System Restore Blank Page. Tried several fixes, none of them worked!

Hi All,
After a lengthy serach on google, and NTCompatible, I was unable to find a fix that worked for me. First things first, here's a screen shot of what is going on:



Please note: I am NOT having the "blank Calendar" problem. See the screen shot!

That being said, here is a list of things i HAVE tried, none of which have fixed my problem (NOTE: I AM logged in as an administrator (of course).)

1.) Restore Registry keys accordingn to Microsoft Knowledge Base articles dealing with "Blank" Calendars. NOTE: I am NOT having a Blank Calendar problem. System Resotre doesn't even GET as far as showing me a calendar

2.) Tried regsvr32 for jscript.dll, vbscript.dll, and mshtml by running the following batch file:

<Some .BAT File>

@Echo Off
regsvr32 jscript
regsvr32 vbscript
regsvr32 /i mshtml

</Some .BAT File>

On All 3 of them, I got a message that says registered succesfully. I RESTARTED, but still not fixed!!!!

3.) Tried Restarting into Safe Mode and trying System Restore

4.) Tried Last Known Good Configuration, and trying System Restore

5.) Tried to manually check registry keys suggested by Microsoft that have to do with System Restore / Help / Search not working. After a painful set of browsing the registry, all the keys are in place with the right values!

6.) NET START (it shows the System Restore Service As Running)

7.) Disable / Enable / Restart System Restore Service (through Services under Administrative Tools)

8.) Disable System Restore on All Drives. Restart. Enable System Restore on Drives

9.) Ran System File Checker as such:
Start -> Run ->
sfc /scannow

It ran through, checked everything, and then it did not ask me to repair anything (so I assume everything is OK)

10.) SP2: Service Pack 2 comes pre-packaged with my Win XP CD, so I did not install it manually. I have seen various mentions of people trying to un-install SP2 to see if it helps. I am not at all convinced SP2 has anything to do with it, but I just thought I'd mention it.

11.) chkdsk /F C:\
C:\ is where Windows resides (my System partition). This of course asks to restart to gain exclusive access to the drive. I restarted, ran CHKDSK, everything is in order

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The only thing i have NOT tried is to do a full-fledged repair. I am reluctant to do this because:

a.) It takes too long. The only thing that does NOT work on my machine is system restore

b.) Since ONLY System Restore is not working, I do NOT wish to re-install updates. Its far too much trouble to do that just for something as small as system restore

Just to be Clear:

OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional w / SP2
ALL the latest critical updates from Microsoft

This has me baffled. I seem to have tried everything short of of a format/repair, but cannot get this to work. Can Anyone help?

PS: Sorry if this is in the wrong section, but I could not find a section more suited for this.
[Edited by shassouneh on 2005-12-30 11:50:49]

[Edited by shassouneh on 2005-12-30 11:52:03]

[Edited by shassouneh on 2005-12-30 11:54:12]

[Edited by shassouneh on 2005-12-30 12:29:26]

Could a mod/admin please move this to the right section (if its not in it already) ?

10x

Try executing this vbs script:http://windowsxp.mvps.org/reg/olereg.vbs

If that doesn't work, this is Microsoft's take on it: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=301224

Or you could just try to reinstall system restore:

goto START>RUN> type c:\windows\inf
hit enter and look for the file, SR.inf
right click it and click on Install
insert the XP CD, and complete the instaltion
restart and check now

Tried to Re-Install System Restore. restarted. Same Problem!

Ran the OLE vbs file, it said it fixed it, but same roblem.

Looked at the KB article. Cleared out System Restore Points. Disabled Systsem Restore. Rebooted. Enabled System Restore Point. Tries to Run System Restore Point -> Same Problem.

Anyone sensing my frustration yet? I wish someone could pull a Jedi mind trick on me to make me feel all better and make this thing go away, hehe

Also, I kindly ask that Sampson and Wilhelmus re-read my original post just to make sure I did not miss anything.

Thanx for the feedback guys. Much appreciated. Keep it coming...

Try this, I've yet to find a script this guy writes that doesn't work.

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/SysRestoreCalendar.zip

Great site, bookmark it. 8)

http://www.dougknox.com/

Originally posted by Relic:


I had already tried this. I told it to repair 2 keys, and it did. But it STILL does not work. This is what it looks like when I run it:

Hmmmm, that sucks.

You say your XP CD comes with SP2, what updates are you worried about if you repair XP?

None of your programs get changed, just XP gets repaired, and you have SP2 on the CD.

Originally posted by Relic:


Well if my understanding serves me right, the repair process does replace DLLs. DLLs that could have been updated when i installed Visual Studio .net 2005. Furthermore, repairing Windows XP, which is essentially INSTALLING Windows XP all over agian (be it on TOP of the current installation) is just OVERKILL given that everything else works BUT System Restore. I would not hesitate if my entire machine is acting up. But when it comes to JUST System Restore, I don't want to go through the trouble of setting up Windows XP, let alone activation!

Try executing this .reg file.
http://kotisivu.dnainternet.net/vilalas/Restore_sys.reg
Note: If your Windows is installed different folder than C:\Windows,you'll have to modify the file.

Ok Here's a minor Update. It seems this problem is NOT at all dependent on Jscript.dll and/or VbScript.dll. Here's why

1.) I pulled 3 files from the Windows XP CD on to my desktop. Namely: JSCRIPT.DL_, VBSCRIPT.DL_ and EXPAND.EXE

2.) I ran expand to expand those files into DLLs as such
expand VBSCRIPT.DL_ VBSCRIPT.DLL
expand JSCRIPT.DL_ JSCRIPT.DLL

3.) I copied those files (JSCRIPT.DLL and VBSCRIPT.DLL) into C:\Windows\System32 and I over-wrote the existing ones

4.) I re-registered those files
Start -> Run -> regsvr32 jscript.dll [Registered Succesfully, clicked OK]
Start -> Run -> regsvr32 vbscript.dll [Registered Succesfully, clicked OK]

5.) I tried to launch System Restore.


RESULT / Conclusion: The problem has NOT been fixed. I still get that same ugly blank window. I just figured I would mention these steps in case someone with a similar problem would like to give them a shot.

Originally posted by Wilhelmus:


My windows is indeed installed in C:\Windows.

I ran the file, and let it change the registry.

Result: Same blank window!


Thanx for all the suggestions and feedback everyone. Even though this problem has not yet been resolved, I appreciate all feedback that has been put on the table thus far.

UPDATE:

On a hunch to try ALL possible recommendations by Microsoft, I figured I'd give this one a go. STILL DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM however.

This is what I tried

Another Update:

I just ran Norton WinDoctor 2006 off of a CD. It found a bunch of ActiveX/COM errors which I told it to fix.

Still a blank window though :-\

1)
Can you right-click the SR page?
Do you get standard IE pop-up menu (Back, Forward,View Source, etc.)

2)
Have you tried to uninstall IE from your computer?

