Service Profile and Unknown Device

[janew]

I continue to have problems with Win98 on my Dell after an upgrade to Netscape 4.79. When logging on I continue to get repeated messages that 'new hardware (unknown) has been found' and the wizard struggles to find a driver for it. Restoring an old registry failed (the restoration failed). Now I'm getting a message that my 'service profile is damaged' that I should reinstall it. I don't know what this is or how to reinstall it or if it's even really necessary.

I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. I feel like I'm working on a timebomb here and that I will get some fatal error sometime soon that will leave me high and dry.

Thanks.

 

[reghakr]

janew,

Did you go back the full 5 days?
Try a scanreg /fix

This MS artice I believe applies to AOL also:

Err Msg: The Service Profile Is Damaged. Re-install the...

----------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

The Microsoft Network versions 2.5, 2.51, 2.52, 2.6, 5.0
Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, 98 Second Edition

----------------------------------------------------

SYMPTOMS
After you double-click the MSN, Internet Explorer, or Outlook Express icons, you may receive the following error message when the MSN dialer tool starts:

The Service Profile is damaged. Re-install the service profile.

CAUSE
This problem can occur after you upgrade to Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition. When you do so, the following entry may not exist in the Msn.cms file or the Msn.cmp file:

[Profile Format]
Version=1

RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, use one of the following four methods:

Uninstall and Reinstall MSN
To uninstall MSN:
Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

Double-click Add/Remove Programs, and then click MSN v2.5 or MSN v2.6 from the Install/Uninstall dialog box that appears.

Click Add/Remove, and when asked if you want to remove MSN, click Yes.

To upgrade to the current version of MSN you can download or order your free CD. Go to

http://free.msn.com/upgrade.asp.

To reinstall MSN using your Windows 98 Second Edition CD:

Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

Insert your Windows 98 Second Edition CD.

In the Look in box, select your CD-ROM drive.

In the Named box, type rstormsn, and then click Find Now.

Double-click rstormsn to open, and then double-click rstormsn.exe to reinstall MSN.

Once the installation process is complete, return to the desktop by closing all open windows, and then double-click the Setup MSN Internet Access icon to configure MSN.

Rename msn.cmp and msn.cms and install MSN 5.0 or later.
This applies to MSN 5.0 only.

To rename msn.cmp and msn.cms:
Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

In the Named box, type msn.cmp msn.cms, and then click Find Now.

Right click on msn.cmp, click Rename, type msn.cmp.old, and then hit ENTER.

Right click on msn.cms, click Rename, type msn.cms.old, and then hit ENTER.

Close the Find Files or Folders dialogue box.

On the Windows 98 CD, in the \Tools\MTSutil\Rstormsn folder, double-click RSTORMSN.EXE.

Click OK

Insert the Missing Text Into the Files
Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

In the Named box, type msn.cmp msn.cms, and then click Find Now.

To open the Msn.cms file, click once to select it, hold down the left SHIFT key, and then right-click the file.

Click Open With.

In the Open With dialog box, click Notepad, verify that the Always use this program to open this file check box is cleared, and then click OK.

Verify that the following information is the first line in the opened text file, and if it is not, add it:

[Profile Format]
Version=1
Save the changes to this file, and then repeat steps 3-6 for the Msn.cmp file.

If you do not want MSN installed, delete registry key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Connection Manager

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it.
Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.

Type Reged and click Find Now.

Double click on Regedt32.exe or Regedit.exe.

Open the following folders in order: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > MICROSOFT

Delete the folder CONNECTION MANAGER

Close the Registry editor.
Shut down computer and restart.

reghakr

 

[janew]

reghakr,

thanks for your suggestions. yes, i did go back the full five days for the registry restore, but got a message that 'the restoration failed.' when i went to retry it, the registry for that day was no longer listed. i tried this two more times, and each time the same thing happened.

i'm afraid i'm going to have to reinstall my operating system at some point and need to get a windows disk from dell (if they provide such a thing, since my OS was factory installed) before i try anything else. but i will give a shot to editing the registry once i have that disk in hand.

thanks.