Microsoft Narrator

Robert H. Risch

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Oct 13, 2003, 7:59:07 PM10/13/03

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Every so often, I accidently hit a key combination which causes this
annoying text to speech program to pop up and start its moaning
synthethic speech. How the heck can I disable it? Thanks.

RHR

Harrison

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Oct 13, 2003, 8:12:17 PM10/13/03

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Disable - See "Text Services" in the Control Panel
Uninstall - Add/Remove Programs>Office XP>Change Shared Features

Robert H. Risch

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Oct 13, 2003, 8:20:09 PM10/13/03

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I have WinXP. I don't see "Text Services" in the Control Panel.

RHR

Harrison

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Oct 13, 2003, 8:27:20 PM10/13/03

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Do a Ctrl-Alt-Del and see if "ctfmon.exe" is running.
Post back results.

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 00:20:09 GMT, Robert H. Risch

Robert H. Risch

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Oct 13, 2003, 8:34:57 PM10/13/03

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Nope, that isn't a listed process.

RHR

Harrison

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Oct 13, 2003, 8:41:26 PM10/13/03

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Windows key + u will make it star. Perhaps you're hitting those?
Find C:\Windows\System32\narrator.exe and rename it to narrator.xxx.

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 00:20:09 GMT, Robert H. Risch

°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 8:41:20 PM10/13/03

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HOW TO: Configure and Use Text-to-Speech in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=306902

Step by Step Tutorials for Windows XP: Adjusting Speech Options
http://www.microsoft.com/enable/training/windowsxp/adjspeech.aspx

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 23:59:07 GMT, in
<vremovssemgqf4c7n...@4ax.com>
Robert H. Risch scrawled:

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Basic computer maintenance
http://uk.geocities.com/personel44/maintenance.html

°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 8:54:33 PM10/13/03

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Here's some more info, if TTS, isn't the answer.

http://makeashorterlink.com/?D58C21336

"Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Accessibility, Narrator.
Or press the Windows key plus the letter "U" to open the
Utility Manager. Microsoft Narrator, an accessibility option
designed to assist readers who are blind or have impaired
vision, starts automatically.
Once you've read through the intro screen (or let the Narrator
do it), click OK and you'll see a dialog box of Narrator options.
Assuming you want to leave Narrator running, select the desired
options, then minimize its dialog box. And if you've opened
the Utility Manager, feel free to close it.

To turn Narrator off, click the Exit button or right-click its taskbar
item and select Close."

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 23:59:07 GMT, in
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Robert H. Risch scrawled:

>Every so often, I accidently hit a key combination which causes this

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Robert H. Risch

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:03:51 PM10/13/03

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On my machine it is, c:\winnt\system32\narrater.exe. Now it is
narrater.xxx. However that damm thing still pops up and starts
talking when I hit the start menu key + u. Grrr.

RHR

Harrison

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:05:58 PM10/13/03

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I saw that one, but I really think he's accidentally invoking it with
Windows-u. Based on his comments anyway.
Thanks for helping out.

Robert H. Risch

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:07:00 PM10/13/03

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Neither reference tells you how to completely disable the program.

RHR

°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:15:38 PM10/13/03

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No problem. If I had XP myself, I may have been
able to help more.

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 21:05:58 -0400, in
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Harrison scrawled:

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°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:16:54 PM10/13/03

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Do you see the Narrator icon in the task bar?

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 01:07:00 GMT, in
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Robert H. Risch scrawled:

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Robert H. Risch

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:22:36 PM10/13/03

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There is no icon for narrator in the task bar. And the start menu
key + u brings up both it and the utility manager and it starts
talking even though it has been renamed to narrator.xxx.

RHR

°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:25:07 PM10/13/03

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I'm guessing here, as I don't have XP, but have you
tried rebooting after renaming it? If it's already
running in memory, just renaming the file won't
stop the process.

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 01:22:36 GMT, in
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Robert H. Risch scrawled:

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Robert H. Risch

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:36:26 PM10/13/03

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For some reason, winxp insists on adding narrator.exe even though you
changed the name to narrator.xxx. I did solve the problem however.
The utility manager has the option to start narrator when the utility
manger starts. For some reason (the default???) this option was
checked. So I unchecked it and now narrator does not start when I
accidentally hit the start menu key + u.

RHR

Harrison

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:36:58 PM10/13/03

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I just tried renaming it, deleting the registry keys, deleting the
prefetch entry, renaming the dll, rebooting...and the Goddam thing
still comes back!
Robert is right. I get the same results as he does when those two keys
are pressed. It starts up again. If you leave it running, the icon
will be there, but not otherwise.
I've never seen anything like this one.

Robert,
all I can say is I'm sorry friend. Try not to hit Windows-u.

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 02:25:07 +0100, °Mike°
<ZHNTPD...@fcnzzbgry.pbz> wrote:

°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:40:11 PM10/13/03

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That information was in the second link I gave:
"... you'll see a dialog box of Narrator options. Assuming

you want to leave Narrator running, select the desired

options, .... "

Still, at least it's sorted now.

On Tue, 14 Oct 2003 01:36:26 GMT, in
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Robert H. Risch scrawled:

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Harrison

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:41:20 PM10/13/03

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You're ahead of me then.
I uncheck all options and it still starts squawking like Hawking.

°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:43:35 PM10/13/03

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See Robert's other reply. It's in the options. :)

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 21:36:58 -0400, in
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Harrison scrawled:

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Harrison

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:47:09 PM10/13/03

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See my last reply. It still yacks at me, but alas I don't hit the
Win-u combo, and his problem is fixed.
I'd still like to know how to get rid of it altogether though.

Thanks again for jumping in!
It's much appreciated.

°Mike°

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Oct 13, 2003, 9:59:19 PM10/13/03

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Ok, no problem.

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 21:47:09 -0400, in
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Harrison scrawled:

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