3)
Open IE/Explorer, and type: res://C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe/start.htm to address bar and press Enter. Do you get any page or just error?

4)
Start->Run:cmd
Type these:
regsvr32 /U srclient.dll
regsvr32 srclient.dll

5)
Start->Run:cmd
Type these:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll
regsvr32 Shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 Msjava.dll
regsvr32 Actxprxy.dll
regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll
regsvr32 Mshtml.dll
regsvr32 Browseui.dll
regsvr32 Shell32.dll

6)
Download and install this:
Windows Script 5.6 for Windows XP and Windows 2000
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/detai...;DisplayLang=en

7)
Reinstall IE:
Start->Run->"%systemroot%\inf"->Right-click ie.inf->Install. You'll need XP CD.

Have you considered this to be a graphics problem rather than a System Restore problem. Update your graphics card drivers, could be a bug in rendering the calendar properly.

Happy new year everyone. Got any resolutions lined up? My new year's resolution will be 1024 x 768 :P


Now down to business.

Wilhelmus, I decided to go through your list step by step. Here are my findings.


Originally posted by Wilhelmus:



I indeed do get a standard IE pop-up menu. See screenshot:





No I have not. However, I don't see that I should. See step 3 below!




Well THAT seems to have worked. This LAUNCHES system resttore's blank window, AND asks if its ok to run this ActiveX control since it is trying to communicate with something else. See screenshots.

Asks For Permission


If permission granted, it seems to load






They all register fine EXCEPT Msjava.dll where i get:



NOTE: Even though they registered, I STILL get a blank window.



I am unable to download this. This requires "Windows Advantage Validation" which fails on my machine for some reason. I am running a legal copy of Windows, but I am not interested in getting this to work. Do you happen to have an alternate download link (I am trying google now).


[/quote]


In light of the partial progress in step 3 (please review it above), I am hesitant to do this step. Please confirm whether or not this step is necessary.

Originally posted by peterh:


NO i have not considered this to be a graphics-related issue. I am running the latest drivers from ATI (I was preppign this machine for a ghost). Also, I have made some slight progress by getting system restore to start in an IE window, so I am convinced this is not a graphics issue.

That being said, I thank you for your input/suggestion, and I am open to any suggestions. Please do keep them coming. I appreciate ALL input.

Have you tried just making a shortcut to system restore on your desktop? I just went into my C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore folder, then sent rstrui.exe to the desktop as a shortcut.

I had problems before with the Help and Support getting to System Restore, so I just made myself a shortcut to restore.

Have you tried repairing the help files?

I dunno why I didn't think of that before?

Originally posted by Relic:


That was one of the first things I had tried. Didn't work btw.

I am reluctant to try to repair help files since this problem seems WAY to pathetic to go through sucha thing. However, how do I do it? I'm willing to try it in the interest of having tried everything (short of a format or a windows repair).

Doug Knox again. I don't know if it will help, but I do know it won't hurt.

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/scripts/fixwinxphelp.vbs

Originally posted by Relic:


Ran It. It said it has fixed the damage done when I ran Easy Clean something (which i did NOT. I don't even have that thing installed). STILL A BLANK SCREEN!

PS: Help/Support was working fine. I only tried this in the interest of not leaving any possibilities untouched.

Minor update:

Downloaded and Installed Windows Script 5.6. Rebooted.

STILL A BLANK SCREEN

Originally posted by shassouneh:


Yeah, like you, I'm kinda grasping at straw here......

Hey guys. Here's a thought. I run Spybot Search & Destroy occasionally. It has some sort of bult in IE protection that is supposed to block spyware (see atachment below). Perhaps this is somehow related? I would guess it might be, but the fact that i CAN run System Resotre Using IE (see # 3 above) kind of contradicts it.

HI: I am new to all this! but just wanted to ask you if the service for system restore is turned on.??

Originally posted by johnmcmullan7:


Please check items 6 and 7 in the original post. System Restore service is indeed turned on, and I can now access System Restore through an indirect way by using IE.

Thanx for the suggestion though. I appreciate it

A friend had this problem and it was from one of the recent patches for Internet Explorer.

Not sure if you want to try this or not but here goes.

Go into add/remove programs and make sure the show updates box at the top is checked.

Find and remove Security Update for Windows XP (KB896688).

Originally posted by American Zombie:


Actually, even THAT I did try. I dug around on google groups and several topics hinted this patch is the cause. So I said, what the heck. I removed the patch. Restarted, and it STILL showed a blank screen. So I re-installed it!

Thanx for the suggestion though. much appreciated :up:

Try importing these to registry:

Originally posted by Wilhelmus:


I ran the reg file, and allowed it to modify the registry. Restarted. and Guess what, Holy Flying Cows with machineguns I STILL get a blank screen! (Anyone sensing how a problem so ridiculous is yet so annoying?)

I am leaning toward this being a third party program problem changing a default setting.

Spybot is good but sometimes it goes overboard and tea timer is a useless use of resources.

Since you are being asked about running activeX then either a program is blocking or your internet security zones are at some custom setting.

Do you have the same problem in safe mode?

Originally posted by American Zombie:


Although this certainly is a possibility, I somehow get the feeling its not the cause. Call it a hunch.

I have this same problem in Last Known Good, and Safe modes (see original post!)

Thanx for the input. I really appreciate it.

Originally posted by shassouneh:


Maybe AZ has something there?

Have you run "HiJackThis"?

http://www.tomcoyote.org/hjt/#Top

Could find something Spybot missed.

OK Here is the HiJack This Log.

NOTE: I am in no way familiar with HiJack This. I am just posting the log here JUST to make sure i tried THAT too.

Minor, maybe: R3 - Default URLSearchHook is missing

Just a few important things there:

O2 - BHO: XBTB00429 - {3FDE0CB5-619F-4227-8961-F2D7ED15B88E} - (no file) not good

O23 - Service: Apache2 - Unknown owner - C:\PROGRA~1\Apache Group\Apache2\bin\Apache.exe" -k runservice (file missing) not good

O23 - Service: SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS) (MSSQL$SQLEXPRESS) - Unknown owner - C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.1\MSSQL\Binn\sqlservr.exe" -sSQLEXPRESS (file missing) not good

O23 - Service: MySQL - Unknown owner - C:\MySQL\bin\mysqld-nt".exe (file missing) not good

O23 - Service: Remote Packet Capture Protocol v.0 (experimental) (rpcapd) - Unknown owner - %ProgramFiles%\WinPcap\rpcapd.exe" -d -f "%ProgramFiles%\WinPcap\rpcapd.ini (file missing) not good

O23 - Service: VNC Server Version 4 (WinVNC4) - Unknown owner - c:\RealVNC\WinVNC4.exe" -service (file missing) not good

Seems you have a lot of server files missing. Not good. Possibly this is the problem, hard for the server to access the computer if the files aren't there to let it in.

How do you fix that? I really don't know, but I do know that missing files are not a good thing.

