Less Disk Space issue in windows vista due to increase size in WINSXS folder

Operating system:

Windows Vista SP1&SP2

Solution:

1.Check Pchealth folder exceeding its size.
2.Checked program files and users folders.
But in windows folder, there is a folder named  WINSXS showing couple of GB size.

SxS means Side-by-side technology and it is a solution integrated in recent Windows versions by Microsoft in a attempt to reduce DLL hell. The problem with this solution is that the system keeps all versions of installed components in order to be able to serve them to asking application. As a downside, you will notice that this folder grows up very quickly and this can quickly became a very serious issue for your computers

Common sizes for the WinSxS folder:

- Windows 2003 : WinSXS = 25 MB / 05 GB (total Windows)
- Windows 2008 : WinSXS = 05 GB / 10 GB (total Windows)

The only safe way to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder on the disk is to remove the packages that installed the original components. This can be achieved by uninstalling superseded versions of packages.

On Windows Vista, Service Pack 1 contains VSP1CLN.EXE. Running VSP1CLN.EXE will make the Service Pack package permanent and not removable.

The tool is automatically installed as part of the SP1 upgrade, and you can find it under %windir%\system32\vsp1cln.​exe.

On Windows Vista, after Windows SP2 you can use COMPCLN.EXE to clean up WinSxS folder. This tool is installed as part of the SP2 upgrade, and you’ll find it under \%windir%\system32\compcln.​exe.

As with vsp1cln.exe, executing compcln.exe will make SP2 not removable.

Other third part solutions to reduce WinSxS size are:

WINSXSLITE

VLITE

VOPTIMIZER

if your problem is with %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\ growing too much, you can refer to this procedure to remove the files under the %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\ and to release some disk space that the WinSXS folder is taking:

Net stop trustedinstaller
Takeown /f %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​*
Icacls %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​* /GRANT administrators:F
Del /q %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​*

Server hanging at Applying Computer Settings stage of the logon process

Operating system

Windows server 2008,
Windows 7,
Windows Vista

Problem

When we start a computer it stops responding and appears to hang at the "Applying User Settings" or "Applying Computer Settings" stage of the logon process.

Solution

As per the Microsoft articles this issue typically occurs after install a server certificate and then configure Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) on the computer. For example, we install a SSL server certificate in Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 and then enable HTTPS on your website to use the certificate.

This issue occurs because of a deadlock in the Service Control Manager database. The Service Control Manager tries to start the HTTP.sys service and then puts a lock in place in the Service Control Manager database. Then, HTTP.sys makes a call that requires Cryptographic Services during startup. Then, a request is sent to start Cryptographic Services. However, a lock is already in place in the Service Control Manager database. Therefore, a deadlock occurs.

Method1

Microsoft released a Hot fix for this issue it is available from the below link http://support.microsoft.com/hotfix/KBHotfix.aspx?kbnum=2379016&kbln=en-us

Method 2

To resolve this issue, create a DependOnService registry key to modify the behavior of HTTP.sys. This makes HTTP.sys depend on crytosvc service to be started first.

Open the registry editor by typing the command regedit.exe with administrative privilges.

Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\HTTP

On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Multi-string Value. Type DependOnService, and then press ENTER. Modify the value by typing the CRYPTSVC, and then click OK. Exit Registry Editor.

Restart the computer.

Method 3:

Microsoft Fixit team released the fix Microsoft Fix it 50564 for solving this issue.

Drive not ready exception processing message c00000a3 error 

Problem

While booting to windows it shows windows drive not ready exception processing message c00000a3 error. If we open any folder,any option or any process ,the same dialog box continuously appearing on screen.




Operating system: 
Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

Solution:

Click Start, and type “regedit” to open registry editor.Press Enter.

2. In the Registry Editor, on the left pane, navigate to the following key by expanding the plus sign (+):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows

3. Right click on "Windows", click "Export", and then save it to the C:\ drive. (In case we need to undo the modification, we can double click it to restore the registry key)

4. Double-click on the key ErrorMode, and set the data value to 2.

5.Restarted the computer.

Fix tool: 
Click here to Download Drive not ready Error Fix Too

Windows Live Mail Showing Blank Black Screen Only

           

Operating system

Windows Vista, Windows 7

Problem

While opening the Windows Live mail showing blank black screen only

Solution

This issue can be caused if all the following scenarios apply on the Windows computer:

•         If system have  Intel integrated graphics driver Igdkmd32.sys (32-bit) / Igdkmd64.sys (64-bit) versions  

                  8.15.10.2104 through 8.15.10.2141.

