Resources

I have the blank screen after I chose to re-format my computer. After I selected the re-install, the laptop rebooted itself and asked one more time at startup if I would like to continue. I then selected “no” and the computer would not boot past the blank screen. I tried loading the BIOS to no effect.

Without additional information about the process, we’re going to have to do a little troubleshooting here. I’m guessing that something prompted you to start the reformat process in the first place - any symptoms or error messages you were getting might offer some clues as to what is happening with your system.  I’m not sure why you selected “no” when asked if you wanted to continue - was there a problem with the reinstallation at the time?

Display Drivers

Before you go back to the CD that you were using for the reformatting, it’s possible that you are having a problem with the display drivers. Can you get into Safe Mode by pressing F8 at startup? If you can, then go to Start and then choose Run. At the prompt, type in: Devmgmt.msc. Remove the display adaptor device completely and then shut down the computer. Reboot normally and see if that solves your blank screen issue.

Hardware Problem

Most of the time, a blank screen is caused by a hardware issue such as a motherboard problem, a bad processor, memory or graphics issues. Because I don’t know what prompted you to start the process in the first place, I’m not sure if it is an original hardware problem or the fact that the reinstallation was never completed.
Reformat

The Windows installation disc features a “repair” installation that repairs important components and leaves your data intact while reinstalling the operating system altogether will require that you wipe out your partitions and start all over again, losing all of your data and settings. Were you able to do a complete backup of your data before you started the original reformat? If not, this might be a good time to pull the hard drive and either get the data off by putting it in another computer as a slave or by using an external drive to get the data and save it in another location.

Can you start the repair process over again by putting the CD in the drive and turning the computer on? If you can, try to do another repair. You will see a Welcome to Setup screen - press Enter. You will see a licensing agreement - press F8 to agree to that. You will then have to press R to have Windows start the repair by reinstalling important components. This repair could take over an hour, and you will then have to answer questions as if you were installing Windows for the first time.

Reinstall

If you have your data tucked safely away in another location, you can reinstall the operating system using the CD. Do the same process as a reformat, but choose to install a fresh copy of Windows. You will have to delete the existing drive partitions and reformat the hard drive for this process to be successful.

If you can’t get any response using the CD, you need to look into possible hardware problems. This is a lot of trial and error and you might want to get some assistance to test each piece of hardware that might be the culprit.

Finding My Business Publisher

I want to use a program (My Business Publisher) which I installed some time ago and cannot find. How can I find it please?

My Business Publisher

My Business Publisher was developed by a company called MySoftware. When visiting the MySoftware.com Web site in search of help, the page redirects to Avanquest software. To make it even more confusing, Avanquest’s technical support page lists dozens of MySoftware titles, but not My Business Publisher. So, getting solid information about the product hasn’t been easy.

Where is My Business Publisher?

While information was scarce, we can make an educated guess as to where the program is hanging out on your computer: the MySoftware folder. In looking at the help files for Avanquest’s other MySoftware products, most programs were installed into a program files folder named “MySoftware.” Hopefully this will be true of your My Business Publisher program too.

Click on Start > Programs and then scroll through the list of installed programs. You should see an icon or a folder labeled MySoftware. Click that and you should see an icon for starting the My Business Publisher program.

Searching for My Business Publisher

If this hunch is wrong, then we’ll need to try searching for the My Business Publisher program. We will do this in Windows Explorer. Go to the Start button and right-click it. Choose Explore from the menu. Navigate to the Program Files folder and click it. In the Search box, enter:

 *.exe

This will show you all of the .exe files found in the Program Files folder. You’ll see dozens, if not hundreds of executable program files such as iexplore.exe for Internet Explorer and QuickTimePlayer.exe for the QuickTime Player. Executable files are the files that launch an application. Scroll through the list in search of a file that looks like it might be the My Business Publisher application. For example, a file named BizPub.exe or MyBizPub.exe would be likely candidates. If you think that you’ve found the correct .exe file, double-click the icon and launch the program.

If you do find it, make a note of its location or create a desktop shortcut for future use. You can make a shortcut by right-clicking the file and choosing Send To > Desktop.

