Message "Security Center is currently unavailable"

Q: When I run Windows Security Center I get this message:

The Security Center is currently unavailable because the "Security Center" service has not started or was stopped. Please close this window, restart the computer (or start the "Security Center" service), and then open the Security Center again.

A: To start the "Security Center" service, use these steps:

• Click Start, Run and type Services.msc


• Double-click "Security Center" service from the listing


• Set the startup type of the service to "Automatic"


• Start the service by clicking the "Start" button in that applet.

Question: I'm attempting to find out how to use a WMI or VBScript to modify the default "Open With" program for a given 'File Type' in Windows XP. (Both Local and Remote systems using WMI) I have users that want to open .DOC files in WordPad.exe instead of WordView.exe.
Is there an Object or Method that exposes this availability? If so, does anybody have any code snips? I have to update about 1000+ computers and I would like to send out this script via SMS or during login.bat

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Answer: The following command-line should do the trick for you:

%comspec% /c assoc .doc=WordPad.Document.1
-or-
CMD /c assoc .doc=WordPad.Document.1

This can be executed from a batch file.

WinExit.scr Permissions

Question: When a limited user uses the Winexit screen saver, I get the following error message:

"Error encountered while creating registry key. Make sure you have Set Value and Create Subkey Permissions."

Answer: The Winexit.scr does not run correctly under Limited accounts by default. However, by altering the Permissions for a registry key, you can resolve the problem.

See : Logoff Screen Saver Does Not Function in Windows NT

Note that this KB was written for Windows NT, but very much applies to Windows XP as well.

For configuring the registry Permissions, see the KB below:

How To Use the Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Registry Editor Features

Question: My system has no .CHM viewing ability. When i launch a .chm file i either get an application error from the program it relates to, or nothing happens. I believe it has something to do with C:\WINDOWS\hh.exe. Any ideas ?

Answer: One of these suggestions might help.

Clear the Temporary Internet Files

1. Close all Internet Explorer windows.
2. Type INETCPL.CPL in Start, Run dialog
3. Click the Delete Files button
4. Select Delete all offline content and click OK
5. Click OK to close the dialog

Clear the contents of the TEMP folder

Type %TEMP% in Start, Run dialog. Select all files in the Temp folder and delete them. Some files in the TEMP folder may be in use. If so, ignore the error and continue deleting the remaining files in that folder.

Register the core modules using these commands

regsvr32 ole32.dll
regsvr32 hhctrl.ocx
regsvr32 itss.dll
regsvr32 msxml3.dll
regsvr32 mshtml.dll /i
regsvr32 jscript.dll
helpctr.exe -regserver

And another step, suggested by Pete Lees [MVP]

You could try deleting the file hh.dat, which should be in this directory:
%userprofile%\Application Data\Microsoft\HTML Help

Hh.dat is a database file that saves such session information as the window position and favorites for the HTML Help viewer. The database file is automatically updated every time the HTML Help Viewer is used. If the database file does not exist, it is re-created. When updating the HTML Help viewer, the information in Hh.dat is not necessarily compatible with the new viewer, which can cause it to become corrupt.

References

PRB: HTML Help Viewer Causes Access Violation

PRB: Hh.exe Causes an Access Violation When Opening .chm Files

Reboot, and then try opening a CHM file to test.
Type in Start, Run: %Windir%\Help\access.chm

Reset the entire registry permissions to defaults

This post is moved to the following URL:
Reset the Registry and the File Permissions in Windows XP - The Winhelponline Blog