Let me start off by saying, my computer is an old 2001 dell. 256 MB of RAM and like 30gb Hard Drive space all together. I have about 10gb left. Anyway, the problem is that I keep getting a "The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed." The other problem I'm having, is that whenever I start up the computer in normal mode, log into my user (or my mom into hers), the start/task bar and desktop icons take about 5 - 10 minutes to show up, but not only that, when I try running a program, or even pressing Start and click anything, it takes about 2 - 3 minutes or so for it to even work/show up.
Please go to this thread: http://forums.whatthetech.com/index.php?s=…st&p=422565
And start reading from that post down, all the way to the third page, to see what I've tried already. The reason it's there is because previously I was having virus issues but that's been taken care of.
I strongly advise you to take Scotty's recommendation below IF Possible. I would also suggest the slowness of your system is lack of RAM.
You are running Windows XP and that in itself will not run correctly on such minimum RAM.
Fourthly, if possible, think about doubling your memory to 512mb, although XP runs best with 1gb of ram these days, and perhaps purchase an external hard drive to save documents, movies, music, etc, as the internal drive is struggling.
The other important query I would have is your maintenance program. What is it and are your definitions up to date?
You could also run the following test which will tell you all about your system with good tips to take.
Please Run the PCPitstop Full Tests, here: http://www.pcpitstop.com
Register and create a password
Accept the ActiveX component to allow your machine to run the Full Tests
Registering and accepting the ActiveX are both SAFE and FREE.
Full Tests is the first item in the left hand column of that page.
The Full Tests take less than 5 minutes for most machines.
Once you have your Results, please post the TechExpress Link back here into this thread for review.
TechExpress is the last item on the list in the yellow box in upper right area of any Results page.
Post the entire URL link information back here into this Forum thread.
Caution: During the testing of Video Adapter, a variety of patterns, shapes, colors and text are "flashed" onto the users monitor screen. In the many thousands of daily uses of the PCPitstop Full Tests over several years, two individuals who suffer epilepsy experienced discomfort and temporary dizziness when viewing the flashing patterns.
If you know that you are susceptible to photo driven seizure, look away from your screen during the Video Adapter testing sequence.
Post back with more information regarding your antispyware and what antivirus software you are running.
I'm not really in the market nor have the money to be buying some new RAM or hard drive. I know this computer is crappy, but it's gotten me by and it's never had this problem before.
And I'm using the SuperAntiSpyware that Scotty had me download and also a… cracked Nod 32 >_>;; - but I've been wanting to uninstall it and I can't so yeah. I believe the definitons are up to date.
Did I forget to mention that when I go into safe mode, the start/task bar and all the icons don't take 5 - 10 minutes to show up? They show up immediately. It's only when in normal mode.
Oh I forgot to tell you that when I went to PCPitstop, I tried running the scan, but somewhere in there I got a runtime error. I went to the troubleshooting page but it said nothing. I tried doing the scan several times but still got the error.
And you don't seem to understand… I can't install, or uninstall programs that have used the Windows Installer. At all. I get "The Windows Installer Service cannot be accessed." And it says some other stuff after that.
Since it works better in Safe Mode, try the following:
First, physically disconnect from the Internet to prevent a malware infection while your Anti-virus and/or Firewall are disabled in the following steps, then do a normal boot:
Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and disable everything (I mean everything).
Do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.
If no, click on the Services tab. Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box then disable what's left (all of it).
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.
Reconnect to the Internet when you AV and firewall are active again.done.
Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.
I did what you said. I went into safe mode, and disabled all the start ups, and went into normal mode, and still had the problem. Went back to safe mode, disabled all the non-microsoft services as you said, and went into normal mode, and still had the problem.
Miami, that means nothing is starting at boot time that is causing the problem. It was worth doing though, as that pretty much points to hardware, device driver or malware that is not shown in msconfig. Thanks for giving it a try.