•         If Windows Update KB2454826 installed on the computer.

•         Using Windows Live Mail versions 15.4 and later.

•         Windows automatic updates turned on already.

•         Check the windows update patch KB2454826 on installed updates screen.

•         Remove the KB KB2454826 from installed updates even it is found in windows updatescolumn.

•         Update the latest display driver for the system.

•         Update the fix utility for the same from the following link

           https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=f3b107ca2c44bfc9&resid=F3B107CA2C44BFC9!482&parid=F3B107CA2C44BFC9!368

Operating system:Windows Vista SP1&SP2

Less Disk Space issue in windows vista due to increase size in WINSXS folder

Operating system:
Windows Vista SP1&SP2

Solution:
1.Check Pchealth folder exceeding its size.
2.Checked program files and users folders.
But in windows folder, there is a folder named  WINSXS showing couple of GB size.

SxS means Side-by-side technology and it is a solution integrated in recent Windows versions by Microsoft in a attempt to reduce DLL hell. The problem with this solution is that the system keeps all versions of installed components in order to be able to serve them to asking application. As a downside, you will notice that this folder grows up very quickly and this can quickly became a very serious issue for your computers

Common sizes for the WinSxS folder:

- Windows 2003 : WinSXS = 25 MB / 05 GB (total Windows)
- Windows 2008 : WinSXS = 05 GB / 10 GB (total Windows)

The only safe way to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder on the disk is to remove the packages that installed the original components. This can be achieved by uninstalling superseded versions of packages.

On Windows Vista, Service Pack 1 contains VSP1CLN.EXE. Running VSP1CLN.EXE will make the Service Pack package permanent and not removable.

The tool is automatically installed as part of the SP1 upgrade, and you can find it under %windir%\system32\vsp1cln.​exe.

On Windows Vista, after Windows SP2 you can use COMPCLN.EXE to clean up WinSxS folder. This tool is installed as part of the SP2 upgrade, and you’ll find it under \%windir%\system32\compcln.​exe.

As with vsp1cln.exe, executing compcln.exe will make SP2 not removable.

Other third part solutions to reduce WinSxS size are:

WINSXSLITE

VLITE

VOPTIMIZER

if your problem is with %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\ growing too much, you can refer to this procedure to remove the files under the %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\ and to release some disk space that the WinSXS folder is taking:

Net stop trustedinstaller
Takeown /f %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​*
Icacls %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​* /GRANT administrators:F
Del /q %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​*

Desktop Icons loading very slow in windows 7

Operating system

Windows Vista/Windows 7

Problem

          After booting in to windows the all desktop icons appears only after 4-5 minutes.

Solution

   Possible causes

1. More Startup programs.
2. Any startup antivirus scan.
3. User profile corruption
4. ShellIconCache file may be corrupted

In this case shellIconCache file got corrupted. Its a hidden file located at windows directory which contains a copy of the all default desktop icons. To resolve this issue, recreate the ShellIconCache file by deleting it.

Open the folder options by typing the control folders on RUN prompt. Select View  and select Show hidden files and folders and click OK.

 Locate the patch %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Iconcache.db. Delete the file Iconcache.db.

 Restart  the computer.

Less Disk Space issue in windows vista due to increase size in WINSXS folder

Check any EC2 version installed or not.

Check Pchealth folder exceeding its size.

Checked program files and users folders. Nothing found abnormal.

But in windows folder, there is a folder named  WINSXS showing 9.5 GB size.

SxS means Side-by-side technology and it is a solution integrated in recent Windows versions by Microsoft in a attempt to reduce DLL hell. The problem with this solution is that the system keeps all versions of installed components in order to be able to serve them to asking application. As a downside, you will notice that this folder grows up very quickly and this can quickly became a very serious issue for your computers

Common sizes for the WinSxS folder:

- Windows 2003 : WinSXS = 25 MB / 05 GB (total Windows)
- Windows 2008 : WinSXS = 05 GB / 10 GB (total Windows)

The only safe way to reduce the size of the WinSxS folder on the disk is to remove the packages that installed the original components. This can be achieved by uninstalling superseded versions of packages.

On Windows Vista, Service Pack 1 contains VSP1CLN.EXE. Running VSP1CLN.EXE will make the Service Pack package permanent and not removable.

The tool is automatically installed as part of the SP1 upgrade, and you can find it under %windir%\system32\vsp1cln.​exe.



