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SP-2 broke Control Panel 2

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IFRs

Programmer
Mar 28, 2003
327
US
I am logged in as a user with admin rights.
After the SP-2 install, I can not access things like Add/Remove Programs or Automatic Update in the Control Panel. No errors, just no reaction. I need to disable Automatic Updates. Help
 
sp2 creates a restore point. you may try to roll it back and reinstall sp2 (unless you had restore off and didnt let it create one during install)
 
Try:

Start, Run, CMD

regsvr32 mshtml.dll
regsvr32 /i shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 /i shell32.dll
sfc /purgecache
sfc /Scannow
 
I'm not sure about a rollback and reinstall. Sounds like trouble.

I'll try bcaster's instructions but I have to admit I don't know what mshtml, shdocvw and sfc do.

Remember - I'm just trying to access the Automatic Update applet in the Control Panel.
 
bcaster -
I've done all you suggested, and can get to the Automatic Updates applet using sysdm.cpl. Still can't open Automatic Updates or Display or other applets from the Control Panel.

Automatic Updates was set to notify me only. I changed it to Disable.

When I dial up to the Web, there is still way too much traffic. I'll try to End Processes until I find the offending one.
 
Just a low-tech peanut gallery comment, but you may regret disabling Windows Update. I refused it when I installed SP2, and ever since I have had to put up with repeated badgering by the little red shield (those of you with SP2 know what I mean by that), saying that I have a dangerous situation because I don't have Auto Update on. Can't Microsoft let us make some of our own decisions? I like to plan when to install updates, at non-critical times in case a new bug created by the update causes me problems (I have had that experience in the past). But the notices are starting to annoy me, so I may eventually give in.

Probably a useless comment, but I just had to get it off my chest...
 
OsakaWebbie,

If you are confident you can maintain your security yourself and have a good firewall (non XP built-in) and are fully updated with virus definitions and regularly check for Windows Updates, then you can easily disable the 3 services that control these SP2 messages. The services in question are Security Center, Windows Firewall and Automatic Updates.

If you are just concerned about Windows Update messages you can configure that in Control Panel/ System Properties/ Automatic Updates to "Notify but don't automatically download or install them", which should pacify Security Center.
 
I am not a fan of linney's solution that to avoid notification tray messages for Windows Update you disable all the SP2 services.

Open notepad and copy/paste the below. Remove entries that do not fit your particular annoyance. Save as no_sp2_nag.reg :

********* start copy/paste below this line
REGEDIT4

;Disable Anti-virus Notifications
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center]
"AntiVirusDisableNotify"=dword:00000001
; End Anti-virus Notification section

;Disable Firewall Notifications
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center]
"FirewallDisableNotify"=dword:00000001
; End Firewall Notification section

;Disable Automatic Updates Notifications
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center]
"UpdatesDisableNotify"=dword:00000001
; End Windows Update Notification section

********** end copy/paste above this line.

So, if you wanted only to supress Automatic Updates notification warnings, your final file would look like:

REGEDIT4

;Disable Automatic Updates Notifications
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center]
"UpdatesDisableNotify"=dword:00000001
; End Windows Update Notification section


Save the file and double-click to merge with your registry. Reboot and test.

 
[blue]I am [red]not[/red] a fan of linney's solution that to avoid notification tray messages for Windows Update you disable all the SP2 services.[/blue]

Yeah, but... Linney didn't say I had to do all three, if all I wanted to change is one. But he felt that they might be redundant for someone who has their own security plan.

In your method, bcaster, it seems like the tool(s) will still be running, consuming CPU cycles and memory, but yet they will never tell me anything. I don't understand why having them still running would be a benefit if I never hear their results or warnings - can you enlighten me?

But linney, something in your suggestion doesn't make sense to me either. You suggested disabling the services, but the most annoying messages are because one of them is disabled - if I shut down the other two (however I do that), why would Windows Update stop complaining about being shut down? If anything, I would think all three would start telling me how vulnerable my computer is - am I missing something?

Reading the two posts I get the impression that Security Center is just a fancy term for an anti-virus function that has been added in SP2. I didn't know such a thing was there, but if so, it sounds redundant in my case - I run Norton and use a healthy dose of caution about email and web browsing (it's not paranoia when they really are out to get you!). I knew about the firewall, but haven't decided if I want it or not. (I have a perimeter firewall, and this machine serves locally as a web server/file server/print server, so I wouldn't be able to shut a host firewall as tight as the perimeter one is anyway). If I do want a host firewall, I have heard rumors that Zone Alarm (which we use on another machine) is better - does anyone concur or disagree with that?

