Volatus

Windows didn't start shutting down services... it just scheduled a shutdown, that's all. Services just crash because they rely on RPC, as do a _ton_ of other things (the clipboard, for example). Lots of stuff will be broken, but it's better than staring at a blank screen wondering "now what?". A broken system is always better than no system at all.

First: fix the symptoms Next time that box appears and gives you "60 seconds til explosion", defuse the bomb by going to Start/Run, and type: shutdown /a and click OK. The dialog about shutting down should go away and you should be able to continue using your computer - although it'll act a little more strangely after the RPC server died. Then we can work on fixing your problem.

Please nrever spread bad or incorrect information... nLite does a better job at everything than MS could ever even imagine doing. Don't hate. In fact, the slipstream method MS recommends isn't even used for making a CD (since, obviously, MS never wants people to burn a Windows CD), it's used to "update" an "installation share". nLite does a better job at actually making it a CD. edit: That KB article you linked ISN'T EVEN RELATED to the post you wrote... but it's probably the solution to this problem... could you at least have said that instead of dissing nLite?

According to that MSDN article, that reg tweak should only be 4 lines (1 entry), as AppLogLevels is a key, not a value, and specific application settings go under it. Globally, only LogLevel is needed. Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup] "LogLevel"=dword:00000000 And since you (nishantcop) don't understand the registry, I assume you also have "show extensions" disabled. To save as a "reg" file in Notepad, enclose the full filename in quotes - that is, save as "setLogLevel.reg" WITH quotes (or whatever you want to name it, .reg). edit @ me: MSDN, not MSFN. MSDN. msDn. D. All about the D.

Worthless threads are fun to unwind in, that's all. Kick your feet up on a table somewhere, enjoy the lulz.

That was generally true in the 70's. Hopefully the last offtopic remark on this... but good ol' (and I mean OL') FTP, email, newsgroups, all those ancient technologies still differentiate between "text" (7 bit) and "binary" (8 bit) modes. (edit: I think both email and newsgroups are still strictly 7-bit-based anyway) Honestly, I have no clue why (does someone expect to plug in their old Tandy 8086 computer and get on Yahoo email, or something?), but it still holds true. So there is still, unfortunately, a difference... even though everything is still transmitted and stored in 8 bit format anyway. *shrug* edit edit: I think the 8th bit (since processors have always worked in multiples of 8 anyway) was used as a very basic error checking mechanism by flipping the last bit one way or the other, then the other end would check that the "check bit" of each byte makes sense to the data, then discard it. Hence why we still need to encode our email attachments - actually, the client does it for us, transparently, but it's still in the source as 7-bit keyboard-typable data.

Don't get me wrong... I do most of my burning (primarily DVD copies) with ImgBurn as well. I've even been known to create an image from Nero or any other program, just to burn it with ImgBurn. I've even run ImgBurn on a computer without a burner, to get additional information about the drive, or just for the fact that ImgBurn can eject AND insert the tray (I needed that once, too). And ImgBurn is 110% Vista compatible. ImgBurn just is a really clunky "solution" for making data and audio CDs and DVDs, so I rely on Nero for that. I also hate all the extra and useless crap that comes with it. SERIOUSLY. DO WE NEED "NERO DESKTOP SEARCH"?! >-( (haet) So yeah, I agree, Nero (as a package) sucks. But "Nero Burning ROM" is pretty much the best at what I need to get done. Unless someone has an alternative that isn't "programmed in mom's basement for shareware plz"...

You're right, but in the world of computers, a "text file" is generally considered a 7-bit-per-byte "binary" file (as all files are binary and stored with 8 bits per byte), and can typically be stored with extraordinary compression. A "binary" file is one that is either already compressed, or encoded in another way. Since a memory dump certainly is not text... it's just a normal binary file. Just wanted to clear that part up. It's still a terrible suggestion to have someone either make, or upload, a full memory dump.

I've been using Ctrl+Shift+Esc for years... I always tell people not to use Ctrl+Alt+Del because it was never designed to bring up Task Manager. That's one good thing in Vista, that it's actually bringing the correct functionality (the lock screen) back to usage, and teaching people to use Ctrl+Shift+Esc

... "Binary" "text file" is an oxymoron... It's a memory dump. Whatever is in the memory... typically assorted random data, hence, hard to compress depending on how long the computer'd been running (and even if the memory was all zeroed out to begin with). It's just a bad idea to ask for a full memory dump... they're mostly useless anyway. Why bother?

Kinda sounds like you were a victim of "printed piracy"... Might want to take a look at this: http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/windows/ Each SP has a list of keys that it knows are pirated copies... did you get your XP from a big store, or a little mom-n-pop shop?

If my not happy with what? I don't think I understand your grammar properly... o_O Or... you know... using nLite on XP. I think the proper statement is "if there was no Vista, there would be no need for vLite".

Wait, wait. You said Asus G2S. That doesn't happen to be this Asus G2S that I'm ogling on Newegg? I did a little research while I was itching to buy it (and still am)... and found this thread about XP drivers on the G2S: http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=200...SLanguage=en-us It's a Vista computer (bleh), but it should work with XP.

