Troubleshooting

Solving problems with applications failing to start or operate properly

If some application that you have on your computer started to display errors or does not start at all after you have enabled protection with Folder Guard, it could be because you have configured Folder Guard to restrict access to a file or folder that the applications uses during its operation. For example, many programs need to be able to save files into their installation folders, and if you assign the read-only or no-access attributes to such folders, it may cause such applications to fail. Other applications may need to be able to write information into the files located in the C:\Windows folder. Again, if you restrict access to the C:\Windows folder, such applications may start displaying errors. To solve such problems, review the folder restrictions you have set up with Folder Guard, and remove protection from the folders that you suspect may be causing the errors. You may also find the To protect or not to protect section of this guide of use.

Solving problems with Windows failing to start properly

If Windows cannot start properly after you have enabled protection with Folder Guard, it could be because you have configured Folder Guard to restrict access to some system file or folder that Windows uses during its work. For example, if you assign the no-access attribute to the C:\Windows folder, or to the C:\Users or C:\Documents and Settings folders, or to the whole C: drive, it will most probably cause Windows to fail. If that happens, simply reboot Windows in the "safe mode" (see below), run Folder Guard in that mode, and remove protection from the folders in question, then restart your computer as usual.

How to restart your computer in the "safe mode"

Restart your computer and when the restart begins, press F8 several times until the startup menu appears on the screen. Choose safe mode from the menu.

Once in the safe mode, choose Start - Programs - Folder Guard - Uninstall to remove Folder Guard from your computer. Then restart your computer as usual.

Performing a clean test of Folder Guard

If you suspect that the error you see is caused by a restriction you have configured with Folder Guard, try the following: completely uninstall Folder Guard from your computer (choose to erase its settings, when prompted), then install it back and configure it to protect just one test folder, such as C:\Test. Assign the No Access attribute to the test folder, and do not set up any other restriction. If the problem does not occur in this case, try to restrict other folders, as needed, one at a time, testing the condition that previously resulted in an error after each significant change. This could give you an idea of which restriction is causing the problem.

Solving problems caused by incompatibility between Folder Guard and some other program

If the problem persists even when you've protected just one test folder as described above, then another reason could be an incompatibility between Folder Guard and some other program you have (such as anti-virus, disk utilities, programs that install icons in the taskbar next to the system clock, etc.) You may want to try to temporarily disable such programs, one at a time, and see if that corrects the situation. If you discover which other program is causing the conflict, please let us know and we will investigate.