“Failed to read firewall configuration”
Getting this error when you run v3.x of NOD32 Antivirus? I was and it was tricky finding a solution. Here is what worked.
The Cause
I had installed NOD32 Security Suite by mistake. I uninstalled the Security Suite, restarted the computer, and then installed the Antivirus. Upon system startup NOD32 AV would give the “Failed to read firewall configuration” error. If I tried to go into the Setup it would also give the “Failed to read firewall configuration” error. I uninstalled, reinstalled, did repair installs, etc., and nothing got rid of this.
Hunting through the registry I found that NOD32 Security Suite had not uninstalled completely and had left a lot of data in the registry. Here’s the steps I went through to fix this error:
- Uninstall NOD32 Antivirus
- Reboot
- Delete the folders at these locations:
C:\Documents and Settings\YOURUSERNAME\Application Data\ESET
C:\Documents and Settings\ALL USERS\Application Data\ESET
- Check your network connection properties (usually Local Area Connection if you are on a LAN). Look to see if NOD32 Firewall is listed in the the “This connection uses the following items” on the General Tab. Uninstall it if it is.
- Reboot. Reinstall NOD32. See if it works now.
- If it still does not work then the final resort is the following steps
- Uninstall NOD32 again
- Get a good registry editing tool (perhaps a free one or one that gives a fully functional trial), backup your registry, save a system restore point, and then delete all lines in the registry that have “ESET” in them and which have “EPFW” [upper and lower case] (stands for “eset personal firewall”) in them. I deleted perhaps a hundred or more. I did not find any with “epfw” in them which were not Eset Firewall related. But you might, so check what you are deleting first.
- Look for files in c:\windows\system32\drivers which have epfw at the beginning of the filename. There might be three or four. Delete them.
That should fix it.
Most avid computer users will have discovered the Windows has a very limited feature-set when it comes to renaming files. Basically you can manually rename one file at a time, and nothing more. Bulk file renaming is not an option. If you want to rename an entire album of MP3 files, or perhaps an entire MP3 collection, a photo collection, and so forth, then I am sure you’ve already decided that doing it manually is also not an option. A bulk file renamer is required, and a free one would be even better. Right?
I’ve been looking around for a good file renamer. There is one built into a fantastic Windows Explorer replacement program that is called Directory Opus. DO is a great piece of software for Windows, converting its pathetic file explorer into a powerful beast! But DO is relatively expensive for many computer users, so if you’re just looking for a file renamer here are some options.
- Bulk Rename Utility:
Bulk Rename Utility has evolved through a series of user-requests, one-off requirements, and general enhancements. Some of the features provided by Bulk Rename Utility include:
– Very easy to use
– Rename files, folders or both
– Remove or change a filename
– Perform string substitution
– Change the case of filenames
– Remove characters or words
– Remove digits or symbols
– Append or prepend text
– Append dates in many formats
– Append the parent folder’s name
– Auto-number files with flexible rules
– Automatically preview the new names
– Sort the file details by any column
– Group configurations into “favourites”
– “Bulk Rename” Explorer extension
– Directory recursion - process subdirectories too!
– Rename files from an input text-file list
– Create an “Undo” batch file
– Log activity to a text log file
– Change file and folder date/time-stamps (created, modified, accessed)
– Change file/folder attributes (hidden, readonly, archived)
– Small memory footprint
– Settings retained between sessions
– True 32-bit application
– Written wholly in Visual C++
– Application is totally free!
- I’ll list more as and when I discover them…
Many people report that one or more computers can’t connect to other computers on their Windows NT / XP / Vista based workgroup networks. Sometimes it’s not possible to access another computer on the network — it won’t appear in the workgroup at all. Other times it appears but then it can not be accessed. Errors like the following may occur:
- “Login failure: the user has not been granted the requested logon type at this computer”
- “(XXXX) is not accessible. You might not have permission to use this network resource.
Contact the administrator of this server to find out if you have access permissions.
The list of servers for this workgroup is not currently available.
- Or perhaps you manage to access the PC but it always wants a password and user name to be entered to browse its files?
Here are a few things to check locally on the PC that you are having trouble accessing from another PC on the network. These solutions all assume you are using Windows XP. I would suggest you retry the connection after EACH of these steps… as you may not have to apply all of them. Also, I list these in no specific order.
- Guest access may have been disabled.
Go to Admististrator Tools > Local Security Policy. Then Local Policies > User Rights Management.
Find “Deny access to this computer from network”. Double-click it if “Guest” is in that list, and remove “Guest”
- Go to START > RUN > type in “CMD”
In the command prompt type in: net user guest /active:yes
-
Change the networking Node-type to “mixed”. You can check it is set to something else by typing “ipconfig /all” into a command prompt. To change it to “mixed”:
Start Manu > Run > Type in “regedit” (without the “”) and hit enter.
