Solutions: Installed Defender could be corrupted
By John Torro
Published August 6, 2007
Q: As suggested, I downloaded Windows Defender, but three weeks later I encountered a problem: It wouldn't accept updates. I uninstalled it and reinstalled, now I get error message 0x800106ba. I have tried everything, but to no avail.
A: This sounds like a corrupt installation. The Windows Installer CleanUp Utility can be used to clean/remove bad installation files. You can download this utility and read how to use it at support.microsoft.com/kb/290301/. When that step is complete, reinstall Windows Defender per the instructions found at www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software.
Q: I have an HP Pavilion xg838 running Windows ME that will not go to the startup screen. When I turn it on, I get a black screen with the following info: "The following file is missing or corrupted C: the name of the windows loader e.g., C:" I type this in and it just repeats the error message.
A: The news is not good. The system file C: is either missing or corrupt. You can try booting into Safe mode (press F8 after rebooting and before Windows attempts to load) and try an Error Check on the C drive (My Computer, right click the C drive, choose Properties, Tools tab and the Check Now... button). If this doesn't fix the problem or you are not even able to get that far, reloading Windows Me is your next option. Locate your Windows Me CD and run setup (if it does not automatically start when rebooting with the CD in place). As long as you're not loading from a recovery disk, your data and programs should stay intact.
Q: My 3-year-old spare laptop with Windows XP Service Pack 2 kept running slower and had reached the stage were the processor light indicator was always on. I started eliminating programs to try and solve the problem. The problem was solved when I eliminated the Norton AntiVirus program, which then made the computer run normally. I also have a computer running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and NAV and Webroot Spy Sweeper. On My Documents, there is an icon that is a remnant of a file that can't be deleted. It shows it to be of zero bytes but can't be removed or renamed or moved to another folder. I get a message that says "Cannot delete file. Cannot read from source or disk." HP has given me instructions, but nothing has worked.
A: It's possible that your Norton AV may have self-updated into a problem. There is at least one known issue with one of the later NAV updates that in combination with other software on your system could produce behavior similar to what you described. Check Norton's support Web site for possible fixes. To delete the file remnant, boot into Safe mode as follows: Restart your computer and press the F8 key before Windows XP attempts to load. When the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, choose the "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" option. Navigate to the folder where the file exists using the old-fashioned CD commands, then use the DEL command. Reboot back into regular Windows mode.
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