Service pack 2 has caused major problems??

A friend has installed service pack 2 this week end on her Windows XP Home laptop and now has quite a few problems...


Her 'Programs' group is empty if you use the start, programs route. But if you righ click and select open...you can see the items

Admin tools will not open when double clicked (even logged in under safe mode as admin)

I can system restore..as I cant find sytem tools as they too have vanished

I suspect a virus perhaps as the 'pop up menu' of windows update, catalogue etc ....are also gone.

Any ideas?

Its a HP Pavillion Ze5600 celeron.

 

If only it was that simple

Add remove progs...is empty! There is nothing displayed in there at all!

I have used the following website http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875350 to try and removed SP2. Its alledgedly gone now but the programs menu is still empty, add remove is empty, admin tools doesn't respond either still.

Am trying /sfc scannow to see if that helps.

tried the system restore idea (Use the System Restore process
1. Click Start, click Run, type %SystemRoot%\System32\restore\rstrui.exe in the Open box, and then click OK. ) but the window that opens up...is also blank!

 

nope didn't make a bit of difference.

There is what appears to be a 'restore partition' but the exe's in there won't run either

Me thinks it might need a reinstall of the OS, but there isn't a disk and I don't have a copy of xp Home at hand (was hoping that a boot from cd of OS then reinstall would fix the broken/corrupt/knackered files)

If I could get a copy would this do it do you think?

A friend of mine thinks maybe explorer.exe is corrupt. I think it goes a bit deeper than that.

Any other suggestions please??

 

I read that this worked for someone.

At a command prompt type "REGSVR32 APPWIZ.CPL "

 

I have found the HO restore area but when I run the install exe..it errors out saying an installation had not been completed please contact...HP. I tried the restore cd...same error. It won't boot from the restore disk either.

Just tried that line..said it was accepted....nothing changed.

Another odd thing...the Desktop tab is missing from display properties so you can't change the background wallpaper or desktop icons?? In control panel (or folder as it has now become named for soem odd reason) there is one icon called...folder, another called folder (with a printer icon) a folder icon..with no name??

I have a copy of xp home (all be it for a dell) will see if it at least boots...

 

Well someone likes me It lives!!! I did a repair with the other disk uasing this site's instructions --> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

I had to re activate windows over the phone but its al up and running, things are back where they should be and its all working.

Thanks for the help people