cant do a windows command...what the freak

[CaptainSauce]

So my computer likes to restart over night, im guessing due to service pack 2 crap but i click Start: Run: gpedit.msc and windows cannot find it.. what the heck is that crap? i need to get to Computer Configuration > Admin Templates > Windows components > Windows Update... any ideas out there?

[Swimmer]

Are you logged in as an administrator that would be the first thing to check.. are any of the "short cuts" working?  like services.msc?

[ghostmaster]

Windows XP Home, or Pro?

Only Pro will allow you to edit group policies.....

[dlewis23]

CaptainSauce like ghostmaster master asked XP home or Pro? you cant do that in home.  But if you are on pro, try and do it in safe mode.

[cholla]

CaptainSauce;I don't have XP but this is what I found maybe some of it will help you.

XP's built-in Administrator account is hidden from the welcome screen when a user account

with admin privileges exists and is enabled. XP Home Edition allows you to login as

built-in administrator in safe mode only. In XP Professional, just press CTRL+ALT+DEL

twice at the Welcome Screen then type in your admin password into the resulting classic

logon window that appears. Below, you will find two methods to have the admin account

display in the welcome screen.

[1] TweakUI:

You can download Tweakui for free here:

http://www.5starsupport.com/info/xpinfo.htm#powertoys

1. Once you open Tweakui.

2. In the left pane, click the Logon option.

3. Then place a checkmark in the Show Administrator option.

4. Click OK

Once you logoff, the welcome screen should now list Administrator login.

[2] Edit Windows Registry:

Warning: Be sure to make a backup copy of the registry prior to making any changes.

Go to Start>> Run>> Type in: regedit [Enter]

Drill down to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows NT/CurrentVersion/Winlogon/SpecialAccounts/

UserList

Right-click an empty space in the right pane and select New DWORD Value. Type in the word

Administrator as the value. Double-click this new value, and enter 1 as the data. Close the

registry editor.

Microsoft constantly issue patches for newly-discovered software vulnerabilities, so you

need to keep your machine updated. The most painless way to do this if you have a permanent

connection to the Internet and you tend to leave your machine on is to allow the machine to

update itself and reboot if necessary overnight. To do this, right-click on My Computer,

choose Properties and bring the Automatic Updates tab to the front. Select Automatically

download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify. In this particular

example, the machine is set to check Microsoft's website every day (recommended) for updates

and install them at 3:00AM in the morning.

What you will choose depends on your circumstances. if you don't leave your machine on and

permanently connected, then you should choose Download the updates automatically and notify

me when they are ready to be installed. If you don't like this being done automatically,

then choose the first option instead.

The Administrator account is present on every Windows XP machine (all users are by default

given the rights of an Administrator) but it is hidden. To password it (and to check that

all other accounts are passworded) go to Start>Run and type 'control userpasswords2'.

Make sure that Users must enter a name and password to use this computer is ticked, and then

choose the Administrator account and click on Reset Password.

You will be prompted for a password, which you then need to confirm.

Running any version of XP prior to Service Pack 2? Back up your registry, then add or change

this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE Software Policies Microsoft Windows WindowsUpdateAU

If it doesn't already exist, create the DWord value "NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers". Set it

to 0 if you want Windows to automatically restart, or 1 to prevent automatic restart. Then

exit and reboot

your computer. The result: As long as users are logged on the system, it won't take matters

into its own hands.

Post-XP SP2, one user reports success at disabling automatic restarting after updates on XP

Home by:

Disabling Windows Automatic Updates;

Opening Task Manager (by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del);

Ending all instances of wuauclt.exe, then;

Making the registry changes noted above.

Once Service Pack 2 is installed, XP Pro, 2000 and 2003 users can stop automatic reboots by

editing Group Policy. Start the Group Policy editor, select Windows Update in the Windows

Components portion of the Administrative Template, and choose No auto-restart for scheduled

Automatic Updates installations. You can also completely disable Windows Update at the Group

Policy or User level.