The funny part is the stuff marked as not good works flawlessly. Apache, RealVNC and MySQL are used daily with no problems whatsoever. I have not tried MS SQL and quite frankly don't want to until I absolutely have to.

Can anyone offer any insight on what to do next? 10x.

I've just had the exact same problem as you, Shassouneh, and have been pulling my hair out trying to solve it.

In my despair I came across this page, but also remembered a similar problem I had once: I was getting a blank screen on the product activation page, which is pretty bad!

So I dug around for the solution I used back then and here it is:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q314935

It's a quick change of a registry value, an install of some stuff from the XP CD, and then a manual register of some java/vb stuff.

Although it's aimed at sorting out the problem for the activation screen, I've just tried it and, lo and behold, it's worked for the restore screen too!

Hopefully it works for you too - I've registered with this message board just to post this!

Good luck! And Happy New Year!

Originally posted by mosesix:



Thank you for taking the time to register, and leave feedback to help me out. However, I'm afraid those instructions are VERY sloppy, and they did not help fix my problem. The very first step essentially says start up in VGA mode then try WPA (in our case System Restore), then restart windows XP. If you cna restart windows XP then you're good!!!!

Well I obviously can start Windows XP just fine. I even tried checking those registry keys and re-registering jscript and vbscript (which i have done so millions of times already).

STILL a blank Screen.

One other alternative is to do an in-place install, which microsoft has the audacity to call "repair". That is FAR too much work for a problem that is so pathetic as this. Essentially Re-Installing Windows JUST to fix System Restore is ridiculous.

Thank you for the valuable input, but I'm afraid It does not help me any

Just on the chance that you tried to remove IE as you wanted to from one of your previous posts, perhaps you inadvertantly removed two files that you need for system restore that is actually part of IE:
%WinRoot%\System32\hlink.dll
and
%WinRoot%\pchealth\helpctr\binaries\pchshell.dll

Originally posted by Sampson:


Dear Sampson,

Thanx for the idea. No I did not remove IE. I am reluctant to remove/re-install IE, or to "repair" windows. This problem, although EXTREMELY annoying, is not worth the pains of a full-fledged repair or installation/re-installation of IE.

That being said, I did check for those files you mentioned. They are in place, and have not been removed.

NOTE: Please do bear in mind that I CAN run system restore indirectly (by launching IE and manually typing "res://C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe/srui-main.htm" in the address bar and approving some ActiveX warnings). I even created a restore point to check if it was working. However, I still WANT system restore to work as its SUPPOSED to.


Please keep the feedback coming folks. I appreciate every word of it!

Shassouneh,

I agree the instructions are pretty sloppy - especially as it thinks it's being helpful telling you to basically reinstall Windows! Incidentally I think a 'repair' clears all your restore points anyway...

To be a bit clearer (and to not let my first post be my last!) I only followed steps 3, 4 and 5 from the MS support page. I then restarted XP and it worked fine.

Does that make any difference? If not then I guess your problem is a little more complicated than mine...

Originally posted by mosesix:


For the sake of having tried EVERYTHING short of a repair or re-install of windows/IE, I decided to follow steps 3, 4 and 5 (as you suggested). I performed steps 3, 4 and 5 in that order. Restarted. STILL a blank screen.

Does anyone else think XP is too flaky and seems prone to things just stopping to work? I'm even thinking of formatting and going back to Win2k!!!!!

ok Guys. I did some digging around. I found that In IE's "Manage Add-Ons thingy", there's something called the System Restore Wrapper (see screenshot)



I have also noticed the following: With this wrapper DISABLED, I can ONLY restore to an earlier point (using the indirect way to access system restore). If this wrapper is enabled, then both restore and create are enabled (again, using the indirect way of running system restore by launching IE and typing res://C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe/SRUI-Main.htm into the address bar).

I do not have that control and never have.

Originally posted by American Zombie:


That makes two of us......

Hmm. Are your machines patched up with the latest updates? I'm thinking maybe a Windows XP and/or IE update added that add-on thingy. Also, do any of you have problems with System Restore?

OK Yet another update. Just to be 100% the problem is not from rstrui.exe, I copied the "Restore" folder in its entirety from another machine (on which System Restore works fine, and is NOT running SP2). I tried to run the copied .exe, and I got the same blank Windows. So its obvious its NOT the system restore files that are messed up, but something else must be limiting or interfering with system restore.

Originally posted by Relic:


I know for a fact that I don't have the latest updates, and judging by your wee problem, I'm not about to get them anytime soon.

I quoted myself there, should have gone to bed early, heh.

That was in answer to this post: Posted on 2006-01-03 08:09:50 by shassouneh

Originally posted by Relic:


hehe its OK. I got it.

I repeat my sentiment about XP being flaky. This is just ridiculous that I have to REPAIR windows XP to get this problem fixed (note: I say REPAIR even though i really mean RE INSTALL WINBLOZE XP).

I loved the fact that in 2000 you could repair without having to re-install the OS.

Thanx for the input everyone. I think I am left with no choice but to repair. I am CONVINCED however that a repair might not fix the problem, so I'll keep you posted.

OK Folks. This is messed up. Even Windows repair does not work! It hangs at "34 minutes remaining - Installing Devices". Luckily I made a Ghost Image before doing any of this so I can always go back to that.

Can someone please help me fix this System Restore nonsense so i can put my mind at ease?

There have been so many suggestions that this is getting dizzying. Did you perchance run srdiag.exe?

You may already have tried this. Seems like we are scraping the bottom of the barrel:

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore.
If a "DisableSR" value doesn't exist, go to the Edit menu, select New, DWORD value, and create the value.
Set the value to 1 to disable System Restore or 0 to enable System Restore.

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\sr to prevent the System Restore service from starting.

Double-click Start, and set the value to 4 to stop the service from starting or to 0 for normal startup. Close the registry editor.

After making SR disabled in services, try to open SR (no reboot) in CP/Services if it says "SR is off, would you like to turn on", say yes and and see if it will run.

Originally posted by Sampson:


Yup tried that too. Didn't work. I even tried that and restarted, and still no go.

As for srdiag.exe, I did run it. It did absolutely nothing though! I even tried srdiag.txt > log.txt at the command line, and it just stood there doing nothing. CTRL-C and checked the size of log.txt. 0 bytes!

Ok I have just manually pulled KB896688 from Microsoft's Download site (NOT Windows Update) and installed it.

I know what you're thinking: WHY? WHY do this when various reports hint to KB896688 being a probable cause? Well I did it in the spirit of trying EVERYTHING, even if it means getting the update manually and installing it manually rather than going through windows update in any way. So what happened after I installed this and rebooted? Now System Restore will not work AT ALL (not even via the indirect method described earlier).

Seeing as this did not acheive what I had wished for, I have now un-installed KB896688 and rebooted. Now I can still use System Restore using the indirect method, but still get a blank screen If i try running System Restore the normal Way.