Please advise if it is possible to identify which type of Windows XP (home edition) I have. For example, is it SP1 or SP2?

Identifying Windows Versions using WinVer

It’s definitely a good idea to know which version of Windows you are running, including the service packs it has been patched with. Fortunately, this is really easy to do. Windows XP and Vista both come with a utility called “WinVer.exe.” Simply run this tool and a popup screen will appear telling you exactly which version of Windows you are running, its build, and current service pack installed.

To run WinVer.exe, go to Start > Run and type in: winver.exe. Click OK.

Identifying Windows Versions using System Information

But wait - there’s more! If you want to learn a bit more about your Windows operating system, plan on visiting the System Information tool. This tool displays far more information about your system then the WinVer.exe utility. You can check System Information on both Windows XP and Vista computers by going to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information.

Once launched, you’ll see a system summary in the main panel. Items of interest in this case are:

• OS Name - Not only will this tell you that you are running Windows XP or Vista, it will tell you the exact edition such as Windows XP Home or Windows XP Professional
• OS Version - The OS Version tells you the version number and service pack installed. For example, if you’re wondering why Windows 7 is called Windows 7, it’s because Windows 7 is the seventh version of Windows. Windows Vista is the sixth, Windows XP is the fifth, and so on.
• BIOS Version and Date - If you ever need to update your BIOS, this information is crucial. It’s mentioned here because few users know where to find it.

Identifying Windows Versions using the Control Panel’s System Icon

Another option is to go into the Control Panel and click on the System icon. In Windows XP, this doesn’t tell you much about your operating system but it does tell you about your computer’s name and hardware. In Windows Vista, however, this tool does list information about your system including Windows edition, service pack information, and system type (such as 32-bit or 64-bit).

Use WinVer to quickly find out your Windows version or explore the System Information and Control Panel’s System icon to learn even more about your computer.

My Microsoft Windows does not open?

Windows Operating System Errors

I think that you mean your operating system isn’t launching when you boot up your computer? Usually, when there is an operating system like Windows installed on a computer, turning the computer on will issue a command to execute the software and open the Windows program. However, if there is an error with the operating system, or sometimes a failure in the hardware, the operating system will fail to open and the computer will be stuck at a black or blank screen.

Boot to Safe Mode

The first thing to try is booting to Safe Mode. Rather than ask your computer to start normally, Safe Mode will limit the amount of functioning programs to the minimum that Windows needs to operate. This reduces the pressure on the system and lessens the chance that it will encounter an error. To boot into Safe Mode follow these steps:

1. Turn the computer off and wait 30 seconds
2. Reboot the computer - start pressing F8 as the computer starts
3. This will open the Advanced Options menu
4. Choose Safe Mode with the keyboard arrow keys
5. Press Enter
6. When you reboot your computer it will automatically reset to Normal Mode

Windows File Checker Tool

Depending on the severity of the error, you might be able to boot to Safe Mode. If this is successful, you should run both hard drive and software repair scans. If you are running Windows Vista or XP, you can use the File Checker utility.

1. Click the Start button, then type cmd in the Start Search bar
2. In the Programs list, right click on cmd then choose Run as Administrator
3. Click Enter or enter your password then click Continue
4. At the command prompt, type in sfc /scannow
5. Let the scan run, then reboot to see if the problem is solved

Windows System Restore

If not, you can also use a Windows utility to reset the operating system to a previous time, hopefully before it encountered the error.

1. In Vista, click the Start button, then type system restore in the Start Search bar
2. In the Programs list, choose System Restore
3. Click Enter or enter your password then click Continue
4. On the System Restore pop up box, select Choose a Different Restore Point, then Next
5. Choose a date from the list prior to the error presenting, then Next
6. Choose Finish - the computer will reboot - check to see if the error is resolved

If you have XP, go to Start > Programs  > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore and then follow steps 4 through 6 above.

If you are still facing the same problem, you can write again and provide some more details about the version of Windows you are running, and the specific error you are encountering - the more information the better. Good luck!

