Iolo Sys. Mechanic gadget

[Generator85]

Ok yet another gadget thread..
So I have Iolo System Mechanic and it comes with this gadget..
I've used it along with others for a while now..
I go to renew and upgrade ISM.. and when I do the gadget stops working..
I contact customer support (just loads of help) and they swear up and down that it has nothing to do with their software.. that it's a MS thing.
Evey "solution" I have come across has been no help.



This is what's going on here.. If anyone can help it'd be much appreciated.

 

[Brink]

Hello Steve,

If you had not already, you might see if running the BAT file in the tutorial below may be able to help fix this.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/140358-gadgets-not-displaying-correctly-windows-7-fix.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Generator85]

No, I hadn't tried that, but I gave it a whirl just now, and no luck. Thanks anyhow.

 

[A Guy]

Two things to try. Turn off the gadget, then re-enable through System Mechanic:

From the Individual Tools pane, click Manage Add-ons and then click Stop next to Configure PC Health Status Gadget.

From the Individual Tools pane, click Manage Add-ons and then click Start next to Configure PC Health Status Gadget.

Try turning off, then re-enabling the Windows Gadget Platform

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/5023-windows-features-turn-off.html

Scroll down to Windows Gadget Platform> Untick it and reboot> Repeat, but retick it> Open gadgets and add the SM gadget again. A Guy

 

[Generator85]

I appreciate your help, but I've already tried both of those things. I realize that this problem is petty, but it's driving me up the wall.. I guess I can attribute it to laziness as it's much easier to rely on a gadget to tell you when to clean up rather than clicking a few times to find out yourself.

 

[A Guy]

I'd say uninstalling System Mechanic and the gadget, and reinstalling SM would be the only thing left. If you've tried that, then I'm out of ideas, sorry. A Guy

 

[Generator85]

Yeah.. I guess I should've done that first, but at least I know what to do in the event other gadgets mess up.. Thanks a bunch.

 

[A Guy]

No problem, glad I could attempt to help

A Guy

 

[Generator85]

So I reinstalled ISM, but no luck. I'm doing more research now, still, any help, hints or ideas are welcome.. from anybody.

 

[A Guy]

Two things I can suggest. First, perform a clean start to see if something is interfering with the gadget:

How to Troubleshoot a Problem by Performing a Clean Startup in Windows 7 or Vista

You can also create a new user account, and see if the gadget works correctly in the new user.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2974-user-accounts.html

A Guy

 

[Generator85]

Thanks for the help again... I tried the clean startup, and the problem wasn't there. I opened the guest account and tried opening the gadget, but the problem was there too. So I just decided to ignore it... but, as it turns out, I'm not good at that either. I gotta figure this out.. it's like an annoying eye twitch, or a hair in your throat.

 

[pfauteux]

Had the same problem. Couldn't find the gadget. But I found it. Where ???
Go to Control Panel, select Desktop Gadgets...and there it is ! "iolo PC Status" .
Just double click it and it will appear on your desktop.
Now that was easy !

 

[k9dog]

(SM: System Mechanic (Pro). I am presuming you are running on an Administrator account)

If everything fails,

Try turning UAC all down (or up 1 if its all down as some report problems with side panel and UAC off). Mine is off and I don't have a problem with side panel. Log in again after each change. If it doesn't help leave the UAC all the way down.

Don't uninstall/Install yet. I will tell you soon enough.

Write down your SM registration code if needed.

Make sure windows is updated. .NET might be needed (not sure) try updating it at least to ensure resolving some compatibility issues.

Make sure graphics drivers are updated. (might be various drivers you can update. I find Driver Agent a good source).

Install SM if it's not installed.

There is a chance that the panel is a ressidue from an old installation. Hopefully the many following steps will catch that. You can try looking a bit on the harddisk/registry yourself.

The control panel item is called Desktop Gadgets as pfauteux said. Open it and uninstall the iolo gadget if it doesn't work in side panel.

Install Revo uninstaller (Free) and tell it to uninstall SM and clean it all up. Restart and reinstall SM.

Start SM manually and scan for any errors. (read next first) You should also fix them all.

If you got extern usb drives be careful about SM scanning these .. You could disconnect them or tell SM to bypass them.

When done with SM: Remember to reinstall bluetooth drivers if you make a registry cleanup. Telling SM to ignore registry keys/problems permanently doesn't work for me . So reinstalling driver each time I clean registry fully. I don't know about any other drivers with problems.

Restart. Chances is that System Mechanic is now installed and working correctly. If the gadget still isn't displayed even after restart, we should turn our attention to the side panel.

Start optionalfeatures.exe (Features also found in Control Panel --> Programs and Features).
Try disabling and then enabling Windows Gadget Platform, each time relogging into the account.Try another gadget to see if it works.

Have you disabled any services? This might be worth investigating. Try to restore default values for those related to explorer/desktop at least.

I would also try to uninstall software I don't need:
Using Revo and google, identify installed programs. Things that change Windows UI behavior are good suspects.
You can try disabling them first in msconfig, if you think they are important to you. Be sure not to disable things needed for gadget side panel or system mechanic.

If still no luck, a Windows restore or even reinstall, probably is the easier way to go.
Be sure to backup as much as you need if you reinstall Windows.
Before taking such a step, I would use Recover Keys (or similar) to backup my registration keys and copy the users under C:\Users at the very least (deleting/skipping directories that has become to big with trivial downloads etc.)