Category: Prefetch

Taking back Program Controls : For the Beginners!

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So, let’s face it, this is one of the most annoying problems there are with programs.   Programs that you think are shut down but are actually still active in the Taskmanager.  So I figured I’d talk about some of the most common fixes for these problems.    Now as you know there can be any number of programs or glitches as they say, causing the problems.  So let’s talk about the why, shall we.

Most of the time programs don’t quit because they are waiting for some kind of response from the system or the System is waiting for the program to close by itself.  It could also be a problem with a Virus or Root kit?  How do you fix it?

Fixing the problem is somewhat just trial and Error.  It isn’t always the hardest thing to do but sometimes people overlook the easiest solutions.   So here are some easy ones:

  • Check to see if one of the Microsoft updates are causing the problem —  Sometimes you might not realize it, but having installed an update can cause problems like KB951748.  That one caused a major Headache for Zonealarm.  So it is wise to check each months updates when you start seeing problems, sometimes it could of been happening for a while but it can sometimes cause troubles.

  • Do a Hijackthis scan — Just in case it is virus this will tell you what programs might be the virus.  You will need to go Analyze the logs so go HijackThis Log Analysis Site 1 and HijackThis Log Analysis Site 2. Check the logs to see what viruses might be on your system.   Just Remember that if you delete something important to your system you will have to install the Operating System.

  • Boot into Safe Mode and Clean out your Prefetch Directory — Yes that is right, if you boot into Safe Mode and clean the cache you sometimes help fix problems.  You see most programs loaded in cache sometimes get corrupt and might cause problems.

  • Uninstall any programs that you think might problem —  This one is easily overlook because most people don’t realize that a program is loading up with your knowledge and might cause a variety of problems.  You can also check the Msconfig for that programs that might not need to be loaded up when you start windows.

These are just a few ways to fix the problem and I think if you do this most of your problems will go away.  There are of course other solutions depending on your system configuration.   As with any changes to your system, please talk to your computer care specialist if you have any questions.

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Fixing the Adobe Problem!!

Paul

If your have been having problems with Flash Players stoping after 2 seconds of playing.  I have a few ideas to try to get rid of the problem.  It used to happen all the time with Vista in the early days.  Here’s what I did to occasionally get the flash player to work:

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  • Cleaning out the Prefetch Directory! — Having seen this from time to time. If you have programs startup that might need to be refreshed this will refresh them so that they run like new. You occasionally can get programs that will load in a odd way and this will fix that also.

  • You want to be more anonymous? — Cleaning out your cache on your browser can sometimes fix the problem. It’s like anything else it can sometimes be corrupted.

  • Some Important programs to prevent yourself from having viruses and Malware!! — Having seen this with my own two eyes, if you have a viruses or malware on your system that too can cause problems with playback of flash media.  So just double check making sure you don’t have any viruses.

  • Adobe Flash tips and Tricks! — Also having found this out.  Adobe actually keeps the flash video on there servers cached or sometimes somewhat buffered to help with playback.  Clean the cache out at the source sometimes fixes the problem also.

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Now having used some of these tricks to get flash players to run has on occasion worked for some strange reason or another.  Although I don’t know if this will fix the 2 second playing video problem I get the feeling it should since in theory it has everything to do with cache and corruptions of the files. If you can come up with some other tips or tricks to fix the problem let me know!!

Cleaning out the Prefetch Directory!

Paul

From time to time you will need to clean out the Prefetch directory in Vista and XP.  Here is how you do it in Vista.  You first would need to boot into safe mode in Vista then you will log into Vista and go to:

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[C:\Windows\Prefetch Directory]

Having been using XP and Vista for the past few years, I’ve found that deleting all of the files in prefetch directory and letting them rebuild actually speeds up the system.  I got a feeling it has something to do with file corruptions.  After you go into the Prefetch directory and delete all the files.  You would then go into your Readyboost Directory if you are using Readyboost then there will be a Readyboost directory inside the Prefetch directory.  Deleting all the files in the Readyboost directory also will greatly improve performance of your system.  Don’t delete the Prefetch Directory or the Readyboost Directory, Vista won’t let you delete the Prefetch but will with Readyboost.  Deleting the Readyboost directory will prevent  Vista from using Readyboost and then you would have to restart the process of using Readyboost.

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If you can come up with more ways to speed up Vista then by all means let me know!!