Let's attack the hardware side of things before asking for a ~1gb upload, sounds alright? http://www.memtest.org/ Memtest86+. Grab the bootable ISO. Use a CD burner program to burn it onto a rewritable CD (unless you want to waste a CD-R on it... who knows, it may come in handy later). I suggest ImgBurn if you're not familiar with burning ISOs - besides, ImgBurn just rocks and it REALLY knows its stuff. Leave it in your CD drive and reboot your computer. If your computer was built by anyone with the slightest bit of brain matter, it should be configured to check the CD drive for a bootable disc first. If it starts Windows, that's bad... let it start up, then post back here (with your computer model) and we'll help walk you through booting from CD. If it starts up to a blue screen (not THAT kind!) and a bunch of information whizzing by, you're set to go. Let it run its course and watch for ANYTHING to show up in the error area (they'll show up in bright red, not a blue background). The program will run continuously until you hit Esc to reboot... you just need to watch the "Pass" progress bar. Once it completes once, you generally don't need to let it continue, unless you have a lot of time to waste (e.g. letting it test while you're at work). Any errors? Misconfigured hardware (RAM itself is almost NEVER bad) or dirty contacts somewhere. If your computer's under warranty, bug them about it. A memory test is a great way to test your computer's core hardware - it stresses both the CPU (during the random number sequence, mainly) and the memory, to ensure that whatever you do will be done properly. When I see a computer acting strangely, the first thing I do is memtest it, and it generally points out an error right there on the spot

Results of Googling/searching: http://www.howtofixcomputers.com/forums/wi...ure-142924.html http://www.msfn.org/board/Explorer-s-odd-b...ior-t97890.html I mean, even the bug shown in that second post (Explorer's odd behavior) is still present in my Vista SP1. Select all files, note the size. Refresh. Select all again. Note the doubled size. Nothing actually doubled... it just... says it did. And one worse, it's a bug that appears when you TRY TO GET UPDATED INFORMATION (refreshing). Talk about disgusting on Microsoft's part... Okay, so where did the total filesize go? I managed to get back my friggin' menu bar and status bar, but whose brilliant idea was it to remove those anyway? The same people that still removed extensions from filenames by default? I can't get the total filesize without selecting all files, which gets quite annoying when you're working with the mouse. Click a folder, see the filesize. Typical day to day stuff. I think, maybe, after the glitter has worn off, all these little quirks and problems with Vista are going to end me up going back to XP again after all...

Great, that's one more program I haven't yet even tried in Vista yet that's required by my day to day "life". Epson Print CD doesn't work right? UGH! I sure hope there's an update for that. Of course, first I hope I can find my driver CD that even has Epson Print CD on it... And by the way, no, I absolutely NEVER touched the compatibility settings in XP, in all the years I'd been using it. It never fixed anything, mainly because almost nothing (except ancient Win3.x programs I wouldn't've expected to work anyway) was broken. (edit: Epson Print CD is a program that comes with Epson printers, allowing you to, well, do what I bought the printer for - print directly onto CDs. And yeah, the printer is "Vista era")

Only because the list is being restricted to an unnecessarily small number of programs by overzealous rule-setting... Seriously, the rules for this list basically say "Only list programs that are compatible with Vista, that aren't". Programs that just worked fine in XP but don't work in Vista can't be "mentioned", or at least aren't "eligible" for the list... yet would probably make up a much longer list. Not everyone buys the latest and "greatest", but still expect it to work with an operating system whose job is to "run programs". Stuff that works with XP often works fine in 2000 as well, and that's a version back. So if you want an honest compatibility list, you shouldn't be limiting it to the latest version of programs (especially when "newer versions", like Nero, are whole separate products), and "on the shelf" programs. Just work on listing programs that, simply, aren't compatible. What's so damning about that?

Yay. Now you understand. =P I have no purpose for anything THAT incredibly slow (even the Pentium II was a stretch, but even with Win2K, it seems that XP would run better on it... just shows the usefulness of ol' XP). I actually have "better" computers that I could be using for the server, but that old 600Mhz wouldn't make a good desktop, so it's quite happy routing you these capslock-infused messages. I actually haven't touched capslock in years except by accident, but hey... And yeah, as my streak of forum bans would probably dictate, I do have, as you would say, an "anger problem". I get tired of explaining myself over and over - or even having to explain myself at all. In this case, I posted my network map. I didn't need to be at the receiving end of a bunch of "omg, your network is the SUX!". I was actually rather expecting "wow, that's pretty cool for a 21 year old". Anyway... (edit: Actually, HOLDING SHIFT DOWN is more of an anger reliever than anything... amazingly, my left shift key has the same smooth spot my spacebar has. Heh...)

