend, a very respected Expert named Kimberly has suggested you try this from Microsoft:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en


It's the User Profile Hive Cleanup Service

And will help to unload your user hive properly before the system shuts down.


Every single Regmon log you have sent, shows no restrictions. But smitfraudfix fixes until a reboot. Either, you are confused and creating logs when things work, or this is the strangest thing I have seen.

At any rate, this last will get your registry hive saved proerly at shutdown, if that is contributing to the problem.
 
LOL that's good to hear!

Yes. Do run smitfraud. We want to be sure it's all working right before you try to shut down.

Let me know if that works.


Good luck.
 
I followed the instructions. Ran smitfraud fix, after that i ran the *.exe of this Microsoft utility and did shut down the machine. I rebooted - the problem remains unsolved. I guess this is all? :lip: :red: :scratch:
 
Do you want to give me another day?


Let's see if we can track down your system file protection problem.


Please go to System32

Right click on sfc_OS.dll

Clcik on Properties. When the properties page appears, click the version tab.

What is the file version please?
 
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