I am having problems with my 3rd party firewall app and the vendor is requesting a msinfo32 (system information) "dump." XP/SP3 with up to date hotfixes.The problem however is that whether I use the GUI or command-line, it always hangs and the system utilization pegs at 50%.Tried a registry cleaner and disabling all running apps but no joy.Any ideas where to start troubleshooting would be appreciated.1 person needs an answerI do too

On Sat, 14 Aug 2010 20:39:20 +0000, jammy3 wrote:*I am having problems with my 3rd party firewall appWhat "3rd party firewall app"? Exactly what are the problems you arehaving with it?and the vendor is requesting a msinfo32 (system information) "dump."  XP/SP3 with up to date hotfixes.*The problem however is that whether I use the GUI or command-line, it always hangs and the system utilization pegs at 50%.Tried a registry cleaner Ugh! That's much more likely to make the problem worse than to solveit. Registry cleaning programs are all snake oil. Cleaning of theregistry isn't needed and is dangerous. Leave the registry alone anddon't use any registry cleaner. Despite what many people think, andwhat vendors of registry cleaning software try to convince you of,having unused registry entries doesn't really hurt you. The risk of a serious problem caused by a registry cleaner erroneouslyremoving an entry you need is far greater than any potential benefitit may have. Read http://www.edbott.com/weblog/archives/000643.htmland http://aumha.net/viewtopic.php?t=28099and alsohttp://blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/archive/2005/10/02/registry-junk-a-windows-fact-of-life.aspxLet me point out that neither I nor anyone else who warns against theuse of registry cleaners has ever said that they always causeproblems. If they always caused problems, they would disappear fromthe market almost immediately. Many people have used a registrycleaner and never had a problem with it.Rather, the problem with a registry cleaner is that it carries with itthe substantial risk of having a problem. And since there is nobenefit to using a registry cleaner, running that risk is a very badbargain.and disabling all running apps but no joy.Ken Blake

What a smart vendor. If you are using the XP firewall with your unspecified 3rd party firewall, it sounds like a self inflicted wound.Does that sound like it might apply to your system - have you disabled the XP firewall in favor of your 3rd party app firewall?Pick one or the other firewall, but it is generally a bad idea to try to use two at a time.If you 3rd party vendor app is ZoneAlarm, then you have some more work to do! Please vote my posts as helpful so I can get lots of points. I am saving up for a pony!

Hi Ken,Thanks for the info. I've been using ccleaner on MANY computers without issues for years. I've seen more corrupt registry problems on computers that I have never used registry cleaners on than on those I have used them on.I've read a lot of pro/con articles, and my take on it is that it's more like a mac/pc discussion - more akin to religion than science.Anyway, the firewall is Sunbelt Software Vipre, which I've used for a couple of years now without problem. The last week though, it shows as being disabled. The Windows firewall service is disabled.The vendor is asking for the sysinfo log to troubleshoot. I have no other problems with my system aside from the firewall.Thanks.

Sorry, forgot to mention that yes, the windows firewall service is disabled. The firewall is from Sunbelt Software as part of it's Vipre Premium package.Thanks.

If you are clicking Start, Run and entering msinfo32 in the Run box and clicking OK, does it really hang or do you see an empty white box where the system information is supposed to be?Please vote my posts as helpful so I can get lots of points. I am saving up for a pony!

No, it will run the GUI, but always hang when I try to do a save. If I use the command line "/s", it will run (you can see the process in task manager) but never produce a complete file (can't be opened). I've tried letting it run for an hour or more.Thanks.

On Sun, 15 Aug 2010 03:44:41 +0000, jammy3 wrote:Thanks for the info.  I've been using ccleaner on MANY computers without issues for years.  I've seen more corrupt registry problems on computers that I have never used registry cleaners on than on those I have used them on.I've read a lot of pro/con articles, and my take on it is that it's more like a mac/pc discussion - more akin to religion than science.I don't agree at all, but it's clearly your choice.Ken Blake

Hi Ken,That is true, and I'm not trying to convince you of anything.If you have any info on resolving the problem at hand, it would be more than appreciated.Thanks.

