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I used the runas command to run the following command under an administrator account on the system. In this case the "owner" account was in the administrators group on the system.

C:\>runas /user:owner "RunDLL32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\TIMEDATE.cpl"

That command opened the Date and Time Properties window. When I clicked on the Time Zone tab, I found the time zone set to "GMT-8:00 Pacific Time (US & Canada)", whereas it should have been set to "GMT-5:00 Eastern Time (US & Canda)". I could now change the timze zone.

The time zone can also be specified on the command line rather than changing it through the Date and Time Properties window. E.g. the command C:\>runas /user:owner "RunDLL32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\TIMEDATE.cpl,,/Z US Eastern Standard Time" would allow one to change the time zone to "(GMT-5:00) Indiana (East)". Of course, you don't need the runas /user:owner, if you are already logged into the system as an administrator.

NOTE: You do not encapsulate the time zone string in quotation (") marks. I have quotation marks around the entire rundll32 command for entering a command with spaces in it to the runas command.

You can see what the values are that you should use on the command line for your specific time zone by running regedit and navigating to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Time Zones\.

In this case, I needed to use RunDLL32 shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\system32\TIMEDATE.cpl,,/Z Eastern Standard Time rather than using "US Eastern Standard Time" to have the time zone be "(GMT-5:00) Eastern Time US & Canada". The value that appears under the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time Properties window is what is listed for the display value under each time zone within the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version\Time Zones\ registry key.

When I changed the time zone, the time changed also to match the time zone change. I needed to reset it, which I did by opening a command window from the "owner" administrator account using runas /user:owner cmd. I then used the time command to reset the time.

References:

1. JSI Tip 7525. How do I set the Time Zone from the command line?
   A Web Exclusive from FAQ for Windows
   Jerold Schulman
   WindowsITPro

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The screen saver for the hidden account is set to the "Windows XP" screen saver with "On resume, display Welcome screen" checked.

At Hide user accounts from the Windows XP Welcome screen, one can download a tool that makes it easy to hide and unhide accounts. The webpage also mentions that the Ctrl-Alt-Del trick for logging into hidden accounts has a a pitfall - "it will fail to work if a user is still currently logged in."

If I hit Ctrl-End, the cursor is placed in the passwod field for one of the visible accounts, but hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del at that point has no effect and I can't get back into the logged in account.

I've found I can get around this problem by logging into one of the visible accounts and then immediately logging off that account. If I then hit Ctrl-Alt-Del a couple of times, I get the "Log On to Windows" user name and password prompt and can regain access to the hidden account under which I'm already logged in.

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There is also a link in the article to a Windows 7 compatibility checker, if you are interested in determing whether a system will be able to support the next version of Windows.

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I checked the setting of the account from the command line with the reg query command. The account for which I had hidden the account from the welcome screen display was the administrator account in this case.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>reg query "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList" /v Administrator

! REG.EXE VERSION 3.0

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
    Administrator       REG_DWORD       0x0

The value of zero for HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList\Administrator means the account is not shown on the welcome screen.

I turned the display of that account back on with the reg add command.

C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>reg add "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\WinLogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList" /v Administrator /t REG_DWORD /d 1
Value Administrator exists, overwrite(Y/N)? y

The operation completed successfully

I had to reboot for the administrator account to be displayed with the other accounts on the system at the welcome screen. The picture chosen for the administrator account was then shown with those for the other accounts, allowing one to click on it to logon.

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The location where svchost.exe should be located can be found in the registry at HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\RpcSs\ImagePath.

I copied the file from another Windows XP SP2 system. The file was 14KB and was dated 8/4/2004 with an MD5 hash of 8f078ae4ed187aaabc0a305146de6716 .

I discovered the svchost.exe file was missing while trying to determine why the taskbar wasn't displaying properly - it was 1/2 height and couldn't be stretched, even though unlocked, there were no programs shown on the taskbar, and the Start button was missing.