On Windows Vista, after Windows SP2 you can use COMPCLN.EXE to clean up WinSxS folder. This tool is installed as part of the SP2 upgrade, and you’ll find it under \%windir%\system32\compcln.​exe.

As with vsp1cln.exe, executing compcln.exe will make SP2 not removable.

Other third part solutions to reduce WinSxS size are:

WINSXSLITE

VLITE

VOPTIMIZER

( These Tools not checked for this purpose; This is just for your information. Please try at home)

if your problem is with %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\ growing too much, you can refer to this procedure to remove the files under the %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\ and to release some disk space that the WinSXS folder is taking:

Net stop trustedinstaller
Takeown /f %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​*
Icacls %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​* /GRANT administrators:F
Del /q %windir%\winsxs\ManifestCache\​*

Uninstalled unwanted progarsms and temp files.After doing all these cleanup we checked again in C driver almost 5.4 GB cleared.

 

The Windows Firewall Service Fails to start

There can be several causes that will prevent the Windows Firewall from starting and I will attempt to cover them in this series of five blog posts. In this first post, I will cover Windows XP and Windows Vista / Windows 7 separately as they are two different services. Last I will cover one issue with OneCare. Note: Specifics on Windows Vista and Windows 7will come in a later blog post.

Windows XP

In Windows XP, the firewall service is named "Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)", or SharedAccess service.

Typical errors seen as either popups or within event logs when the service fails to start are:

• Cannot start the Windows Firewall/Internet connection sharing (ICS) Service on local computer
• Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified
• Error 1705: While starting windows firewall and internet connection sharing services

Problems starting the Firewall Service in Windows XP are most commonly related to an issue with the Shared Access registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\SharedAccess

The quickest resolution is generally to rebuild the key. Instructions for doing this are in the following article, along with a FIXIT link:

You cannot start the Windows Firewall service in Windows XP SP2

Other things you will want to check are:

• Verify that the "Remote Procedure Call (RPC)" service is started
• Verify that the service is configured to logon as Local System Account, as shown below:

The above 3 items cover the vast majority of the issues with starting the Firewall in Windows XP.

Windows Vista and later (Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 R2)

In Windows Vista and later, the firewall service is "Windows Firewall" (MPSSVC); it combines both Firewall and IPsec functionality.

The first thing to check is that the Base Filtering engine (BFE) is running. There are a number of services dependent on the BFE service (including the Windows Firewall) that may also fail to start:

• IPsec Policy Agent (PolicyAgent)
• Windows Firewall
• IKE and AuthIP IPsec Keying Modules
• Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
• Routing and Remote Access

In my experience most of the issues starting these services are related to permissions.

Typical errors seen in relation to starting this service are:

• Event ID: 7024 - The Windows Firewall service terminated with service-specific error 5 (0x5)
• Windows could not start the Base Filtering Engine service on Local Computer. Error 5: Access is denied.
• Windows could not start the IPsec Policy Agent service on Local Computer. Error 1068: The dependency service or group failed to start.
• Windows could not start the Network Location Awareness on Local Computer. For more information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft service, contact the service vendor, and refer to service-specific error code -1073741288.
• The Windows Firewall service terminated with service-specific error 87 (0x57)
• Error 0x80004015: The class is configured to run as a security id different from the caller.
• The Windows Firewall service terminated with service-specific error 6801 (0x1A91).
• "net start mpssvc" in cmd.exe returns the system error 1297.

What to look for (specific details will be shared in a future blog post):

• Verify Log On permissions
• Verify registry permissions
• Verify privilege permissions
• Verify Service Dependencies
• Reset the default security permissions
• Verify that the TxR folder exists : %systemroot%\system32\config\TxR
• Verify the following registry keys by comparing them to a default Windows installation:
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BFE
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MpsSvc
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\ShareAccess

Windows OneCare

Lastly, I am including information about one issue that may be seen with the Windows OneCare Firewall Service. The following messages may be seen:

The Windows OneCare Firewall Service Could not Start

Urgent - Turn on Firewall

You will see this error in the Windows OneCare interface, with a red status action item asking you to enable the firewall. The action listed does not enable the firewall, however.

This issue is also very specific because the firewall settings in Windows OneCare are grayed out and cannot be modified.

