Administator rights lost / constant freezing

[NoIdeaYet]

Hello everybody,

 

I have an HP laptop which originally had Windows 7 and now runs with Windows 8 (not 8.1). So far, things have been going smoothly.

 

Yesterday, however, the computer started to get really slow and I noticed that I am not able any more to perform various functions: I cannot open the Control Panel, I cannot open CCleaner, I cannot open Windows Live Mail, I cannot open programmes as administrator. Right now, I cannot open any programmes at all actually. In all these instances, there is either only a white window with no content (for the control panel), a small black window appears (trying to open Windows Mail) or nothing happens at all (e.g. trying to open cmd as an administrator).

 

I called Microsoft Support and they said that the problem is due to the CCleaner which changed stuff in the Registry. I have no idea whether this is true or not.

 

I cannot perform right-clicks any more nor can I copy my files on an external HDD with CTRL+C and CTRL+V. It starts copying, but never finishes. Do you have any suggestions for me? Thank you in advance, I would be really glad!

[Augeas]

Well, if you ran CC yesterday, or very recently, and you ran a registry clean, and you backed up the registry changes, you could try to restore the changes from the backup. If that can't be done or doesn't work you could try Win 8's extensive recovery options.

[NoIdeaYet]

Well, if you ran CC yesterday, or very recently, and you ran a registry clean, and you backed up the registry changes, you could try to restore the changes from the backup. If that can't be done or doesn't work you could try Win 8's extensive recovery options.

 

Thank you very much for your response! I haven't run CC for a while (say, two weeks), and in particular I have not touched the registry clean recently. I can't even recall whether I have used the registry clean at all.

 

How can I use the recovery options in Win 8? I can't enter the control panel and if I boot in "safe mode", only a black screen with the mouse pointer appears. Are there any other options?

 

P.S. - I am the only user on the computer.

[Augeas]

It doesn't sound as if CC is the problem, owing to the time between running it and the problems showing and the lack of registry cleaning. I can't really go into Win 8's recovery, as I've never needed it and I haven't the time, but it seemed pretty comprehensive from what I remember during my W8 install. As you're on a pc you could try reading up about it (good old Google). Or perhaps someone with more time and experience will drop by to help.

[hazelnut]

Are all your security softwares up to date and their scans coming up clean?

 

It may be an idea to have your system checked out for malware at one of the places linked to here

 

http://forum.pirifor...showtopic=34786

 

Do you have a Windows 8 install disc?

 

Did you make a system repair disc?

 

If you close down the machine by just pressing the power button instead of choosing to shut down correctly, do you get offered the opportunity to do a startup repair (because of an improper shutdown) when the machine boots again?

[Alan_B]

Almost every one, perhaps even Microsoft Support, knows that Registry Cleaners in general can be hazardous to the health of your computer.

 

Unless he actually gained access to the files on your computer,

my second guess would be that he knew you had CCleaner because you told him,

and he chose to blame its registry cleaner instead of considering the impact of Microsoft Patch updates and Malware.

I never have trouble with Malware - but twice in 6 months last year Microsoft Patch updates destroyed my mature Windows 7

Very recently an update to the immature Windows 8.1 had to be pulled,

and I doubt that updates to Windows 8.0 are that much more dependable.

 

N.B.

My first guess was that you Googled for Microsoft Support,

and got taken to one of those outfits that normally phone you to say that they are from Microsoft and know you have problems and will help you.