Solved Screensaver has suddenly stopped working

[townsbg]

I believe that a dropped connection would only result in a delayed or cancelled download and not a corrupted update. Worse case scenario is that it stops installing instead of corrupting your OS. I would say that a new image restore is probably a good idea and I recommend several different changes. First install the service packs before doing other updates. Doing so will cut down on the number of updates. Microsoft has full downloads for the service packs and I prefer that route. Second, don't install the driver updates that show up in automatic updates. Actually IMO when it comes to drivers if is isn't broke don't fix it. Third try staying away from the third party screensaver until everything is set up and sufficiently tested. Depending upon what the screensaver does it could be messing up your system. Finally enable restore points. They can be quite useful if you are having difficulties.

If nothing else you might want to try a fresh reinstall. If you do so proceed with post install setup as follows.
1) drivers as downloaded from the manufacturers' websites
2) updates starting with service packs
3) Everything else. Stay away from registry cleaners/optimizers/defraggers.

 

[Fiery]

I believe that a dropped connection would only result in a delayed or cancelled download and not a corrupted update. Worse case scenario is that it stops installing instead of corrupting your OS. I would say that a new image restore is probably a good idea and I recommend several different changes. First install the service packs before doing other updates. Doing so will cut down on the number of updates. Microsoft has full downloads for the service packs and I prefer that route. Second, don't install the driver updates that show up in automatic updates. Actually IMO when it comes to drivers if is isn't broke don't fix it. Third try staying away from the third party screensaver until everything is set up and sufficiently tested. Depending upon what the screensaver does it could be messing up your system. Finally enable restore points. They can be quite useful if you are having difficulties.

If nothing else you might want to try a fresh reinstall. If you do so proceed with post install setup as follows.
1) drivers as downloaded from the manufacturers' websites
2) updates starting with service packs
3) Everything else. Stay away from registry cleaners/optimizers/defraggers.

I am trying to stay away from a fresh reinstall, if I can (yes I know it should be done now and then), and worse case scenario, if I cannot successfully get a Paragon image to restore my OS, I will have no choice .

Yes you are spot on with the SP's, the worse thing is I know have SP2 on an external drive, it just didn't occur to me to use it , as for drivers (the optional updates), all they do is remind me to head off to Nvidia/Gigabyte/Creative, and get the updates there.

As for registry cleaners I personally do not trust them, and am more than capable of cleaning up my own registry . I back it up, clean it up, reboot, and if all is going smoothly, delete the registry backup.

I do have to ask the question, why no defraggers?

As for enabling restore points, the reason I turned my off was because from the get go, no matter how much fiddling I did they simply wouldn't work.

Now Paragon my once saving grace, has been refusing to play nice, 20 hours and counting on a bare metal restore. Sufficed to say I am now looking at Macrium, as Paragon's tech support is nigh on useless, and has forgotten that not everyone has the money (or desire) to use Win7.

If I may ask do you use a backup and recovery software?

 

[wither 3]

That problem you mentioned with it not installing updates and reverting happened to me recently on a different Vista installation. It seems to be caused by one of the .net framework updates. I would try installing the other updates first.

 

[Fiery]

Well wouldn't you know it (banging head on the keyboard) got my system restored finally. And YAY I have a screensaver, so I uninstalled the third party software (webshots), rebooted, and now back to square one. NO SCREENSAVER!!

 

[Fiery]

That problem you mentioned with it not installing updates and reverting happened to me recently on a different Vista installation. It seems to be caused by one of the .net framework updates. I would try installing the other updates first.

Okay so everything except the .net framework updates. I checked to see what SP I had it said SP2, just to make sure I tried installing the standalone SP2, it said not needed.

 

[Fiery]

Okay fingers crossed, the 2011 restore worked, had to install a couple of things, all the critical updates are in. The odd thing is that the screensaver didn't kick in until after I did the GPU update, I had set the timer down to 1 minute, had rebooted, was doing a defrag and all of a sudden my screen went black..... I thought oh no (not really I was a little more colourful but I don't want to get into trouble), then all of a sudden my screensaver kicks in .

I will give it a few days before I close the topic.

 

[Fiery]

Sufferin Succotash , left my PC on to see it the screensaver would kick in again...... IT DIDN'T, I give up

Who needs a screensaver these days anyways right I mean we all have LCD Monitors

 

[wither 3]

I didn't go back through the whole thread to see everything that has been done. I think the only way to fix it is do a fresh install of Vista. I suspect that the third party screensaver either installed it's own copy of the run32dll or modified it.

 

[Fiery]

I didn't go back through the whole thread to see everything that has been done. I think the only way to fix it is do a fresh install of Vista. I suspect that the third party screensaver either installed it's own copy of the run32dll or modified it.

I don't know I compared my run32dll with my husband's PC, they both show the same creation date and size, and because I installed both PC's, his has the third party screensaver (webshots) too, and his is working just fine, as is my laptop.

I'm just stumped as to why all of a sudden it died, then kicks back in only to die again.

Oh I ran sfc /scannow it picked up 1 error mp3d.dll

 

[townsbg]

Well as an alternative you can try this. This might make it easier to manually start the screensaver. Hot Corners - CNET Download.com

 

[Fiery]

Well as an alternative you can try this. This might make it easier to manually start the screensaver. Hot Corners - CNET Download.com

Okay thank you, will give it a try :D

It's a touchy little programme, overstep the boundary it doesn't work, hit it on the spot and yeee haaa my screensaver kicks in. Now all I have to do is remember to use it

 

[Fiery]

Nice find townsbg thank you .... damn it no emoticons to plant a big wet sloppy kiss on ya

 

[Fiery]

Is there a way to give you guys big sloppy wet kisses? :huh:

Now time to get serious, I would like to thank townsbg who looks like anakin skywalker, and wither 3. I really do appreciate the time and effort you guys took to help me out.

Okay so no big wet kisses, how about Scooby Snack's? Gold Stars?

 

[townsbg]

There is rep.

townsbg who looks like anakin skywalker...

Guess where I got the picture from.

 

[Fiery]

There is rep.



Guess where I got the picture from.

Oh Oh Oh I know the answer to this ALIEN!

 

[wither 3]

I mispelled the file. Sorry about that. Correctly, it's rundll32.ex. I found at least 96 instances of it on my system. So far, it looks like one is 43.5 Kb and the other is 45.5 Kb.

I prefer the sloppy wet kisses.

 

[Fiery]

I mispelled the file. Sorry about that. Correctly, it's rundll32.ex. I found at least 96 instances of it on my system. So far, it looks like one is 43.5 Kb and the other is 45.5 Kb.

I prefer the sloppy wet kisses.

You tart!, you're just going to have to settle for a rep .

 

[wither 3]

Geez, I even misspelled misspell.