I’m having trouble booting up my Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop. When I start it, an error message on a black screen says that hardware was installed or Windows did not shut down properly. It then asks me to select how I would like to start up. When I arrow to Safe Mode, the screen scrolls down and the entire monitor fills with writing - most of it having to do with utilities and drivers - and then it freezes. I tried starting it from the Last Known Good Configuration, and once selected, it freezes on a blank blue screen. I tried a hard start (removing battery and holding power button) and reinstalling Windows XP. No luck. Any suggestions?

So Safe Mode freezes, Last Known Good Configuration causes a blue screen error, and reinstalling Windows XP didn’t work? Yikes! This is a tough one, but we might be able to get Windows to load one way or another.

Disconnect External Devices

First, let’s make sure we are working with the bare essentials. Turn off your wireless adapter and disconnect your printer and any other non-essential external devices such as microphones, external speakers, laptop chill pads, hubs, external hard drives, MP3 players, digital cameras, and so forth. The less interference from devices, the better. Try booting up now. If a device was interfering with the startup sequence, you’ll want to experiment by adding devices and rebooting one device at a time until you can determine which device is causing problems.   

Boot and Repair from Windows CD

I’m guessing that disconnecting the devices won’t get us anywhere, but doing so is worth a shot. If the laptop is still stuck, let’s see if you can boot Windows and repair it from the Windows CD. Insert your Windows CD and boot the computer up. Follow the onscreen instructions to repair Windows. This typically involves pressing a key to get started, pressing Enter to “set up Windows XP” (do not choose the Recovery Console option), agreeing to the licensing terms, and pressing “R” to repair Windows. Since you’ve reinstalled Windows unsuccessfully, this may not do much, but let’s give it a try.

Disabling Services and Devices

My final suggestion centers on the fact that a screen describing device drivers appears just before Windows freezes. See if you can write down the names of the utilities and drivers that the screen discusses as these could be clues. For example, a specific device or service may be interfering and Windows may be trying to tell you, in its cryptic way, what to do. If you can identify the service that is interfering with Windows, there is a way to disable the service via the Recovery Console. Microsoft’s Knowledge Base Article 244905 discusses this in greater detail.

This is a tricky problem that may require more help than we can provide here. Hopefully a repair from the installation CD will do the trick. If not, I’m afraid a trip to your local computer repair shop may be in order.

I bought a second hand Dell OptiPlex GX110 tower - I can use it if I log on as user but when I want to download something such as Acrobat Reader it tells me I have no administrator rights. Is there is any way that I can change the administrator to my name instead of the person that had it before me as the administrator?

Of course, the easiest way to do this is to ask the old owner for the password - if this isn’t possible, make sure that there actually is a password on the account first. Try logging in as the administrator, but leave the password blank and see if that gives you access - you’d be surprised how often that works.

Windows XP Security Hole

If you still need a password and are using Windows XP and have the CD, you can probably take advantage of a security hole in that operating system to reset the administrative password. Follow these instructions exactly:

1. Put the CD in the CD ROM drive. If your computer isn’t configured to boot from CD, you may have to get into the BIOS and reset it.
2. When you see the Welcome screen, press Enter and then press F8 to accept the licensing agreement.
3. You will be asked to select your installation (chances are, there is only one) and press R to begin the repair process.
4. Once it runs, it will reboot automatically - don’t press any key to reboot from CD.
5. You will now see a highlighted message saying Installing Windows.
6. You need to watch the lower left hand side of the screen carefully. As soon as you see “Installing Devices”, immediately press F10 - this is the loophole.
7. You will see a command console. At the prompt, type in: NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter.
8. You should now have access to all of the accounts in the Control Panel and can change the passwords. If you don’t want a password, type in: control userpasswords2 at the prompt.
9. Exit out of the command box and let the repair run. You may need to enter the product key to complete the repair. Everything should be intact on your machine and only the password should be reset.

Recovery Software

If you still can’t access the Administrator account, you can purchase recovery software that will either wipe out the passwords completely or recover the lost admin password. Two to try are the Spotmau recovery tool or Password Reset Software. Either one should work in your situation and if there is no other way to access the admin account will probably be worth the money.

Hopefully, you will be able to quickly and easily access the administrator account now. Please let us know if we can help you further.