Where, oh where can I re-enable disable start-up apps???? :(

[Crunch]

Alright, so the Crunch experimented a little too much again. I disabled 3 start-up programs, one being a folder I didn't recognize, the Windows Device Media Center (WDMC), and one more, which I cannot recall.

I did so through the computer management tool "System Configuration". I have medicated myself to the point where I am no longer angry about not having any System Restore points, which would have done the job, of course. Window's Defender's Software Tools also only shows the Startup items and all the apps that are actually running, and NOT the disabled ones.

Every time I boot up, there is the balloon letting me know about the fact that there are several apps disabled. Every time I click to see what they are and so as to hopefully re-enable them, it routes me to the Window Defender's Startup apps, which I had already tried.

I must have too much time on my hands. WDMC not being loaded anymore I like, although, that wasn't necessary either. I think it's whatever was in the folder I disabled that causes problems.

Finally, the "problem" is that several sites no longer render properly in Firefox. I don't use IE7 much at all, but I do know that Firefox no longer plays my AOL/XM radio stations, it almost looks like WAP when I go to cnn.com. The same goes for blockbuster.com, forums like these using vBulletin software, but strangely enough not this one. Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) is what they look like, so there is no HTML on those sites!????

I played around with IE7 a little, and it seems to be only Firefox that's affected. Everything works as it should in IE7. Can someone PLEASE tell me where Blocked Programs can be re-enabled? Sorry to be a nuisance.

Thanks everyone for any input! [/b]

[Marin85]

Hey, mate, I like your spirit, I too experiment from time to time a bit too much I guess the questionable apps are stil on your system, so here is what you can try: download Autoruns from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysint ... fault.mspx , it shows the reg keys of everything supposed to be loaded on windows startup. So, have a look and check any unchecked boxes there. As you only(?) have disabled these apps and not deleted any registry entries (I hope you haven´t and you haven´t used any registry cleaner to clean after...) I assume you should be able to find and check the relevant reg keys using Autoruns tool. This should fix the problem.

Good luck!

Cheers

Marin

[Crunch]

Marin from Munich, Germany? Sprichst Du auch Deutsch. I happen to BE right outside of Munich as I am writing this LOL...

Anyway, thanks for helping me. Funny, I did run several apps I've used for years on both XP and Vista without any problems, including a registry cleaner. BUT I did that BEFORE I went on my little adventure. lol...So the registry entries should still be there.

I'm going to try the Autoruns idea right now. Do you, or anyone else, have any idea as to where I can find a list (on Vista) where I can hopefully just place little checkmarks in them to re-enable what I disabled?

An guaten, Marin!


mod edit: unnecessary quote deleted.

[Marin85]

Yes, I do speak German I´m not very sure what you mean by "a list where to place little checkmarks in them to reenable what disabled" When you run Autoruns you will see a full list of all .dlls, drivers, .exes, .sys-es etc. in reg form that are supposed to be loaded on windows startup. If there are any unchecked, you should check them all, those would be the missing values you are looking for. There will be no entries here that you shouldn´t pick, so you cannot do anything wrong Just take care to not delete any entries while using that tool. I´m not aware of any tool that would restore them (except for any kind of registry backup).

Good luck and Viel Spaß !

Servus

Marin

NOTE: it is possible that autoruns won´t work for you as you have rebooted multiple times after setting up your little mess I´m just not very sure how accurate they do screen all the autorun apps. By this I mean that this tool may only take a shot of your current state without really considering/viewing all disabled entries. What I know for sure is that you can reenable the entries you have disabled within Autoruns tool, but I can´t tell how that tool interfere with msconfig or other similiar utilities. At least you can give it a try. And pls don´t forget to post your results here as I´m curious if that will work

[Crunch]

Well, I downloaded the Autoruns app and like many other programs, they showed all the processes, services, and applications running. Pretty cool tool to have for future reference!

However, I need a list of what has been DISABLED, and therefore shows up WITHOUT a checkmark in it. Is there something like that available??

EDIT: Just saw your response...almost at the same time...Well, This will be a lesson for me to create a System Restore point in the future before embarking on whatever crazy thing I have in mind. I was careless today, because I usually do JUST THAT! Every time. I had hoped that there would be at least ONE restore point or whatever, but no, the only time I've seen the darn thing without a single one of 'em.

Re-installing Firefox 2 is now what I need to know. At least I know how to get back to normal. Naturally, I am tempted to try Firefox 3 Beta 1 instead LOL...

[Marin85]

From your post I understand that my theory doesn´t work. [censored] it I hoped that Autoruns would list all the unchecked entries too (as you wanted) Since this is a sort of a registry issue you may consider RFA, but don´t trust it entirely: just let it scan your registry for possible issues, then you have to go through them manually and select only those green entries that you think apply to the issues you have. From what you described in your posts I conclude that most of the corrections suggested by RFA that particuliarly apply to your issues should be only like changing keys and targets to be pointed, but not deleting any And I would not let RFA automatically fix all issues it would detect

Cheers

Marin

[Crunch]

Mission accomplished. Firefox re-installed from scratch, which is good in and of itself, along with my favorite theme, the add-ons I want, and it's already customized with all bookmarks restored.

Took me just under an hour, including manually deleting the two folders Firefox likes to install in the funniest places. Also including running a reg. cleaner after the uninstall (and voluntary reboot) before initiating the re-install. Not bad, huh?

So all in all, lesson learned, and no harm done. Now on to 64-bit! LOL...I'm waiting for my T7600 Core 2 Duo to be delivered, so that'll be a little bit more of an experiment. But I'm looking forward to it.

Are you German? Your English is excellent.

[Marin85]

I´m glad to hear that you´ve resolved the most issues you had Actually, I thought that you had already received your T7600. Anyway, post when you have accomplished that mission too
Be careful what reg cleaner and how you use it because every reg cleaner has the potential to make your system unusable in a way that you´ll have to reinstall OS and everything after. I used to use RFA but it turned out to have caused many probs in my system (I still have it just in case...). CCleaner is free and has proved to me to be a very save and trustworth tool. TuneUp Utilities also seems to have a very good built-in reg cleaner.

Pfiati Gott

Marin

P.S. No, I´m not a German, but my German is still much better than my English, and I´m working hard on this , for instance, I post in forum.thinkpads.com

[Crunch]

...I thought that you had already received your T7600. Anyway, post when you have accomplished that mission too
Be careful what reg cleaner...

Servus Marin...Yes, I received it. It's 8,000 miles and 9 time zones to my west in Los Angeles, California. lol...I finally got word last week that the ABGN cards I sent for arrived as well. Yupeee...

As for the reg. cleaner, I use WinASO. It's more conservative than Reg. Mechanic, and has never given me problems on either XP or Vista.

I re-read your posts, and as far as your English is concerned, you're way too modest. It's excellent.