If you have no restore points on your Windows Vista or 7 Computer, then Windows may not be creating the restore points automatically. There are a number of different problems that can cause this.

One cause is a lack of sufficient free space on your hard drive to save the System Restore files. To remedy this problem, make sure you have at least 300 MB of free space on your hard drive (50 MB if your hard drive is smaller than 300 MB and you’re running Windows 7).

Another cause of missing restore points is a problem with the Task Scheduler. Before you start troubleshooting this issue, click the Start button, then type Services.msc in the Start Search box. Check to make sure that Volume Shadow Services is running.

Run Task Scheduler. Click the Start button, then type Task Scheduler and press Enter. Expand the Task Scheduler Library, then select Microsoft, Windows and SystemRestore. In the top pane click the entry named SR. In the bottom pane, click the History tab to see any System Restore tasks, warnings and errors that have been recorded.

Right click the SR file, select Properties and then click the Triggers tab. Click a trigger, then click Edit. Change the trigger so that it creates a restore point automatically when you want it to be created. For example, you could edit the trigger set for 12:00 am daily to another time of day when the computer will be running.

Click the Conditions tab. Uncheck the check box beside Start the task only if the computer is idle for. Also uncheck the box beside Start the task only if the computer is on AC power.

Another way to fix problems with missing System Restore Points is by using the System File Checker. Click the Start button, then type cmd in the start search box. Right-click cmd.exe and click Run as Administrator. Type sfc/scannow at the command prompt. Allow the System File Checker to complete the scan and repair process.

You may receive a message that Windows Resource Protection found corrupt files but was unable to fix some of them. If this occurs, type findstr /c:”[SR]” %windir%\logs\cbs\cbs.log >sfcdetails.txt at the command prompt and press Enter.

Navigate to your C:\Windows\system32 folder and open sfcdetails.txt in Notepad. Click Edit and Find, then type cannot repair member file to see the problems that the System File Checker was unable to repair.

You can also fix this problem by turning System Restore off, then turning it back on again.

vFreaks can help you to fix your windows related issues. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

Is your Windows Sidebar (Windows Desktop Gadgets) crashing after adding a third-party gadget, with the error “Windows Desktop Gadgets has stopped working” or “Windows Sidebar has stopped working” (Windows Vista) at every start? You can stop the offending gadget from loading by editing the Windows Sidebar Gadgets settings file. Here are the instructions, which apply to Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

If Sidebar.exe process is running, you wouldn’t be able to write to its settings file. Launch Task Manager (taskmgr.exe), select the sidebar.exe process and terminate it if it’s running.

Click Start, type the following path in the Search box and hit ENTER.

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar

(You can type it in the Run dialog as well.)

The above location is where the desktop gadgets store their configuration information, in a file named Settings.ini

First, make a copy of Settings.ini

Double-click Settings.ini to open it in Notepad.

Configuration information for the last installed desktop gadget is usually located at the end of the INI file. Using the PrivateSetting_GadgetName line as the hint, locate the corresponding [Section #], select all lines underneath and delete it. Trim any blank lines that may have resulted from the deletion.

Then, move to the top of the INI file, and delete the Section# line that references the offending gadget. As you’ve removed the entries in [Section 5], also delete the following line:

Section4="5"

Trim any blank lines that may have resulted from the deletion, and save the Settings.ini file.

Right-click on the Desktop, and click Gadgets. This starts the Sidebar.exe process and shows the gadgets listed in the Settings.ini file.

[Windows Vista Users] The above UI is unavailable in Windows Vista. If using Windows Vista, manually launch Sidebar.exe from Start, Search box or via the Run dialog. This starts the Windows Sidebar and loads the previously added gadgets, except the offending one.


Reset Windows Sidebar (Desktop Gadgets) Configuration to Defaults

If you don’t want to go through all the hassle, simply rename or delete the Settings.ini and restart Sidebar.exe. It creates a brand new Settings.ini file, that means the customizations for your Sidebar/gadgets will be lost and you need to add the gadgets manually and reconfigure again.

vFreaks can help you to fix your windows related issues. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

What is the MBR? MBR stands for Master Boot Record and it’s the first sector of your hard drive that basically tells the BIOS where to look for the operating system on your computer.