It would definitely be way cool to reduce my System Tray items and notifications in general - there are others that have bugged me for some time, like Windows Messager that is disabled but still has an icon taking up space, Quicktime which I almost never use and never call from the System Tray, etc. And that darned notification that shows up every now and then that offers to delete desktop icons that I haven't used in a while - the answer will always be NO! Maybe eventually I will gain control over my computer... or maybe not... I bet I'm not the only one who feels that way.
 
Karen in Osaka,

And linney did not say you should not blindly disable all three services. Geez, all you Pacific Rim folks stick together! I think the disabling of the services added by SP2 is a mistake for some simply annoyed by the notification tray messages. All three are valuable additions to XP, and should not at the service level be disabled.

Issue #1:
In your method, bcaster, it seems like the tool(s) will still be running, consuming CPU cycles and memory, but yet they will never tell me anything. I don't understand why having them still running would be a benefit if I never hear their results or warnings - can you enlighten me?

bcastner responds: My "fix" turns off only the notification tray popup messages that a SP2 feature is not enabled. It does not deny you any other notification from the three services, nor does it stop the three services.

Reading the two posts I get the impression that Security Center is just a fancy term for an anti-virus function that has been added in SP2.

Please do not make this assumption. SP2 security features make it much more difficult to inadvertantly download malware, and much, much more difficult for certain malware types to cause damage to your system. But it is not a replacement for an active antivirus program. It is an alternative to a good Firewall product. In your case with a permiter firewall and an active software firewall, you can turn off SP2 firewall. But one thing clear to me is that a non-firewall protected XP installation once connected to the Internet (dial-up or Broadband) has about 7 minutes before it is infected with either Blaster, Sasser or both. And that is just the start of the problems that machine will have. SP2 is a responsible but not perfect effort to prevent these problems on machines without other firewall protection, and without the technical savy of someone like you.

Don't knock SP2. I do not fear for my LANs, my fear is everyone else that does not act as a responsible net citizen by stopping the transmission of malware.

Notification icons are an issue, and have been. Two thoughts:

. Clean the old:
. Decide affirmatively what you want as an icon. Some of the programs involved offer a choice whether to have a tray icon or not. Use the choice. Others do not. The native tool is to right-click an empty area of the taskbar, Properties, check 'Hide unused icons' and either let XP age the icons, or click then Customize and set for each icon its startup disposition.

There are many freeware utilities to manage this same process. My current favorite is from the remarkable guys at Sysinternals/Wininternals, called AutoRuns, freeware:
Footnote: If you are fond of diabling XP services, one really should read Black Viper's site:
Bill from Chevy Chase
 
Cool - Black Viper updated his stuff for SP2! I went through his services list very carefully a while back and configured my system accordingly, so when I get a little time I will do it again for SP2. It was great to learn what each thing actually did, and what its dependencies are. I don't know if it sped up my computer noticably or not, but I felt more optimized... ;-)

[blue]Geez, all you Pacific Rim folks stick together![/blue]
I had questions about linney's stuff too - I tried not to play favorites, as both of you are trusted resources (no matter which coast you live on!). Anyway, thanks for clarifying what notifications your fix disables (the "let me run!" messages, not messages from the tools themselves).

[green]linney: "The services in question are Security Center, Windows Firewall and Automatic Updates."[/green]
[blue]bcastner: "AntiVirusDisableNotify...FirewallDisableNotify...UpdatesDisableNotify"[/blue]
This is why I assumed Security Center meant just anti-virus. I was just comparing the two lists of three items. (But you know what it means to "assume"!)

Anyway, I'll read up on the whole concept so that I know better what's under the hood of SP2. And I'll follow Microsoft's guide (the link you posted) to clear out my system tray - when possible I prefer making the changes myself rather than download more freeware utilities.

[blue]Some of the programs involved offer a choice whether to have a tray icon or not. Use the choice.[/blue]
Believe me, any unwanted programs that offered me a choice that I could find are long gone!

IFRs is probably wondering what happened to his post! Sorry for hijacking it - I didn't mean to do that. I hope you solved your problem of access to the Auto Update configuration.
 
when possible I prefer making the changes myself rather than download more freeware utilities."

I am sympathetic. But I make an exception for Sysinternals utilities. Download it, go to View and check all the options, and see what you get. Along with Hijack This! and a few others I do not leave home without them.

 
If you disable the Security Center it will not be able to check to see if your virus scanner is up to date and it will not be able to check the situation and settings for Automatic Updates, thus you will not receive your warning message.

