Some general weirdness with Windows Explorer, etc

[stevebeans]

I have been experiencing some general weirdness with my windows lately, here are some issues....

a) If I click on 'New Updates Available', it doesn't open up Windows Update like it should

b) The same can be said about my notifications to open 'Action Center'

c) When I do a windows search, it just brings up random documents. For example, searching for 'Windows Update' should bring up the program, but instead shows 23 text files that may contain the word windows update.

d) My Windows Explorer is messed up by not showing file sizes, and some blank spots where I should be able to sort, etc.

I uploaded a screenshot of the windows explorer weirdness as part of the attachment.

----

Notes:

- I ran Malewarebytes with nothing detected, combofix was fine, and did a scan with avast resulting in 0 threats
- It fixed itself once on a reboot recently but has since gone back to acting strange again.

I'm not really sure what could be causing this, has it happened to anyone else?

Thanks fro any replies

 

[boohbah]

welcome to sevenforums stevebeans ,try sfc/scannow to start with

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html

 

[stevebeans]

Thank you for the reply, here is what it found.... apparently quite a few files I could not repair.

Any suggestions?

I am tempted to re-install windows as it's probably due but

a) I don't remember where my license is
b) Every time I do there is always something I forget, like bookmarks UI Settings to some game or something of that nature. Do you know of any programs that run you through a good backup check list, back the items up then restore to new clean windows?

Thanks!

 

[stevebeans]

(side note: my HDD was having weird issues, although it could be windows, or both. I bought a new HDD and was going to do a clone, but if I do a re-install it would definitely be on the new HDD which does allow me flexibility if I do forget stuff from the old. But still, a checklist would be nice)

 

[boohbah]

ok ,these logs are not really my field there are a few guys who know this stuff better than i do,
i would consider a repair install which will keep your settings and user files etc,
but i would also wait for the big hitters here to have a look first,
i'll post to get you some additional help.

also i believe that sometimes running sfc scan several times can get it to complete, so in the meantime run the scan again, maybe twice.
then hopefully you will get some more help here.

 

[stevebeans]

thank you, not a bad idea. Perhaps a run fixes something that allows something else to be fixed and so forth. I'll try it 1-2 more times and see if the logs change

 

[karlsnooks]

Help us to help you.

Please carry out following. You will find that SPECCY and SIW will give you much more info than the forum's System Info link.

Update your SevenForums System Specs
User CP (located on the top menu bar) |
Your Profile | Edit System Spec (left-hand column)

To gather info, use Speccy (my favorite) or SIW or System Info

ADD the word laptop or desktop or netbook to the
“system manufacturer” block, for example,
Toshiba Satellite L305D notebook.

Provide full windows version info, for example:
MS Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit

Use the “Other Info” block for Optical Reader,
Mouse, touchpad, wifi adapter, speakers, monitor, etc

Scroll down and click on SAVE CHANGES.
=======================================================

 

[stevebeans]

Thanks for the tip. Updated as best I could. Going to run that scan again now

 

[Layback Bear]

sfc /scannow scans sometimes need to be run 3 times rebooting after each. For what ever reason at times it just can't fix everything without being run again.

 

[stevebeans]

Yea, I ran it 3x now and still can't fix Now my network icon is showing the red x like it's disconnected but I have Internet access.... It may be time to plan a re-install

 

[stevebeans]

Well, I found my win 7 disk, now I need to find my key and possibly do a fresh install on my newer HDD.

Does anyone have any good sites that go down a checklist of things to do before you re-install? Little things I may miss

This is assuming I can't fix my current issue.

 

[F5ing]

Not a checklist, but the first thing I would do is browse my username folder, typically found within C:\Users. Make sure you've set Explorer options to show hidden and system files, at least for the time being. You don't want Explorer hiding stuff from you in this case. If you've typically saved to default locations under the one username, then you're likely to find most of your data.

Next I'd check Programs and Features in Control Panel, sorting by date can be helpful, and make note of all the stuff I've added. Find the install files for them and copy them out. Or find internet links to reinstall.

I realize it's nowhere near being a comprehensive list (or even any kind of a list), and it'll take some time to scour your user folder, but it can be worthwhile. Might be useful to check the root and it's immediate folders while you're at it, just in case.

Don't forget about drivers you may need.

Saw your mention of cloning. I wouldn't worry about cloning to the new drive as you're likely to have the same problem as you had with the old. Just install fresh, and then work to copy your data from the old.

And then start backing up on a regular schedule. Figure out where you saves are stored and how you can back up and restore your saves. And whenever you start using a new app make sure you figure out how it's saving your data so you can back that up too. Some apps like doing it their own way.