If, for any reason, the MBR becomes damaged or corrupt, then the operating system will be unable to load. You will normally see error messages like:

Error loading operating system

Missing operating system

Invalid partition table

These messages are definitely not fun, especially if you are not familiar with computers. Most people would automatically assume their computers are dead! However, that’s not true.

Well, it’s actually fairly easy to fix the Master Boot Record in XP and Vista. All you have to do is load up the Recovery Console and run a simple command. All of your data, applications, settings, etc are still intact on the drive and once the MBR is fixed, the computer will load normally.

So how we can repair your damaged MBR? Here are the steps to follow:

First, restart your computer with the Windows XP setup disk in the CD drive. If you don’t have your original disk, borrow one.

When prompted, boot from the CD drive by pressing any key. If Windows loads automatically, you will first have to enter the BIOS setup and change the order of the boot devices to start with the CD drive.

Once the setup loads, you will see the option to press R to repair a Windows installation.

Once the Recovery Console loads up, you will have to type in a number that corresponds to your Windows installation. This is normally just 1. Press Enter and then type in the Administrator password.

Now at the prompt, type in fixmbr. Your damaged MBR will now be replaced with a new master boot record and your computer should now be able to boot properly. Note that you may also want to run the fixboot command to repair the boot sector with a new one.

Also, make sure you only use these commands on a system with one operating system installed. If you have more than one operating system installed, fixmbr and fixboot could mess up everything.

Fix MBR in Vista

In Vista, the procedure to fix the master boot record is a bit different. You have to start up Vista in the Recovery Environment and then run the bootrec command. Here’s how.

First, load up the Windows Vista disc in your drive and press any key to boot from the disc.

Choose the language, time, currency, etc and click Next. Now click on Repair Your Computer.

Choose the operating system to repair and click Next. When the System Recovery Options dialog comes up, choose the Command Prompt.

Now type bootrec.exe and press Enter. This will rebuild the boot configuration data and hopefully fix your problem. You can also run the command with switches to fix just the master boot record (/fixmbr), the boot sector (/fixboot), or rebuild the entire BCD (/rebuildbcd).

If you are still having trouble with loading Windows.

vFreaks can help you to fix most of the Windows issues. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

Note:

If the computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may prevent you from following these steps. We strongly recommend that you do not use the System Configuration utility to modify the advanced boot options on the computer unless a vFreaks support engineer directs you to do this. Doing this may make the computer unusable.

Log on to the computer by using an account that has administrator rights.

Click Start , type msconfig.exe in the Start Search box, and then press ENTER to start the System Configuration utility.

On the General tab, click to select the option Selective startup, and then click to clear the option Load startup items check box. (The Use Original Boot.ini check box is unavailable.)

On the Services tab, click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box, and then click Disable all.

Note:

Following this step lets Microsoft services continue to run. These services include Networking, Plug and Play, Event Logging, Error Reporting, and other services. If you disable these services, you may permanently delete all restore points. Do not do this if you want to use the System Restore utility together with existing restore points.

Click OK, and then click Restart.

vFreaks can help you any issue related to Windows. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

Planning the Installation

As with any OS installation, we must first plan the installation process. When you run the Windows 7 Setup program, you must provide information about how to install and configure the operating system. Thorough planning can make your installation of Windows 7 more efficient by helping you to avoid potential problems during installation. An understanding of the configuration options will also help to ensure that you have properly configured your system.

Here are some of the most important things you should take into consideration when planning for your Windows 7 installation:

Check System Requirements

Check Hardware and Software Compatibility

Determine Disk Partitioning Options

Complete a Pre-Installation Checklist

Microsoft states the minimum recommended specs for Windows 7:

1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor

1 GB of system memory

16 GB of available disk space

Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)

DVD-R/W Drive

Internet access (to activate and get updates)

32-bit or 64-bit Version?

You need to decide whether to install the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows 7. The Windows 7 installation disc package includes both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7. Basically, the 64-bit version of Windows handles large amounts of random access memory (RAM) more effectively than a 32-bit system. So if you plan on using Windows 7 on a computer with more than 3 GB or RAM, I would strongly suggest to use the 64-bit version. Most programs designed for the 32-bit version of Windows will work on the 64-bit version of Windows, and if they don’t, you can always use Windows XP Mode (read my “How to Install Windows XP Mode on Windows 7″ article).

