VS6 locks PC and cannot reinstall

[jparnold]

Until a day or so ago I had been using VS6 Pro without any problems whatsoever.

Today (1 Jan 2015) each time I attempted to run VS6 my PC would lock up and I needed to power it down and restart.

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling but then the problem got worse. During (re)installation once again my PC locked up duing the "Initialising the Installation Wizard" after just a few seconds.

Wondering it it has something to do with the change of year (2014 to 2015) I altered the system clock to 31 Dec 2014 and tried again.
Same problem.

Any ideas?
Thanks

[bobp]

John,
Even though this is my first post here, I might be able to offer a little help. I just spent the longest 5 days of my life beating my head against VS pro x7 in my first major project with new software on W8.1. With the help of this forum I was able to finally get it done and am very happy with the results.
Let me remind you of some things you may already know.
I have almost never seen an uninstall and re-install solve anything. Yet it is the first thing we all do. If you uninstall, you need to uninstall completely; all the program files you can find. Including C:program data, program files, user/app data/roaming hidden files. And registry entries. Because you never know where the problem lies.
I could be wrong, but I can't imagine the date having anything to do with it. Even the millennium bug never came to pass. In fact changing the date too far can cause other problems. I think you would need to change the time in BIOS.
If a complete uninstall doesn't help, There may be some other Windows problems, even if VS is the only program you are having trouble with. An infection, perhaps. I'm sure you regularly scan for viruses and rootkits. Even so, no one program finds everything.

Does anything else seem off about your computer?

[jparnold]

Thanks for the reply and suggestion which I have seen before but had forgotten.
Since posting I have found that one other program (a simple backup program which doesn't require Windows installation) suffers from the same problem but ALL other installed programs work ok.
I tried a Windows 7 REPAIR but that revealed a problem I was unaware of. My W7 is NOT a legal copy. I never knew that and had been using it for over 12 months without any dramas or being reminded (as I now am when booting up) that I might have an illegal W7.
I am now going to purchase another (hopefully legit) copy of W7, reformat and re-install W7. Hopefully that will solve the problem. If I still have the same problem it will have me completely beat.
John

[bjtap]

JPArnold,

Hang on for a second with that 'Not legal' problem. I have had that pop up from time to time and I do have a legal copy. (Windows 7 professional). Do a search on the web regarding this 'not legal' copy message before you go out and spend your money. Apparently this has happened to many users. (I am assuming you do have a legal copy... is there some reason to believe you don't)?
Barry

[jparnold]

I suspect that it is a bogus copy of W7 as the CD doesn't look very professional. Stung in Ebay?

[Davidk]

Hi JP,

Several things in the post thread caught my eye.

First, the unauthorised version message.
It's entirely possible that you are another one who has been caught by a faulty MS update in the December 10 patch release. One of my machines (the 64bit laptop) was affected after the update: there was an unauthorised version message that was displayed evbery boot, and could be seen right alongside the system page declaring the license number was validated (OK/authorised). What a contradiction! My thread on MS answers got several other 'this affected me' posts, to the point where the consultant had to ask them to open their own question threads. And the range of effects was at least 5 commonly reported, the unauthorised version one being the thing that happened to me.

Subsequently, an MS moderator in the Microsoft Answers forum stated:
Some customers are experiencing an issue with Knowledge Base 3004394 and we have expired the affected updates. We encourage Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 customers who are impacted, to uninstall the updates/KB3004394. Once ready, we will re-release the updates.

Later the consultant messaged me and others with this:
I've seen threads this week where the install of KB3004394 caused:

Windows Update to stop working;
Failure to install any further updates;
Failure to start various Office applications;
"Windows is not Genuine" errors at boot;
Failure to install Adobe Flash Player, Acrobat and/or Reader updates;
Failure in install or reinstall a security-related application (e.g., anti-virus); and...
Scans with Microsoft Security Essentials "hanging" on C:\windows\system32\CatRoot2\dberr.txt <=this file.

Uninstalling KB3004394, followed by a reboot, resolved all of the problems.

But their advice was also in error, in that uninstalling that KB did not correct the issue. To cut a long story (10 days of constant to-and-fro) short I had to both uninstall that KB AND then go to the validation site and re-do the validation I did when the machine was first bought 2.5 years ago. That fixed the issue. And I now have a policy of updating 1 week after the MS patch release - just so any later withdrawals based on user screams don't bite me on the bum like this one did.

Check this out before you make any investments in new software. The pre-installed OS versions in new laptops are all authorised, they just need to be validated. And the supplier generally does that. For validation,
Please open Internet Explorer (only!) to http://www.microsoft.com/genuine/validate/. Don't TOUCH your computer or close the IE window until the remote validator has finished its scan, then restart your computer
Don't use any other browser to try this - it will tie up your machine forever.

What that KB was about was to enable the root certificate to be updated more frequently (daily instead of weekly). How MS could screw up a time change for an existing function eludes just about everyone affected who doesn't work for MS.


