Genuine windows XP Pro SP2 (upgrade) version 2002 IE7 (SP3 update has been removed)
Systemax x86
Intel P4 2.4GHz
1Gb RAM
80GB Samsung Sp8004H IDE 7200rpm (54Gb free)
NVIDIA GeForce MX 440-SE
AVG 8.0 installed
malwarebytes installed

Missing (non-critical?) program files & regisrty keys, ok to re-install SP3?

After downloading finallyfast.com's "PC Speed Scan Pro" & running the free scan I decided not to purchase the software. After deleting the scan utility from my system i was unable to use any programs that were dependent on the MMC. (defrag, system restore, admin tools, etc.) All of my services like BITS, ALG, RPC, wouldnt start. Error 1083: "The executable program that this service is configured to run in does not implement the service" Although i was shown in profiles as administrator, i was unable to change any security settings. after deleting the SP3 update i decided to run the repair operation from the retail disc's (SP2) installation screen. After the repair op. & windows started i was still unable to start security center, use any MMC app's & could not visit microsoft's update site. I checked microsofts support site & tried every command prompt trick there for services, security, & windows update to no avail. i finally found a utility (non-microsoft) called wscsvcfix.exe that was able to reset my security root certificates to where i could restart security center & start windows update, I then visited microsoft update & installed :KB951376,KB95295454,KB956803,KB952069,KB955839,KB956391,KB957095,KB958215,KB960
714,KB950974,
KB951698,KB938127,KB956841,KB941569,KB950762,KB957097,KB923689,KB901190,KB938464
,KB954600,KB955069,KB956802,KB936782, i decided to stop before installing SP3, I wanted to make sure security for all of my system files was configured correctly so i opened command prompt & entered: secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose This took about 30 sec. to run & returned this: "task completed; some files in the configuration are not found on this system so security cannot be set/queried. its ok to ignore. see log %windir%\security\logs\scesrv.log for detail info" I then entered that: %windir%\security\logs\scesrv.log for detail info", it returned configuration results on all files with some files missing: Warning 2:
The system cannot find the file specified. Error enumerating info for hkey_local_machine\currentcontrolset\services\scarddrv. Warning 2: The system cannot find the file specified. Error setting security on c:\ntbootdd.sys.(i will type the rest of the filenames without the warning message precursor) also the following 13 files belong to the same directory: c:\programfiles\internetexplorer\connectionwizard\icwconn1.exe.,icwconn2.exe,icwip.dun.,icwx25a.dun,icwx25b.dun.
icwx25c.dun.,inetwiz.exe.,isignup.exe.,msicw.isp.,msn.isp.,phone.icw.,state.icw.
,support.icw. c:\windows\system32\com\migregdb.exe. the following six files have the directory prefix : c:\windows\system32\oobe\ , html\mouse\mouse.htm., images\oemlogo.gif., msobshel.htm., oobeinfo.ini., setup\isp.htm.,
setup\oempriv.htm., while it doesnt seem like i have any performance problems as of yet, i am reluctant to install SP3 on my system until i can verify that it wont crash on reboot. it seems like most of the missing files are for IE (icons etc.?) which is running great right now so im reluctant to copy them from my SP2 disc if they wont be in sync with my current config. if anyone has or had this same or similar problem, i would like to hear what has or is being done to correct things. i have my puter back for the most part but, im just cautious about SP3 which im not sure i really need at this point anyway. whoever said there was a sucker born every minuet, must have a website selling malware! thanks for the great website! ive stopped by often, but never took the time to sign up til now. any comments would be appreciated. thanks & have a great 2009! termi

You could try creating a new user account to see if the problems persist.

hey yawl.... well folks i took the plunge & re-installed sp3 for xp...everything seems copasetic so far, tho im still coming up with empty regkeys after a regcure scan. im thinking i can safely delete these, but since they are causing no real probs other than the annoyance in the scan results, i will prolly just leave em in. any comments appreciated, thanks Termi

My only suggestion...leave programs like Reg Cure alone.

My problem with using such is...that users seem to employ these programs without any idea of what they are doing to registry files and with little understanding of how important the registry is. It seems to me that too many of these users think of these programs as having the ability to "fix" anything that might go wrong with a system.

The fact that users often have no idea of what criteria said program might employ when doing whatever the program does...and the fact that users don't bother to educate themselves about the need for backing up and taking other safety precautions when even considering playing in the registy...is enough for me to not be able to recommend the use of such.

Couple these things with the fact that some programs are "better" than others when it comes to editing the registry safely (because some tools are better for a specific purpose than others)...I find it difficult to recommend a registry editor for the novice user.

Non-novice users probably tend to use regedit (the Windows tool for editing the registry) or some other tool which they have familiarized themselves with by trial-and-error...before engaging in edits of the registry. That's just speculation on my part because that's how I approach editing the registry.

In any case, you may want to get some other opinions from those more experienced and wiser than myself:

Should I Use A Registry Cleaner - http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099

Langa Letter Testing 10 Windows 'Registry Cleaning' Software Packs October 10, 2005 - http://www.informationweek.com/story/showA...cleID=171203805

Backing Up and Restoring the Windows XP Registry - http://www.theeldergeek.com/windows_xp_registry.htm

Demystifying the Windows Registry - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/...l74.html#backup

How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP and Windows Vista - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756

How To Back Up The Registry (xp) - http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/topic42148.html

How to backup the Windows XP Registry - http://windowsxp.mvps.org/registry.htm

Louis