i'm having a problem!!!!!

[ammo]

I was checking out my parents computer because they're having problems with it. IT IS ALL JACKED UP!!!! The scan disk won't work, the disk defragmenter won't either. There is also all these things on the program list that I tried to uninstall and they all say, can't find the file. I'm thinking of using the recovery cd but I don't know if a bunch of stuff they need on the computer will be lost because they never backed up their files. Can somebody tell me if I have to use the recovery cd or there is another way to find out what's wrong with the computer? It is also Windows Mellenium that they have.

[Kubie]

ammo,
Have you tried the scan disk and defrag in safe-mode?
Also, is there a way to run a virus scan?
Carl

[Nuclear Krusader]

You can always take out the HD and hook it up to another PC as slave so you can backup their data.

Let's call your parent's computer Puter A, and the other used for this Puter B.

Just make sure your virus definitions on the computer B are up to date.

Once the backups are done you can wipe out Puter A's drive and got the system back to its original status using the recovery CD.

The final step would be to hook up the drive to Puter B again to copy back the backups. Then return the drive to Puter A and you're done.

[Neo_kabuki]

i have the same problem too... where can you get a recovery disk? i need one so i can install winME again becuase the system files are messed up

[GaryRouth]

neo-kabuki - system recovery disks are usually provided by the system builder/vendor. Welcome to PC Mechanic . . . ---you might want to start a new thread with some details about your system & what needs fixing. For a quick try, don't forget that WinME has a built-in feature called System Restore, which can help with problems that have cropped up recently.

ammo - how's that system? OK now?

Best of luck
. . . Gary

[ammo]

The stuff that was deleted a long time ago came back but I can't remove them because it says can't find files. I tried running it in safe mode but it still won't work.

[GaryRouth]

ammo -

You mention that some deleted things "came back" but you can't remove them? How did they "come back" (did you restore them from the recycle bin, System Restore, a Backup, or from a Recovery Disk?) and what are you trying to use to "remove" them? (Add/Remove in the Control Panel, Delete from Windows Explorer? or ?) . . .

The situation you're describing would happen if you have restored shortcuts but not the programs those shortcuts point to. You can check this out for yourself by right-clicking on the shortcut icons that point to things that Windows can't find, then clicking on "Properties": one of the option boxes will say "Target" = this is where the file 'Should Be'. (Unlikely that they are there). . . However, now you know what file to search for. From Windows explorer, go to the menu "Tools", then choose "Find - files or folders" and type in the name of the .exe file that you saw in the "Target" box. Have the search "Look In" your entire computer (if you have only one hard drive C, you can have it search only that drive). This will tell you if the files are actually missing or just misplaced.

If you can find the .exe files, try double-clicking on them to start their programs. If they run just fine, all you need to do is fix the shortcut icons to match the actual location of the programs.

You will want to figure out how everything got moved around, too. Do a full system scan for viruses, perhaps try downloading and running Search & Destroy by Spybot, and AdAware by Lavasoft. This might help determine if something has compromised the system. Search & Destroy can be downloaded from here http://security.kolla.de/index.php?l...&page=download . . . AdAware can be found at http://www.lavasoft.de . . . And you might want to try an up-to-date online antivirus scan like HouseCall from TrendMicro http://www.trendmicro.com

The Registry on that system is probably a bit chaotic, you can also try downloading & running RegClean 4.1 (This version should work fine with WinMe). The instructions for using the program are in the Readme.txt file. Basically you create a folder, then download, then run the download and point it to extract to the folder you created, then run the program by double-clicking on the regclean.exe program file from Windows Explorer. It will create an UnDo file, should any of the changes it makes cause more harm than help. After using this program for five or six years now, I've yet to need the undo file. It's a pretty solid little program: Microsoft knows its own Registry. http://download.com.com/3000-2094-88...ml?tag=lst-0-1

After cleaning things up, try running ScanDisk and Defrag in Safe Mode again. Should work OK.

Let us know if you need more help
. . . Gary

[ammo]

I got scan disk and defrag to work but under the control panel all the games I erased are still on there in add/remove programs and there is no files I can find of any of them on my computer. The names won't erase from the add/remove programs. Anybody know how to do that?

[sdkfz]

regedit will clean up the regisrty, and make these references go away but doing it manually is dangerous. try the MS tool recommended earlier and if that still leaves traces of old programs behind you can do a search for the programs in regedit and delete them manually, but be warned - mistakes are lethal to your PC- I'd make a back up cpy of the regisrty first and reearch how to put this back in before making changes yourself.

To get to regedit use the run command and simply type in regedit. from the menu bar use 'edit' and 'find' to look for the keys you want to delete, F3 to look again for the same key. So simple- yet so dangerous, do not just delete a key because you see what you think is the searched item.......ok lets say you are deleting AOL and a key happens to have in a long string the letters AOL in it this might not be AOL it might just be something with those letters in that order within it....

[GaryRouth]

sdkfz's advice is good. . . RegClean is a safer tool if you are fairly new to editing the Registry. It also creates an UnDo file that will reverse it's changes.

If, however, you or a friend is fairly accomplished at editing the Registry, the key that affects the items listed in the Add/Remove Programs is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/UnInstall

Programs who have entries there will be listed on the Add/Remove Programs list in the Control Panel applet. If a program has already been manually deleted, removing it from that Registry key will remove it from the list.

If you are unsure about any of the editing, I highly recommend you try RegClean first. Or post the question you have here.

Best of luck
. . . Gary