So what did we learn from this little experiment?
1.) The problem ONLY occurs in System Restore. This is both good and bad news. Good news because nothing else seems to be affected, and bad because it bugs me A LOT (more than you can imagine). I am trying to prep my machine to be "As perfect as it gets" so I can ghost it. I hate to be forced to accept that system restore would have to be manipulated manually to make any use of it, and I do NOT wish to format and redo all that work I did to get my machine into a "ghostable" state.

2.) The problem is most probably NOT related to KB896688. Proof: Installing it only proved to disable System Restore completely, whereas with it not installed the problem still exists!


I am still open to any and ALL suggestions, and I greatly appreciate all previous input. Please keep it coming folks.

I think the problem is due to a registry key permission in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software area. Unfortunately I don't know which one, but I had this experience.

I had the same System Restore blank screen after editing the permissions for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software. In my case I think it was due to checking the 'Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects' box under Advanced settings.

I fixed it by setting up this key to just have an 'Everyone' group name with Full Control, then again checking the 'Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects' box.

I was able then to access System Restore and use it to restore to a point before I started to mess with the registry.

As you can probably tell, I'm no expert on registry editing, so you can try this at your own risk - good luck!

Originally posted by jmw07:


Thanx for your input. I figured I'd try what you mentioned, as I'm out of ideas. I can't even get that far. I get an ugly error message which basically means I cannot do it. (See below). Please do note that i have full administrative privelages!



PS: NO, even the registry keys whos permissions HAVE been set did NOT help me get rid of thios problem!

I'm reluctant to repeat my episode mentioned before to confirm the facts, but as I recall that when it came to the 'fix', I only had one entry in the 'Group or user names' on the Permissions for Software - that was Everyone.

Also on Advanced Security Settings for Software there was either no entry, or just the one: Everyone - Full Control.

Finally I think the 'Inherit from parent ...' checkbox was unchecked, while the 'Replace permission entries ...' checkbox was checked.

You could try again with these settings - but as I said before I'm no expert and can only say what worked for me.

Originally posted by jmw07:


Once again, thanx for your input. I would try forcing just the everyone group, but as you can imagine this poses a security issue. Furthermore, I don't beleive HKLM\Software was designed so that anyone and everyone has full access to it. That being said, if indeed the issue CAN be resolved by this, then i will leave it to micro$oft to fix their mistake.

Messing with the registry is both undelightful and "dangerous" at best. So if there is no other option but to edit the registry, perhaps Micro$oft can fix their buggy software. SP3 anyone? hehe

Please let me know if you are ever able to resolve this. I currently have this issue with a computer in my office and am trying to avoid doing the install thing. I have spent about all the time I care to on this. So PLEASE email me direct if you ever find a fix!!

Thank you,

Aimee

Are you using any Norton products? We use Norton anti-virus 9.xx. Could there be a connection?

Thanks again!

1) regsvr32 /i mshtml.dll

2) http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/kb896688_fix.zip

3) When you have tried to open system restore, check your event viewer (eventvwr.msc) for errors/warnings generated by "sr", "srservice" or any other source.

Originally posted by akkhir:


The ONLY norton product i "approve" of using is Norton Ghost 2003. I have learned the hard way to shy away from everything Norton (except Ghost 2003 and Partition Magic 8.05 [which happens to be not really a Norton/Symantec product to beign with] )

I will let you know IF I ever get this issue resolved.

Originally posted by Wilhelmus:


I have already tried this. To be thorough, I tried your steps 1, 2, and 3 in order.

1.) Registered OK

2.) Ran the .exe it told me all my registry keys where fine.

3.)
a.) Ran System Restore (Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore)

b.) Checked Event Logs. NO Events WHATSOEVER relating to System Restore or sr at all today!

Result: System Restore STILL shows a blank Window
Issue status: UNRESOLVED

I had the same problem, blank window on system restore. I tried loads of things to fix it but nothing worked.
This one worked for me:
download the Windows Script 5.6 from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...DisplayLang=en

I then run this utility IEFIX
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/IEFIX.htm

It worked for me!

Originally posted by crl:

Thanx for the input.

I had already tried Installing Windows Scripting Host 5.6, and re-installing IE (which the IEFIX program does). Result: Blank Window.

For the sake of thoroughness, I decided to take you up on your advice and INstall WSH 5.6 anyways, followed by running the IEFix.exe and followed by a restart.
Result: System Restore STILL shows a blank Window.

Status / Result: Issue UNRESOLVED. System Resotre still shows a blank window!

You have three choices.

1) Do a repair install of XP, fix the problem.

2) Copy all the files that are required by "restore" using the recovery console, after booting from the CD, and fix the problem.

3) Continue going on about this problem ad-nausium until XP is obsolete and Vista has taken over, then we'll all just tell you to upgrade your version of Windoze.

I suggest option two first, the recovery console is quite simple to use and will probably fix the problem. If you choose not to do this, use option one, this will definitely fix the problem.

You say you don't want to do a repair install of XP because it takes too long. Not to be rude, but if you took the time you've spent in here, plus all the time you've spent trying various fixes, some of them multiple times, you could have reinstalled XP 3 or 4 times already. This freaking topic is 3 pages long, and there will obviously be no simple resolution to the problem!

Unless you fully intend to live with this problem, which means this thread is a moot point, I suggest you choose option one or two, otherwise, when you are 104 years old, you'll be rolling yourself up to your computer in your wheelchair, in all your toothless glory, still hoping that page 23,845 of this topic, FINALLY has the fix.

I can tell you this, by that time, I won't be scratching my bald head looking for an answer for you, you already have the answers, both of them start with "R", obviously, there is no other fix.

Originally posted by Relic:


Dear Relic,
Once again thanks for your feedback.

Allow me first to clarify one important fact. Option 2 is NOT AN OPTION. If you had read through this entire thread, you would know that yes indeed i DID try a repair, which left me with a useless system! The repair would HANG half way in the "setup / repair" process. I was actually forced to restore from a Norton ghost Image and bite the bullet. I repeat: I DID TRY TO DO A REPAIR but that left me with nothing and a hung setup. And yes I did try to "Revive" the setup 2 or 3 times to no avail!

Option 3 is also not really an option from the stand-point of "fixing" the issue rather than waiting for a new OS and paying to buy it altogether.

That being said, I am open to using the recovery console, but once I boot into it I do not know what to do! HELP?

Thanx again for the input. Please review this reply.

The recovery console is easy, all you need to do is copy files to the correct directory. I have a kid to wake up right now so he gets to work on time, but I shall return.

I'll search my system for all the files relating to system restore(mine works fine), and tell you which ones to copy. Usually the files can be found/copied from the i386 folder on the CD. The recovery console expands them as it copies them, so there's no worry there.

I recently had to bite the bullet and use the recovery console, after all I had heard about it, I was somewhat unsure of my ability to use it. Heh, it's a piece of cake. I deleted my "ntldr" file from my root directory in a cleaning frenzy, oopsie, error at bootup, missing ntldr file. Hmmmm, "NTLDR", does that mean NT-loader? Yeah, not good.