References:

1. Infected Gateway Laptop - December 2007

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[ More Info ]

[/os/windows/xp] permanent link

A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage
to your computer.

If this is the first time yo've seen this Stop error screen,
restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow
these steps:

Check to besure you have adequate disk space. If a driver is
identified in the Stop message, disable the driver or check
with the manufacturer for driver updates. Try changing video
adapters.

Check with your hardware vendor for any BIOS updates. Disable
BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need
to use Safe Mode to remove or disable compoinets, restart your
computer, pres F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then
select Safe Mode.

Technical information:

*** STOP: 0x0000008E (0xC0000005,0xBFA14A9B,0xEBF7D7Dc,0x00000000)


*** ialmdev5.DLL - Address FBA14A9B base at BFA02000, DateStamp 40292c7e

Beginning dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further
assistance.

When I rebooted the system, which is running Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2, and logged in, I received a notification that the system had recovered from a serious error. I chose to send the log to Microsoft and saw a webpage appear stating "Problem caused by Intel Graphics Driver".

Problem caused by Intel Graphics Driver

This problem was caused by Intel Graphics Driver. Intel Graphics Driver was created by Dell Inc..

There is no solution for this probem at this time.

However, your computer is missing updates that can help improve its stability and security.

In Internet Explorer (6.0.2900), I clicked on Tools then selected Windows Update. I was notified that "To use Microsoft Update, you must first install the latest version of some Windows components. This will allow your computer to work with these new features on the site:". But the installation of Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool (KB892130) failed. I tried several more times, including after rebooting, but the results were always the same.

I then tried the method outlined at Easy Way to Bypass Windows Genuine Advantage. I took the following steps in Internet Explorer.

1. Click on Tools.
2. Select Internet Options.
3. Click on the Programs tab.
4. Click on the Manage Add-ons tab.
5. Scroll down to you see "Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool" in the Name field.
6. Click on Disable to disable that add-on.
7. You will see an Add-on Status window appear stating "You have chosen to disable this add-on. For the change to take effect, you may need to restart Internet Explorer." Click on OK.
8. Click on OK to close the Manage Add-ons window.
9. Click on OK to close the Internet Options window.
10. Close Internet Explorer.

I then reopened Internet Explorer and clicked on Tools then Windows Update. Again, I clicked on the Express button to get high-priority updates. Again the Microsoft website wanted to install Windows Genuine Advantage Tool (KB892130), but again it failed.

I then went back to the Manage Add-ons window in Internet Explorer. I left Windows Geinuine Advantage Tool disabled, but clicked on the Update ActiveX button. I was prompted as to whether I wanted to install Windows Genuine Advantae and clicked on the Install button. I received a message that "The add-on was updated successfully.

I closed and reopened Internet Explorer. I then clicked on Tools and selected Windows Update again. I again clicked on the Express button to get high-priority updates. Again the installation of Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool failed. I re-enabled the add-on and restarted Internet Explorer.

Looking over the comments to the Digg posting at HOW TO: Bypass Windows Genuine Advantage!, I found that Microsoft patched that Windows Genuine Advantage bypass some time ago. The system was purchased from Dell and has the pre-installed version of Microsoft Windows XP on it. It is a valid copy, but because of Microsoft's Windows Genunine Advantage process, I don't appear to be able to download updates through Windows Update in Internet Explorer.

The system is configurd to download and install automatic updates every day at 3:00 A.M.. Looking at the "Review your update history" information, I see Windows Defender updates are occurring regularly with the last one occurring on Friday, October 19, 2007. The last WIndows XP update occurred on Thursday, October 11 with the Security Update for Windows XP (KB933729) listed.

At Microsoft Windows Update Troubleshooter, under the Manual installation instructions for Windows Update controls, I found a statement that "Several problems on the Windows Update site can be caused by outdated or mismatched site software." I downloaded the iuctl.cab file mentioned from http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/cab/x86/unicode/iuctl.cab. I followed the instructions for extracting its contents and then right-clicked on the iuctl "Setup Information" file, i.e. iuctl.inf, and chose Install.