No, it will run the GUI, but always hang when I try to do a save. If I use the command line "/s", it will run (you can see the process in task manager) but never produce a complete file (can't be opened). I've tried letting it run for an hour or more.Thanks.Three thoughts:If by "run the GUI" you mean that msinfo32 actually displays all of the information, perhaps you can avoid the hang when you try to save by asking the vendor what specific information they are looking for. It's certainly more tedious and less convenient to manually copy information into an email rather than simply attaching a file -- but only if you can create the file in the first place.If instead of "save" you click "export", System Information saves its information in a text file (instead of a file only openable by System Information). If you do this, can you open the resulting text file and identify the point where reporting stopped?Whether you are using "save" to get a *.nfo file or "export" to get a *.txt file, there should be a popup window showing System Information refreshing each category of information, presumably before it adds that information to the output file it's building. You similarly get the "refreshing information" message as you go through the GUI, click a + to open a category and click on a sub-category.When msinfo32 hangs, is it always at the same point? That is, does the hang occur when refreshing a particular category of information (either when saving or in the GUI)? If so, that might help narrow down the area that's causing the problem.

try restting your Network and TCPIP:Try Microsoft's New Software Techie (to reset network): http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9664547Usually, 3rd Party Firewall of less repute will cause such messages. You need to get away with that. Use ZoneAlarm Free Firewall with AVG and Spybot Search & Destroy as a total free alternative. But it may reduce computing speed significantly.MSINFO32 dump suggest that your Firewall Vendor wants to know what programs you are running. It is none of their business.(do you have your System restore CD?)

Thanks for the help - I figured out that it's the "software environment\program groups" that is hanging. Not sure what that means.Thanks!

Thanks for the help - I figured out that it's the "software environment\program groups" that is hanging. Not sure what that means.Thanks!Basically, "software environment\program groups" lists programs that are in theStart menu group for every user that has a profile on the computer. It lists the group name, the name of the program itself, and the profile to which the program group belongs. KB308549Try running it from a user account with Administrative privileges.

MS app doesn't seem to have worked. Not sure why you would expect networking when there is no indication of network problems. But hey, I'll try most anything.I've used sunbelt products for years and trust them over any other (6+) that I've tried in the past. ZA is junk, AVG is barely useful and Spybot is only useful once infected. Please don't pass judgement on a product you are obviously not familiar with.This is not a "brand" computer - it is all pieces and parts I've put together and upgraded over the years - Abit VT7 mobo, P4 3.2GHz HT, 2GB Corsair Memory, etc. Good stuff - just not the newest, so no, no restore CD.Thanks.

Lem, yes msinfo32 in gui mode (as opposed to the commandline mode) shows all items - even the one it seems to hang on during a save.I actually was able to successfully do an export to a txt file! Still no joy with trying to use the save command though.Hard to say if it hangs at the same point - the gui goes "white" and you can't see any info - just the window border. The cpu pegs at 50% on helpctr.exe, although I thought earlier it was msinfo32.exe process that was stuck at 50% - strange.Thanks.

Rebuild your Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Repositiory where the system information is stored.On the Desktop, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage. Under Services and Applications, click Services, and then stop the Windows Management Instrumentation service. If asked about stopping other services (Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)), respond in the affirmative. You can consider disconnecting from the Internet before stopping the Windows firewall.Delete all of the files and folder that are in this folder:c:\Windows\System32\Wbem\Repository(or %SystemRoot%System32\Wbem\Repository)THey will be recreated shortly after rebooting.Immediately restart the computer so the Firewall will be restarted. Verify the WMI Service has been restartedAfter the system restarts, click Start, Run and in the box enter:rundll32 wbemupgd, UpgradeRepositoryClick OK to rebuild the contents of the Repository folder.This will repopulate the Repository folder with fresh information.Try your msinfo32 operation now. Please vote my posts as helpful so I can get lots of points. I am saving up for a pony!

Sorry for the late reply. I did as you suggested and it did seem to help the problem in that it finally got past the program groups hangup. It still didn't complete however and just hangs. Finally bit the bullet and just reinstalled the firewall/Antivirus app and that fixed the problem. Don't like doing that, but enough is enough. Thanks to everyone who tried to help.

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