Runtime Error when Printing from Windows Photo Gallery

[lancekidd]

Hi,
I have Vista SP2. I'm getting this runtime error below only when I view a picture in Windows Photo Gallery and try to print a picture from within it. I've not seen the error anywhere and can print anything else with no problems.

This is the error -

"This application has requested the runtime to termintate it in an unusual manner." Then I get the "Windows Explorer has stopped working."

I have all updates and have reset IE from within Internet tools and options. I also went to the event viewer and tried to use the option that lets you send the problem to the internet to be searched and then got the error that Microsoft Management Console had stopped.

Any idea on where to start?

Thanks

 

[linney]

Can you view and print from the included MsPaint or other photo editing (or the Preview) programs?

Try running Disk Cleanup and let that delete any cached thumbnails and old temp files. Also manually delete your remaining temp files afterward.

Can you check whether the error is just for your user? Any other user getting that error?

Look at System Restore or the System File Checker.

How to repair the operating system and how to restore the operating system configuration to an earlier point in time in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936212/#appliesto

See if you can isolate a third party cause for the problem.

310560 - How to Troubleshoot By Using the Msconfig Utility in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310560

How to troubleshoot a problem by performing a clean boot in Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/929135

Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right-click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking. Try it first by not checking either box (this will run it in a Read-only mode) to see if it flags any hard drive or file problems. If it does, restart it by ticking both boxes, and rerun it to allow it to attempt to fix any found problems.

See how many unsigned drivers you have running on your machine. This article will guide you on the instructions but all you have to do is type sigverif in Start Run.

How to identify unsigned drivers using sigverif utility in Windows Vista

http://www.winvistaclub.com/f34.html

I see lots of recommendations here for programs like -

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware

http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php

SuperAntispyware

http://superantispyware.com/

 

[lancekidd]

Linney,
Thanks for responding. I've tried everything with no luck, but I have another concern maybe you could answer for me. Toshiba is upgrading me to Windows7 Home Premium because I bought my laptop within the upgrade time frame.

My question is: Is an upgrade as good as wiping the hard drive clean and installing another operating system, or do problems occur differently for people who have the full version and the upgrade? I'm hoping that the upgrade will fix my runtime errors because nothing else has worked, so I'm going to wait and see.

Also, I know this isn't on topic, but does the process of adding different user accounts clutter a computer or slow it's performance?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[linney]

The upgrade to Windows 7 may solve your problem, it will certainly give you a more reliable operating system than perhaps Vista ever was. It may remove your error, but an upgrade is different from a clean install in so far as it intentionally carries across settings and programs from the Vista install, perhaps even the fault causing problem. Unfortunately, only time will tell.

There are ways to perform a clean install with just upgrade media. Some of them are explored in this link.

Clean Install Windows 7 with Upgrade Media

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/clean_install_upgrade_media.asp

Adding several users will increase the hard drive space used but will not slow the computer down too much as only one user is normally logged on, unless you purposely use Fast User Switching, and have every user logged on at the same time, and all running different programs at the same time. Things like scanning for malware, defragging, etc., will take longer just because of the increase in data on the hard drive.

 

[linney]

Finally, some answers to Windows 7 upgrade questions

http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1477&tag=col2;topRated