To resolve this issue:

Use the steps below to ensure that the PATH environment variable contains the following path:

%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\system32\WBEM

1. Click Start / Control Panel and open the System Icon.
2. In System, click the Advanced tab and then Environment Variables.
3. Ensure that in the lower box "System variables" that PATH exists. If Path does not exist click NEW and type in PATH as the variable name and enter the above path in the variable value.
4. If PATH already exists, highlight it and click Edit.
5. Under variable name, click at the end of the line to append the above mentioned path to the end of the current path. NOTE: BE SURE TO SEPERATE THE OLD PATH AND THE NEW PATH WITH A SEMI-COLON ( ; ).
6. Click OK to close the windows and restart the computer.

If this does not resolve the issue, try the following step:

1. Click Start / Run and type Regsvr32 %SystemRoot%\System32\wbem\wmidcprv.dll and click OK.
2. Restart the computer and test the firewall again.

If this does not resolve the issue, or if the problem does not match the description, please follow the steps in KB article 910659.

Windows Cannot Set a Default Printer

Windows Cannot Set a Default Printer

Release

Windows 2000,Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

Problem

When we try to set a default printer, after changing the default printer in the printer’s control panel it reverts back to the previous default printer.

Solution

To fix this problem we need to change device value in registry.

    Open registry editor and locate the path

“HKEY_CURRENT_USER/ SOFTWARE/ MICROSOFT/ WINDOWS NT/ CURRENT VERSION/ WINDOWS”

  On the right pane Change entry for Device that has winspool,Ne00; delete whatever printer there is in the entry and just leave winspool,Ne00.Close the registry editor and restart the windows explorer.

Showing "0x80070002" or "0x80070003" error code after downloading updates from Windows Update

Showing "0x80070002" or "0x80070003" error code after downloading updates from Windows Update

Release

Windows 7 Service Pack 1

Problem

When we trying to update windows 7 , update may failed and a red X mark will appear near to the update window with some error code like 0x80070002 or 0x80070003 or 80070652.

Solution

This problem occurs when some files in the update are missing, even though the update is downloaded and extracted successfully.

Method 1

 Open the services by typing services.msc on command prompt. Click stop the Automatic updates service.

Rename the software Distribution directory located at C:\windows as software Distributionbak.

To do this, type the command cd %windir% on command prompt. Press enter.

Type ren SoftwareDistribution  SoftwareDistributionbak and press enter. Type exit and enter again.

Restart the Automatic updates services. And restart the PC.

Method 2

Reset the Windows Updates Components by using the Microsoft Fix it 50202 from the following the Microsoft link

Downlaod Link: http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/3/D/83DA9B2F-3246-4C1E-996B-1381F667247D/MicrosoftFixit50202.msi

After downloading the Fix, execute the file and restart the PC after finish it.

Desktop Icons loading very slow in windows 7

Desktop Icons loading very slow

Release

Windows Vista/Windows 7

Problem

          After booting in to windows the all desktop icons appears only after 4-5 minutes.

Solution

   Possible causes

1. More Startup programs.
2. Any startup antivirus scan.
3. User profile corruption
4. ShellIconCache file may be corrupted

In this case shellIconCache file got corrupted. Its a hidden file located at windows directory which contains a copy of the all default desktop icons. To resolve this issue, recreate the ShellIconCache file by deleting it.

Open the folder options by typing the control folders on RUN prompt. Select View  and select Show hidden files and folders and click OK.

 Locate the patch %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Iconcache.db. Delete the file Iconcache.db.

 Restart  the computer.

                               

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Desktop Icons loading very slow in windows 7

Release

Windows Vista/Windows 7

Problem

          After booting in to windows the all desktop icons appears only after 4-5 minutes.

Solution

   Possible causes

1. More Startup programs.
2. Any startup antivirus scan.
3. User profile corruption
4. ShellIconCache file may be corrupted

In this case shellIconCache file got corrupted. Its a hidden file located at windows directory which contains a copy of the all default desktop icons. To resolve this issue, recreate the ShellIconCache file by deleting it.

Open the folder options by typing the control folders on RUN prompt. Select View  and select Show hidden files and folders and click OK.

 Locate the patch %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Iconcache.db. Delete the file Iconcache.db.

 Restart  the computer.

     

Windows Vista Explorer Hangs while Copying Files from External Media

This problem exists in Vista SP1. The problem occurs when you copy a large file or lots of files from an external media like CD/DVD, flash drives and sometimes from network drives.
In this problem, the explorer window which is being used by the copy process hangs, also the progress dialog box hangs if you try to move it, click on it or if you click somewhere else and returns to it.

