XP Startup Issues

[sacrifice]

When I start my XP machine there are:
No icons displayed on the desktop,
Norton Autoprotect is disabled,
I cannot access many programs such as explorer, any administrative tools, Norton Antivirus, etc.
I cannot do a Windows update - because IE does not start.
I cannot do an installer cleanup, because the program will not work
Control panel is not accessable, but I can open word, and some other programs.
I can access Firefox and Thunderbird and the internet (a conspiracy???)

If I enter Safe Mode, I can access everything fine with the exception of those programs that will not work in Safe Mode.

What I did:
Deleted Norton, as one of its updates was stuck - not the problem.
Disabled Firewall - no luck.
Reverted to an earlier Bios - still nothing
Memory checks fine.

Last resort:
So, I decided to use a never used HD and put a clean install of a ghosted image I did of my initial install of XP for the same computer two years ago. This should have worked, especially if there were any viri or such on the old drives - Same thing - Safe Mode works mostly great - but I still cannot access many items when starting a regular instance of the OS - It is like something in the startup process is stuck somewhere.

So --- Could this be a hardware issue, and if so, what.

Thanks

Sacrifice

[ZeratulsAvenger]

-------All of this is for the old(or new depending on how you think about it) drive which you had problems with initially-------



"I cannot access many programs" What's the error?

Does a separate account work, while not in safe mode? Say you use account A, if you have an account B, can you use it just fine or does it have the same problems? YOu can, I presume, make an account in Safemode if you must, but that would just be some way to check if you think it would be hardware trouble, which I don't believe it would be.

I forgot, but can you change the startup items in safemode and have the effects keep, or are your changes unsaved while in safemode? Either way, I would check over what you see what is enabled to start when you start your computer and log-in. Start>Run>"msconfig" (without quotes)>OK>Startup. I have been able to notice strange items, although depending on your experience it may all appear as gibberish. A site like this can help you check.

A spyware and virus scan from another user profile could help you to eliminate the lil nasties that might be hindering your experience.

AVG is a free virus scanning software. Spybot and Adaware are two popular malware/spyware removers.

Someone else will come along with a more definitive answer probably, but it's a start at least.

[sacrifice]

<< ZeratulsAvenger --- Thanks for the reply.

I have used a website virus/spyware scan and that did not help. I cannot do a scan in safe mode using any program, but that would not matter with my ghosted disk which can not possibly be infected - it was scanned previous to ghosting and after. I went into msconfig and unchecked everything that is possible to uncheck and still have the computer start. no strange items, and all changes were saved. Again, no luck.

Anyway, I decided to take my ram out and clean it (softly). When I put it back in, I had the same issues, even after switching slots and such.

Anyway, I am about ready for another NewEgg fix, so this is a great excuse to get a new gaming rig .

[ZeratulsAvenger]

Wouldn't a reinstall come before a fix that costs money? If you are settling on it being kaput that easily, then I would just reinstall since nothing to important must be on the drive if you are ready to give it the heave-ho. What have you got to lose? D

oesn't figure out what went wrong though.

I would do it on the Ghosted drive(the one you placed your ghost image on I mean) since that you have the ghost images for still and you can recover info from the other drive if XP does in-fact work with a reinstallation.

[glc]

Set your folder options to show system and hidden files, and unhide extensions for known file types. Go into documents and settings\(your user name)\desktop, if there's a desktop.ini file in there, delete it.