Copied the ntldr from my wife's system to a floppy. Booted from my XP CD, went to the recovery console. Typed in "copy a:\ntldr c:\". Rebooted. Fixed.

I'll be back after I drive the kid to work. If you can't extract the files from your CD, I'll put mine up on my webspace, you can dwnld them, save them to a floppy or CD, and copy from there.

YOUR problem is really starting to pizz ME off, heh heh heh.

Originally posted by Relic:


LOL. Drive Safe now

Yes I have the XP CD on hand btw.

Okay, got the kid dropped off at work, came home, had to take tyhe wife to her interview. Waited for her(she got the job )then came home. Started messing with Total Air War one more time, still can't get rid of the artifacts, decided I come pull out my hair over someone else's problems cause my own is frustrating the hell out of me, so here I am.

So, in my "Restore" folder I have the following files:

filelist.xml
MachineGuid.txt
rstrlog.dat
rstrui.exe
srdiag.exe
srframe.mmf

Are all of those in your folder?

I have the same exact problem and as frustrated as shassouneh--anyway I have tried everthing also--but i don't have the filelist.xml file as listed in Relic's post above--I'm going to see if I can find that file on xp disk and place it--I'll let you know soon if it worked.

Thanks

If you don't have it, I can send it to you, it's only 13K.

BTW, make sure you have "show hidden files" selected in the folder view tab, it's a hidden system file and normally doesn't show up.

Originally posted by Relic:


All I can find is filelist.xm_

Dont think its the one--please send file

stealth83@nycap.rr.com

Originally posted by Stealth83:


That is indeed the one but you will need to "expand" it. Either find a copy of expand.exe and do something like this

Start-> Run -> type "cmd" and click on OK, then enter the following command from you I386 folder

expand filelist.xm_ filelist.xml

Either that or try messing with the expander thats in msconfig.

Originally posted by Relic:


Congrats on the Wife's Job.

Ok, here is what i have (It looks MachineGuid.txt is missing, but I might have deleted that at one point while toruble shooting this mess).

expanded the file ok to filelist.xml placed in restore folder--tried sr, nothing still blank--I'll keep trying stuff for a solution

Thanks for the help

expanded the file ok to filelist.xml placed in restore folder--tried sr, nothing still blank--I'll keep trying stuff for a solution

Thanks for the help

sorry for double post--wont delete for me

How about both of you try deleting all but the six files I have in my folder, then reboot? My system restore works like a charm, with only six files in there, possibly that's the prob?

Finally fixed--I see this in this forum but missed it somehow--anyway worked for me.

regsvr32 jscript

regsvr32 vbscript

regsvr32 /i mshtml

there are single spaces

Thanks for the help
Stealth83
[Edited by Stealth83 on 2006-01-15 00:13:38]

Originally posted by Stealth83:


Already tried this millions of times to no avail!

Originally posted by Relic:


OK, I followed your advice as best as I can. Here is what I have now.



You will notice I have 2 missing files:

MachineGuid.txt and rstrlog.dat

However, you will also notice by looking at the previous screen shot that I did not seem to have them then either.

PS: Also notice: I seem to be able to run System Restore indirectly by manually typing in an adress in Internet Explorer. (See my previous posts in this thread for full details). Here is a sample of what I'm talking about:



What drives me nutts is that I can run system restore painfully and manually in IE (by clicking YES on some ActiveX security stuff) but I keep getting a blank system restore window!

I do believe that file is important to the operation of System restore:

MACHINEGUID.TXT

The global universal identification (GUID) of the restore folder. The system's

data store is located in \System Volume Informat1on\_restore(GUID}.


I know you've tried a gazillion things out, and although I've read this entire thread, I don't remember every single thing you've done, although I'm sure you do. Having said that, I found another page of Restore problems/fixes, maybe something here will help.

http://www.sierra-technical.com/systemrestore.htm

Originally posted by Relic:


Dear Relic,
I thank you for expanding your patience to try to help me.

I took a quick look at the link you provided. It thoroughly runs down System Restore pretty nicely.

I also found it interesting that my machine GUID was in the System Volume Information.

I was wondering though what Machineguid.txt actually looks like. Could you post yours so i can see to it than i can recreate mine (obviously using my machine GUID instead of yours) ?

Thanx.

PS: I am still open to suggestions here as this problem is not going away!

OK I have this CRAZY idea. Check this out:

HKLM\System\Services\sr and HKLM\System\Services\srservice



OK. Since I cannot really make use of System Restore, I was wondering if coul DELETE those keys entirely (hopefully to force System Restore to start from scratch and recreate them for me).

However, I do NOT know how to backup/restore the registry so I can go back if things go under.

ALSO, I repeat that I CAN use System Restore manually (and quite painfully) by using Internet Explorer.

Go to the key or keys you want to delete, and select them. While they are selected right click and choose "export". Give it a name and it will create a file. Usually. .reg. And, it will save it to My Documents folder. Delete the keys. If they don't rebuild in the registry, then you can reinstall them from the .reg file you created.

To backup the whole registry, you can refer to this article: http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Windows-XP-Registry-Backup.html

You can 'recreate' the machineguid.txt.
On restore folder, doubleclick the srdiag.exe.
It'll create new .cab file.
Open it and you'll find your machineguid.txt.
machineguid.txt file just contains Globally Unique Identifier string, mine is "{4A8CFAF4-E170-4857-9DA5-71D7BBE27F50} ".

Originally posted by Wilhelmus:


Thanx for the tip. I just tried it and extracted the MachineGuid.txt file.

Also, i deleted the keys (after backing them up) and started up System Restore. Guess what? BLANK WINDOW!

So I ran regedit again to see if it recreated those keys and it did NOT.

So I am restoring those keys now.

I am STILL open to your suggestions, and I appreciate every single tip and suggestion put forth thus far. I just figured I'd try this to be thorough, and apparently it did not help

shassouneh,
I had the same problem and just solved it. With my problem Search did not work either "Start -> Search" also yielded a blank window. Additionally, I was having trouble installing Flash - it would just do nothing. In addition, USATODAY.com for instance would not show the changing window in the upper left-hand corner.

A few days ago I removed FSecure Anti-virus suite and installed McAfee 8.0i. Prior to installing McAfee, I created an install point, so I know it worked prior to the install. However, I had trouble removing F-Secure and due to the fact that I had previously had McAfee (an older version) I had to resort to heavy registry edits to remove all traces of both programs - as uninstall had issues.

On to how my system was fixed. I first tried registering the three dll's -

regsvr32 jscript

regsvr32 vb script

regsvr32 /i mshtml

I received an error on the vb script one - failed to register.

I then was going to install Restore by right clicking the file in the system32\resotre directory but the install option was not available (presumably because it was still installed). I ran the file srdiag.exe and left the widow it opens for about a minute - it created 6 to six log/txt files.