Second, the comment about the Y2K bug.
I see this remark made often. Uninformed, to say the least. There was a Y2K issue - even mild testing demonstrated its far reaching effects. And the massive world-wide test and correct programs that were underway for years worked, to the point where no bugs were seen after midnight on Jan 1, 2000 - publicly and in the media at least. The whole world was watching Sydney that nite as the first world city that was likely to be affected. The absence of any effects is the reason it now seems to be folklore that the bug never existed, and the IT industry is frequently rubbished as perpetrating a fraud. But some buggy software did scrape under the test and fix screen, and the bug manifested at midnight as the millenium changed, Jan 2000, and one such affected me. My superannuation provider supplied me an annual statement in Jan 2000, and the balance was exactly twice what it was the previous month, without any additional payments from me or any abnormal investment circumstances. Temptation. But, reported, I got a very shamefaced apology and it was fixed quickly.

Davidk

[bobp]

Davidk, thanks for the correction. Other than the unauthorized version warning, did your computer have any problems?

[jparnold]

Thanks for that lenghty but detailed advice.
Unfortunately I really do think that I have a bogus W7.
Since I did the Windows REPAIR there seems to be NO updates applied (I think that it ended up re-installing Windows) as when Iooked for the KB3004394 update it wasn't displayed and in fact when I checked for windows updates it showed that over 1000 were ready for download.
ALSO even after the Windows REPAIR VS7 still will not run and locks up my PC as does the other program as well.
I am currently downloading and installing all the windows updates but suspect it will not solve the problem I have.

I am still at a complete loss as to why two different programs only out of all the ones I have installed will not run especially the one which runs without needing to be installed (therefore no entries in the registry?).
It would be good to be able to find what these programs actually do when first attempt to run to try and determine where the problem lies.
I did wonder if I have bad memory but why only 2 programs lock up the PC?

[asik1]

My only 2 cents is never to do any windows updates.

[lata]

John

Have you scanned your PC for Malware.

There are several “browser search” bits that can cause many problems including affecting Windows Updates, usually installed along with other free software packages.

View your Control Panel – Program & Features for any Browser Protect, Search Protect , Browser Conduits, do you see any unusual programs?

[jparnold]

Hi Trevor,

Yes I scanned using MSE and also Malwarebytes (updated of course to latest files) and they found one instance of a 'PUP' file and 3 in the registery which I quarantined without any improvement.

Also just checked installed programs for any unusual entries and the only one which I didn't recognise was GLANCE 2.9 which I now have uninstalled (after Googling it to find what it is).

John

[lata]

Hi John

It does seem very strange to have 1000ish outstanding windows updates,?
How are you getting on with those updates?

You say you use MSE, I assume that’s Microsoft Essentials.
Are you able to scan your pc using the Windows Defender panel?

[bobp]

JP

As you know, there are several levels Windows repair. I might have started with a System Restore. If there were no restore points, that would have told you right away that you had a virus, as many of them delete restore points. 1000 updates? Hard for me to believe. I reformatted my W7 a few months ago and only remember less than 100, or so. Sometimes a desktop short cut becomes corrupt. Can you start those programs from the exe in program files? If you bought this computer from a retail outlet, I can't imagine you have a bogus copy. Everyone has their own favorite AV software. My personal experience with MSSE is that it is not very good. Others will say it is great. But then again, I can't tell you how many computers I've fixed that had Norton or McAfee installed. Having AV and knowing how to use it can be two different things. Though, I must confess, I don't scan as often as I should.

[jparnold]

Thanks for all your replies and advice and suggestions.

Maybe the "10000's" of Windows updates was exaggerated.

I didn't think of a looking to do a Windows Restore - silly me as I have tried that many times in the past to solve problems.
Anyway it is all too late now as I did the Windows Restore (using a guide I found on the internet) and all updates have now been downloaded and installed. I now wished that I had performed a Windows Restore as my problem wasn't there one day and there the next.

I am sure I have a bogus version of W7 (not only does Windows continually ask me to register, and it displays "This copy of Windows is not genuine" on the desktop screen and no matter what I do I cannot get a screen background to "stick" (I apply my favourite only to find later it has changed back to just a black screen), and Microsoft tells me that the key I enter for W7 has been banned (or something like that).
And so I have ordered another copy of W7 which states that it comes with with DVD disk, Booklet, GENUINE License Key & Certificate of Authenticity from a dealer who has been selling these for a well over a year and has a real shop.

And so a re format will get rid of anything which shouldn't be there - just a nuisance having to re-install everything.

Thanks again.

[Davidk]

JP,

One of the things that came out of my extended unauthorised version fix (v brief synopsis in prior post) was that updates are NOT available to invalid/unauthorised versions. It appears that windows update checks this when the process is started. So if you are able to download and install updates via windows update, then the installed version of windows is good. Check the control panel/system page - down the bottom there's a section on Activation. It shows (a few sec after the page opens) the product (aka license key) and confirms that the version is activated.

So, if your windows is good, then the cause is likely to be something in the registry. I've had this sort of thing with VS several times . . . detail really not relevant, but the fix - and unfortunately, you may lose any data like vsp's, added gallery items etc - is to get a Corel VS X6 cleaner (version was previously available on this forum, otherwise contact Trevor or Ken) and run it. That should clean out everything for X6: the program files, registry entries, the lot. To be certain, re-name the application folders (eg to VS_old) which should nicely expose any remaining registry entries, and run a cleaner program like cclean for unwanted files and the registry. Later, if you want to you can delete the renamed folder, just don't re-install to this location. Then re-boot.

Now you will have to - and be able to - re-install X6.

Davidk