Although the explorer window and progress dialog box hang, Windows still keeps continue copying the files and when the copy operation finishes, the explorer window and the progress dialog box become available again.
So if you are also facing this problem, use following simple steps and your problem will be solved:
1. Click on “Start button -> All Programs -> Accessories“. Right-click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run As Administrator“. If you are prompted to enter password, enter the password and continue. You can also open Command Prompt in Administrator mode by typing “cmd” in Startmenu Search box and press “Ctrl+Shift+Enter“.
2. Now provide following command:
bcdedit.exe /set {current} nx AlwaysOff
3. Restart your system and now you should not face any problem while copying files.

"Windows cannot connect to printer" error message when you try to create a Point and Print connection to a remote printer from a Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2-based client computer

Consider the following scenario:

• You have a client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
• You try to create a Point and Print connection to a remote printer from the client computer.

In this scenario, the operation fails and you receive the following error message:
=================
Title: Add Printer
Text: Connect to Printer
Windows cannot connect to printer.
Details: Operation failed with error 0x0000007e.
=================
Note: 0x0000007e/ERROR_MOD_NOT_FOUND: The specified module could not be found.

Cause:
This issue occurs because, after the printer is installed, Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 incorrectly looks for the Mscms.dll file in a subfolder different than the windows\system32 subfolder.

Solution:Apply the below Microsoft Hot Fix

Download Link: http://download327.mediafire.com/cqk2l7949wlg/lzzlcec6le1rzb8/Windows6.1-KB982728-x86.msu

Error message when you try to install a network printer on a Windows Vista-based computer: "Windows cannot connect to the printer Operation could not be completed (error 0x0000000d)"

When you try to install a network printer on a Windows Vista-based computer, you may receive the following error message:

Windows cannot connect to the printer. Operation could not be completed (error 0x0000000d).

This issue occurs because the following registry subkey on the print server contains invalid data: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\

CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3\<DriverName>\Previous Names

Note In this registry subkey, represents the name of the driver for the printer.

The Previous Names registry entry belongs to the REG_MULTI_SZ registry value type. The Previous Names registry entry is considered an invalid REG_MULTI_SZ registry value type if the following conditions are true:

• The value of the Previous Names registry entry begins with a null.
• This null is followed by some values.
• The value of the Previous Names registry entry ends with a null.

To resolve this problem, modify the value of the Previous Names registry entry on the print server so that it contains valid data. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start
2. Click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86\Drivers\Version-3\<DriverName>
4. On the File menu, click Export.
5. In the File name box, type printerName, and then click Save.
6. Right-click printerName.reg, and then click Edit.
7. Locate the sentence which starts with the "Previous Names" string, and then replace the sentence with the following text:
   "Previous Names"=hex(7):00,00
8. On the File menu, click Save.
9. Exit Notepad.
10. Right-click the file that you saved in step 7, click Merge, and then click OK.
11. Restart the Print Spooler service. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Click Starttype services.msc in the Start Search box, and then click services.msc in the Programs list.
       
       If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
    2. Right-click Print Spooler, and then click Stop.
    3. Right-click Print Spooler, and then click Start.

Error: windows drive not ready exception processing message c00000a3

While booting to windows it shows windows drive not ready exception processing message c00000a3 error. If we open any folder,any option or any process ,the same dialog box continuously appearing on screen.

Operating system: Windows Vista

Solution:

1. Click Start, and type “regedit” to open registry editor.Press Enter.

2. In the Registry Editor, on the left pane, navigate to the following key by expanding the plus sign (+):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ SYSTEM\ CurrentControlSet\Control\Windows

3. Right click on "Windows", click "Export", and then save it to the C:\ drive. (In case we need to undo the modification, we can double click it to restore the registry key)

4. Double-click on the key ErrorMode, and set the data value to 2.

5.Restarted the computer.

Windows Explorer has stopped working Error in Windows vista/windows7/Windows 2008 server

  Recently there are so many calls reported related to windows explorer crashing in windows vista/windows 7/ Windows 2008 server.Please try the below solutions and if any additional fix or solutions available please share with us.

Problem: The most annoying error messages in Windows Operating system are “Windows Explorer has stopped working” -  “Windows Installer has stopped working”.

Operating system: Windows vista,Windows 7/Windows 2008 server

Suggested Solutions;

Method1:

• Go to the Start button.
• In the Search box, type “regedit” (without quotes) and press Enter.
• Browse the following registry key: “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\ SQMClient\Windows\DisabledSessions”.
• On the right window pane, delete the subkey: “Machine Throttling”.
• Reboot your computer.

