Got a really weird problem .....

from WinCustomize Forums
I'm running WindowsBlinds 4.1 (build 107) on XP. The WindowBlinds 4.1 icon is running on System Tray, processes are present in Task Manager, and also the 'WindowBlinds' dialog button is present on Display properties, Appearance.

Everything is skinned perfectly, running fine...except...

When I double-click the WindowBlinds icon on the System Tray to launch the WindowBlinds application to try to change the colors, change settings, etc., the application won't open.

When I go to the Stardock Central application, and try to launch it from there to change colors, etc., the application won't open.

When I double-click on the C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\WindowBlinds\wbload.exe , the application won't open.

When I right-click on the WindowBlinds icon on the System Tray, and choose "Configuration Settings", the application won't open.

When I go into the Display properties (either from the Control Panel, or from right-clicking on the Desktop), and try to open the WindowBlinds application from there, the application won't open.

When I go into the Start, All Programs, Stardock, Object Desktop, WindowBlinds, Windowblinds, the application won't open.

My last two options are:

1. To go into the registry, and tweak a setting or two, (or maybe several), but I don't know which keys have to be modified.

2. Reinstall WindowBlinds 4.1, which I really don't want to do, since it took me forever to get the blinds I really wanted, the way I wanted them to appear. I know I can copy the .wba files to another directory, and then reinstall WindowBlinds, but I don't want to.


Suggestions, anyone, on why everything is skinned beautifully, and I'm able to swap skins in the Display properties, but aren't able to launch the WindowBlinds application to change Configuration Settings? It's obviously running, otherwise nothing would be skinned. Yet, I can't access the settings to change any of the configuration.

.Dll problem?
Registry tweak?
Corrupt program?

I've got the full version of Object Desktop. I'm not running Object Dock, or Desktop X. I'm running NextStart (newest version), and WindowBlinds, WebBlinds, also Cursor XP, Rainlender, and SysMetrix.

I've rebooted numerous times, my antivirus is up-to-date with the newest definitions, my temp files are deleted, my t.i.f. files are deleted, and everything that's related to Object Desktop installs to the same directory that it's always installed to.

I've downloaded 7 .wba files since Tuesday or so, but can't install them because I can't get the stupid WindowBlinds application to open to change any settings, etc. Can't even install the .wba's by clicking on them (as normal), or by clicking "Add" in the Display properties.

XP, P4 1.5Ghz processor, 40G hard drive, 768Mb RAM, 64Mb Nvideo video card. Up until two days ago, the program worked fine. I could access WindowBlinds' settings. Now, no. No changes to system. Haven't tried Last Known Good, since I've already rebooted several times. No uninstalled programs, no new installed programs, nothing unusual (including error messages). No lockups....

Weird...

Can anyone help?

3,942 views 24 replies
Reply #1 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Sounds like you have tried about everything... hows your defrag? Have you tried unloading everything until that is the only thing running to see what happens?
Reply #2 from WinCustomize Forums Top
backup your skins and reinstall is your best bet then I guess
Elemental: Reforged
Reply #3 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yep. Last week, I used SpeedDisk in Norton SystemWorks to defrag. A lot faster than Disk Defragmenter that Windows supplies.

I checked the processes running, and there's nothing running that isn't normally running (I also run Ad-Aware 6 and SpyBot Search & Destroy every two weeks). I check the processes against http://www.modempool.com/loosecruise/msconfighelp.html and http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm to see what's potentially dangerous, extraneous, or unneeded.

Wbload.exe is present in the processes list in Task Manager, and using a tiny bit of RAM (around 3Mb).



Reply #4 from WinCustomize Forums Top
sounds to me like you might consider un-installing and cleaning the registry and defraging it, then rebooting and re-installing.

Iolo.com SystemMechanic Pro trial version will do it safely and will actually speed your systems response times in many instance...

http://www.iolo.com

I promote this to all our customers on site IT techs because it is the safest registry cleaning utility I have come across so far, excluding editing it with regedit.
Reply #6 from WinCustomize Forums Top
IPlural, what do you think of Norton SystemWorks' WinDoctor? I've tried Registry Mechanic in the past, and it sucks! Never tried System Mechanic, though.
Reply #7 from WinCustomize Forums Top
One thing I didn't mention was that I started up Stardock Central, and it updated several different programs.

Why in the world am I paying for software I can't use?!?!?!? >
Reply #8 from WinCustomize Forums Top
An uninstall, reboot, reinstall is probably the quickest/easiest way for you to fix your problem.

I know I can copy the .wba files to another directory, and then reinstall WindowBlinds, but I don't want to.


Editing your registry and downloading programs to clean your registry seems like a lot more work than just moving your blinds, reinstalling and moving them back.
[Message Edited]
Reply #9 from WinCustomize Forums Top

What happens if you try C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\WindowBlinds\wbconfig.exe?