Note: Either way, you cannot use an existing 32-bit version of a previous OS to perform an in-place upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows 7, and you’ll need to format and install a fresh copy. Also, you cannot use an existing 64-bit version of a previous OS to perform an in-place upgrade to a 32-bit version of Windows 7.

Type of Installation

Basically, there are 2 approaches to installing Windows 7:

Upgrade (In-place upgrade) – This option replaces your current version of Windows with Windows 7, and keeps your files, settings, and programs in place on your computer.

Custom (“fresh” installation) – This option replaces your current version of Windows with Windows 7, but doesn’t preserve your files, settings, and programs. It’s sometimes referred to as a clean installation for that reason.

As always, a fresh installation is much better and I strongly recommend taking that track. Even if you’ve got an existing Windows XP/Vista OS on your computer, I would strongly recommend that you format it and install a fresh copy of the OS.

This article will focus on a fresh installation of Windows 7. Please read my “How to Upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7″ and “Upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7″ articles for more information on those paths.

Beginning the Installation Process

When installing on a physical computer insert your Windows 7 DVD media into your DVD drive and reboot your computer. If you’re asked to press a key to boot from DVD or CD, press any key. A black window will appear momentarily while the DVD content is read.

Note: These screenshots are taken from a Windows 7 Ultimate installation performed on a virtual machine running on VMware Workstation. I will be using an .ISO file mounted on the VMs CD/DVD drive.

Next, a Starting Windows screen will appear.

Note: If the Windows installation page doesn’t appear and you’re not asked to press a key to start from DVD or CD, you might have to specify that your computer uses its DVD or CD drive as the startup device.

The Installation Process

Like in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 7 does not have a noticeable text phase of the setup process, and it will boot directly into the Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode.

After a few moments you will see the first prompt:

Click “Next” unless you want to change some regional settings for the installation process.

Click on the “Install now” button.

Next, accept the license terms and click on “Next“.

Next, unless you’re upgrading an existing Windows installation, press the Custom (Advanced) installation type button. Note that in this case, the Upgrade button is disabled because this specific installation if performed on a new computer without any previous operating system on it.

The next phase is to pick the installation partition. Since this computer has a new hard disk that hasn’t been formatted before, you will only have the option to create a new partition on it.

If you don’t want to specify a specific partition to install Windows on, or create partitions on your hard disk, click Next to begin the installation. If you already have another existing partition with enough free space and want to install the Windows 7 on that partition to create a multiboot configuration, select the partition you want to use, and then click Next to begin the installation. If you want to create, extend, delete, or format a partition, click Drive options (advanced), click the option you want, and then follow the instructions.

Since I don’t need to perform any additional task I will just click on the “Next” button. The installation process will then create a partition on all the available disk space, and format it.

The setup process will now begin to copy files from the installation DVD media to the hard disk.

Process could take a while depending on the type of hardware your computer uses.

The computer will reboot, and the next thing you’ll see is the prompt to set the user’s and computer’s name. By default, the computer’s name will be username-PC, where username is the username you’ve entered.

Note: The user you’re creating will be the only user currently available on the system. Like Vista, the built-in Administrator’s account is disabled.

Click on “Next“.

Enter the user’s password. Remember this password, as it will be the ONLY user on the system, and unless you create an additional user or enable the built-in administrator account, if you forget this password you’ll need to crack it to gain access to the system. The best option would be to choose a complex password made of at least 7 characters or more (something like Pssw0rd or MYpa$$w0rd). You must also enter a password hint.

Click on “Next“.

Next, type in your product key. If you do not have the product key at hand you can still click “Next“, and proceed with the installation. You will be asked to enter the product key after Windows is installed.

Choose what sort of protection your computer gets. The recommended settings are best for someone that doesn’t plan to hide their computer behind a corporate firewall (and even then, in some cases, this would be the best option). If you plan to install a 3rd-party firewall later you can opt to be prompted later. Note that this setting will also have effect on how the computer uses the Microsoft Windows Update (Automatic Updates) features.

Choose your time zone and location and click on “Next“.