I then entered the string you provided to manually run Restore from IE, and it ran. I then created a restore point and browsed the calendar.

I left the IE window with Restore in it open and ran Restore from Control Panel / Performance and Maintenance / System Restore and it worked! Thinking that this was just because it was already running I closed restore (but not the window that I.E. creates and it ran again. I then closed all IE windows and it ran.

Rebooted and it works properly. Search now is now longer blank and when I launched IE the pages that previously had some issues work properly. Upon launching IE flash instantly started, it was ready to install - probably cued from my previous attempts.

Though it was not my original post - thanks to all who have posted.

Hope this helps you.

David

Originally posted by DavidConley:


Dear David.

I thank you for taking the time and courtesy to respond to this thread.

I have already tried the regsvr32 tricks, and none of them did the job. I even followed your trail (opening system resotre in IE and leaving it open, etc) but I STILL get a blank window!!!

Anywho. I guess I will either have to rely soley on my Norton Ghost Images, or find a commercial alternative to System Restore.

Since we have tried practically everything imaginable, I don't think there's much "juice" left to this thread. Therefore, would a mod/admin kindly close this topic (to save resources).

Perhaps its would be agood idea to "Archive" this topic though so that people with the same problem at leats have access to some ideas what to try, as I think I have been pretty thorough in trying everything.

Not sure my problem was identical but certainly sounds similar.

I also had the blank Recovery screen, but also an error when trying to access User Accounts from Control Panel, and also am unable to use the Microsoft/Windows update site. I noted from an earlier post that when someone suggested you download and install Windows Script 5.6 you replied "I am unable to download this. This requires "Windows Advantage Validation" which fails on my machine for some reason." Well it also failed on my machine, just as all Windows update functions did, and this failure was related to the blank recovery screen as well.

However, the Windows Validation site offered an alternate method of validation that allows you to download and install a small program that you then run - it validates windows and provides you with a code number which you then paste back into a box on the Validation site. The program is called GenuineCheck (not sure that name actually appears on the site). Doing this, I was able to get around the fact that I couldn't use normal validation to initiate the downlad. I then downloaded, as was suggested back on page 1 or 2 of this thread, Windows Script 5.6 for Windows XP and Windows 2000:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/detai...;DisplayLang=en

After downloading and installing this, I rebooted. I then downloaded and ran what another had suggested:

the vbs script:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/reg/olereg.vbs

This fixed all of the problems noted above. I know you tried this script, but not clear you were able to download and install Windows Script 5.6 successfully before you ran it.

Hope this helps you or someone else having these types of problems.

Meant to include this in prior post: Link to description of problem I had:
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/olereg.htm

"ActiveX controls may not load as expected in Internet Explorer due to defense in depth changes introduced in cumulative security update 896688
Published: Nov 13, 2005
Updated : Dec 04, 2005

When you open the User Accounts applet in the Control Panel, you may receive the following error message:
Wrong number of arguments or invalid property assignment

System Restore window is completely blank.
Windows Update page displays the following message even though the ActiveX control is already installed. Also, the Information bar does not appear, thus you're unable to re-install the Windows Update ActiveX control.
Install the ActiveX control required to view the website

Help and Support pages are incomplete.
System Information utility (MSINFO32) displays a blank window.
When you open Services.msc snap-in, the following error is displayed:
An error has occurred in the script on this page

Error: Object doesn't support this property or method

URL: [url=res://C:\WINDOWS\System32\mmcndmgr.dll/views.htm]res://C:\WINDOWS\System32\mmcndmgr.dll/views.htm[/url]

Organize Favorites dialog displays a Red X in Internet Explorer. (More info)
Resolution
This occurs due to missing OLE32 registration. You may use the following VBScript to correct the above problems. Download olereg.vbs and run the file."

As I noted, this solution worked, but only after I downloaded and installed the Windows Scripting noted in the previous post.

Originally posted by blibros:



Thanx for the reply.

I did indeed find a way around Windows Advantage and installed Windows Script 5.6. Rebooted, tried the olereg.vbs and rebooted again.

Result: BLANK SCREEN.

I am beyond convinced there is no fix for this unless I "repair" or re-install windows or format. All of which are MUCH more effort than its worth especially because everything else runs fine (apart from System Restore), and the fact that I can run System restore in a limited capacity via Internet Explorer.

Thanx for the feedback though. I really appreciate it.

Hello Shassouneh

I'm having a similar problem on my Mom's computer. My problem may be related more toward the "Reregistering Jscript.dll and Vbscript.dll" that was mentioned in earlier posts. Unfortunatly, I am not in front of that computer at the moment to try any of the fixes suggested. I will try them as soon as I can and relay any success I have.

The reason for the post though was to tell you how I got to this point. Maybe you'll find the info useful, (Or give me some useful info back!)

I contracted a adware infection (they should be called viruses) called SpySheriff thanks to some vunerabilty in the Picture/Fax Viewer. I used System Restore successfully to roll back a couple of days so I know at this point it was working. But the infection was still there. I ran Ad-Aware, Spy-Bot, and Microsoft's Anti-Spyware Beta and somewhere managed to get rid of the SpySheriff.

At this point, I think it still has an adware called NOTN or something like that. Causes groups of pop-ups every couple of minutes. I tried to run the adware sweepers again, in and out of safe-mode but the problem is still there. (I found a temp fix is to end the Process WTTA.EXE)

I for some stupid reason (cause I'm a cheap you know what) I TRIED to install "Norton Antivirus 6" somthing from their website. The installtion failed about half way through. This is were things got really BAD! Upon rebooting, almost all of the icons on the desktop were the generic unassociated icon (you know the one) and nothing would run. I would get a error stating the file needed to be associated with a program. Here is where the blank SysRestore window started.

After a couple of days of trying to fix it myself, then later trying email support from Norton (which proved unless) I broke down and called Norton Tech Support. The tech had me adjust my permissions in the "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT". This is where I noticed there is no "Administrator(s)" account in the root permissions window. Only Everyone, SYSTEM, and a named user account. This didn't seem to bother the tech. He had me adjust Everyone, and SYSTEM permissions to "FULL CONTROL" and under advanced to "Inherit from Parents...". This cleared up the association problem. But when I tried to use SysRestore, I got a blank window. When I tried Search Files/Folders, The window was blank except for the little dog at the bottom. I also cannot install Flash and there are a handful of other things that are happening.

Hope the above can be of some use to you. (Sorry for the long-winded-ness!)

Hello, I'm new here but had a same problem with an XP PC of friends. No restaure, no user profile, no system informations.
I found a place (sorry, a french one) where they make diagnostics from the Hijackthis report ; they found a couple of trojan, registry keys to fix and sevices to de-activate.
I had to run EasyCleaner and Ewido but it worked perfectly !!!!