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Reply #10 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Are you running WB 4.19i(b).003?



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Reply #11 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Editing your registry and downloading programs to clean your registry seems like a lot more work than just moving your blinds, reinstalling and moving them back


Actually cleaning the registry is something everyone should do from time to time.
Just about every single tmp file that is created has a link created in the registry,
not all are removed after the temp file is deleted. Every single download from the web has a link put in the registry, not all of them are removed when the cache is cleaned off the drive. Every single Script that runs creates a registry entery, not all of them are removed from the registry after running. Every registry entery that is removed leaves a white space (not exactly, but simple enough for all to understand) which adds to the registries byte count (size), Installation/Un-Install info is not always removed, pointers are all over the place pointing to junk that does not exist anymore and so on.

The registry is like the DAT and FAT used in DOS years ago, when you click your mouse, Windows refers to the registry HIVES and scans it's way down looking for the entry so it knows where or what info is needed to complete the action prompted by that mouse click. Which means it is spending time scanning junk when the registry is not cleaned and compressed...

At times, a registry entry will be seen as being valid by a program and it isn't, so when you uninstall and reinstall it could very well make use of the screwed up entry leaving you with a program that is still screwed up.

Take Internet Explorer for instance. If and when mine does not act as it should and I have gone through the basics to make sure that none of my settings have been changed, I clean the cache, go into the activeX folder and check to see what is being stored there and delete anything that doesn't beling there that a web site has put there so I could make use of the site and it forgot to remove the sucker, or it expects you will always want to visit their site so they keep it stored there, but the odd thing is, they change some Java setting or some such so IE doens't work correctly. Anyway, I delete the crap, scan my registry, delete any all invalid links and keys in the registry with System Mechanic (it is way faster and safer than Norton) and then low and behold IE works again

The next time I boot up, SystemMechanic takes control, boots my system and compresses the registry and then reboots into Windows XP and my resources are back wher ethey belong and my system is faster and everything functions as it should...

So, yeah I stick by suggesting cleaning the registry and using SystemMechanic every time...


Reply #12 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Kosati, you've hit on something!!!

I did a search of my both of my hard drives, and couldn't find 'wbconfig.exe' anywhere (including hidden files, system files, temp files, quarantines of SpyBot, Ad-Aware and Norton AntiVirus, and Recycle Bin). It was there a few days ago, because I changed colors on several of my skins.

I haven't moved any directories, and haven't deleted or changed anything. I've added a few skins, and tried to install them, but couldn't. I think it's related to what I told IPlural below -- that WinDoctor screwed it up, and now it's gone... It's not in any quarantines, anywhere, and I've checked several log files just to see if somewhere 'wbconfig.exe' is mentioned, and it's not. I've also checked Event Viewer in Administrative Tools, both Applications and System, and nothing. It's just like 'wbconfig.exe' vanished into thin air.

If WindowBlinds would let me get into the Configuration Settings, I could try a repair (similar to what Outlook does), but obviously, I can't. Grrrr!

But, at least I've got a starting point.

Now, where am I gonna get 'wbconfig.exe' without reinstalling (I worked a looong time on getting my blinds just right).

By the way, I ran Norton AntiVirus -- no viruses. I ran Stinger.exe and found nothing. SpyBot and Ad-Aware -- nothing.
____________________

Yrag, I'm running WindowBlinds 4.10.010 (build 107).
____________________

IPlural, I found part of the problem (I think). WinDoctor changed registry entries that were necessary for WindowBlinds (I think). Norton won't let me change them back, and now, somehow, they're associated with 'wupdater.exe', which Norton thinks is a virus and has deleted. How they got linked, I don't know, unless WindowBlinds uses 'wupdater.exe'. Grrrrr! Am I stupid or what? Never using WinDoctor again!!!!! It's as bad as Registry Mechanic! Grrrrrr!
Reply #13 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Koasati hammered it on the head!


Na, your far from stupid... Though there are a lot of stupid programs which it seems WinDoctor might fall under

System Mechanic has been the safest registry manipulation tool I have come across so far. I have used a large number of them over the last 9 years and it has never ever screwed up a system on me yet. I came across it back with version 2 and have stuck with it, I have others that I use for different situations, parts of different suites and I also edit the system by hand when needed. But again, SM is one ot the best there is out there. Kind of like what Stardock is to GUI modification as far as I am concerned. The Pro suite also have utilities for recovering deleted email from outlook and a couple of other common email programs and such. It will recover deleted files that did not hit the recycle bin on an NTFS partition also. I have another low level utility I use if SM won't recover needed files.

anyway, good luck with it...
Reply #14 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Koasati hammered it on the head!

