Thorium

[D.Draker]

14 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

Driver remnants from previously uninstalled programmes can cause spontaneous, irregular crashes of the Thorium browser under Windows XP Professional 32-bit.

chrome://conflicts

This page lists all modules loaded into the browser and renderer processes and modules registered to load at a later point.

Third-Party Module Features Status

The third-party features are not available in non-Google Chrome builds.

[AstroSkipper]

3 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

AWESOME !!!

Glad you got to the bottom of it!

Thanks! I am glad, too. Especially after this Odyssey. 

3 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

One more reason why I do not, never have, and never will install any "anti-virus" or "anti-malware" programs!

In my many years of experience, anything that you have installed at any time can be uninstalled in one way or another. Antivirus or anti-malware programmes are therefore not a problem for me.

3 hours ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

I've always also preferred REFORMAT and REINSTALL versus relying on "uninstall and hunt for left-behinds".

I do not. Reformating and reinstalling Windows is only the very last measure for me when even my perfectly functioning imaging system can no longer help. As I have mentioned many times, both of my Windows XP partitions were created in 2004. Since then, there have been only very few cases where I have had to restore a partition image to restore Windows to an earlier point in time. Reformating and reinstalling Windows are a sign of helplessness and loss of control in my eyes. If I am the administrator of a Windows installation, then I want to have control over the system and not the other way round. Only when you identify the cause of a computer issue and solve it at its origin, you really get to know your system and are not helplessly at its mercy. And if this issue comes up again, you then definitely know what to do. 

[NotHereToPlayGames]

9 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

are therefore not a problem for me

Nor for me.  We view "time" differently.  You spent days getting up-and-running.  I would have been up-and-running in 20 minutes.

Though, to be fair, you weren't "down" either, this was a secondary partition and you have a tablet &/or phone also.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

22 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

Only when you identify the cause of a computer issue and solve it at its origin

I do that also.  Just not for my "primary" comptuer.  When something afflicts it, I want it back up-and-running in 20 minutes.

My primary has all updates slipstreamed, I don't install Windows then spend the next four hours running updates.

All of my third-party programs have been converted to sfx archives that only need "silent install" (unpacked).

Add some .reg files and whoala.  Everything is back to "normal" in 20 minutes.

 

But when a friend or neighbor asks me to fix theirs, I could care less if it takes 20 DAYS and I tell them that on Day One.

Edited August 15, 2024 by NotHereToPlayGames

[AstroSkipper]

3 hours ago, Dixel said:

So much for Revo Uninstaller or similar popular "uninstallers". Nevertheless, congratulations!

I frequently check the driver folder and sort out non-Vista junk by the date.

Revo Uninstaller Pro is great. I have the last XP-compatible version 3.2.1 installed. If I had used this tool and not just that junk uninstaller which came with Wise Anti Malware, then I probably wouldn't have had that problem with the driver corpses and the resulting Thorium crashes. 

3 hours ago, Dixel said:

I frequently check the driver folder and sort out non-Vista junk by the date.

That's a very good idea. 

23 hours ago, AstroSkipper said:

Graphics card driver completely uninstalled, all leftovers cleaned and more recent driver version installed.

@Dixel Thanks again for pointing to the more recent NVIDIA graphics card driver in the version 370.90! This one is now installed in my native Windows XP Pro 32-bit system. Runs great. 

Edited August 15, 2024 by AstroSkipper

[AstroSkipper]

5 hours ago, D.Draker said:

chrome://conflicts

This page lists all modules loaded into the browser and renderer processes and modules registered to load at a later point.

Third-Party Module Features Status

The third-party features are not available in non-Google Chrome builds.

Thanks for the tip!  I will have a look at this internal site. However, regarding my permanent Thorium crashes, this wouldn't have helped me as the browser wasn't stable enough to let me use this internal feature. It would have closed still before I had a look at it. First of all, I always use Process Hacker, which provides a wealth of information and can also be used to remove drivers. 

Edited August 16, 2024 by AstroSkipper

[AstroSkipper]

19 minutes ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

But when a friend or neighbor asks me to fix theirs, I could care less if it takes 20 DAYS and I tell them that on Day One.

Many people use computers to play games. For me, computer problems are like a game. And very often, I win. 

Edited August 15, 2024 by AstroSkipper
correction

[AstroSkipper]

32 minutes ago, NotHereToPlayGames said:

My primary has all updates slipstreamed, I don't install Windows then spend the next four hours running updates.

All of my third-party programs have been converted to sfx archives that only need "silent install" (unpacked).

Add some .reg files and whoala.  Everything is back to "normal" in 20 minutes.

Reformating and reinstalling normally means doing all from scratch and avoiding settings, which were done in the previous Windows installation to not get the same issue(s) as before. The problem is that I have tonnes of modifications, special settings and many other things in my partitions. That's why I work exclusively with my imaging system Norton Ghost 2003, which runs great on old computers like mine. On more recent ones, I use Acronis. 