If you also totally disable Automatic Updates you will not receive any notification when a new update for your machine is available. It is also necessary to again enable Windows Update before manually scanning your machine for updates as Windows under SP2 requires the following services:
Automatic Updates to enable detection, downloading, and installation of critical updates for your computer.

The current warning message you are receiving is coming only from Security Center.

I did look at the and disagree with his comment about Security Center. "It is always displayed in the system tray as to the status of these particular functions. If you do not want the Security Center to monitor these functions for you, disabling this service is not enough. After rebooting the system, this service will again be placed into automatic and started. While the service is in the started state, go to Start > Control Panel > Security Center and select the link on the left hand side labeled "Change the way Security Center alerts me."

In the resulting dialog box, uncheck Firewall, Automatic Update and Virus Protection. After that step is complete, you may place the Security Center service in disabled and it will not start again or continue to be displayed in the system tray after a reboot."

The points I disagree with are that you have to make changes to Security Center in Control Panel otherwise it will restart itself. My point is that once you disable it, that is the end of the matter, there will be no restarting of the service automatically. Also the Red X is not always (continuously) displayed in the Notification Area, it is only displayed if there is a warning message.

In fact I feel it is a problem with Windows that no icon is displayed to inform you that you are protected by Windows Firewall should you choose to use the Windows Firewall.


Taskbar notification area overview.

The notification area of the taskbar is where you usually see the current time displayed. This area can become crowded with notification icons that appear when certain events occur, such as when you receive e-mail or when you open Task Manager.

Windows displays a notification icon when an event occurs. After a short time, Windows puts the icon in the background to simplify that area. In addition, you can customize the behavior of notification icons on the Taskbar tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.


To open the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, right-click an empty area on the taskbar, and then click Properties.

279771 - Description of Notification Area Settings

283084 - How to Clear Past Items from the Notification Area

As you are aware many programs have property pages (often obtained via a right click on an icon) that allows removal of the icon from Taskbar Notification Area.


Windows Messenger.

Try some of these.

302089 - How to Prevent Windows Messenger from Running on a Windows XP-Based Computer

327390 - Windows Messenger Starts When You Start Outlook Express After You Remove Access to


How To uninstall Windows Messenger completely from your computer
faq779-1380

The other method to uninstall it completely,
Go to Start > Run, then type in this and run it. (one Line)

RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove


Desktop Clean up.

293154 - A Description of the Desktop Cleanup Wizard

306542 - HOW TO: Use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XP

320154 - HOW TO: Disable the Automatic Desktop Cleanup Feature in Windows XP

Under Desktop cleanup, click to clear the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box if you do not want the Desktop Cleanup Wizard to automatically start every 60 days.


And finally I have no arguments with "Bcastener's" thoughts on the 3 services discussed. My comments on the action I suggest are always prefaced with comments on long the lines "if you are an experienced user and know what you are doing". For the "experienced user" protected by current anti virus, a good firewall, and regular updates from Windows, the services are safe to disable.

And isn't one side of America part of the Pacific rim? Or maybe Bill was having a dig at the Californians and other "West Coasters" too.
 
[green]It is also necessary to again enable Windows Update before manually scanning your machine for updates...[/green]
Okay, that tipped the scales for me. I decided to stop fighting this one and turned on Auto Update (although naturally I won't let it install without talking to me first).

Thanks for all your tips and links, both of you. I did several of your suggestions. Regarding Messenger, I chose the less brutal route of editing the registry to keep it from running rather than uninstalling it (I don't mind it being on the disk, just in case I need to run something that needs the API).

I wasn't happy with the behavior of "hidden" notification icons when I tried that, as the changing size of the area messes with the placement of my IME bar (a tool for inputing Japanese). But I looked harder in some of the programs for settings to un-choose showing their icon, and found enough more to get the tray under control.

[green]And isn't one side of America part of the Pacific rim? Or maybe Bill was having a dig at the Californians and other "West Coasters" too.[/green]
I assumed from his comment that you live on the West Coast. Geography was on his mind because he and I had just recently (on another thread) exchanged info about our residence - I am in Japan and he is in Maryland, so if you are indeed in California or other West Coast area, then Pacific Rim is what you and I would have in common that Bill would not share. And we definitely have things in common - no matter which side of the Pacific Rim, we frequently shake it up ("I feel the earth move under my feet... [wiggle]) and spout off ("ooch, ouch, that lava's hot!" [elephant2]), right?
 
linney is an Aussie.
And a big booster of AU software firms. I have no idea if he has issues with earthquakes and volcanoes or not.
I hope so.

 
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