Problem with no task bar, start menu, explorer, mediaplayer

Yesterday I posted and am trying to give information to my friend whose
computer has gone belly up and he has no task bar, start menu, explorer,
email, or media player. Over the last couple of days he has tried the
ctrl-esc, alt - ctrl- delete, has started in safe mode, tried to to a repair
but nothing works. He can through Mozilla open web pages, and can type in
WLM and has video, but no verbal communication is possible. Should he put
the bullet through the computer and read books instead. No really can anyone
help with this problem. xp with sp2 is his operating system.....

"shirlaust" wrote
> Yesterday I posted and am trying to give information to my friend whose
> computer has gone belly up and he has no task bar, start menu, explorer,
> email, or media player. Over the last couple of days he has tried the
> ctrl-esc, alt - ctrl- delete, has started in safe mode, tried to to a
> repair
> but nothing works. He can through Mozilla open web pages, and can type in
> WLM and has video, but no verbal communication is possible. Should he put
> the bullet through the computer and read books instead. No really can
> anyone
> help with this problem. xp with sp2 is his operating system.....

I see no previous messages under your name.

You haven't given enough info on this issue, what the history of the problem
is, whether it will start in safe mode, if he can do a system restore to
before this happened, etc.

Without knowing more here are some things to try.
1. From task manager start a new task for system restore:
c:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe. If that opens restore to a point
when the problem didn't exist.
2. If it won't work in normal mode, boot into safe mode and do a system
restore. Try safe mode with command prompt, and then give the same command
as before to open the GUI.
3. Do a repair install:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
4. Do a clean install:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

I am sorry that I was short on information...my friend is unable to do
anything in normal mode other than get up hotmail and then can open web sites
as I send the addresses....he has tried to do a restore in safe mode but
can't see anywhere where it says to restore to last known before the problem.
He was going to do a clean boot where he would lose all that is on the
computer but was wanting to try and save his recent photos but of course he
cannot do anything, cannot print out instructions as the printer won't work
with the state of the computer at the moment....What does GUI mean....we are
both novices and really do appreciate your help. Thank you. Of course I
won't be able to give this information until the early hours of the morning
here as we are in different countries.

"Rock" wrote:

> "shirlaust" wrote
> > Yesterday I posted and am trying to give information to my friend whose
> > computer has gone belly up and he has no task bar, start menu, explorer,
> > email, or media player. Over the last couple of days he has tried the
> > ctrl-esc, alt - ctrl- delete, has started in safe mode, tried to to a
> > repair
> > but nothing works. He can through Mozilla open web pages, and can type in
> > WLM and has video, but no verbal communication is possible. Should he put
> > the bullet through the computer and read books instead. No really can
> > anyone
> > help with this problem. xp with sp2 is his operating system.....
>
> I see no previous messages under your name.
>
> You haven't given enough info on this issue, what the history of the problem
> is, whether it will start in safe mode, if he can do a system restore to
> before this happened, etc.
>
> Without knowing more here are some things to try.
> 1. From task manager start a new task for system restore:
> c:\windows\system32\restore\rstrui.exe. If that opens restore to a point
> when the problem didn't exist.
> 2. If it won't work in normal mode, boot into safe mode and do a system
> restore. Try safe mode with command prompt, and then give the same command
> as before to open the GUI.
> 3. Do a repair install:
> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
> 4. Do a clean install:
> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html
>
> --
> Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]
>
>

"shirlaust" <shirlaust@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:F7A72A10-81B5-4839-B0D3-0BE2F53FD858@microsoft.com...
>
> I am sorry that I was short on information...my friend is unable to do
> anything in normal mode other than get up hotmail and then can open web
> sites
> as I send the addresses....he has tried to do a restore in safe mode but
> can't see anywhere where it says to restore to last known before the
> problem.

There is no option in System Restore hat says this is the last known before
the problem. The OP chooses a restore point based on their knowledge of
when the problem started. If they are not sure then it's a process of
trying them in sequence starting with the most recent.

> He was going to do a clean boot where he would lose all that is on the
> computer but was wanting to try and save his recent photos but of course
> he
> cannot do anything, cannot print out instructions as the printer won't
> work
> with the state of the computer at the moment....What does GUI mean....we
> are
> both novices and really do appreciate your help. Thank you. Of course I
> won't be able to give this information until the early hours of the
> morning
> here as we are in different countries.

There are ways to backup the data. Since he can access safe mode can't he
copy the data from there to a USB thumb drive?

GUI - Graphical User Interface. That means the graphical dialog box.

Here are some other ways to backup data from a system that won't boot:

1. Take the drive out of the computer and install it as a slave drive in
another Windows XP or 2000 computer. It should read the drive ok, so you can
copy the data. A variation of this is to put the drive in an external drive
enclosure and connect that to the other computer.