[AstroSkipper]

BTW, I have found in the c:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\ folder other drivers that also originated from former security programmes and were not removed when their corresponding programmes were uninstalled. These are two SYS files, aswrdr.sys and aswsnx.sys, from Avast! Antivirus and the SYS file KeyCrypt32.sys from Zemana AntiLogger. They are all leftovers, i.e., these files were not removed by the uninstallers which came with their corresponding programmes. However, these drivers were not involved in the Thorium crashes. Nevertheless, they have absolutely no business in the Windows system folder drivers any longer. Thus, I removed them, too.

Edited August 15, 2024 by AstroSkipper

[NotHereToPlayGames]

1 hour ago, AstroSkipper said:

 The problem is that I have tonnes of modifications, special settings and many other things

As do I!  AutoIt is your friend.  Me "reinstalling" Windows is like watching a movie.  Insert the DVD, press a key to boot from DVD, then everything is completely AUTOMATED.

TONNES of mofications...  TONNES of special settings...  AutoIt moves the mouse around, clicks here, clicks there, NO INTERVENTION once I press that key to boot from DVD.

But yeah, it took YEARS of EVOLUTION to PERFECT.  And thousands of installs to test, get 10% through to find something needs a dialog set to "stay on top", next install get 15% through to discover that the mouse reference "origin" changed screens, et cetera.

Once perfected, it's literally like watching a movie.  Sit back, grab a cold beverage, and watch the computer do ALL the work, completely unattended, fully automated.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

39 minutes ago, AstroSkipper said:

Nevertheless, they have absolutely no business in the Windows system folder drivers any longer. Thus, I removed them, too.

[NotHereToPlayGames]

1 hour ago, AstroSkipper said:

I use Acronis.

Very familiar.  That's what we use at work for our lab bench computer images.  Our factory floor assembly line computers are also all imaged via Acronis.

[Dixel]

On 8/15/2024 at 4:05 PM, AstroSkipper said:

@Dixel Thanks again for pointing to the more recent NVIDIA graphics card driver in the version 370.90! This one is now installed in my native Windows XP Pro 32-bit system. Runs great. 

You're welcome!

 

On 8/15/2024 at 4:05 PM, AstroSkipper said:

Revo Uninstaller Pro is great. I have the last XP-compatible version 3.2.1 installed. If I had used this tool and not just that junk uninstaller which came with Wise Anti Malware, then I probably wouldn't have had that problem with the driver corpses and the resulting Thorium crashes. 

You mean the one that installs another system level driver revoflt.sys to accumulate more Thorium crashes and BSOD?

"BSOD error stated - revoflt.sys system_service_exception"

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/bsod-revofltsys-systemserviceexception/0b504c4f-875e-46e9-939e-93e3c44b1e5a

Though, yes, I agree in some limited cases it can help. But it's painfully slow on deleting many small files.

[Dave-H]

Interesting conversation here since I last posted!

My problem getting Thorium and Supermium to run correctly from links in documents is not resolved, but my great thanks go to @rereser who has given me an enormous amount of help with this via PM.
The associated registry entries relevant to this were in a bit of a mess on my system, to put it mildly, but I think they are as they should be now!

Two likely important things I have now determined.
Firstly, the links are being passed correctly to Thorium, what is failing is the running of the browser from them.
If I have Thorium already open, the links open in it perfectly, so that is a sort of workaround.
I just have to remember to open Thorium first before I click on any links in e-mails!

The other is that the problem goes away in Safe Mode.
That to me would indicate that it's something that's running on the system which is causing the issue.
I've already (I hope) eliminated Malwarebytes from blame, as the problem still happens with it shut down.
In light of the previous conversation, I'm now scouring my System32\Drivers folders for unwanted obsolete driver files!
Nothing found yet.

I will carry on experimenting.

[AstroSkipper]

22 minutes ago, Dave-H said:

Interesting conversation here since I last posted!

My problem getting Thorium and Supermium to run correctly from links in documents is not resolved, but my great thanks go to @rereser who has given me an enormous amount of help with this via PM.
The associated registry entries relevant to this were in a bit of a mess on my system, to put it mildly, but I think they are as they should be now!

Two likely important things I have now determined.
Firstly, the links are being passed correctly to Thorium, what is failing is the running of the browser from them.
If I have Thorium already open, the links open in it perfectly, so that is a sort of workaround.
I just have to remember to open Thorium first before I click on any links in e-mails!

The other is that the problem goes away in Safe Mode.
That to me would indicate that it's something that's running on the system which is causing the issue.
I've already (I hope) eliminated Malwarebytes from blame, as the problem still happens with it shut down.
In light of the previous conversation, I'm now scouring my System32\Drivers folders for unwanted obsolete driver files!
Nothing found yet.

I will carry on experimenting.

@Dave-H When my Thorium problem still existed, and this browser was crashing permanently, I was still able to open it with a link from a document by a single left-click. And all internal pages were accessible at any time. Furthermore, the Default Browser 1.8 tool successfully made Thorium my default browser. I suspect that something in your Windows XP installation is preventing all this. These culprits or perhaps still problematic registry entries seem to be causing this. Have you tried the Default Browser 1.8 tool at all? I hadn't seen any feedback from you. 

Edited August 16, 2024 by AstroSkipper
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