I had things like :\WINDOWS\System32\ winsystems.exe to be removed
I had to stop Services like : Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect and ScriptBlocking Service

You can try sending your hijackthis report to :
http://forum.zebulon.fr/index.php?showforum=51

Good luck

Hi Folks

I have been scratching my head over this issue today on a customers machine. I found your solutions made good reading and tried a few with no luck. The following however worked for me:

Open Internet Explorer, click tools, internet options.
On the general tab "delete cookies" and "delete files" *inc ofline content"
On the security tab reset all zones to default level.
On the programs tab reset web settings. (I didn't reset my home page)
On the advanced tab I reset defaults.

Restart computer.

This worked for me and I hope for you. I am unsure at this point which section actualy resolved the issue, just glad that it did.

Well, I was about to give up restore the whole system back to original spec's using the built in HP System Recovery. When I executed it, it poped up with a window saying that I should try Windows System Restore option first and had a button to go to it. I laughed and clicked the button thinking "What the hay?!" and guess what, it worked! I had the System Restore function again. I rolled the system back to 2 weeks before I believe everything went wrong and POOF, everything is straight!

I tried everything listed in this thread to no avail. I don't know what the button did that everything else didn't but it worked.

Oh well, such as a Windows' System! (God, I miss my Atari 800!) 8)

Look at the following link: http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?SID=1&AID=83294&c=1

I used it, had similar issues and it fixed the problem!

In short do the following:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regsvr32 jscript.dll, and then click OK.
3. Click OK.
4. Click Start, and then click Run.
5. In the Open box, type regsvr32 vbscript.dll, and then click OK.
6. Click OK.

Good luck!

amitd,

thank you soooooooooooo much for that advice. i have been trying to fix my daughter's pc for 3 days now and i've been going crazy!

i followed your advice and voila!
it works!

great website by the way and i enjoy reading it. keep up the good work.

I have been experiencing the same issue and have something to add that might help us figure out the missing piece of information. The problem is related to IE 6 in someway. To explain further, I get the same System Restore blank screen as in the first post of this topic. But I also get a similar blank screen when I try to use IE6.

The problem started when I ran a script from McAfee to try and solve an annoying issue with VirusScan. After running the script, the problems with the blank screen on IE6 started. I then went to do a system restore to go back 24 hours to a point before I installed the McAfee script. That was when I discovered that the System Restore screen is also blank.

I have read about this problem in several different forums, and it appears that some of the functionality in IE6 is used in other areas in Windows. One of which is the System Restore screen. There seems to be a common theme in the forums that Java may be the issue. I'm not sure what the commonality is, but perhaps this information will provide the clue you are missing. I'm at the limit of my technical skills. If someone with more knowledge (and a programming background) can investigate the script I ran, maybe it has the answer to what it changed in IE 6 that is causing all these other problems.

The script is at http://tools.mcafeehelp.com/doc.php?siteid=1&docid=70285&support=ts

I would appreciate any help you can give. I need to be able to use system restore to get back to a point before the McAfee script caused all of these issues.

I have XP Home SP2 and IE6

Thanks for all the help.

As in post: http://ntcompatible.com/thread33879-1.html#169365
Start->Run:
res://C:\WINDOWS\system32\Restore\rstrui.exe/start.htm

Does it ask 'An ActiveX contol on this page might be unsafe to interact with other parts of the page. Do you want to allow this interaction?' and when you select Yes, does display the system restore screen?

Thanks for the quick reply.

I tried many different things yesterday, and I believe I tried this, but I'm not positive. If I remember correctly, since IE 6 is also not working, I was unable to get to System Restore this way. I will go home at lunch and verify this for you.

I appreciate the help.

I gave it a try. IE opens, shows the Address bar, toolbar, etc., but there is no web page. (Or System Restore page in this case.) Just a blank white screen. There is not an Active X warning.

Thank you for the suggestion. Any other ideas?

Try this:

Search your \Windows folder for "mshtml.dll" (making sure you search hidden files and folders as well as system folders and, consequently, subfolders).

Look for the hotfixes and updates involving mshtml.dll (they have "KB???" in their path).

Uninstall the corresponding fixes using "Add and Remove Programs".

Run "regsvr32 mshtml.dll" via "Start | Run...".

See if System Restore has returned.

Re-apply the fixes and updates.

(You can also try re-registering an archived mshtml.dll directly using regsvr32 to see if it helps, by running "regsvr32 C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386\mshtml.dll", for example. You can drag and drop the file to the "Run..." prompt.)

hope that helps,
-heinz

--
Heinz Tschabitscher
About.com Email
http://email.about.com

www.About.com

Thank you for the suggestion. I did solve my problem in another way, before I had a chance to test your suggestion. I hope that your idea works, because it appears that there are many others with the same problem.

If it helps, this is how I solved my problem. As I mentioned my problems started when a McAfee script screwed up IE 6. Some piece of Internet Explorer functionality is needed for the System Restore page to display. It appeared that I had a choice, reinstall IE 6, which looked like I might have to start over from SP2, or try installing the beta of IE 7 and see if it corrected the problems. I installed IE 7 and it fixed everything. Internet Explorer works, and the System Restore window is back! Whatever was corrupt in the registry was corrected when IE 7 installed.

Good luck folks!

Hey, I actually had this problem how i fixed it was go to this site ima give u and download the file olereg.vbs and run it and it should be fixed site is http://windowsxp.mvps.org/olereg.htm Happy easter

Hi There, i had the same problem with a blank page in my systems restore but diffrent , When i opened it it was blank white page, this last post i found here .....Hey, I actually had this problem how i fixed it was go to this site ima give u and download the file olereg.vbs and run it and it should be fixed site is http://windowsxp.mvps.org/olereg.htm Happy easter.... YES YES it fixed my problem for the systems restore , from the start ..I installed BPS spyware remover , Ran a scan netx thing i got a blank sys restore and also my Outlook express is the same evry email in my inbox , outbox ,drafts the whole lot are blank white pages , i fixed my sys r as i said but it didnt fix my out look problem ,

Can anyone help me plz i need a link like the last 1 but for outlook , thank you to who ever set up this forum ,

thank you kindly Jack

my system restore page is blank too. please post your solution if you find one. i am very frustrated because i need to restore my computer quickly.

Originally posted by davist14:


Here's what I did:


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q193110/

uninstalled IE6
reboot
reinstalled IE6 from the XP cd
still didn't work, so i ran:
regsvr32 /i mshtml.dll
and it worked.

I installed McAfee VirusScan 10.0 and before I knew it I was getting all sorts of “blank white screens” and Internet Explorer would not work. Some of the blank white screens are: System Restore, Computer Management/Expanded Services (not standard), McAfee’s Security Center, Internet Explorer (if it would run at all) and so on...

I found a posting on the internet that discussed Norton and McAfee’s anti virus programs creating an issue that deals with “script blocking”. If “script blocking” is enabled, wacky things start happening, and it’s enabled by default.

So...I found this posting and tried it all, nothing helped me to resolve my issue. I was on the verge of formatting my hard drive and starting over again.

