Problem with Computer

[easysurfer]

Okay, so today my computer starts getting this message:

dfsvc.exe has encountered a problem and needs to close

Anyone familiar with this message? Is it a virus? A bad registry?

I search the internet and come up with some hits that say somethig like "download this, can your computer", the I can't tell if that's legit or not.

[Meadbh]

dfsvc.exe is a registry file. As a first step, try doing a system restore to a recent restore point. Perhaps a recent file update corrupted your registry. Once back in action, if you don't have a registry booster program, consider installing one. I use Power Suite and it keeps my (2003) laptop clean and fast. I don't know what to recommend if that doesn't work.

Disclaimer: I'm not a computer geek, just a regular user.

[easysurfer]

Thanks for the tip.

I tried doing rollbacks from a previous state. That didn't work.

I decided to do a restore from an image of my hard drive from the past.

[braumeister]

Whenever you see an error message (on any OS) that you can't figure out, the best thing to do is copy it exactly and paste it into Google.
You'll normally get plenty of good suggestions on how to handle it.

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Whenever you see an error message (on any OS) that you can't figure out, the best thing to do is copy it exactly and paste it into Google. You'll normally get plenty of good suggestions on how to handle it.

+1 Lots of threads on this one.

[frank]

meadbh: what registry booster do you use and where do you find it?

[Meadbh]

Google "registry booster".

[easysurfer]

I think while helping my niece testing a recovery program on my computer, I might have accidently messed up the registry. But all is good now as I spent the day restoring from an image of my hard drive and then creating a newer image for next time.

I needed to restore anyhow as Malwarebytes was taking hours to scan whereas now it only takes about 15 minutes.

[target2019]

Be careful with registry booster or any tool that "fixes" hundreds of problems. You may not have running problems going in, but could certainly have them coming out of the "fix".

[Meadbh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by target2019 Be careful with registry booster or any tool that "fixes" hundreds of problems. You may not have running problems going in, but could certainly have them coming out of the "fix".

Can you explain?

[TromboneAl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Meadbh Can you explain?

My worry would be this: let's say that the booster makes 100 changes to the registry. You run it, then check things out and say "cool!" However one of the changes causes problems for an app you use rarely. When you run that app a month later, it doesn't work right and you have no reason why.

[target2019]

Here is an article that discusses registry programs.

Al's comment was spot on. Someone near me at work was installing a demo program to a spare computer we have. It's a vital system, because it stores ten years of artwork, let's say.

One day I noticed it blue-screened. She commented that she couldn't get a demo program installed, and nothing would run properly. When she rebooted there was an error message about registry. Blue screen with no way around.

I anticipated a problem like this a few months back, and had made my own backup of several DVDs of the files.

I'm all for self-knowledge. It is a good idea to learn more about the registry. But you must exercise caution about this database that holds critical data for every process and program you need to operate properly.