2. Create a bootable Bart's PE disk, boot from that, then copy the data to
external USB drive or flash drive.

3. Download a bootable Linux distro called Knoppix. Create a bootable CD
from that, boot from it, and copy the data to USB drive or flash drive, or
if the computer has two CD drives, one of which is a burner, then use the
k3b burning program on the Knoppix CD to burn the data to CD.

4. Take it to a competent computer tech to backup the data.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

Thank you for that information but just an update on following your
instructions for the restore....my friend did that and it came up that "
system restore cannot protect computer" then it suggested to restart the
computer. My thought is that system restore doesn't protect your computer
and that in some way my friends computer has been hacked.....even in safe
mode he was unable to get system restore up....in the safe mode he typed in
at the prompt the information that you gave and then it just came with
another prompt to type again. Hope this makes sense.


"Rock" wrote:

> "shirlaust" <shirlaust@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:F7A72A10-81B5-4839-B0D3-@microsoft.com...
> >
> > I am sorry that I was short on information...my friend is unable to do
> > anything in normal mode other than get up hotmail and then can open web
> > sites
> > as I send the addresses....he has tried to do a restore in safe mode but
> > can't see anywhere where it says to restore to last known before the
> > problem.
>
> There is no option in System Restore hat says this is the last known before
> the problem. The OP chooses a restore point based on their knowledge of
> when the problem started. If they are not sure then it's a process of
> trying them in sequence starting with the most recent.
>
> > He was going to do a clean boot where he would lose all that is on the
> > computer but was wanting to try and save his recent photos but of course
> > he
> > cannot do anything, cannot print out instructions as the printer won't
> > work
> > with the state of the computer at the moment....What does GUI mean....we
> > are
> > both novices and really do appreciate your help. Thank you. Of course I
> > won't be able to give this information until the early hours of the
> > morning
> > here as we are in different countries.
>
> There are ways to backup the data. Since he can access safe mode can't he
> copy the data from there to a USB thumb drive?
>
> GUI - Graphical User Interface. That means the graphical dialog box.
>
> Here are some other ways to backup data from a system that won't boot:
>
> 1. Take the drive out of the computer and install it as a slave drive in
> another Windows XP or 2000 computer. It should read the drive ok, so you can
> copy the data. A variation of this is to put the drive in an external drive
> enclosure and connect that to the other computer.
>
> 2. Create a bootable Bart's PE disk, boot from that, then copy the data to
> external USB drive or flash drive.
>
> 3. Download a bootable Linux distro called Knoppix. Create a bootable CD
> from that, boot from it, and copy the data to USB drive or flash drive, or
> if the computer has two CD drives, one of which is a burner, then use the
> k3b burning program on the Knoppix CD to burn the data to CD.
>
> 4. Take it to a competent computer tech to backup the data.
>
> --
> Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]
>
>

"shirlaust" wrote
> Thank you for that information but just an update on following your
> instructions for the restore....my friend did that and it came up that "
> system restore cannot protect computer" then it suggested to restart the
> computer. My thought is that system restore doesn't protect your computer
> and that in some way my friends computer has been hacked.....even in safe
> mode he was unable to get system restore up....in the safe mode he typed
> in
> at the prompt the information that you gave and then it just came with
> another prompt to type again. Hope this makes sense.

> "Rock" wrote:
>
>> "shirlaust" <shirlaust@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
>> >
>> > I am sorry that I was short on information...my friend is unable to do
>> > anything in normal mode other than get up hotmail and then can open web
>> > sites
>> > as I send the addresses....he has tried to do a restore in safe mode
>> > but
>> > can't see anywhere where it says to restore to last known before the
>> > problem.
>>
>> There is no option in System Restore hat says this is the last known
>> before
>> the problem. The OP chooses a restore point based on their knowledge of
>> when the problem started. If they are not sure then it's a process of
>> trying them in sequence starting with the most recent.
>>
>> > He was going to do a clean boot where he would lose all that is on the
>> > computer but was wanting to try and save his recent photos but of
>> > course
>> > he
>> > cannot do anything, cannot print out instructions as the printer won't
>> > work
>> > with the state of the computer at the moment....What does GUI
>> > mean....we
>> > are
>> > both novices and really do appreciate your help. Thank you. Of course
>> > I
>> > won't be able to give this information until the early hours of the
>> > morning
>> > here as we are in different countries.
>>
>> There are ways to backup the data. Since he can access safe mode can't
>> he
>> copy the data from there to a USB thumb drive?
>>
>> GUI - Graphical User Interface. That means the graphical dialog box.
>>
>> Here are some other ways to backup data from a system that won't boot:
>>
>> 1. Take the drive out of the computer and install it as a slave drive in
>> another Windows XP or 2000 computer. It should read the drive ok, so you
>> can
>> copy the data. A variation of this is to put the drive in an external
>> drive
>> enclosure and connect that to the other computer.
>>
>> 2. Create a bootable Bart's PE disk, boot from that, then copy the data
>> to
>> external USB drive or flash drive.
>>
>> 3. Download a bootable Linux distro called Knoppix. Create a bootable CD
>> from that, boot from it, and copy the data to USB drive or flash drive,
>> or
>> if the computer has two CD drives, one of which is a burner, then use the
>> k3b burning program on the Knoppix CD to burn the data to CD.
>>
>> 4. Take it to a competent computer tech to backup the data.

