Windows Registry removal...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ken Klein
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K

Ken Klein

I have been trying to remove "all" referenced to my hp 7130 printer. I've
used several programs from MS and HP but to no avail. For some reason the
printer stays in certain areas of my registry. There are many references
with enum/dot4/vid.../.... (... being alphanumeric jibberish).

How can these be removed?

When I reinstall the printer it adds another level of this printer in the
registry. Uponing placing the icon on the desktop it adds a number which is
actually the total number of times I have actually loaded this printer to my
system.

Ken
 
How can these be removed?

Manually using the Registry Editor and hitting F3 a lot.

Have you tried uninstalling every instance of it in the Device Manager?

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click
Command Prompt.
2. At a command prompt, type the following command , and then press ENTER:

set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1

3. Type the following command a command prompt, and then press ENTER:

start devmgmt.msc

4. Troubleshoot the devices and drivers in Device Manager.

NOTE: Click Show hidden devices on the View menu in Device Manager
before you can see devices that are not connected to the computer.
5. When you finish troubleshooting, close Device Manager.
6. Type exit at the command prompt.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Ken Klein said:
I have been trying to remove "all" referenced to my hp 7130 printer.
I've used several programs from MS and HP but to no avail. For some
reason the printer stays in certain areas of my registry. There are
many references with enum/dot4/vid.../.... (... being alphanumeric
jibberish).

How can these be removed?

When I reinstall the printer it adds another level of this printer
in the registry. Uponing placing the icon on the desktop it adds a
number which is actually the total number of times I have actually
loaded this printer to my system.

Ken
Click to expand...


Besides deleting the Enum entries for the hardware, maybe you also
need to delete the INF files the define that hardware
(C:\Windows\INF). On bootup (or a hardware scan), Windows will read
the .inf files and add hardware definitions that it finds there if it
still finds the hardware (so why are you deleting all the registry
references but leaving the printer attached?).

Disconnect the printer. THEN go cleanup the registry and .inf files.
Afterward you can reconnect your printer.

So please illuminate to the rest of us here how printer hardware
configuration relates to security, the subject of THIS newsgroup.
 
Vanguard,
I posted here because of the "security and ADMINISTRATION" title. If you
think it belongs elsewhere please let me know where and I shall gladly go..

I cannot delete Enum as it is somehow protected. I would have thought with
all the registry cleanup and removal programs I have run these entries would
have been removed. As for the printer, it has been disconnected. If the Enum
entries merely point to hardware and I delete these will I be ok?

Thanks for your input and patience...

Ken
 
Ken, I would stay out of ControlSet001 and ControlSet002.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001
and
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002

Stick to the CurrentControlSet.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet

If you need to modify system settings in the Registry, CurrentControlSet is
the best subkey to choose because you know that it is the correct control
set. You also know that if your modifications harm your system
configuration, you will still be able to boot using the last known good
control set.

Here's why.

A control set contains system configuration information such as device
drivers and services. You may notice several instances of control sets when
viewing the Registry. Some are duplicates or mirror images of others and
some are unique.

There may be several control sets depending on how often you change system
settings or have problems with the settings you choose.

\ControlSet001
\ControlSet002
\CurrentControlSet

ControlSet001 may be the last control set you booted with, while
ControlSet002 could be what is known as the last known good control set, or
the control set that last successfully booted Windows NT. The
CurrentControlSet subkey is really a pointer to one of the ControlSetXXX
keys.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select contains the following values:
Current
Default
Failed
LastKnownGood

Each of these values contain a REG_DWORD data type and refer to specifically
to a control set. For example, if the Current value is set to 0x1, then
CurrentControlSet is pointing to ControlSet001. Similarly, if LastKnownGood
is set to 0x2, then the last known good control set is ControlSet002. The
Default value usually agrees with Current, and Failed refers to a control
set that was unable to boot Windows NT successfully.

The most valuable and reliable control set is CurrentControlSet. If you need
to modify system settings in the Registry, CurrentControlSet is the best
subkey to choose because you know that it is the correct control set. You
also know that if your modifications harm your system configuration, you
will still be able to boot using the last known good control set.
from...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/100010

The last known good control set works by keeping a backup control set of the
last successful boot.

What is the Last Known Good Control Set Good For?
The following three examples demonstrate what the last known good control
set is good for:

* You install a new device driver and restart Windows NT. The system stops
responding (hangs) when you start (boot) the computer. The last known good
control set will enable you to boot because it does not contain any
reference to the new, faulty driver.
* You install a new video driver and are able to restart the system.
However, you cannot see anything because the new video resolution is
incompatible with your video adapter. In this case, do not try to log on by
entering the correct keys. If you turn off and restart your computer, the
last known good control set can be used.
* You accidentally disable a system critical device driver (such as the
SCSIPORT driver). Windows NT is not be able to boot and reverts to the last
known good control set.
from...
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/101790

Last Known Good Control Set relates to Last Known Good Configuration. Like
starting in Safe Mode, using the F8 key, only selecting Last Known Good
Configuration instead of Safe Mode from the Boot Menu.