Windows will finalize the settings and your desktop will appear.

Windows will finalize the settings and your desktop will appear.

This concludes the Windows 7 installation. Next, you would probably want to update your computer with the latest hotfixes and/or patches from Microsoft.

vFreaks can help you installing Windows 7 and others, update your Computer with latest hotfixes and patches from Microsoft. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all windows installation and computer repairs can be done instantly.

Small portable computing devices such as Netbooks and MIDs (Mobile Internet Devices) offer great mobility, but they lack optical drives (CD/DVD). An optical drive is important when you need to install software from a CD or DVD. An external optical drive would work, but you may not want to lug it around with you. So what’s the solution? Use a USB flash drive as a bootable installation media:
 

What You Need:

1.  A USB flash drive with good storage capacity; preferably 4GB or more.

2.  Access to a computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7.

3.  A CD or DVD containing software you want to download.
 

Getting Started:

Connect the USB flash drive to a computer running Windows Vista or 7 and follow the steps below:

Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Right click on Command Prompt > Run as Administrator

Type ‘diskpart’ and press Enter to start the built in Windows disk partitioning utility

Type ‘list disk‘ and press Enter. Identify your USB Flash drive and make a note of the disk number.  Here in this example, My USB flash drive is Disk 1.

Type ‘select disk 1‘ and press Enter.

Type ‘clean’ and press Enter. The clean command will remove partitions or volume formatting from the selected disk (disk 1) by zeroing sectors.

Now to create a partition, type ‘create partition primary’ and press Enter.

Type ‘select partition 1‘, and press the Enter key.

Type ‘active’, and hit the Enter Key.

To format the partition using FAT32 file system, type ‘format fs=fat32’ and press the Enter key.

Type ‘assign’ and press the Enter key to assign a drive letter to your USB flash drive. Type exit to exit the diskpart utility.

Your USB flash drive is now ready to be used as an installation media. All you need to do is copy the entire contents of the Operating System DVD to your newly prepared USB flash drive. Plug the USB flash drive to the computer and reboot to begin the installation.

Note:

Make sure to set the first boot device to USB flash drive from the BIOS.
If you have any trouble preparing your USB flash drive or installing an operating system, connect to vFreaks Support.
 

vFreaks can help you with creating USB bootable devices, installing Windows from USB drive. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

Frightening Ransomware like RBNCrypter and GpCode overwrites a computer’s Master Boot Record (MBR) and prevent users from booting their computers. However, boot failure isn’t always cause by viruses. It can be caused by many other reasons as well.No matter how your PC’s MBR gets corrupted/damaged, you can always try the following method to restore/fix it:

1. Start your PC and Insert the Windows 7 installation DVD into the Optical drive. When prompted, press a key from your keyboard. You may have to change your boot order under BIOS to boot from DVD!

2. On the next screen, click ‘Repair your computer’.

3. Wait while the installer scans your PC for previous Windows installations.

4. Select the operating system labeled Windows 7 from the list, and hit the Next button.

5. From the list of given recovery tools, click on Command Prompt.

In the command prompt window, type ‘bootsect /nt60 SYS’ without quotes to run the bootsect.exe utility. Eject the DVD, and restart your computer. Your computer should now successfully boot into Windows 7 again.

If you need help with the process, connect to vFreaks Expert Certified Technicians, and one of our highly skilled Technicians will be happy to help you.

vFreaks can help you Windows no-boot issues. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

One day you switch on your computer and discover that your PC keeps rebooting and fails to load Windows on every iteration? This is one of the most common boot failure trends in Windows, and there could be dozens of reasons behind it, ranging from improper shutdown, virus infections, corrupted registry to hardware issues like CPU overheating etc. However, assuming that your computer does not have virus, registry or hardware issue, the following guide can help you get your Windows machine up and running without reinstalling Windows.

Note: The following guide is intended to fix Windows XP 32-bit / 64-bit machine. However, it may work on Windows Vista and Windows 7 as well.
1. Switch on your computer and press the appropriate key (Usually it’s F1, F2, F12, or Delete) to enter the BIOS setup.

2. Change your first boot device priority to CD-ROM. Insert the Windows XP installation disc into the CD-ROM drive. Hit the F10 key from your keyboard to save the BIOS settings and exit.

