BAD PC problem HELP

if you have access to another machine with internet and CD burning facilities, download the Ultimate Boot CD disk image (.iso), burn it to a CD and boot your stricken machine from it.You'll find hundreds (literally) of utilities, including registry recovery ones that may be of help.If nothing else, use the Backup utility to save your data and settings, in case you have to rebuild your system.Good Luck!

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"

Mike, here's a suggestion that will enable you to get the most bang out of your old banger:IF (and that's a big if) you don't- have any 'quirky' hardware on your machine, i.e. certain graphics cards or USb microphones and such like.
- use web-sites that cater only for Internet Explorer (i.e. certain online banksing sites)
- rely on specific apps like Adobe Photoshop or MatLab,In other words if you're an 'average Joe' user who uses their computer for web-surfing, letter-writing and basic media management, then you might want to try a Linux distribution. I personally recommend Ubuntu or its lightweight cousin Xubuntu, as their hardware recognition is quite good and the installer also gives you the option to port existing Windows settings (if you install side-by-side with Windows).On your older hardware you'll notice a definite performance improvement (especially with Xubuntu). Plus, you won't have to worry about things like registry cleaners ever again.Edited by Legend, : No reason given.

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"

Hey Taz, I can see where you're coming from but a couple of things need clarification IMHO: I strongly disagree with this. I'm dual-booting XP and Ubuntu, with similar set of apps on both and XP is by far the slowest to boot. It makes sense really, if you're using something like Norton IS on your XP you're looking at an extra 20-30 secs added on to boot time to start with. With ubuntu there isn't any such overhead. If you're an average Joe user chances are you won't need help with the tasks I described, as most Linux distros cater for them quite reliably and also most mainstream Linux apps (like OpenOffice) actually adopt Windows conventions and look. Besides, one of the reasons I recommended Ubuntu is that it has one of the largest and friendliest (by Linux standards) online communities that you can turn to if need be. You're right up to a point, unfortunately there are a lot of zealots and self-important arseholes in the Linux community and there's also a 'siege mentality' cultivated in certain circles. Having said that, in my experience the Ubuntu community is one of the best ones out there. I'm not sure what you mean by that. OpenOffice and Picasa look and feel the same in Linux and Windows. Anyone who's ever used Nero won't have any problems burning CDs with Brasero or K3b. Most Linux file managers adopt Windows convention (i.e. two-pane view, context-menu for actions, drag & drop, etc.For the 'average Joe' doing average tasks the learning curve is minimal.Case in point, I've recently set-up a relative with Xubuntu. His computer is a Pentium-3, 800 MHz, 128 MB Ram. He's now happily surfing the web, writing his letters and saving his photos on his old relic of a machine!

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"

Hi Mike, yes I'm still lurking and post here and there (drive-by-posting) whenever time permits .word of advice: if you're going to buy used computer on e-bay be very cautious because there are quite a few scams (some of them technically legal) doing the rounds.If you want to try Linux and can afford 4.95 go to your nearest newsagent and buy a Linux magazine. Most of them come with attached DVDs with several distributions (Linux 'flavours' to you and I) on them. Most distributions can be run directly from the DVD, which means you can try it out before installing on your hard disk. LOL!...aren't we all!

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"

That shouldn't happen. I would check that Compiz is turned off, or if it's turned on that your graphics card can support it.Like I said before. I've got Xubuntu running on a Pentium-II, 128MB Ram machine a lot faster than XP ever did. Fluxbuntu would be even faster! And it's quite user-friendly too.

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"We must respect the law, not let it blind us away from the basic principles of fairness, justice and freedom"