Oh no... not again... Argh...

kelly

kelly

Member
Well now my computer really needs attention, it's an HP Presario with Windows XP, recently 3rd service pack, the bottom taskbar has just gone missing, so no Start button and no internet, I'm on a public computer and will be for only a few hours, I live out of town so you'll have to excuse me if I don't respond for awhile. so far, I've tried Ctrl/Esc as an alternative to the missing Start button but it's not working, neither is the windows flag button between Ctrl and Alt. I've somehow managed to save some of my files/photos onto simple CD-R disks using Sonic, but they don't hold much, I picked up a Flashdrive thing and I'm hoping it will function with the little control I have, I know some of the bugs have kept me from using Hijack and getting proper help, I'm guessing it's time to save everything I can before jumping ship and reinstalling the OP. this is my first comp I would appreciate any and all help available. especially with not missing things I should be saving before I reinstall. besides file and folders, photos, is there anything else I should remember ? can I save the sites I have in Favorites ? how about all the work I've done on my Google Earth ?

Thanks in advance.

Kelly.

P.S. I'll check back in in a few hours before I leave.
 
maybe the taskbar is set to "hide" in its properties? Press the windows key and then right click the taskbar and go to properties and make sure its not set to hide. Everything you do on your computer is contained in a file somewhere so just do a google search on were these files are kept. Burnable DVD's can hold about 6 times more then a burnable CD and DVD burners are only about $30 on Newegg.com and they can do everything a cd burner can. A backup hard drive can hold alot more and are $50 or less.

My guess is that if your still using Windows XP on a brand name computer then its probably time to do some major upgrades.
 
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konsole said:
maybe the taskbar is set to "hide" in its properties? Press the windows key and then right click the taskbar and go to properties and make sure its not set to hide.
Click to expand...

That's probably not it, she said that she already tried the "Windows" button. Does task manager work (Ctrl+Alt+Delete)? If so, you can try manually running the explorer bar. Once the task manager is open... Task Manager > File > New Task (Run...) > Type in "explorer.exe" without the quotes, if it doesn't work or you need additional help, report back here.
 
It is possible that explorer is corrupt. Have you tried running the repair function from your Windows install disk?

As it sounds like this is a developing problem, can you give some insight as to its prior issues?
 
ctrl alt delete, file or edit at the top bar i forgot which one its under, start new process "explorer.exe"
 
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Zatharus said:
It is possible that explorer is corrupt. Have you tried running the repair function from your Windows install disk?

As it sounds like this is a developing problem, can you give some insight as to its prior issues?
Click to expand...

Thanks Zatharus. I'm not sure if I actually have a Windows installl disc, I do remember when I first bought the computer the helpers at HP had me burn 10 or so disks before I even started using the computer, I'm hoping I can use those to restore my computer.

I know for months now I've been getting a message from Microsoft that it has to shut down, then it asks if you want to send a report, even now with the internet unhooked I still get that message.
 
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kelly said:
Thanks Zatharus. I'm not sure if I actually have a Windows installl disc, I do remember when I first bought the computer the hekpers at HP had me burn 10 or so disks before I even started using the computer, I'm hoping I can use those to restore my computer.

I know for months now I've been getting a message from Microsoft that it has to shut down, then it asks if you want to send a report, even now with the internet unhooked I still get that message.
Click to expand...

Then as Zatharus suggested, the explorer file is most likely corrupted.

The install CD should look like something like this http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518wLo8kq6L._SL500_AA280_.jpg or this http://saved.im/mtq4mzixotl5/000ff71a.jpg (That's the XP SP3 CD, don't know if the SP2 one is different, my guess is that they're pretty similar.
 
kelly said:
Thanks Zatharus. I'm not sure if I actually have a Windows installl disc, I do remember when I first bought the computer the hekpers at HP had me burn 10 or so disks before I even started using the computer, I'm hoping I can use those to restore my computer.
Click to expand...

My pleasure. Those discs you burned are what you will want to have. You can use them to boot into the recovery console. Worst case scenario, you can always restore your computer to the "factory" state with those discs. Though, doing so will wipe your system. So, only use that as a last resort.

Also, if you have any Windows XP install disk, even if it is from another computer/manufacturer, you can use that to boot into the recovery partition.


I know for months now I've been getting a message from Microsoft that it has to shut down, then it asks if you want to send a report, even now with the internet unhooked I still get that message.
Click to expand...

This is a standard error reporting procedure. The fact that it happens often is not so standard. You may want to consider the restore option I mentioned above. Do you by chance have a recent backup of all your important data?
 
Thanks you guys for your help, my computer is back up a running now, I tried all sorts of suggestions but I guess my computer was just too messed up, I've had to reinstall the operating system and start from scratch, since my computer should be fairly bug free I've decided to buy a Seagate Replica to back things up, hopefully not so much work next time. thanks again.

Kelly.
 
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