Member Avatar for KR Masters

After seven hours of searching and applying various fixes to my own corrupted Windows Search NONE of Which Worked!!!
You "gurus" out there really let me down this time. (I'm telling ya it was worse then finding out about Santa,the Tooth fairy or even the wiz for that matter)
I finally resolved the issue my own dumbass self And having found no fixes/workarounds posted that worked I thought I would post mine.
A brief synopsis.
I ran Registry mechanic to clean up my registry(an ounce of prevention...blah blah blah goes along way. HAH) and somehow corrupted windows search assistant. I got the the classic blank search assistant window as well as help center not running at all. So I followed the instructions for the 3 fixes on the following web page.

None of which resolved my problem.

So more searching, getting nowhere slowly, but gleaming essential info along the way I learned that xml was involved. So I attempted to run any xml page i could find in iexplore/explorer all of which came up blank and each time I received a class not registered error. So my stupidity was all falling to place not only did I unassociate the xml file type I unregistered it as a class. Thats what I get for not reading each registry entry that Registry mechanic was going to fix.
So I tried to register the xml class (I ran regsvr32 msxml3.dll not even sure what exactly msxml3.dll does but at this point an xp reinstall was looming closer and closer and being a firm believer that freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose)
if it related to xml I played with it
no luck
I reinstalled Java.
Nope
Well to be truthfull I did alot of things some of which I am not to proud of... its all just a windows blur at this point because nothing worked and sadly the web wasn't giving this one up.
But I did fix the problem and I hope this helps some other exasperated, perturbed, and potentially homicidal individual

So lets just cut to the chase...
I reinstalled Iexplorer 6 sp1 and low and behold my file search is working though help center isnt.(no big loss...it's windows help center useless useless useless)
now to be explicit i actually used the IE Admin kit and created a profile to install all the IE related apps. Not sure if a plain install from Windows dowload would have worked....I always liked the bazooka approach to life anyways...
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/ie/ieak/downloads/ieak6/ieak6sp1.mspx
I ran the setup it created rebooted and now I can get back to searching for all those bloated temp files that eat up my hardrive faster then Bill can spend his pretty pennys or George W and "DICK" Cheney can erode our constitutional rights.
Hope this helps

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by dlh6213

Dani AI

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Short technical summary: a blank Search Assistant (and a non‑working Help Center) after running a registry cleaner usually means core XML/IE COM components or the .xml file association were damaged or unregistered. That explains why restoring the Internet Explorer/MSXML pieces fixed Search for . is correct that a repair/refresh install will fix lingering Help faults, and ’s reminder to post clear symptoms upfront is worth repeating — exact error text (for example "class not registered") points to which COM object needs repair.

Practical, low-risk troubleshooting (try in this order):

  • Make a full backup first: create a System Restore point and export the registry.

  • Check Event Viewer for the exact error/CLSID; note the DLL or COM object named.

  • Restore the .xml file type via Explorer → Tools → Folder Options → File Types (set to open as an XML document with IE or Notepad if the type is missing).

  • Repair missing/corrupt system files. Run:

    sfc /scannow

    (You will need your Windows media if prompted.)

  • If the XML parser is damaged, reinstall or repair the MSXML runtime for your OS or re-register the XML parser DLLs (use the usual system registration method if comfortable). If unsure, run the Internet Explorer repair option in Add/Remove Programs / Windows Components to restore COM registrations Search Companion depends on.

Notes and cautions: registry cleaners can remove necessary COM registrations and file associations — always export affected registry keys and make a restore point before sweeping changes. If the above steps don’t restore Help Center, a Windows repair/refresh install is often the quickest, reliable resolution.

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Member Avatar for Catweazle

errmmm.....

If you do a refresh install of Windows it'll probably fix up Help as well. In fact, it probably would've been the easiest and quickest course of action from the outset. Sometimes people can just get too technical and turn things into a lot of work.

Also, indiscriminate use of Registry cleaners is not necessarily a good thing. They can stuff up the way things work :D

The bazooka approach is not really a very good one!

Member Avatar for dlh6213

You "gurus" out there really let me down this time.

First of all, I'd like to welcome you to DaniWeb :)

But I'd like to know how you can make a statement like this when you never posted anything stating what your problem was or asking for suggestions?

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