3. Your computer should now restart and would try to boot from CD-ROM. Press a key from your keyword when you see the following message.

4. Sit back and relax! When you see the following screen, press R to initiate ‘Recovery Console’.

5. If prompted which Windows installation you like to log onto, type 1 and hit the Enter key(I assume the Windows you’re repairing is installed on C: drive). Type in the Administrator password and press Enter.

6. You should now get a command prompt, C:\Windows>. Type ‘chkdsk /p’ command and press Enter. This may take few minutes to complete the process.

7. Once it’s done, type ‘exit’ and press the Enter key to restart your computer. Hopefully, your computer will now be able to boot into Windows without any hitch. If the above guide fails to fix the issue, or you need help performing the above steps, connect to vFreaks.com‘s Expert Technicians.

vFreaks can help you with no-boot Computers, Windows booting issues. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

Have you tried to use Hosts file to prevent malicious websites? Use Hosts file for blocking malicious website is a very effective way to prevent virus, ads, adult sites 3rd party cookies, 3rd party page counters, web bugs or even most hijackers. After using this method you can safely surf on Internet. This step-by-step guide can teach you to use Hosts File to Block Malicious Websites. If you  have any problem during the  process, please contact vFreaks Expert Technician 24/7 online for more detailed  instructions.

Hosts File Description

The Hosts file is a computer file used in an operating system to map hostnames to IP addresses. The Hosts file is a plain-text file and its traditional name is hosts. You need to use notepad to open it.

Screenshot for Hosts file:

Step to set Hosts file guide:

1) Unzip the Hosts file after you download it from this website:

http://www.teesupport.com/downloads/hosts2010.9.2-labs.zip

2) Navigate to the location:

For Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7:

It's  C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC you will find out Hosts file.

For Windows 2000,Windows NT:

It's : C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC

3) Open the unzip folder, copy and paste malicous websites you want to block to your Hosts file :

C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC (Windows XP/Vista/7)

   Or 

C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS\ETC (Windows 2000/NT)

For example, after you open the Hosts file, if you want to block “75.125.140.140 www.zzzz1.com” (Remember there is a space between the IP and website) then you copy and paste it to your computer’s Hosts file. At the end you click Save to finish.

Note:

When replace the Hosts, your anti-virus software or hips tools may popup a warning and block prompt. Please do select “Allow” or “Agree” to ensue the success of Hosts file update. If there is any question, please contact us timely.

vFreaks can help you detect and protect from malicious threats, files and registry entries. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.

InfoSecret Description

InfoSecret is determined by vFreaks as fake security software. InfoSecret is a Korean rogue antivirus program which aims to rip off money by making total farce on your computer. You will find it hardly impossible to use any program or go to websites once you have InfoSecret on your computer . Annoying pops-up claiming that your computer is infected to mislead you to purchase a full version of InfoSecret.

Malware.Redlofwen Identified as Rogue Security Software by Impressions

InfoSecret reputation/ rating online is terrible.

InfoSecret is installed/ run without your permission.

The official website of InfoSecret is poorly built without contact info.

The payments website of InfoSecret is suspicious & claims your OS is unsafe.

Poor Performance like highly-consumed system resources is caused by InfoSecret.

InfoSecret Step-by-Step Removal Instructions

1. Stop InfoSecret processes:

infosecret.exe
infosecretdm.exe

2. The associated files of InfoSecret to be deleted are listed below:

C:\Program Files\infosecret\infosecret.exe
C:\Program Files\infosecret\infosecretdm.exe
C:\Documents and Settings\{username}\Desktop\infosecretsetup.exe
C:\WINDOWS\system32\uninst_infosecret.exe
C:\Program Files\infosecret\infosecretBK.exe
C:\Program Files\infosecret\infosecretBK.exe
C:\Program Files\infosecret\infosecretsitedata
C:\Program Files\infosecret\infosecretubdata
C:\Program Files\infosecret\mdata.dat

3. The registry entries of InfoSecret that need to be removed are listed as follows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\infosecret
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run "InfoSecret"

vFreaks can help you detect and protect from malicious threats, files and registry entries. With our superior remote computer fix systems, 98% of all computer repairs can be done instantly.