Windows 7 program issues

[reckitt]

Hello

I plugged my main HDD with windows 7 x64 into another pc when i put it back inot my computer alot of programs do not start now, if i reinstall the program it will let me go in. but if i try again the next day it does'nt open and i have to reinstall again.
not all programs do this only half of them. whats happend there and how can i fix it?

 

[boonality]

Are you familiar with the registry?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_registry

Did you boot to said drive in another computer? It may be better for you to just back up your data and re-install your operating system from scratch.

 

[RickyT23]

Well the way to fix it is probably to re-install Windows 7. Pain in the bum I know. When you plugged it into another computer did you boot from it? And if you did boot from it did it work? The problem being that when you instal Windows it installs all of the drivers for your mobo/chipsets etc, various controllers and things, and ply plugging it into another mobo and booting it it will try and repair the incorrect drivers by installing the correct ones. But this doesnt always work.

If you only plugged it into the other computer and tried to access it from within a different instance of an operating system then I dont know. That would be weird.

I recently changed my motherboard, and I was dual-booting XP and 7. When I powered up the PC and loaded Windows 7 for the first time with the new board it failed to load, then attempted to run Startup Repair and failed again. I had to re-install Windows 7.
BUT when I tried to boot XP it managed to boot, (reverted back to 1280x1024, mouse didnt work, no sound at first), but then it loaded all of the correct drivers autamatically and called for a re-boot. After that it worked fine!

So Windows 7 is less stable when you plug it into a new motherboard than XP. New technology = less compatible

 

[btk1w1]

There are a couple of things you can try.

First, if all of your restore points are intact you can try "System Restore" to before you removed the HDD from its home.

Second, if you have the Windows 7 install disk you can try a repair install. This is meant to leave all of your programs and documents intact. If you decide to repair install the OS be sure to select "R" to repair and not "R" to enter the recovery console.

May I ask why you removed the HDD and slaved it to another system? It might give us a clue as to why there are now problems. My guess is that the host operating system (it was Windows based is my guess) accessed the registry of the slaved HDDs OS and corrupted it.

 

[Gandalf]

If your "main HDD" contains the operating system, then you did a Microsoft no-no if you booted from it on both PCs.

You might be able to use the "System Restore" to a date prior to the date you first moved the HDD into the other PC. If that doesn't work, then you'll need to follow boonality's suggestion and re-install.

 

[reckitt]

well i plugged in 2 HDD's. ! was IDE and one was sata, the main computers HDD was also sata, and the dvd rom was IDE. I plugged everything in wich i thought was correct, but my windows 7 on sata HDD tried to boot. Shut it down and tried the correct sata setup with IDE, i was confused with sata and IDE master and slave, thats why i think i made a mistake, although the pc was setup corrctly on sata 1 it tried to boot off my WIn 7 Hdd wich was in sata 2 port, IDE hdd was set to slave, But i think the dvd rom was set to primary master or secondry master, cause i know i change the dvd jumpers and got it to boot correctly,

But now my problem still lies with my HDD back into my own machine, like for instance if i download a program and install it, it will work when i go into it. if i come back the next day try and use the same setup file it wont install, i have to download that same file and click setup again, so i have to download, install and then it will only go into the program. and then there is other setup programs that will install but wont go into the program unless i double click my icon more than once, the number for trying is always different, if i want to use Windows live, this morning i had to try over 10 times and then all of a sudden it went in, the other day it was like 3 times, sometimes firefox wont open unless i try 2 or 3 times sometimes it opens normal.

I would like to re-install windows but i have no space to back up all my stuff at the moment otherwise i would do that, and i cant lose all this stuff on here so thats why i am looking for a fix rather than a format and re-install.

i am familier with the registry, but i dont know what i am looking cause i dont know what is really causing this.

oh yes,, there are no system restors for me, so i cant use that

 

[btk1w1]

OK... It really sounds like a corrupt registry.

A repair install of your operating system should fix the registry issue and hopefully restore your PC back to normality.

I have performed a few repair installs and not had a problem with data loss and the pc's have returned to normal. There are however horror stories out there so there is an element of risk.

There are plenty of tutorials online on how to do a repair install.

If your pc has a recovery partition with an OEM operating system you might want to look at non-destructive operating system install.

This will keep all your data / files intact but you will need to reinstall all of your programs.

 

[reckitt]

ok like you say there is a chance something can go wrong, and i am hesitent in doing that at the moment. So i will make a plan first for another HDD just incase. even if i have to borrow one

I appreciate the help you okes have given, you okes are awsome.
thanks alot

 

[reckitt]

hi again.

Ok well i formatted my whole drive clean, i re-instal and the same programs are not working again, i downloaded all the my files and never use dthe ones i kept before, so its all new. I am connected to a network though. Could this be a virus or some sort of thing that came over from the other PC on the network?

does anyone think its virus related?

 

[Gandalf]

Any time you start over with a new OS install, one of the first things you should do is install an AntiVirus program. If you don't have one, I highly recommend you get one. There are a few reliable FREE AV programs available.

Here is one of them...
http://www.free-av.com/en/products/1/avira_antivir_personal__free_antivirus.html

 

[reckitt]

ok this is what i noticed, if i change my UAC off, when i try to start firefox i get an application.ini error and it wont open,

I then turn the UAC up to the 3rd bar up always notify, then i can go infirefox ,if i turn it off UAC again after that then i can go into firefox.

Maybe something is broken with UAC again, ?

 

[reckitt]

ok, i see some other programs are still giving problems, but firefox gets fixed with UAC settings changed

 

[dcasciato]

reckitt - did you ever get this issue corrected? I also have attempted to correct by re-installing Win 7 X64.

1. Many of my programs run if I find the EXE file in c:/Program Files (x86) - the entry in the start menu is not there - the programs created the "heading" but then it is (empty) when I try to select.

2. Notice when I try to save or modify a file in the /Program Files or /Program Files(x86) - a Destination Folder Access Denied confirm box pops up asking me to authorize access.

I have tried turning off UAC...

Thanks - Dan

 

[reckitt]

reckitt - did you ever get this issue corrected? I also have attempted to correct by re-installing Win 7 X64.

1. Many of my programs run if I find the EXE file in c:/Program Files (x86) - the entry in the start menu is not there - the programs created the "heading" but then it is (empty) when I try to select.

2. Notice when I try to save or modify a file in the /Program Files or /Program Files(x86) - a Destination Folder Access Denied confirm box pops up asking me to authorize access.

I have tried turning off UAC...

Thanks - Dan

no, sorry bud, i never got it sorted out. I had to format my c: drive. i tried for awhile on so many things, and none of them worked, i suggest to just back up the stuff you need and format. its the only way that worked for me.