URGENT - please help!

[99scollings]

I feel absolutely sick with dread. :cry2: :cry2: :cry2:

All I tried to do was remove Norton Protection Center from the home computer (I had had PCGuard installed instead). I selected 'Norton Protection Center' in an uninstall program I downloaded, pressed delete (because I had removed its registry entries by now, and wanted to remove it from the list) and the whole program quit. I look at the desktop icons and they're that white page with the weird things on them, you know how a file looks like when it cannot be opened by anything you have installed on your computer. I looked in Start--->All Programs, and they're all like it as well. I can't get to System Restore because there seems to be no path to it (or probably no System Restore utility at all) and I don't know whether this would have helped anyway. I don't know *** to do and to my knowledge I don't have a backup either, unless I use the backup CD that came with my laptop, would that work? :cry2:

[Miz]

Since both Windows ME and XP have system restore, what operating system are you using?

[99scollings]

Sorry it's Windows XP SP2.

[Miz]

No, the CD that came with your laptop won't work.

Boot into the main, usually hidden, Administrator account:

XP Home: That account is accessible only in Safe Mode. Begin repeatedly pressing and releasing the F8 key as the computer begins to boot up. That will get you to the boot menu where you can choose Safe Mode.

XP Pro: Press the Ctrl/Alt/Del key combination twice at the Welcome Screen to call up the Administrator logon.

Once you have the Administrator logon displayed, either enter the password if you passworded it (most people don't) or leave the password field blank and press the Enter key on the keyboard.

Once in the Administrator account, go to Control Panel>User Accounts and set up a new user account with Administrator privileges.

Then boot into the new account and see if you can either run System Restore or just reinstall Norton Protection Center. I'd do the reinstall but the choice is yours.

Then see if you can boot into your regular user account and it's back to normal. If you can and if it is and you want to try the Norton uninstall again, try using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.

[99scollings]

I had to just push the power button to shut it down because there was no other way, then I started it up again. I began pressing the F8 key, but when it got to the 'Check disk' bit (it normally does this on setup), because I had been pressing the F8 key, it cancelled the disk check and now it's just frozen on that screen. :cry2: I don't think there's anything I can do?? Better save up for a new one :cry2::cry2: Thanks very much for your replies though.

[Miz]

It sounds like you may have pressed the F8 key and held it down. That makes the computer think there's a stuck key on the keyboard and it'll stop booting up.

Be sure you're rapidly pressing and releasing the F8 key and see if that gets you to the boot menu.

[99scollings]

OK I selected Safe Mode and now there's this black screen with a load of white writing. I think it lists a lot of drivers but the file path is the same (although the 'drivers' bit varies between DRIVERS, drivers and Drivers):

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS\System 32\Drivers\[file name].sys/SYS

??

[99scollings]

OK, I ended up doing a System Recovery, but the problem is most of the software is still installed; it just isn't on the Add/remove programs list? I don't know how to fix this!? Many thanks :),

Soraya.