Constant Problems

What other software is running full time on your PC from startup?

Do you have Panda AntiVirus for example?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918165/en-us

Dont see the point of the link as it would not seem to apply to the problem as my problems are not limited to certain folders nor was brought on by an update, and the problem stops when I uninstall WB5.

As for the programs I have running from the start (which work fine before, during, and after the uninstall of WB5)

Logitech Setpoint for my G5 Mouse
Z-Board Control Panel (which is needed for my keyboard)
Everest Ultimate Edition (temp monitoring program)
Then the remove hardware icon since I have a Sata II hard drive

Some background tasks include Soundblaster X-Fi drivers, ATI video card drivers, Daemon Tools (disk emulation program, which I use for a home-made no-cd image). Other then those its all standard windows tasks running.

Why don't you uninstall 908531 and find out.....

How about you give some reasoning behind me uninstalling something, if you have no basis for this then I wont bother, but if its been proven to resolve the issue then I would uninstall it. The reason i say this is because none of the symptoms relate to my problem and none of the problem software or hardware relates to me as I have NO HP devices or software.

By all means, don't bother. I'm confident someone will come along with a remedy that will be suitable to you....

well posting a link that has no relation in the description to my problem makes me wonder if someone is just posting random links that have no bearing on my problem to raise post counts or something more sinister. And the fact that you offer no proof or reason why I should do this only supports my concerns, this is a MS security update that your telling me to alter or remove. While I, by no means, think MS is a foolproof system they did put out this security patch for a reason and I wont uninstall it randomly.

Think me paranoid or an ass, thats all fine by me, all I asked for was some proof by link or description to show this could resolve my problem.

I still welcome any assistance anyone has to offer but please if you post some link offer a reason WHY.

Yrag's very good with computers.
I haven't found one of his posts to be a random link posting.
He's helped quite a few people out more thant once, myself included.

I have tried emailing tech support but I havent even got so much as a confirmation email saying they recieved my email.

Not even the auto reply?

If uninstalling it doesn't fix the problem, you can always reinstall it.

Well, if I had spent all that time explaining my problem...I would not expect the fix to be that easy either.

Hellooo Gary!

....you lookin' for post points, too!!!!????

Still love ya, Hotstuff

Citizen Finger78  ...yrag is [to put it mildly] simply a whizz at these sorts of issues.  There's a 'critical update' that I STILL have NOT installed because it was a real issue for Drive Image 7......and all thanks to yrag....

Probably 99 times out of 100 his advice/direction is the 'good oil'. [can't say 100%...don't want him having a swelled head]...

 

 

....or is that 'wizz'?.....

Same difference....no-one will notice....

Well, I have uninstalled everything except the SDC, deleted all related folders except said SDC folder.

I went ahead and proceeded with the MS Windows Fix (even though the named .exe wasnt running on my computer.

I will try rebooting and installing 1 thing at a time to see if it has been fixed and try to determine which program is causing the issue.

And I meant no disrespect to Yrag, but I've been around for quiet a while, and surfed many a forum and I'm always leary when cryptic links are left as possible solutions without any explaination.

I will update this post as I install programs etc, if anything thinks they have a known solution for my specific problem please post it for myself and the other many posts I saw for others having this same issue.

And as for the question about the email from tech support... no, I have sent a total of 3 emails thinking I messed up and didnt send it and none of the 3 has even gotten me an auto-response about recieveing my emails.

"And as for the question about the email from tech support... no, I have sent a total of 3 emails thinking I messed up and didnt send it and none of the 3 has even gotten me an auto-response about recieveing my emails."

While I understand your frustration, I sent an e-mail to them that was related to sales. I was not happy with the lack of response, but when I recieved it, it came with an honest apology. I have since purchased OD.

While I can't begin to pretend that I know much of anything, I DO know that you can choose to exclude any application you wish from being skinned. I'm also relatively certain that if Window Blinds isn't skinning something, you may have another problem, otherwise unspecified.

You have flat out blamed Window Blinds and the other two programs, (among others), that you installed. Yet you flame someone who gives you a link. If it didn't help....oh well. You asked, you recieved! If you know squat about computers, it all revolves around trial and error. Stardock never claimed that their programs were error free. With that said, I'm not entirely believing YOU.

You complain about spending $xx dollars for something you supposedly can't even use. Did you try it out first? Stardock has no problem with allowing people the opportunity to "try out" their software before they buy it. That IS how I wound up buying it. I also remember seeing a page that offered refunds to those who hated these programs......I will look into it again and, post later.

You seem extremely combative. I assume that, this means you really want what Stardock offers. Hey, so do I. So we have something in common. We both purchased it. Why? It makes "old timers" like me look "cool". (And, secretly, I am......cool that is.)

So, are you running the "Beta" IE 7? Any other "Beta's"? Do you understand that YOU are essentially running a "Beta" computer? (Meaning dual core).

You're worried about the problems Stardock's programs supposedly causes your computer. I'm of the frame of mind that, if you found out that Stardock was NOT the problem, you would just disappear. Why? You have NO justification for much of what you've said.

You act like recieving advice is akin to taking Castor Oil. Yet you asked for it.

