Solved Default Programs page will not load

I was trying to help someone in another discussion when I discovered that I cannot get to my Default Programs.

I click Control Panel > Default Programs and I get a blank page with the statement "The page failed to load."

It that a control panel file that I can recover from my latest backup?

Is there a fix?

Does Default Programs work from the Start button?

Is it possible to do a system restore?

Try opening up command prompt in admin mode (right click and select run as administrator). In the box type in sfc /scannow.

#AndyTampa, have you by any chance been running Registry Cleaners? This is the sort of mess they often cause. If so, see if it has a restore button.

Ex_Brit said:

#AndyTampa, have you by any chance been running Registry Cleaners? This is the sort of mess they often cause. If so, see if it has a restore button.

Click to expand...

You can also use a restore point to back before the problem started.

I mentioned that to him earlier but didn't get a reply.

wither 3 said:

Does Default Programs work from the Start button?

Is it possible to do a system restore?

Click to expand...

Start Button? Is there any other normal way? Start Button > Control Panel > Default Programs

I have a folder I labeled "God Mode" that gets me to it but neither that folder nor the Control Panel folder will show me the shortcut's properties.

townsbg said:

Try opening up command prompt in admin mode (right click and select run as administrator). In the box type in sfc /scannow.

Click to expand...

Done. No problems found.

Ex_Brit said:

#AndyTampa, have you by any chance been running Registry Cleaners? This is the sort of mess they often cause. If so, see if it has a restore button.

Click to expand...

No, but I have had so many problems with Kaspersky that I had to manually delete Kaspersky related files. I'm very good with the registry, but after 10+ years of not screwing it up, I might have made a mistake. Since there is no software, there is no restore button.

townsbg said:

You can also use a restore point to back before the problem started.

Click to expand...

Nope. I can't do that because I don't know when the problem started. It could have started long before I upgraded my Kaspersky.

ALSO

I just noticed that when I go to Programs and Features, the top of that page is missing. That's the part with the options to choose Change, Uninstall, or Repair. I just have a list of programs that are installed without any of that page's normal appearance.

If I do a System Restore, I'm going to lose soooo many changes and repairs I've done recently. I don't even remember them all.

IT'S ALL BACK!

After I posted the above, I was having other troubles with Windows. I couldn't open the taskbar. I couldn't restart it. So I had to power it off. Then I inserted a Vista Disk and tried a Startup Repair.

Oddly, SR didn't find an operating system. Then the repair said I didn't have a valid partition and it repaired it. This was extremely odd, since I recently cloned and replaced this hard drive for exactly the same reason. On reboot, it went to the startup repair again, so I went into the command prompt and found that the C: drive was being seen on the wrong disk.

On reboot, I checked my BIOS and found that the boot order had changed itself. I disabled the other drive from the boot order and restarted the computer. Vista told me there wasn't a system disk in the computer. I inserted the Vista Disk and pressed the "Any" key, but the computer would not boot or restart. I again had to power it down hard.

This time, it started up by saying that Windows didn't end properly last time. I started Windows normally, and now everything is working as it should. This is extremely weird and erratic behavior.

Do you think this could be caused by the CMOS battery?
What will I have to reset when I pull the battery to change it?

I looked around and it looks like not much happens when you replace the battery. Some say you might have to redo any BIOS customizations you made. Others say it will affect the system time which obviously isn't a big deal to change.

However, since your system is running correctly now, sounds like a good time do set a system restore point. I have Vista set one once a week.

It sounds to me like you had some damage to the OS.

wither 3 said:

However, since your system is running correctly now, sounds like a good time do set a system restore point. I have Vista set one once a week.

Click to expand...

That's sage advice Wither. Although my system is far from running perfectly, I did set a restore point. I don't know where to set it to automatically create them, but I do know that they are created automatically. I just don't know when.

townsbg said:

It sounds to me like you had some damage to the OS.

Click to expand...

If it was damage to the OS, then it should still be damaged. Nothing ran that would have fixed it. The startup repair only thinks it fixed a partition problem.

Vista will automatically create a daily system restore point for drives\partitions you select. Open Control Panel, System. Click on System Protection and the System Protection tab. Click on a drive and select Apply. You probably want to make this setting at a time when the system is normally running.

But where can you set the interval for restore points? That only takes me to create a single restore point or to restore from points already created.

It will let you save a named restore point by clicking on Create. Following the procedure I gave you, it will create a restore point once a day (there's no frequency option). On the other hand, I thought I had set it to run once a week in some manner. I'll have to take a look tomorrow since I'm not on my Vista system at the moment.

The procedure wither described turns on automatic restore point creation. By default Windows might then create restore points at boot up as well as when updates are installed. Some programs automatically create one as part of the installation procedure. There really isn't any other need to create restore points as those are the times are when the OS is most likely to be damaged. You can always create one manually but it is best to let windows handle them or your hard drive will fill up. What would be better would be to set up OS cloning. If you want a schedule can be created using task scheduler which is found under accessories > system tools. Expand Task scheduler library > Windows > SystemRestore. Mine is set for midnight everyday or on boot up. That should be enough for you just make sure that the schedule is enabled. Keep in mind that windows automatically deletes them to prevent the drive from filling up.

What would be the purpose of OS Cloning vs. a scheduled full or incremental backup? I've just gotten a system backup set up and I'm setting up a MyCloud drive, though I'm not sure what to put on that yet.

I suppose that a better term is imaging which create an image of the entire OS and can be used if windows corrupts. It will back up files that can't be backed up using traditional backup programs as well as maintain file permissions and links. This article might help. Imaging Software vs. Backup Software- Which is Right for You? - TopTenREVIEWS

Also keep in mind that incrementals eventually take up a lot of space plus you have to retain all of them. Differentials take up less space because you only need to retain one. Types of Backup Explained

townsbg said:

I suppose that a better term is imaging which create an image of the entire OS and can be used if windows corrupts. It will back up files that can't be backed up using traditional backup programs as well as maintain file permissions and links. This article might help. Imaging Software vs. Backup Software- Which is Right for You? - TopTenREVIEWS

Also keep in mind that incrementals eventually take up a lot of space plus you have to retain all of them. Differentials take up less space because you only need to retain one. Types of Backup Explained

Click to expand...

Thanks for those links. The Types of Backup Explained was very informative. Something that confuses me is that the review says Acronis does images. The box also states that it does "Full System Image Backup and Recovery". In the software I find no mention of imaging. I've asked the question in the Acronis forum already and I'm waiting for an answer. I don't want to assume that choosing "Entire PC" for a "backup" source is what they are calling an image.

In Acronis TI help it mentions under section 4.3 Backup Options "Image Creation Mode" - explains it there. That's separate from its ability to clone disks under section 7.

Now that you've had me look at the Task Scheduler, I found several scheduled tasks that haven't been run since 9/5/11 through 5/18/13. Some were for programs long deleted, but most of the others are still installed. There are 7 others that have at least been run this year. 6 of them are for SkypeSetup and is triggered when the task is created or modified. 8 of them are for a file call pcalua.exe and triggered when the task is created or modified. Do you think I could delete some of those?