Go to this key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Netbt\Parameters
When you click on parameters you should have “DhcpNodeType” or just “NodeType”
Change the value to 4 (mixed type).
More info here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=160177
If that key does not exist at all (which was the case on my PC) you can create it. Create a new DWORD Value by right clicking on the right panel of the registry editor. Give it the name “DhcpNodeType” and a value of 4
- Make sure your third party firewall is not blocking sharing on the local network (see the support site for your firewall system for more info)
- If you have Windows Firewall enabled then you’ll also want to ensure that there is an exception set to allow Windows file and print sharing. Google that to find out how if you are not already sure.
- Follow the steps found in this article http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913628 in order to allow anonymous access.
- Install “NWLink IPXSPXNetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol” to your Networking configuration:
1. Go to Control Panel, and select “Network Connections”;
2. Right-click with your mouse your Network Connection and select “Properties”;
3. On the “Connection Properties” screen, select the “Install” tab;
4. On the “Select networking Component” screen select “Protocol” double-click the > Add…” Tab;
5. On the “Select Network Protocol” screen, select “NWLink IPXSPXNetBIOS Compatible Transport Protocol” and click the “OK” tab to install the protocol.
- In the above Security Policy go to Local Policies > Security Options.
Find “Network access: Sharing and security model for local accounts”. Set it to “Guest Only - Local users authenticate as guest”
I DON’T RECOMMEND THIS LAST STEP. Use it as a last resort if all else fails and if it fixes your problem. Why? Because it will prevent you from controlling who can access the various resources you share. All shares will be accessible to the Guest account, meaning you can’t lock out users from anything you share.
The last two options are last resort steps to try. Many people find step 7 resolves the access issues they experience. But I think this step is simply side-stepping another issue that can usually be fixed directly with one of the other actions/changes I’ve outlined.
Let me know which, if any, of these steps fixes your access issues.
The folks over at NirSoft have a fantastic range of free computer related tools. Categories include:
- Password Recovery Utilities
- Network Monitoring Tools
- Internet Related Utilities
- Command-line Utilities
- Desktop Utilities
- Freeware system tools
Whether you want to reveal passwords hidden behind ****s on your computer, recover passwords from files and email programs, get information on IP addresses on the Internet, retrieve your Windows installation key, manage your office add-ins, monitor data passing through your network adapter to the Internet and your local network, or perform a range of other similar tasks… NirSoft have the right tool for the job.
Recently I’ve been getting Error #429 when trying to run certain VBS scripts that attempt to make an ADODB.connection to a database on a Windows XP SP2 machine. The exact error I was getting was this:
Error #429 - Microsoft VBscript Runtime error
ActiveX component can’t create object: ‘ADODB.Connection’
I tried many things to fix this. What worked was the one of (or a combination of) the following, and perhaps it will fix this issue for you too.
TIP 1
- Open a DOS command prompt. START –> RUN –> Type in “cmd” (without the “”)
- Type in: regsvr32 C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\ado\msado15.dll
OR
If that file is not found then try:
regsvr32 C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\msado15.dll
- If the above file is not found then go hunt for it manually in that Common Files directory and its sub directories.
- Restart your computer once it is successfully registered.
TIP 2
Another thing to try:
- Use regedt32 (from START –> Run –>) to find HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones\0
- Once there find the value 1201. If it is set to “1″ then change it to “0″
Check whether the registry edit is or is not what fixes this for you. If it does not then I recommend changing it back to 1. This 1201 setting is for allowing windows to “Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe” in the Local Computer Security Zone. If it is set to 1 it is meant to prompt you. If you set it to 3 then this is disabled completely. Setting it to 0 opens it right up which should not be an issue on a clean computer with a good virus scanner and the like.
TIP 3
Some people also found that “regsvr32 scrrun.dll” (at the DOS prompt) helped.
TIP 4
You may also want to try installing the latest Windows Scripting components from Microsoft:
Windows Script 5.6 for Windows XP and Windows 2000
Windows Script 5.6 for Windows 98/Me/NT 4.0
If you are looking at a way to repair an installation of Microsoft MDAC components (2.8 SP1) on Windows XP SP2 you may have found out it’s not immediately obvious how one can do it. In fact it appears to be impossible without uninstalling SP2 and then reinstalling it. Time consuming.
As far as I know with XP SP2 the MDAC components can not be uninstalled nor can they be reinstalled. It appears they are “built into” SP2, in that they are no longer treated as a separate component from the end users point of view. Trying to install the latest MDAC download from Microsoft.com will result in an incompatibility error something like “MDAC 2.8 RTM is incompatible..”