 

[boohbah]

consider this before clean install...

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

 

[karlsnooks]

Steve,
I had held off on analyzing the sfcdetails.txt until we had your system specs.

You system specs reveal nothing which would be causing your present problems

The problems you report are probably all self-inflicted rather than hardware problems.

If you desire to perform a reinstall, then we have an excellent tutorial that covers all cases, despite the name of the tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164

For your 25 character Product Key, then you can use either:
1. Belarc Security Advisor Belarc Advisor - Free Personal PC Audit, for software, hardware and security configuration information on your computer. Software license management, IT asset management, cyber security audits, and more.
2. SIW (llnk is in my signature)
3. Speccy (where I think its called Serail Number)
4. The PowerShell script I'm including.

Do NOT ever post your 25 character Windows Product Key/Serial Number which is
available under:
Speccy | Operating System | Serial Number and under
SIW | Software | Licenses | Windows Product Key
Do NOT ever post your 25 character Windows Product Key/Serial Number.

========================================================================

powershell script:
# ************************************************************
# Get Product License Key
# Source is PowerShell.com > PowerTips > Getttin Windows Product Key
# For those interested in learning PowerShell this is an excellent site.
# See their 'Mastering PowerShell' for a thorough presentation of xx chapters
# ************************************************************

# ************************************************************
# Start copying with next uncommented line (no # in first character;
# Copy thru 2nd EXIT;
# Paste into PowerShell using right-click
# ************************************************************
function Get-ProductKey {
$map="BCDFGHJKMPQRTVWXY2346789"
$value = (get-itemproperty "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion").digitalproductid[0x34..0x42]
$ProductKey = ""
for ($i = 24; $i -ge 0; $i--) {
$r = 0
for ($j = 14; $j -ge 0; $j--) {
$r = ($r * 256) -bxor $value[$j]
$value[$j] = [math]::Floor([double]($r/24))
$r = $r % 24
}
$ProductKey = $map[$r] + $ProductKey
if (($i % 5) -eq 0 -and $i -ne 0) {
$ProductKey = "-" + $ProductKey
}
}
$ProductKey
}

Get-ProductKey > $env:userprofile\Desktop\ProductKey.TXT


EXIT
EXIT

# ************************************************************
# Places ProductKey.TXT on your DESKTOP
#
# **********************INSTRUCTIONS**************************
# STEP 1 *****************************************************
# RUN PowerShell as administrator
# START ORB | type POWERSHELL | CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER key combo | ALT+Y keycombo
# ************************************************************
# STEP 2 *****************************************************
# COPY, using CTRL+C, every line down thru both EXIT statements
# PASTE into Powershell == Right-Click at the PowerShell Prompt
# (Ctrl+V does not work)
# ************************************************************
# ***************** NOTE - POWERSHELL VERSION*****************
# if you receive this error msg:
# Get-WinEvent: The system can not find the path specified
# you need to update your PowerShell
# you must be using Powershell 2.0 or later.
#
# To determine your Powershell version:
# Run PowerShell
# enter $host.version
# you should see at least:
# Major Minor Build Revision
# ----- ----- ----- --------
# 2 0 -1 -1
#
# If you do not see the above, update your Vista/Win 7.
# ************************************************************
# *************** NOTE - EXECUTION POLICY*********************
# If you haven't set the execution policy, you may need to:
# Run PowerShell
# enter Set-ExecutionPolicy -executionpolicy remotesigned
#
# ************************************************************

 

[stevebeans]

I am still in the process of reinstalling. I tried to install it on a HDD I had a little data on, and got the 'setup was unable to install blah blah' and found the thread about doing a 'clean all'... ugh. I kind of wish I read a little better, this is taking forever. I probably could have gotten away with a 'clean', but 900 gigs is slow. The thread said 500gb took about 2 hours, but I think I have passed the 5 hour mark.

Hopefully it will be done soon, this is the longest format ever.

 

[karlsnooks]

Steve,
Clean All is writing zeroes to each and every byte on your hard drive.

This is an excellent method of truly eliminating all malware plus a very positive side advantage is that when a bad spot on your disk is encountered then that sector is taken out-of-service, thus you are also getting an excellent CHKDSK for the surface of your disk.

Clean all does NOT format. The Win 7 will format your drive for you, and format the drive correctly.

Let's see I think I have a link from SeaGate on their equivalents of clean and clean all. The explanation there is better than what I've found from Microsoft.

And yes, a Clean All can take a good half of a day on modern size drives. I've used clean all on my ssd which also is only 128 GB and the time was around 30 minutes.

How Do I Low-Level Format a SATA or ATA (IDE) Hard Drive?