Choosing Last Known Good Configuration provides a way to recover from
problems such as a newly added driver that may be incorrect for your
hardware. It does not solve problems caused by corrupted or missing drivers
or files.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
WoW! You have much more knowledge of this stuff than I. Suffice to say, I
don't think I'm going to worry any more about it. Think I'll just go ahead
and reload the printers and work with them separately.

A little background: I have two printers. An HP 1610 aio and an HP 7130 aio.
The software (according to HP) for the 1610 is more recent than the software
for the 7130. I obtained the 7130 software online from HP as the original CD
was lost. HP originally told me that if I removed both printers from my
system, load the 7130 then the 1610 that the 7130 would show up in the
printer dropdown box for the 1610's software as there is a dropdown box for
printers. Well, I've done this twice and it doesn't work so now HP is
hedging. I have used software downloaded from HP and MS to remove entries
from the registry that weren't taken care of by add/remove programs. I
noticed that each subsequent time I reloaded the 7130 software, the desktop
icon had a number appended to it. I surmised that the registry was keeping
records of "things" previously loaded. As I check the registry for
"officejet" I found that indeed I was correct. Now, I figured, why don't I
get rid of these seemingly extraneous entries and that is what led to where
I am here. This also gives me a little more insight into "trial" software
you download and how it knows you have already "tired" it.

Thanks everyone for your help. I have indeed learned something about the
system. I will move on the my next problem when I figure out where to post
it. It is an annoying window that pops up every time I log off - "end
program - help".

Thanks again...

Ken
 
I have an HP printer and for a while I had two HP printers. HP seems to
infest the registry something like the way Norton\Symantec does. ;-(
It is an annoying window that pops up every time I log off - "end
program - help".
Click to expand...

If it's malware or you do not know...

UPDATE your antivirus software and run a full system scan.

UPDATE whatever anti-spyware applications that you have and run a full
system scan with each one.

You might want to start in Safe Mode to run your antivirus and anti-spyware
software.

Running a full system antivirus scan or anti-spyware scan in Safe Mode can
be a good idea. Some viruses and other malware like to conceal themselves
in areas Windows protects while using them. Safe mode will prevent those
applications access and therefore unprotect the viruses or other malware
allowing for easier removal.

How to start Windows in Safe Mode Windows XP
http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/index.php?showtutorial=61#winxo

If it's not malware...

Try this...
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

Read the instructions at the top.
76. Right hand side
Auto End Tasks to Enable a Proper Shutdown

shutdown.reg is the file you want.

Reboot after you have merged the shutdown.reg file.

shutdown.reg does the following:

* Sets ClearPageFileAtShutdown to 0.
If ClearPageFileAtShutdown is set to 1, shutdown takes a *long* time.

* Sets AutoEndTasks to 1.
Processes end automatically. The system does *NOT* wait until the process
ends, and, the process will *NOT* take more time than the value of the
HungAppTimeout entry, the End Task dialog box does *NOT* appear, stating
that the application cannot respond to the End Task request.

* Sets WaitToKillServiceTimeout to 1000 (1 second).
Determines how long the system waits for services to stop after notifying
the service that the system is shutting down. The Default value is 20000
(20 seconds).

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In
 
Wesley,
Thanks again... I'll give it a try... Today is terrible day for my
computers... many many problems... Even Dell can't fix one but they did say
to turn off HP stuff in startup... That helped for awhile... I'll read this
and give it a try...
Thanks again....

Ken
 
Ken Klein said:
I posted here because of the "security and ADMINISTRATION" title. If
you think it belongs elsewhere please let me know where and I shall
gladly go..
Click to expand...

Don't know if you are still reading this thread. Been working on
rebuilding my home computer, don't have newsgroups access from work, and
work got really busy coming up to the Xmas holidays.

microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin

There is no "and" in the newsgroup title. It is "security
administration". Yes, it would've been simpler to just use "security"
but maybe they wanted the group targeted for administrators.
I cannot delete Enum as it is somehow protected. I would have thought
with all the registry cleanup and removal programs I have run these
entries would have been removed. As for the printer, it has been
disconnected. If the Enum entries merely point to hardware and I
delete these will I be ok?
Click to expand...

You may need to change permissions for the registry key. Some will have
permissions denied even for the administrator. You have to use the
Edit -> Permissions menu to add full control to whichever account you
are using, or add full control to the Administrators group.

As I mentioned, you may also have to find which .inf file defined the
hardware. When you reboot with the printer connected, Windows will find
new hardware and reuse those INF files to define the device (so it
doesn't have to ask you for a floppy or some source to install the
hardware). Windows comes with many printers already defined to ease
setup (i.e., make it more automatic), and many are already defined using
what comes with Windows. I had a Zoom modem that I did *not* want to
use the Windows-included definitions so I had to delete the .inf file
that defined it. Because of prior problems, my modem was listed twice
and I had to delete the Enum entries to get rid of both entries (so the
new one would not have an index number and instead just show the name).

Since the .inf file could define more than one printer brand and model,
you might want to just try deleting the Enum entries, reboot, and then
refuse to let the hardware wizard define the newly found printer
hardware.
 
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