Classic Shell: Forum

I may have hit upon a software incompatibility. I just did a clean install of Windows 8.1 after been on Vista Ultimate for the last four years. I did not like Microsoft's Tile World set up and so I installed Classic Shell. I have an HP HDX 18t laptop. I then reinstalled all my other programs and then the last I did was to re-install my Norton but I had Norton Utilities 15 and had to upgrade to Norton Utilities 16 because of Windows 8.1.


The last thing I did before shutting down my computer was run the Clean registry of Norton Utilities. I saw that it was going to clear 23 Registry items. I thought that a little weird but since I was doing a lot of installing of programs I thought that that was possible. Thought nothing of it until the next day when turning it back on--I get a black screen. Nothing.


My guess is that Norton Utilities Registry Cleaner does not recognize Classic Shell. I am not looking for a solution. I am just letting you know of my experience. I have no way of getting back on the computer without taking it to the tech and that is going to take some money that I do not have. Right now, I will just have to shelve the laptop for now.

I am very wary of registry cleaners. They often mess up things they don't understand. Do you know if any of the cleaned up items are belonged to Classic Shell?

Also, when you say "black screen" does it mean the PC doesn't boot at all? If so, that's more likely a hardware failure than software. And if not, and you can still boot somehow, then you can try a repair or clean install of the OS.

Registry cleaners don't use any reliable technique to clean the registry. They are hit-or-miss and should not be used at all. They damage the system more often than not.

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I am a Windows enthusiast and helped a little with Classic Shell's testing and usability/UX feedback.