My pc is all messed up HELP!!

Paterson · Post by **Paterson** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 9:25 pm

my comp is all messed up and I dunno why, I dont have a taskbar and none of the desktop icons load, I am able to press Alt+Ctrl+Delete and start a new task which is how I got on the net...all my programs work and everything just my desktop is all f****d up and I dunno what to to please help ...any ideas?

Thoronath · Post by **Thoronath** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:08 pm

that sucks man, thats what my pc was just doing on startup. I could only ctl+alt+delete and end explorer and run explorer.exe and then it would be fine but that got annoying so i reformatted and its fine. wish i could help with why but i did'nt have a clue with mine, thats why i just reformatted. Good luck.

DaGrooved1 · Post by **DaGrooved1** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:16 pm

Yeah, if you have XP you can "Repair Windows" without losing most of your drivers, and you retain all installed software, it worked for me and Bf2, all I had to reinstall was my soundcard.

Paterson · Post by **Paterson** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:32 pm

how do you go about doing that?

DaGrooved1 · Post by **DaGrooved1** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:32 pm

You should be able to put in the Windows XP cd, then there should be some sort of option like Upgrade or something like that, then when it asks you to reboot, I believe there is an option to repair windows. For a more confident solution i'd google for a guide or something.

Post by **Ash2Dust** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:47 pm

Chances are more than great you got infected with multiple viruses and spyware.

If you are able to get on the internet, do a free online virus (housecall) scan at http://housecall.trendmicro.com/. While you're there, fo the other 2 scans.

Then goto http://www.ravantivirus.com and do another 'scan online'.

Then for a 3rd opinion, go to http://www.pandasoftware.com/products/a ... ncipal.htm and do a 'scan your pc'.

Then for a 4th (non cleaning) opinion, goto http://security.symantec.com/default.as ... &venid=sym

If those come out clean then I'd do a system file check. Click start, run, and in the prompt type "sfc /scannow" without the quotes, have your Windows XP cd ready.

If the virus scans didnt come clean, then I'd use "Spybot, search & destroy"
http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-D ... ag=lst-0-1

And then lavasofts "Adaware 1.06" http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Per ... ag=lst-0-1

You should do all of this from safemode (with network for the online virus scans) if possible, just tap the F8 key as your computer first starts and before it says 'windows xp'. Select safemode.

Plan on 30 to 60 minutes on some scans. Also, Try uninstalling and re-installing your existing anti-virus software. Sometimes those really hang things up.

Paterson · Post by **Paterson** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:52 pm

Bestbuy installed my windows, so I dont have a windows disk...

DaGrooved1 · Post by **DaGrooved1** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 11:38 pm

YOU DON'T HAVE A WINDOWS DISK?! OMFG! YOUR DOOMED THEN! With out a windows disk you cant even wipe your PC! Your only choice is to bring it back to bestbuy or some other place and have em fix it for you.

Post by **sushi** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 5:23 am

Right! Cheer him up! I would suggest that you try that virus check first and if that doesn't do the trick you go to the seller.

Post by **Ash2Dust** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 2:08 pm

Paterson wrote:Bestbuy installed my windows, so I dont have a windows disk...

This is a non-name brand computer? You should at least have your unique Windows XP cd-key sticker stuck on the sides, rear, or front. Microsoft requires this to battle 'piracy' and would be very interested if BestBuy was pirating copies. Plus it can be leverage against Bestbuy that you paid for Windows XP but did not receive your license and CD.

If you have this key sticker on your machine, you could try using someones elses Windows XP CD. Home keys are different from Professional keys.

Having to back up data, and re-install window is a common and easier fix these days to many problems.

=GC=Cobra (Darat) · Post by **=GC=Cobra (Darat)** » Wed Aug 24, 2005 4:58 pm

keys are different from Professional keys. and service pack versions are different as well if you have px w/ spk 2 and you try to load a disk that was preloaded with spk 1 or even without any spk's the cd key's will have to match them. sorry for the bad news

Post by **Ash2Dust** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:06 am

=GC=Cobra (Darat) wrote:keys are different from Professional keys. and service pack versions are different as well if you have px w/ spk 2 and you try to load a disk that was preloaded with spk 1 or even without any spk's the cd key's will have to match them. sorry for the bad news

Havent run into keys being service pack specific. Only version oriented: OEM, generic OEM, and Retail CD's being different ontop of Home, Professional, and Media Center Edition.

But a huge majority are home edition and generic OEM. I asked if it was a non-brand name to discern what version of xp he might have.

=GC=Cobra (Darat) · Post by **=GC=Cobra (Darat)** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:26 am

Yep xp Key's are version specific and each cd with service pk's added to them are a differant version {ie Xp Pro with sp1 or XP pro OEM /w sp2 and so on }

Reaper13 · Post by **Reaper13** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 12:40 am

If you didnt get an actual windows xp disc and key, you should have gotten an os disc recovery set. If not then its probably pirated, and then windows update wont work.