Self Registration Error (Windows XP Home SP2)

**rclarke6** · 2005-09-04 18:58

I have a strange problem with downloading just certain programs from the internet, hopefully someone can help.I believe the problem is comming from Windows XP but i can't be completely sure. I am using a software program called Mobile Phone Tools to connect my cell phone to my computer to exchange files, download pictures, etc. there is a feature on it that allows you to go and check for updates, using liveupdate. I can go out to the internet using Liveupdate and check for updates to the program and infact download them to my computer. However when i start the installation process the hard drive light comes on as if working and a short while later i get a message that says " Self Registration Error cannot decompress a file Please contact support " . I have tried everything i can think of to correct this problem, uninstalling software and reinstalling it, defragging, cleaning my hardrive and getting rid of programs that i don't need, making sure all windows programs are closed, and other startup programs also,making sure all virus programs are closed, also firewalls. This has been going on for over a year now and you can imagine the things i have tried to no avail. I recently purchased a new computer and this problem does not happen with it, i can update the program fine on my new computer. However i would like to be able to use the older laptop for work and other uses and would like to correct the problem on it. By the way i have contacted Support on this program and they were no help at all. They just said it was probably something wrong with XP. I was wondering if maybe one of the hotfix's for windows before SP2 came out could have caused the problem, or one of the security patches, and if you think so which one do you think it could be? Sorry to have made this so long , but i wanted to give all of the info i could. any help would be appreciated.

**viking33** · 2005-09-04 19:18

What is the file extension of the file you download? ( update.xxx )

BTW, SP2 contains all of the patches that SP1 had, plus it's own, so I doubt any problem there.

**rclarke6** · 2005-09-04 19:58

Thank you for the quick response Viking33, I don't know the file extension, it is an automated Live update and the box only contains a square that says next and it is completely automated. Then you think it would be ok to go to add remove programs and remove all of the windows updates except for SP2 update, since the old ones are included in the SP2 update. Maybe one of the old ones is corrupt or something like that. By the way I didn't explain this in the first post, but another download does something similar, i download an update from TDK Systems from its website for a bluetooth Dongle that i have and it starts to install and then i get the error message, "cannot open the Data.cab file." this happens every time also and it works fine on my new computer. I tried all the same things i did with the other program to no avail. Thats why i am thinking that there is something just not completely right with XP. Oh by the way, I have even reloaded XP on my computer, but not sure just what all it replaces when you do a quick reload. Thank you again.

***JoeP517*** · 2005-09-05 01:25

First, when you install SP-2 the patches you've already applied will not be visible in add/remove programs. Do not attempt to uninstall any of those. There could be other dependencies so that the uninstall could cause great havoc. The hotfixes you see now are from patches released since SP-2. Until you can be more sure of the cause I'd suggest you leave those alone. Second, onto the problem. This seems like a permissions issue. Is the user that you are logged on with an administrator? Also, did you do a repair install?

Joe

**rclarke6** · 2005-09-05 02:16

Thank you, joeperez, for your response. I am glad i waited to delete the windows patches now, i might have messed something up. Yes i am always logged in as the administrator on my pc's. The download doesn't give me the ability to do a repair install, I wish that it did as this may have cured the problem. as i said about the Mobile Phone Tools Live update installation, there are no choices in it. After it downloads the update files from the internet, it just asks for you to click next and then starts the download and you never see any other boxes until it decompresses all the files and then starts the regular installation. It never gets that far, after a short while i get the error message described in the first post, and when i acknowledge it, it goes away never to come back again, so i am assuming that it has not completely decompressed all the files for it to be able to continue with the installation. as i said there is no option for anything until it finishes decompressing. On the new computer everything works fine. I know this is a very wierd problem and am not really expecting a fix, but i wanted to try every thing i could to resolve it. as i said there is another program that when i download the files for updating it, I am having roughly the same problem, i say roughly because the error message is different, but they both pertain to not being able to decompress files.

***JoeP517*** · 2005-09-05 03:16

I guess I wasn't clear enough. I meant your XP reinstall/repair. Anyway, can you go to the vendor site and download updates manually?Have you tried to clear your Temporary Internet Files?

Joe

**rclarke6** · 2005-09-05 03:40

Joe, if you mean going to add/remove programs and uninstalling it and getting the box that gives you the choice of removing or repairing the program, then no i haven't done that yet, but i will try that tomorrow and get back with the results. as for as deleting the temp files, yes i have done that on several occasions. thank you again.

**viking33** · 2005-09-05 16:37

I don't want to answer for Joe, but I'm pretty sure he meant to boot to your XP CD and follow the prompts to do a repair install of XP itself. ( this would be on the second screen after the boot, not the first which would be using the recovery console repair. )

**rclarke6** · 2005-09-05 16:46

I think i understand Bob, You mean to put my XP cd in and start my laptop up with the cd in it right? Now do i have to go into Bios and tell it to start with my cd player instead of Floppy? Just trying to make sure i don't do something dumb . Also will this change my network settings , ETC?

**viking33** · 2005-09-05 17:11

Yes, that's right. You will see the prompts to repair or reinstall XP on the second screen.
If you choose a repair install you shouldn't lose you're current settings. Then check Windows Update for any new patches or updates.

Sometime at a later date you should check out slipstreaming XP and SP2 onto one CD so that it will install all of the patches and updates at one shot. That's another project though for now.

**rclarke6** · 2005-09-06 01:54

Well Guys The problem is fixed. I did try to do a repair with windows xp install disc, however after all of the repair it hung on me when restarting windows, don't know why. So i just did a fresh install and wiped everything out and started over. This did cure my problem, and fortunately i am networked at home so i saved all the important doc's on my main computer, then transferred them back after the install. I kind of wanted to start fresh with only the programs i really needed on my laptop anyway. Thanks for all of your help and your quick replys...........Richard

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