Trial and error, my friend. Trial and error. If you want it, YOU will make it work. $xx? Just a "Red Herring". Stardock gives you a ton of programs. Take what you want, leave the rest. If it is causing you REAL problems, get a refund! This is NOT rocket science.

P.S..................Smile for Pete's sake!

@Yrag! #12

Finger78,

I wrote a mini tutorial (with images) for beginners on Installing Object Desktop. Since you are not a beginner, I will leave a link to the tutorial in case the basic steps will help set a good platform for a successful installation of the products http://corkyo.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?sid=5463&aid=83625

Note - it is a bit dated, as I wrote it before the release of WB5, but the instructions basically run through the use of Stardock Central and some settings to install successfully. It may be that the Stardock MCP SmartStartup in conflicting with another program trying to load first, and this is one setting I recommend turning off to begin with. I also recommend not installing any 'beta' versions until you see if all is well with the official releases installed.

One other item I would suggest is to install WB5 (including a successful activation) > apply a prepackaged skin > reboot the machine > unload WB5 > restore the default XP theme via 'Display Properties\Themes tab\Theme list' > reboot machine > proceed to use WB5 daily. I suggest this because I have seen that the incorporation of WB into the 'Display Properties\Appearance tab' seems to take a couple of reboots after first applying and unloading WB5 (specifically in reapplying the 'Windows XP' shell theme). This procedure seems to sort the issue, and will remove any possibility of this being the cause of the explorer hang.

TheGuyPC,

In reference to your post (which I found pretty offensive and rude) I'll try to answer some of your questions since you assume I'm some sort of novice, which is not the case.

The problems on my computer started following the installation of Stardocks programs, and after having a fresh install of windows only on my computer for a few weeks and having only a few programs installed as of yet (of which the ones I was running I have been running for well over a year without issue) I think the chances of this being my computer, software, hardware, or myself is pretty slim.

And I firmly believe that, as a company, Stardock has an obligation to provide programs that are as problem free as possible. Yet, with the release of WB5, has caused numerous problems for MANY users not just myself. If you have any question about why I believe this is WB5 related feel free to do a search for explorer.exe and I found several posts with just that mentioned, and I'm sure there are more with different headers.

I have used WB4 in the past and was satisfied with thier products, little did I know WB5 would cause such an annoying problem that is not easily remedied by changing skinning settings or the like. So yes, I feel my $50 was mis-spent on a program with a pretty serious problem.

As for running any "betas" no, runnings betas on a gaming machine often cuases more problems then its worth and troubleshooting betas is almost impossible due to the lack of support since they are betas. As for the reasoning that my machine is a "beta" simply because I have a Dual Core processor is pretty silly. Programs that do not offer dual core support only run on a single core anyway by default.

And as for the "would you just go away if I found Stardock was not to blame" yes and no, yes I would still read posts but I'm not much for being a forum poster unless I have some positive input to add. And for having "NO justification" to blame this program is... well... just stupid. I would not do research and read like 5 websites just to make a wild accusation without some reasoning for my basis. But when a problem starts immediatly after installing a program and stops after un-installing it, seems like a pretty good conclusion to draw upon especially after you read of numerous people having the same problems related to the same program.

So with that said, I would appreciate you taking your lengthy obnoxious posts someplace else and only add something if you have a genuine possible solution. I would not have bothered posting so much information if I did not want a solution to the problem.

To everyone else that has offered help/advice I thank you.

Avoid the email issues (did they get it? Was it blocked by spam filters?), use the support web site. YOu can check your pending cases or create new ones.

https://www.stardock.helpserve.com

Yup, what Zubas said. I got problems where my emails to stardock support are blocked because my email provider makes me use my ISP's smtp server. But I use the site Zubas linked to and it's great for tracking your messages.

Well I re-installed WB5 and CursorXP Plus, no errors yet, but I have noticed that I get the little error noise when I started my BF2 game (same as before except no explorer/exe error message) but didnt notice anything adverse otherwise.

I am also submitting a ticket for this as per the given link, but I did notice when I tried to log in on that link it never logs me in nor gives me any message saying ny email/pass was wrong so I dont know about that.

Make sure to register here: https://www.stardock.helpserve.com/index.php?_m=core&_a=register

Well, here I go for more posting points....

Programs that do not offer dual core support only run on a single core anyway by default.

Actually, that's not correct. If you want BF2 to run at optimum, open Taskmgr, right click on BF2 executable, click on 'Set Affinity'. Un-check CPU0 and leave CPU1 checked. Restart the game and it will be running on one core.

Doesnt really change anything on how the game is run, at least not on my system. You can also save time but adding a -A1 or -A0 depending on which core you want it run on in the target line command. BF2 is one of the rare cases where both cores (on some cpu's) try and pick up some slack since there is multiple programs running for the multiplayer portion. More "simple" programs dont have that same tendency to run on both cores or attempt to run.

I have known about this "fix" for about 5 months as it was posted in a BF2 forum I frequent and tried it out and didnt notice any performance increase, but I guess it might help out some systems that are slower or have less ram.

My hope is that EA will get off thier duff and add dual core support... I doubt I would notice any difference in the game but if I did I'm sure it would be nice. I run the game maxed in every setting without a hitch right now.