Method 2:

In Administrator mode, At the command prompt, type “chkdsk /r /f” (without quotes) and press Enter. Restart the System.

Method 3:
 
 Incompatible Drivers installed while updating the Sound Card,Graphics Card, LAN Drivers etc. So Roll back the driver that you installed recently.It may also happen due to old drivers. Go the official download page for the respective hardware  to get the driver updated.

Method 4 :

1. Press the key combination Windows logo key + R to open the Run dialog.
2. Type gpedit.msc in the Run dialog and press Enter.
3. In the Local Group Policy Editor navigate to
   Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → System → Internet Communication Management → Internet Communication Settings.
4. You would find a setting on the right hand side pane — Turn Off Windows Customer Experience Improvement program
5. Double-click on this setting and choose Enabled and then click OK.
6. Close the Local Group Policy Editor windows

How to Run the System File Checker (Sfc.exe) Offline in Windows 7 and Vista

The System File Checker (sfc.exe) is an useful tool that lets you scan the integrity of Windows system files, and repair corrupt or missing system files. Numerous cases have been resolved thus far by running Sfc.exe with the "scannow" parameter. However, there are situations where in a corrupt or missing system file prevents Windows from booting normally, and running Sfc.exe from Windows isn’t possible. In such cases, Sfc.exe can be run offline using two additional parameters, via the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) in Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

Booting into Windows RE

Configure the boot order in the BIOS such that the first boot device is your CD/DVD drive.

Insert the Windows 7/Vista Setup DVD and restart the computer.

Alternately, you may use the Windows 7/Vista System Repair Disc if you have one.

When prompted, press a key to boot from the DVD. In the "Install Windows" screen, click Repair your computer

Select your Windows installation, and click Next

Editor’s Note: Make a note of the drive-letter of your Windows 7 installation, as seen from Windows RE. 

This is the drive-letter you want to reference when running Sfc.exe offline.

Click Command Prompt

To scan the integrity (and repair) a specific file, use this command:

sfc /scanfile=d:\windows\system32\zipfldr.dll /offbootdir=d:\ /offwindir=d:\windows

 

The above command scans the file zipfldr.dll and replaces it if required.

To scan the integrity of all system files and repair them, run this command:

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=d:\  /offwindir=d:\windows

 

This process takes some time (<5 min) to complete, and there weren’t any integrity violations.

How to disable certain (IPv6) components in Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008

1. Click Start                                                               

      , type regedit in the Start Search box, and then click
regedit.exe in the Programs list.
   2. In the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.

   3. In Registry Editor, locate and then click the following registry
subkey:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services
\Tcpip6\Parameters\

   4. Double-click DisabledComponents to modify the DisabledComponents
entry.

      Note If the DisabledComponents entry is unavailable, you must
create it. To do this, follow these steps:

         1. In the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD (32-
bit) Value.

         2. Type DisabledComponents, and then press ENTER.

         3. Double-click DisabledComponents.

   5. Type any one of the following values to configure the IPv6
protocol, and then click OK:

         1. Type 0 to enable all IPv6 components.

            Note The value "0" is the default setting.

         2. Type 0xffffffff to disable all IPv6 components, except the
IPv6 loopback interface. This

value also configures Windows Vista to use Internet Protocol version 4
(IPv4) instead of IPv6 in

 prefix policies.

         3. Type 0x20 to use IPv4 instead of IPv6 in prefix policies.

         4. Type 0x10 to disable native IPv6 interfaces.

         5. Type 0x01 to disable all tunnel IPv6 interfaces.

         6. Type 0x11 to disable all IPv6 interfaces except for the
IPv6 loopback interface.

Notes

    * Using a value other than 0x0 or 0x20 will cause the Routing and
Remote Access service to fail after this change goes into effect.
    * You must restart your computer for these changes to take affect

Fixing "The Event Log is Full" Error on Windows XP

Open  Event Viewer by typing in eventvwr into the Start Run and box, or you can select  it under Administrative tools section of Control Panel of your system.

You'll notice over on the right-hand side of the window that the current size of my Application and System Event Logs are 512 KB.

Now you can right-click on one of the Event Logs.and choose Properties from the menu.

In this dialog you can do a number of things… you could clear the log, increase the size, or just set the system to overwrite events as needed.

I chose to increase the maximum size of the event log, and then also to overwrite events as needed. 

In windows vista , you'll notice that the default settings in Vista are to overwrite as needed, and the maximum size is way bigger.