Windows 7 not remembering settings after restart

xplore · 13 Jan 2011

Windows 7 Home, x64

I was starting a game (Trackmania United) and it froze and nothing was responding so I held the power button and restarted.

When it powered on and i went into Windows i noticed everything had gone back to default, the background was different, system colors, nothing on Taskbar or Start Menu.

Now I can't have permanent settings, for instance I like the System Tray to have all icons showing all the time, but when I restart it only shows icons that are actively used and i must click an arrow to see background icons that are not in use but are still running.

I also cannot pin Shortcuts to the taskbar, when I right click an open program and click 'Pin to Taskbar' it simply does not allow me to click this, literally I can not click this option. I am the admin of the computer and only use on it. Thanks for help, very odd of this to have occurred.

zigzag3143 · 13 Jan 2011

xplore said:

Windows 7 Home, x64

I was starting a game (Trackmania United) and it froze and nothing was responding so I held the power button and restarted.

When it powered on and i went into Windows i noticed everything had gone back to default, the background was different, system colors, nothing on Taskbar or Start Menu.

Now I can't have permanent settings, for instance I like the System Tray to have all icons showing all the time, but when I restart it only shows icons that are actively used and i must click an arrow to see background icons that are not in use but are still running.

I also cannot pin Shortcuts to the taskbar, when I right click an open program and click 'Pin to Taskbar' it simply does not allow me to click this, literally I can not click this option. I am the admin of the computer and only use on it. Thanks for help, very odd of this to have occurred.

This would be extremely easy if you have a backup from before the problem started

Do you have the OS dvd to do a repair install from?

Ken J

brianzion · 13 Jan 2011

hi :) would it not hurt to do a SFC Scan also you can run the scan within the repair cd using cmd promt

Perform a SFC Scan

1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow

2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER:

sfc /scannow

A message will appear stating that 'The system scan will begin'. Be patient because the scan may take some time

3. If any files require a replace SFC will replace them. You may be asked to insert your Windows 7 DVD for this process to continue

4. If everything is okay you should, after the scan, see the following message "Windows resource protection did not find any integrity violations"

5. After the scan has completed, close the command prompt window, restart the computer and check.

more information here

How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7

This article describes how to use the System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7.

If a Windows Resource Protection (WRP) file is missing or is corrupted, Windows may not behave as expected. For example, some Windows functions may not work, or Windows may crash. The System File Checker tool (SFC.exe) scans for missing or corrupted system files and repairs them.

Hopalong X · 13 Jan 2011

I would try a System Restore first. Method One.
System Restore

Go back a day or two before the problem up to a week if necessary. Depending on the restore points available.
When you get to this window check "Show other restore points" in bottom left corner. More options to choose from.

-----------------------------------------------------------
Here is the sevenforums SFC tutorial.
SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker

If it finds problems it may get to a point it will tell you it can't fix the files. Run it again up to three times or errors are fixed.
It often finds too many errors to fix in one attempt so a second and if needed third run will repair them.

Mike

xplore · 13 Jan 2011

thanks for all the replies, out of frustration I just did a system restore which took 3 hours or so (top of the line laptop my ass) and the problem has been resolved. Thanks for posting the other methods guys, others will likely see this thread via google search and your informative posts will not be wasted.

Hopalong X · 13 Jan 2011

That is a seriosly slow restore time.

As you may know it is usually a ten minute process but......

glad you got things fixed.

Mike

Imperfect1 · 14 Jan 2011

Hoppy's right, that's waaaaay too long a System Restore time, and it shows that something seriously corrupted your system. I would imagine that "something" would be your game Trackmania United, so it would seem to me that you need to uninstall it and make sure all the remnants of the program/app are off your system. (You can do an Advanced Search of your entire system (not just the Index) to accomplish that, and just delete any of the remaining game files found from the Advanced Search list. Once you've done that, you have to decide whether you're going to take a chance on that same software and reinstall that game, or perhaps find it from another source and install another copy/version of the app. You might want to contact the manufacturer to see if they offer any tech support for the problem.