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Desktop does not completely load


Al Lowe

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The problem I have is this, Windows XP (Home Edition) does not completely load the desktop. Essentially, it loads the wallpaper, and that's it. It does this in both normal and safe mode for the two user (with admin properties) profiles, but it eventually loads the administrator profile in safe mode.

I've tried repair installation and winnt32 /unattend as well. Neither solution has fixed the problem.

Does ANYONE have any ideas other than reformating? (Which I'm starting to seriously consider at this time.) I'd really like to keep my current settings if possible.

I vaguely recall some decent instructions on a re-install that did not lose my settings, that I did about 4 months ago. Problem is, I can't find them!!

Thank you.

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This seems to me to be a registry problem, most likely your "SOFTWARE" hive. Can you get to task manager using ctrl+alt+del? if so try starting a new task with %SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe . That should bring up system restore, and I think the rest should be pretty self explanatory. Good Luck!

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This seems to me to be a registry problem, most likely your "SOFTWARE" hive. Can you get to task manager using ctrl+alt+del? if so try starting a new task with %SystemRoot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe . That should bring up system restore, and I think the rest should be pretty self explanatory. Good Luck!

I can do that. I'll try it when I get home and see what happens.

Thanks,

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I finally got Restore to run, unfortunately, there are no restore points!

Does anyone know how to reinstall and not lose anything, or am I beyond that at this point??

I did try creating another profile, but it crapped out too.

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You are able to run a repair installation..

Insert the CD and boot to it... go through the lists like you normally would untel i think it is right after the EULA where it searches for previously installed Windows Installations.... it will detect your c:\windows directory and it will give you the option to run a repair installation.. This should be your best bet...

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You are able to run a repair installation..

Insert the CD and boot to it... go through the lists like you normally would untel i think it is right after the EULA where it searches for previously installed Windows Installations.... it will detect your c:\windows directory and it will give you the option to run a repair installation.. This should be your best bet...

Unfortunately, I've tried that numerous times. While it does run without any trouble, it doesn't seem to do any good. I still have the same problem after it's finished.

:(

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I seem to recall a method where a file was either deleted or renamed, then the install would be run, and while it treated it like a fresh install, it saved user setups and such. Does anyone recall anything like that??

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The way this is done is

Boot to your XP CD

When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below

This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft

Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

Press Enter to start the Windows Setup. DO NOT choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console

Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations.

Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair.

Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot.

Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears.

Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your applications and settings will remain intact.

If you wanted to take the extra step... before you run the repair installation.... boot to like bartPE or an NTFS DOS reader and delete the Default User and All Users profiles from C:\Documents and Settings..... Maybe there is something corrupt in the default profiles.. also remove your ntuser.dat file from your user profile

EDIT:Made Color RED for DO NOT

Edited by chilifrei64
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Yup, tried that numerous times, no luck. Had to install over the current installation. Found out part of the problem afterwards. My user account directory is wiped out. I know this isn't normal because my wife's old user account directory is still intact, and I've been able to recover some/most of her items and move them to the new directory (Document and Settings).

Of course I've had to reinstall most things. Most of them pick up the old info after being reinstalled, only a few have not.

Right now I don't know what is wrong with my old user account. Windows says it has 0 files and 0 subfolders, it's apparently locked, I can't get into it, nor can I delete it. The "Read only" status appears to be permanent, even though I've tried altering it in safe mode as the administrator.

What a pain in the butt.

Oh well, thanks for all the suggestions, even if they didn't work. :D

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