VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject: Windoz problems

Here's one for the experts. Outlook Express, Windows Live Messenger and Internet Explorer are not working. I am connected to the internet (obviously) and can use Firefox with no problem. I am sure all three programs share resources. Any idea what I should be looking for? I am running XP Professional.

Thanks.
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Elaine
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Senectitude is not for the faint of heart.

louzucaro · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:31 pm Post subject:

Very hard to say, but...

If you have a firewall a Hobo Tounge

, and it did an update of itself recently, make sure it didn't block them

If you have Norton Antivirus (ditto rest of above)

Also, when you say they're not working, do you mean you can open them but they seem to not be able to connect to anything or do you mean you can't even launch them?
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Lou Zucaro
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"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks Lou. No Norton and no Firewall other than XP's.

I can open all three programs but can't connect.
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Elaine
The Youthful Mature Voice (Emeritus)
Senectitude is not for the faint of heart.

glittlefield · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:45 pm Post subject:

You could give this a try:

Open up "Internet Options" in the control panel.

Click on the "Connections" tab

This is where you set the settings that the Microsoft applications use to connect to the internet. Usually when one or more of those a Hobo Tounge

s goes wonky, there's an errant setting on this tab.

Things to check:
1. Make sure it's set to "Never dial a connection"
2. Click on the "LAN Settings" button and make sure the box next to "Automatically detect settings" has a check in it.

If you've run the connection setup wizard before, re-run it by clicking on the "Setup" button.

Just a hunch, but I've run into that a few times.
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SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 7:58 pm Post subject:

Thanks Greg. When I click on the LAN Setting button, it hangs. It's rundll32.exe that seems to be the problem here. Checked on microsoft.com but nothing helpful there. Sigh.
_________________
Elaine
The Youthful Mature Voice (Emeritus)
Senectitude is not for the faint of heart.

louzucaro · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject:

Probably a dumb question, but have you rebooted?
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Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

glittlefield · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:05 pm Post subject:

Problems with RunDLL32 can vary, unfortunately. A reboot would fix anything that might be hanging in memory that could jam up those a Hobo Tounge

s. If you've already tried that, then there's something up with that file.

Re-installing Internet Explorer might help, but I'd hate to send you on a wild goose chase without knowing more.
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Greg Littlefield
VO-BB Member #59

SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:07 pm Post subject:

Okay, thanks - I shall reboot yet again. I'm also going to contact my ISP because I notice their "self healing" a Hobo Tounge

isn't working either. Maybe that's the issue.
_________________
Elaine
The Youthful Mature Voice (Emeritus)
Senectitude is not for the faint of heart.

louzucaro · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:20 pm Post subject:

In both my personal and professional experience, a Hobo Tounge

s like an ISP's "self healing" software are often more times cause of problems than they are able to fix them.

Most of those programs only work if they're installed on a brand new machine from day 1, and even then they're flaky...by their very nature, they're only able to work by "hacking" parts of the system best left unhacked.

Has ANY software on your computer been recently updated? If so, check (through Firefox since it's working) online to see if there are known issues with that software and rundll32.

Have you done a Windows Update recently? If not, try that as well, although if rundll32 is choking, the Windows Update / MS Update ActiveX controls might well choke too.
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:25 pm Post subject:

SoundsGreat-Elaine Singer · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:32 pm Post subject:

Go figure - 3rd reboot did the job. Now everything is hunky-dory. See, that's why I hated working in computer support - so often there is no logical explanation for why something does or doesn't work.

Thanks for your help everyone.
_________________
Elaine
The Youthful Mature Voice (Emeritus)
Senectitude is not for the faint of heart.

glittlefield · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 8:57 pm Post subject:

Quite often, I paraphrase Johnny Cochran when the unexplained happens with PCs:

If it don't compute, you must reboot.
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Greg Littlefield
VO-BB Member #59

COURVO · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:33 pm Post subject:

Hey all that, and not a single person mentioned the prefix to all Scottish surnames.... and that's because:

IT'S AGAINST THE RULES

McCourVO
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Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
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CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

COURVO · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:36 pm Post subject:

Am I the only one up at this hour?

Heck, even Kafer's signed-off!

I still got a half-hour to go before my last newscast of the day.

Nope. Says here Don Randall is still up.

CourVO
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

louzucaro · Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2008 11:57 pm Post subject:

I'm still up! (barely)
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Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"