If you have no wbconfig.exe, that would explain why you can't open the configuration dialog......

If you make a backup of your WB skins folders before you uninstall/reinstall, any changes you've made to any skin will be preserved.





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Reply #15 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yeahhhh! I fixed it! I went into Stardock Central and uninstalled WindowBlinds 4 (after backing up the skins that had changes I wanted to keep). I reinstalled through Stardock Central, and it works like a charm! There were actually SEVERAL files missing -- wbconfig.exe being the main one.

I didn't have to move my recolored skins back into the WindowBlinds directory -- WindowBlinds evidently is an intuitive software, and doesn't remove what's already resident in the directory. I hate it when you reinstall something and it wipes out everything in the directory that's already there -- mostly software that is created as .msi installs does that. Argh!

Thanks you guys. I just didn't want to go through the stupid rigamarole of registering, etc., again. Stardock Central rocks!

Have already downloaded the System Mechanic Pro. Gonna try it, and hope it doesn't hose my registry like Registry Mechanic has done in the past, and just like WinDoctor did. Norton Systemworks Pro is great (especially the full Ghost), but avoid the WinDoctor!
Reply #16 from WinCustomize Forums Top
IPlural,

You said "I have another low level utility I use if SM won't recover needed files."

Are you referring to NTFS Reader for DOS? I've used it, and all it will let me do is view (not counting copying the 'deleted' file from one drive to another drive). It won't let me copy from itself to itself, unless I buy the full version.

Do you have a utility similar to NTFS Reader for DOS?
[Message Edited]
Reply #17 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Reover4all Pro... I can use it to recover files from any type of formated disk.

I also have some security based Forensic applications. Network security has many twists and turns to it...
Reply #18 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Reover4all Pro... I can use it to recover files from any type of formated disk.


I wonder if that proggy works with a disk formated with killdisk when killdisk is set to do a DOD wipe.
Reply #19 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I wouldn't blame Norton for the mishap. I never let it do anything on its own, without first verifying that it is correct. What may have happened is that Norton found your wbconfig mis-referenced in the registry, probably from updates that moved it without addressing the registry changes too. Norton would then have given a default option to move it and another to delete. Maybe you chose delete. You must perform intuitive use of Norton. I had trouble deleting things using it when I first started with it. Also, be careful of using the startup check without verifying those changes too.
Reply #20 from WinCustomize Forums Top
ChasUGC,

Hi man. I manually fix problems with WinDoctor. That's why I couldn't understand why it did what it did, and where 'wupdater.exe' came from. Norton misidentified it in Quarantine as containing 'Download.trojan', which isn't unusual, if 'wupdater.exe' is an updater engine. Google was no help, because all the hits came from newsgroups where no one knew where or what program it was linked to. Yet, it was in the Common Files, so it must have been integral to some software, somewhere on the computer. I just got so upset with the computer that I've probably overlooked something simple. I wish I had kept the Quarantine files, so I could have posted them.

I don't use the StartUp check, nor do I use the 'OneButton Checkup' anymore. That's where WinDoctor performs its insidious machinations.

I went through my registry with System Mechanic, and backup up everything before making changes. I got my fingers crossed now, hoping that everything is gonna work fine.
Reply #21 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Recover4all and no other Forensic app out there is going to recover anything from a Government certified disk wipe...

That is the whole point of them...

Kona
Reply #22 from WinCustomize Forums Top

MakeyourMark....don't post the quarantine files [or links] anywhere....the chances are that the reported trojan WAS in fact a trojan, hence its removal.

Put simply, it's 'odd' that Norton hadn't removed the file/s prior....when you said WB had been working perfectly...but has done so later....implies the file 'changed'...

Reply #23 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Hey Jafo,

I've had Norton report that some files were trojans before, and they weren't. For example, the program 'pskill.exe', which you can use to kill a process at the command prompt (similar to the 'kill' .exe that's included with the Windows 2000 Resource Kit). Norton reports 'pskill.exe' as a potential virus, and it's not. It's just a process-killer, and that sends Norton a 'red flag'.

The best guess about the changed file was that I had updated Stardock Central's programs (everything included in the full version) several days ago, and then my 'wbconfig.exe' and other files then just disappeared.

Mentioning changes, any time a program changes (such as an updated or new version installed) and tries to access the Internet, my ZoneAlarm Pro lets me know it. I still think that Norton had a whole lot to do with it, but anyway, if it happens again, I know how to fix it.

Thanks Jafo.
Reply #24 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Yes...changing through updating a file can throw a virus scanner at times....particularly those with CRC checks....one I used was constantly warning me of 'changes' but only really got upset when I tried to DL one version of  Sonique....as its installer had a strange compression algorithm that raised the 'flag'....and deleted every attempt at a DL...