I still had the same problem afterwards, though. Nor did closing Internet Explorer, reinstalling from the iuctl.inf, and reopening Internet Explorer and trying again, produce any different results.

Looking in C:\WINDOWS\WindowsUpdate.log, I see the following lines at the bottom of the file.

WARNING: WU client failed insalling updates with error 0x80240020
>>--  RESUMED -- COMAPI: Install [ClientId = MicrosoftUpdate]
  - Install call failed
  - Reboot required = No
  - WARNING: Exit code = 0x80240FFF; Call error code = 0x80240020
---------
--  END  -- COMAPI: Install [ClientID = MicrosoftUpdate]
-------------
WARNING: Operation failed due to earlier error, hr=80240020

At Window's Update error??, I found a suggestion to check whether *.microsoft.com and *.windowsupdate.com are in Internet Explorer's Trusted sites list. They were not, so I put them there by taking the following steps in Internet Explorer.

1. Click on Tools.
2. Select Internet Options.
3. Click on the Security tab.
4. Click on Trusted Sites.
5. Click on the Sites button.
6. Uncheck "Require server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone.
7. Put *.microsoft.com in the "Add this Web site to this zone" field and click on Add.
8. Put *.windowsupdate.com in the "Add this Web site to this zone" field and click on Add.
9. Click on OK.

I again tried Windows Update. Again the installation of the Windows Genuine Advantage Tool failed after I clicked on the Download and install now button to install it. I still got the message that "The following updates were not installed: Windows Genuine Advantage Tool (KB892130)". It still doesn't show up as a failure under the "Review your update history" link, though. But I can't search for updates either.

I found the same problem as evidenced by WindowsUpdate.log described at Re: Update still failing with 80240020 and 8024000c

I've tried Windows Update by logging into the domain administrator's account, the local administrator's account for the system, and another account in the local administrator's group. The results are always the same.

I next tried the suggestion at Windows Update Installation Error by clicking on Start, selecting Run, typing Secpol.msc, and hitting Enter. Then, under Local Policies, I checked that the Administrators group was included in the Security Setting for the following policies. It was listed for all of them.

Back up files and directories
Debug programs
Manage auditing and security log
Restore files and directories
Take ownership of files or other objects

So to this point, I've been unable to resolve the problem. Since I need to resolve a problem with Microsoft Excel on the system, I can't spend any more time on this issue tonight. I thought perhaps an update to Microsoft Office that I might find through Windows Update could resolve that problem, but I'll have to address that problem outside of the Windows Update process. And I'll have to look for an update to the graphics adapter later as well.

References:

1. Easy Way to Bypass Windows Genuine Advantage
   YouAreAdopted.Com
2. HOW TO: Bypass Windows Genuine Advantage!
   Digg
3. Windows Update Troubleshooter
   Microsoft Corporation
4. Re: Update still failing with 80240020 and 8024000c
   By: Robert Aldwinckle (robald_at_techemail.com)
   Date: October 17, 2004
   Tech-Archive.net: The source for usenet news
5. Windows Update Installation Error
   By Torgeir Bakken (MVP)
   Discussion - microsoft.public.windowsupdate | Google Groups

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To do so on Windows XP system, e.g a Windows XP Home or Media Center Edition system, take the following steps:

1. Log into the system as the administrator.


2. Click on Start.


3. Click on Control Panel.


4. Double-click on User Accounts.


5. Double-click on the account to which you wish to grant administrator access.


6. Click on Change the account type.
   


7. Change the account type from Limited to Computer Administrator.


8. Click on the Change Account Type button.


9. Logoff as administrator and logon under the user account.

You can then follow the same procedure after you have installed the software to change the account type back to Limited.

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