For various reasons you may wish to reinstall/repair MDAC. Perhaps you are finding certain MDAC dependant programs / scripts are not running or generate errors that indicate MDAC is faulty… or perhaps it’s something else troubling your PC. Anyway, repairing them is possible afterall.
Here’s a little tip I found for repairing the installation of MDAC 2.8
- Locate the mdac.inf file in c:\windows\inf
- Right click and select install
- When prompted for a location, point to c:\windows\servicepackfiles\i386
- Next when promtpet for the Windows XP cdrom, either load the cd or point to c:\i386
- Hey presto, this should have reinstalled / repaired MDAC 2.8
Please let a comment here if this helps you so that other people know of the results.
In July 2006 Microsoft purchased the Sysinternals utilities suite. All the various utilities from this suite are now available from Microsoft’s web site. Many of these free tools are very useful for the advanced Windows user and administrator.
The Sysinternals web site was created in 1996 by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell to host their advanced system utilities and technical information. Microsoft acquired Sysinternals in July, 2006. Whether you’re an IT Pro or a developer, you’ll find Sysinternals utilities to help you manage, troubleshoot and diagnose your Windows systems and applications. If you have a question about a tool or how to use them, please visit the Sysinternals Forum for answers and help from other users and our moderators.
Featured Resources
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File and Disk Utilities
Utilities for viewing and monitoring file and disk access and usage. |
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Networking
Networking tools that range from connection monitors to resource security analysers. |
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Processes & Threads
Utilities for looking under the hood to see what processes are doing and the resources they are consuming. |
|
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Security Utilities
Security configuration and management utilities, including rootkit and spyware hunting programs. |
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System Information
Utilities for looking at system resource usage and configuration. |
 |
Miscellaneous
A collection of diverse utilities that includes a screen saver, presentation aid, and debugging tool. |
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There is also a great video library of many Windows troubleshooting topics.
When trying to log into a remote computer using remote desktop the username must have a password by default. If the user you wish to log in as does not have a password you will get the following error when you try to RDP into the computer with that username:
Unable to log you on because of an account restriction.
There are two basic ways to correct this.
1) Assign a password to the user account on the remote computer. Use that password when logging in locally and via RDP
Full details on how to do this are available at Jump there nowthis link.
2) Change a setting in the Group Policies that allow using a username with a null password.
You can disable blank password restrictions by using a policy. To locate and change this policy:
1. Click Start, point to Run, type gpedit.msc, and then click OK to start the Group Policy Editor.
2. Open Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options\Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only.
3. Double-click Limit local account use of blank passwords to consol logon only.
4. Click Disabled, and then click OK.
5. Quit Group Policy Editor.
You should be aware that this does make the system more vulnerable to attack via RDP. With this setting disabled a hacker only needs to guess the username and not a password. I suggest keeping Remote Desktop access disabled on the PC in question and to activate it only when you specifically want someone to RDP into it. Disable Remote Desktop again when you are finished.
If you need to be able to RDP into the computer without someone there to turn Remote Desktop on I would suggest it is highly recommended to set a secure password on the user accounts that have RDP access.
There are some useful questions and answers on Remote Desktop located here.
Windows Vista, for those who operate their computer with a Microsoft operating system, is the next big thing in the world of Microsoft Windows. Windows XP is the current release of the MS desktop operating system. Vista takes things to the next level in the evolution of this product line.
The thing is, Vista is such a leap forward that many computers may not cope with it or at least not with the fully unleashed version of the product. Will your PC handle the heavy demands of Vista or will an upgrade be necessary to experience the gloss and features Vista has to offer?
You can find out using the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. Click here to download and run it now.
If you find your PC can not handle Vista without costly upgrades or a complete replacement of your hardware, you may want to check out the free, feature rich, and less resource hungry alternatives such as Ubuntu or other Linux distribution.
Technorati : Windows Vista
Del.icio.us : Windows Vista
There are a wide range of guides and software applications for optimising Windows XP—an operating system that by default is somewhat inefficiently configured for the average user. The following guide is one that I found particularly useful in getting Windows XP to function well.
Optimize XP
Optimize XP - A Windows XP Optimization Guide
Optimize XP Clean Spyware and Viruses + Optimize Windows XP to improve home, work and gaming performance safely. Windows XP’s default configuration is far from optimized.
This Free guide will help you improve your overall system performance without having to manually edit the Registry. I avoid using or recommending “all-in-one” Windows XP Tweak programs since many blindly adjust settings that have no affect on performance and can cause future problems. This guide is designed to be performed top to bottom, in sequence since some steps are required to be performed before others. Before using this guide make sure your system meets the Windows XP System Requirements.
Click here to see the full guide
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