Hooly crap. I am dumb. *throws away a piece of software* It was Minlogon's fault (from XP Embedded). As the intro notepad mentioned, the computer was also using Minlogon. Minlogon evidently blocks (or disrupts) autorun, amongst other things. I noticed that the virtual machine was getting a lot of autorun-related calls from svchost, which could be getting its information from Winlogon. But not Minlogon, which is designed to "just give you a working environment to run programs in, nothing more". After switching back to Winlogon and rebooting, I first noticed that I now have system tray icons for TightVNC and my Epson printer - they weren't there before. Then I tried ejecting and inserting the CD. Bam. The never-again-neglected "what do you want to do with this content?" dialog popped up! And with that, the solution: don't use Minlogon. XD

Hm, well, things just got a little more complicated. I popped a CD into my XP virtual machine, which also has Media Player removed... and the autorun thing popped up just as it should (detected that it was a music CD and asked what I wanted to do). Really confused now. If that machine also has Media Player removed, then... where's the problem? It has matching registry keys for everything I've looked at so far, and I've also run Regmon on it to see where it was "getting its ideas". Everything seems OK, but it's just... not. I wonder if there's a hook that catches audio CDs, that's just missing. I'm going to run regmon on the virtual machine as I put in the CD and see if there's anything else missing... =|

Thanks for the visit! Yeah, I had FB2K set as the default CD player - it's now part of the preferences dialog in 0.9 and higher. Unfortunately, all that did was change the handler for the AudioCD class. It didn't even properly create it, it just change/created the value (nothing to change, so it created, much like writing a file). I tried building the proper structure around it, but all I have in front of me is Vista, so I don't know if I copied the right values or not. I'll try out that registry change though. Thanks!!!

READ READ Jesus god, it's like people aren't even paying attention... PEOPLE HAVE THESE IN THEIR APARTMENTS. THEIR. APARTMENTS. I'm providing computers for the homeless youth program I live in. Okay? Yes, I said it, I live in a homeless youth program. I'm even looking for MORE computers, and in the process of assembling and configuring even MORE of these "worthless throwaway" computers for people to use. The power used is so little it doesn't even make a difference. The most I've ever paid was 50 bucks for a month's power bill (and that was mostly air conditioning, since it was 100+ degrees and I was running it like I thought I didn't have a bill). Average is more like 25. I WANT more of these low end, "throwaway" computers! I've even got an "ongoing needs" posting on the local Freecycle list for people to bring me their junker computers. People around here need computers, internet, and music, more than drugs and TV. So I give them computers. 4 of those computers (merlin, april, athlol, and lolbox) are loaners, the rest are owned by other people. That's why I have a low power, impossibly silent server (pfSense) that manages the network instead of some cheap router. The server doubles (triples?) as an alarm clock with foobar2000 and a scheduler plugin, a torrent box, and a print server. The living room server (dass***) uses so little power (probably about 15 watts) that I don't even care that it's running. My uses are different from yours, so please, GTFO my a**.

That's really strange. I used vLite to create the version of Vista I'm using right now, done under XP, and never even saw a reference to WAIK. I'm certain I was using the latest version as well. Confused, as, hell. o_O Maybe it was because I upgraded from an old version of vLite?

Tried it. It actually works, until the desktop loads, at which point for no reason whatsoever, the computer says "oh, forget you, I don't need a keyboard". I don't understand why Windows decides to do something with the keyboard/mouse when Explorer loads, but somehow it does, and it really irritates the crap outta me. The computer doesn't jam, as everything continues to load, but it sure seems like it, since my only way out is, as usual, the power switch. As for this particular board, it's Abit's attempt at a "legacy free" system. It wouldn't even need the SuperIO chip at all (which handles floppy, PS/2, serial, IR, and parallel), if they would have also left out the floppy connector. Woulda been just like an Xbox! edit: Forgot to mention - the added space on the back panel is now used for SIX USB ports (4x USB 1.1, 2x USB 2.0, since USB 2.0 was new at the time and 1.1 was built into the southbridge, 2.0 uses a dedicated 4-port controller chip), 2 1394 ports, 5 audio I/O jacks, optical audio output, and a LAN jack. It's cool, the things you can do when you take out those old parallel, serial, and game ports... later versions added back the PS/2 ports though. It also has no fewer than 4 DDR memory slots, an AGP 8x slot, 3 PCI, and a 4-port (8-drive) ATA-133 RAID controller onboard. It's a decent system

Don't know if you noticed, but most of those computers are on wireless... that is to say, they aren't even in my apartment. The server is primarily to be a Squid proxy, print server, and torrent box. If I wanted to keep a torrent box running, I'd just be wasting power then. Might as well have the added benefit of caching my internet usage. And finally, not everyone wastes computer equipment on bloated Vista like you do. An old sub-1Ghz computer is plenty enough for what most people around here want to do - browse the internet, download music, etc. Even the router (server) is perfectly comfortable on 600MHz and 384mb RAM (coming up from 192mb RAM, even - it was like a night and day difference in responsiveness). All those computers are extremely quick (well, except "Slow", hence its name, but it was a computer system I built for $50!). You just hate me because I'm XP.