Weather gadget not working- Cannot connect to service

Anonymous
2013-01-14T14:07:43+00:00

original title: Weather gadget not working !!

I have Windows 7 Ultimate 64 - bit and my weather gadget is not working, it is displaying a message "Cannot connect to service .

I have also tried by turning off firewall and antivirus but it still don't works for me .

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Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2013-01-15T09:19:57+00:00

Update:

Microsoft has DISABLED the weather and currency gadgets via a recent Security Update, due to concerns over the vulnerability associated with these gadgets running on your computer. You can read more about it here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2719662 . Adjusting your computer's settings and all these other "suggestions" people are making, will NOT work. The function has been REMOVED from the operating system. It has also been removed from the Windows 8 operating system. There are "theorists" that either agree that there is a security issue within the gadgets or Microsoft just does not want to support gadgets (usually third party software) and thus, has disabled them in Windows 7 and eliminated them in Windows 8.

Thanks to DaveNYC for the Info. Spread the word because many people are facing this problem just like you.

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Anonymous
2015-05-29T15:03:04+00:00

To all having this problem, the following worked for me:

After eading all kind of solutions, I changed the config.xml file according instructions and then I got connected but only to my own location (in my case Amsterdam). Tried everything else, no results, till I only give the exact zip code for the place I like to see the weather in the search menu and guess it worked, then I did the same on my computer in Greece (via teamviewer) and there it worked as well.

I hope it will help you as good as it did for me.

Ron

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-02-14T01:36:11+00:00

    holy moly that worked perfectly, thanks for the fix

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-02-14T03:47:12+00:00

    I found a quick fix on another website for the issue. I have confirmed it worked on my computer.

    Go to "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live\Services\Cache", open "Config.xml" (RMB -> Edit) and save it (File -> Save) without doing any changes. After 10-20 seconds restart the gadget!

    It didn't work for me  :(

    What is the "USERNAME" and where do you find it ?

    George, "Username" is not a web page. You can't find it on the web. It's a folder on your computer. Follow the path as stipulated by opening each folder in turn on your C: Drive :

     "C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live\Services\Cache" 

    Click on the Windows Start button, choose "Computer", open that, click on "C:" drive, then scroll down for "Users" - open that, look for YOUR OWN FIRST NAME (in your case it's probably "George") open that, then "AppData" and so on until you get to "Cache".

    Easy when you know how!

    But as I said earlier, this fix stopped working for me after it did work for a few days, so now I have installed a new gadget from the website that Jerry G posted, and which is still working AND, amazingly, I'm able to choose a Location for the temperature which is nearer than the original gadget allowed me to.

    And, to dispel Anders's fear, I ran a scan (Malwarebytes Anti-Malware) on the newly installed gadget which returned the result: No malicious content or threat detected.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-02-14T05:30:04+00:00

    You're full of it. I re-enabled the function of the WX gadget using the copy n paste files from a working machine method MONTHS ago.

    Sting251 gives you the how to below so I won't try to impress anyone by posting the same info, just go read their post. One thing, depending on if you are running x86 or x64. In x64, some of the files eg: settings.ini will be found in the C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar folder. I had to hunt around a bit, but found what I needed. BTW, been blowing Windows up since version 1.0 was released in 1985...then getting paid to do so since 1993...worked for a major broadcast corp as regional IT Dir. with $95 million in stations on my shoulders. One HUGE argument we guys in the field ALWAYS had with the suits at corp. is..they would say.."You can't do it like that, that's not the way it works"....and I would always have to point out, "well, read that book all you want to, draw inside the lines the rest of your life, see how far you get...it's working that way whether MS intended it to or not, but it works and my systems were living proof that just cause the book says it can't be done, isn't always the gospel...

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