New version of Dial-A-Fix

[Denise]

When I used the previous version of Dial-A-Fix, I used to Flush SoftwareDistribution and register dll's and on a regular basis. When I downloaded the new version and clicked to Flush SoftwareDistribution, it caused a multitude of problems with my pc's settings and I had to do a System Restore to correct the problems. When I tried to register dll's, most of them couldn't be registered. Purge SFC doesn't work either. My Windows XP Pro disk came only with SP1 and when I try to perform an SFC scan, it can't find the files it needs. I downloaded SP2 a long time ago and led the program to the file in my pc but it wouldn't accept it. I created an SP2 DVD and it wouldn't accept that either.

Are there any solutions to these problems?

Denise

[DjLizard]

I get the feeling that you may have a more serious underlying problem (such as hard drive failure, or something to that effect). Flush SoftwareDistribution's code hasn't changed in the past 5 point releases of Dial-a-fix, and all it does is execute rmdir /s /q on C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution, which is only used by Windows Update (nothing regarding your "pc's settings"). Without being able to work on the system prior to the System Restore myself, there is no way for me to tell you what happened or how to proceed.

You will probably want to backup any important user data (documents, pictures, emails/addresses, etc) and prepare to reinstall Windows from scratch. You also may need to test your hard drive, too, as it may contain bad sectors (which would cause completely unpredictable and random problems). I would consult a local PC technician and have the hard drive tested, or head over to the other Lunarsoft support forums to ask questions about how to use one or more Drive Fitness Test programs.

[Denise]

Hi Dj,

Thanks for responding. I know my pc has been on a downhill path for the past year . . . it's had a lot of problems during that time. It's a workhorse and gets almost constant use (even while I'm sleeping, I have it processing data) and it's 4 years old. I've been holding it together with bandaids for a while now. I have everything backed up to an external hard drive.

Yesterday, I downloaded hdtune_252 and ran the 3 tests.:

Benchmark Test: Transfer Rate . . . 2.4Mb/sec, Maximuj 54.1Mb/sec, Average 43.6 Mb/sec, Access Time: 15.0 ms, Burst Rate 78.2Mb/sec, CPU Usage 15.0%

Error Scan (Slow): 1 box (15Mb) bad

Health: All was "OK" except for Reallocated Sector Count: Current=253, Worst=253, Threshold=63, Data=1.

I know the Reallocated Sector Count is poor and I don't think a reinstallation of Windows will help, or even a reformat.

Something happened to my pc within the past week and within the past week, I installed Dial-A-Fix v 0.60.0.24 and IE7. It may be IE7 that's causing the problem or something else. I run a lot of spyware/adware/malware programs so I know I don't have a virus or trojan.

Dial-A-Fix is a great program. I used it often. I limit it to flushing DNS (easier than going into ipconfig) and Processing Idle Tasks now, which is worth it's weight in gold for my pc.

Thanks for the program and for your advice.

Denise

[unclebobee]

I have the same problems with XP SP2 And I have a new HDD with no problems that I know of.....I used the update from MS at one time but it will not work now....Have not a clue what is wrong. Will try your Dial-a-fix though. Thank you !!

[DjLizard]

Denise: unfortunately, you can't really blame any software (such as IE7) as being the problem if the hard drive is failing -- an installer will try to copy a file but the hard drive will write the file's contents incorrectly due to whatever underlying problem is there. I'm just saying this to make the semantics clear.

The "Data = 1" part of HDTune means that your drive has had at least one reallocated block (and a block contains one or more sectors). This means data loss is imminent, or has already happened. Any new writes to the drive could make it die any day now.

Good luck with your computer - I hope you are able to get a new one soon (or at least a new hard drive).