I found one solution which worked for me. I downloaded and installed Internet Explorer version 7.0 beta 3. Once it was installed and after a reboot, everything came back to life, including my System Restore. I could then restore my system back to the day prior to installing McAfee’s VirusScan and everything was back to normal.

I sure hope this will help others out there that end up with this “Microsoft's White Screen of Death” as I like to call it!
8)

PS: Shortly after making this post, I reinstalled McAfee VirusScan 10.0. Yep, you guess it, the White Screen of Death is back! Installed IE 7.0 B3, and everything is back to normal. I check the McAfee settings and there is an advanced setting called "Enable ScriptStopper (recommended)". I will play with this setting and let you know what I find.
[Edited by tjernagel on 2006-07-27 02:04:33]

I had the same thing happen to me. I have been running IE7 for about two months now. Not only does the System Restore have a blank page, but all the vbScript on webpages does not run. Another symptom is when you use CTRL-F to do a find function on a web page, the function never gives you the ability to actually search after typing in your search string.

Go to Microsoft's downloads section and do a search for 'javascript'. This corresponds with KB article 917344. Run the program which will re-install your scripting engine. You will be prompted to reboot.

OMG I had the exact same problem and thnanks sooooo very much guys 4 the help

YOURE A "GEM" IT WORKS NOW ---THANKS

I CAN'T GET IT WORK... the damn system restore is still a white blank window, my msns don't work now, i can't even install windows defender, my search says i'm missing a search companion file, the help doesnt show up, and a bunch more...

Sounds like my problem to. Running IE 7 I started getting Internet Explorer Script Errors a month ago. The other day when I started my laptop I got something wierd about some file missing for the registry and another source was used. I promptly got I E Script errors before even opening a browser. Now I get them doing certain things with 10 to 54 script errors piled up at each incident. Can't: get into support areas, install Flash, view event details in Event Viewer, view Extended Services in Computer management, toy with User Accounts or run Windows Update. I proboably have more Script Error problems than MS Support has KB articles for SP2. Is my computer a hypochondriac? No viruses. My script errors now have no data in the fields and I was surprised how many of them were sitting on each offending window.

There are a lot of things I haven't yet tried here and I am grateful for all of the links and tips. I think I'll really like this site.

Thanks a ton.

I uninstalled IE7 and got some functionality with the browser, restore and the computer management. Right click didn't work on the browser, restoring didn't help, details in event viewer were unavailable, couldn't run ActiveX on support pages.

I eventually couldn't boot XP Home SP2 (corrupted registry) and had to move backup registry hives and restore further back in safe mode. (I didn't have everything backed up and I hate to lose anything.) After that I still had less than expected use of the system and prepared for a reformat. Services failure outside of WindowsScriptHost 5.6?

2 warnings though. 1) The Microsoft File and Settings Transfer Wizard has a history of being an unreliable way to back up and restore anything (KB30769.) I lost everything that wasn't otherwise backed up. I had the latest updates and sometimes there is no warning that the created files are useless or corrupted. No warnings and almost no way of recovering the files. More horror and a glimmer of hope on the net. 2) The KB article for moving registry hives (KB822705 & KB322756) with the Recovery console isn't quite right for some OEM's (like HP)due to the name of at least 1 earlier registry section copy having a different name. There are 5 sections with distinct names. SYSTEM and SAM are 2 of them. There are also batch scripts that can be made with notepad and a 6-floppy disk Recovery Console image source in MS Support. I had to manually download the authentication software and type in a return code to auqire the mandatory MS Genuine Authentication to download the disk creator. SP1 bootable disks/CDs don't work on SP2 NTFS partitions.

This was a straight 30 hour marathon with backups, floppies, a second computer, and a patient spouse who catered to me. Best of luck to everyone struggling with similar issues. Back up sooner rather than later if you can't replace your data.

I've just had this problem for a few hours and fixed it by undoing what I had done.

I had tried to install "Visual Basic 6 Enterprise Edition" and it failed with the error "pdm.dll was unable to register itself in the system registry".

I searched the internet and one guy (bless his cotton socks) said that he got the installation to work by renaming the existing "pdm.dll" files he found in "Windows\system32" and in "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7DEBUG". So I did the same. (Silly me.)

It didn't fix the VB 6 installation problem, but I noticed after rebooting that I got an unusual message: "Windows Configuring Data Access" on startup, and decided it was time to do a restore. That's when I saw the blank "System Restore" screen and rushed to the toilet.

So, to fix my problem, I renamed the "pdm.dll.old" files back to "pdm.dll" and the blank screen problem went away

The two files are:
(1) In C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\VS7DEBUG

PDM.DLL 176 KB 13/10/2004 18:46

(2) C:\WINDOWS\system32

PDM.DLL 180 KB 18/06/1998 00:00


Both file names are in upper case, the one in system32 is very old and I don't know where it came from!

I hope this helps someone with this problem.

I am having a problem with it too. No solution works and I really dont want to re-install windows XP home (SP2). Is there anything you can tell me that I can do to make it work, I have IE 7.

Woohooo!!!!!
I had the same problem with blank restore screen and blank search screen. I tried everything in this thread and nothing worked until I got to the post. It only took 10 secs to complete instructions and see PERFECT results. Thank you, thank you, thank you user: AMITD for your posting.
I was near insanity------------------ Below, I have pasted the code that worked for me. Check AMITD's post for more info and a link. Good Luck to you all.
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Look at the following link: http://www.wincustomize.com/articles.aspx?SID=1&AID=83294&c=1

I used it, had similar issues and it fixed the problem!

In short do the following:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regsvr32 jscript.dll, and then click OK.
3. Click OK.
4. Click Start, and then click Run.
5. In the Open box, type regsvr32 vb script .dll, and then click OK.
6. Click OK.

Good luck!

I had this problem with restore screen blank, also could not get onto windows update page amounst others. i solved the problem by Uninstalling Service pack 2 (This restores the entire system back to it's original pre-service pack 2 state. Including the restore page!) I then restored my computer back to an earlier date then reinstalled service pack 2. This cured all the problems. Good luck to all with this problem.

Hi there!

This will be my 1st post here, but I have seen all the problems you have been having with the mysterious 'Blank System Restore Page' issue so I'll see if I can lend a hand, or at least try anyway.

One thing I don't think you have tried (of course I haven't read through all the posts either) is this little program I found recently called Dial-a-fix. The URL to this site is here Dial-a-fix Website. Try it out, it certainly can't hurt at this point anyway. If you are un-certain of running such programs then make sure you create a backup of your important files before running it.

I had an almost identical problem (IE the blank system restore page) and running Dial-a-fix remedied this for me.

Take care, ZM

I had this problem on a couple of computers. None of the posted problems worked for me. Finally, I stumbled across this web page and the WUFix.zip on this web page http://wiki.castlecops.com/Windows_Update_Fix and it fixed everything, including the blank Windows update page. I hope this works for everyone who has experienced this problem. I had done everything from my own searches to calling the IE Help line ( and even Windows XP help) and no one was able to fix this.