There's a variety of reasons why system restore won't work. If you really
want to diagnose it, check MVP Bert Kinney's System Restore page here:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

Some of these fixes result in loosing all current restore points so that
won't help your friend. If he can't fix system restore or restoring doesn't
fix the issues, then the next step is to do a repair install. I gave you
the link for that in my first reply.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

"Rock" wrote:

> "shirlaust" wrote
> > Thank you for that information but just an update on following your
> > instructions for the restore....my friend did that and it came up that "
> > system restore cannot protect computer" then it suggested to restart the
> > computer. My thought is that system restore doesn't protect your computer
> > and that in some way my friends computer has been hacked.....even in safe
> > mode he was unable to get system restore up....in the safe mode he typed
> > in
> > at the prompt the information that you gave and then it just came with
> > another prompt to type again. Hope this makes sense.
>
> > "Rock" wrote:
> >
> >> "shirlaust" <shirlaust@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
> >> >
> >> > I am sorry that I was short on information...my friend is unable to do
> >> > anything in normal mode other than get up hotmail and then can open web
> >> > sites
> >> > as I send the addresses....he has tried to do a restore in safe mode
> >> > but
> >> > can't see anywhere where it says to restore to last known before the
> >> > problem.
> >>
> >> There is no option in System Restore hat says this is the last known
> >> before
> >> the problem. The OP chooses a restore point based on their knowledge of
> >> when the problem started. If they are not sure then it's a process of
> >> trying them in sequence starting with the most recent.
> >>
> >> > He was going to do a clean boot where he would lose all that is on the
> >> > computer but was wanting to try and save his recent photos but of
> >> > course
> >> > he
> >> > cannot do anything, cannot print out instructions as the printer won't
> >> > work
> >> > with the state of the computer at the moment....What does GUI
> >> > mean....we
> >> > are
> >> > both novices and really do appreciate your help. Thank you. Of course
> >> > I
> >> > won't be able to give this information until the early hours of the
> >> > morning
> >> > here as we are in different countries.
> >>
> >> There are ways to backup the data. Since he can access safe mode can't
> >> he
> >> copy the data from there to a USB thumb drive?
> >>
> >> GUI - Graphical User Interface. That means the graphical dialog box.
> >>
> >> Here are some other ways to backup data from a system that won't boot:
> >>
> >> 1. Take the drive out of the computer and install it as a slave drive in
> >> another Windows XP or 2000 computer. It should read the drive ok, so you
> >> can
> >> copy the data. A variation of this is to put the drive in an external
> >> drive
> >> enclosure and connect that to the other computer.
> >>
> >> 2. Create a bootable Bart's PE disk, boot from that, then copy the data
> >> to
> >> external USB drive or flash drive.
> >>
> >> 3. Download a bootable Linux distro called Knoppix. Create a bootable CD
> >> from that, boot from it, and copy the data to USB drive or flash drive,
> >> or
> >> if the computer has two CD drives, one of which is a burner, then use the
> >> k3b burning program on the Knoppix CD to burn the data to CD.
> >>
> >> 4. Take it to a competent computer tech to backup the data.
>
> There's a variety of reasons why system restore won't work. If you really
> want to diagnose it, check MVP Bert Kinney's System Restore page here:
> http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html
>
> Some of these fixes result in loosing all current restore points so that
> won't help your friend. If he can't fix system restore or restoring doesn't
> fix the issues, then the next step is to do a repair install. I gave you
> the link for that in my first reply.
>
> --
> Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]
>
> Thank you Rock, that is exactly what you have been, even though my friend has now resorted to doing the repair install, in fact I think that he is re formatting the computer....he was able to send me bits and pieces for me to save for him....It says to respond if any of the answers were helpful, they all were because of the knowledge gained in just attempting to try the fixes that you gave. So thank you. will post later once I hear how my friend faired with his re-formatting...which he has done at one other time....thank you.

"shirlaust" wrote

<snip>

> Thank you Rock, that is exactly what you have been, even though
> my friend has now resorted to doing the repair install, in fact I think
> that he is re formatting the computer....he was able to send me bits
> and pieces for me to save for him....It says to respond if any of the
> answers were helpful, they all were because of the knowledge
> gained in just attempting to try the fixes that you gave.

>So thank you. will post later once I hear how my friend faired with
> his re-formatting...which he has done at one other time....thank you.

You're welcome.

--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]