Programs Won't Start

[ZJE123]

About 2 or 3 weeks ago I upgraded my Vista machine (DELL XPS M1530) to Windows 7. I completely erased the hard drive to get rid of all the junk. Now I have installed the nessesary Dell drivers. I have installed 4 programs that don't seem to run. These programs are Firefox, Acrobat Reader, Winrar, and Halo 2. For firefox, I reinstalled it and now it seems to work(sometimes). For acrobat or winrar, if I double click on a .pdf or a .rar file, the mouse will have a circle next to it for about 5 seconds. And then after that nothing happens, nothing opens, no error messages, and Winrar and Acrobat Reader do not show up in Task Manager. For Halo 2, when I open it I get th box window, and then when I click the PLAY button, the same thing happens with the mouse, and Halo 2 won't open and dosn't show up in Windows Task Manager. When I opened it to install it, it worked fine and now it won't even open. Keep in mind I have fully updated Halo 2 to work on seven. All the other programs (winrar, Acrobat Reader, and Firefox) are the latest versions and have full windows seven support. I WOULD think that this problem is on the individule program if all four of them didn't have the same problem. Running any of these programs in compatibility or as administrator dosn't do anything different. Also my Windows 7 is fully updated in fact, I just finished installing an update before typing this. Any help would be great!



Edit: Now IE won't work. I open it and it freezes for a minute. So far the only web browser that is working for me is Google Chrome. Also, to add to the list of programs that don't open: Kore 2 player and kontakt 4.

 

[whs]

First thing I would do is to check the filetype associations for .pdf and .rar to make sure they are really associated to their respective programs. For Halo2 I have no clue.

 

[ZJE123]

First thing I would do is to check the filetype associations for .pdf and .rar to make sure they are really associated to their respective programs. For Halo2 I have no clue.

The associations are set accordingly.

 

[A Guy]

Can you open the programs themselves? Winrar and Adobe Reader? If so, can you open Rar/pdf files from the programs interface?

A Guy

 

[ZJE123]

Can you open the programs themselves? Winrar and Adobe Reader? If so, can you open Rar/pdf files from the programs interface?

A Guy

No that won't even happen. I think for now aa temporary solution for those two programs would be to find alternatives.

 

[whs]

In lieu of the Adobe reader you could use Foxit (free Viewer) - which is a better PDF reader anyhow. And for RAR you could use 7zip. But uninstall the others first - possibly with Revo.

 

[esha]

Now this is weird.
I don't use Winrar, but I use Acrobat Reader and it's working just fine. Are you sure you have the latest updates of these programs?
I've experienced what you describe with an outdated version of a free software. It just didn't do anything. Getting the Win7-compatible update solved the problem.

 

[ZJE123]

In lieu of the Adobe reader you could use Foxit (free Viewer) - which is a better PDF reader anyhow. And for RAR you could use 7zip. But uninstall the others first - possibly with Revo.

Thanks! I have already installed 7zip which works very well. I will take a look at foxit as well.

 

[ZJE123]

Now this is weird.
I don't use Winrar, but I use Acrobat Reader and it's working just fine. Are you sure you have the latest updates of these programs?
I've experienced what you describe with an outdated version of a free software. It just didn't do anything. Getting the Win7-compatible update solved the problem.

Well I just downloaded it from it's home page so I just assumed the latest version would be the one on the hime page. I'll take a look again. Thanks
PS. I think I'll just use an alternative program.

 

[A Guy]

Yes, I don't think you are losing out with the alternatives mentioned here. Suggest also look at Sumatra Pdf. It's what I use. A Guy

 

[whs]

I am certain you will like Foxit. It is a lot less of a pain than Adobe and it has much better function, plus it uses less resources.