I just got a call from a friend who says all his desktop icons are gone except My Documents, My Computer, Internet Explorer and the Recycle Bin. Just like a new install. But when he goes to add/remove program, all of his programs are there. He also said he can't find windows explorer. It is not in the START menu as before. Is it possible to install XP twice. He left his kids playing on the computer for a couple of hours. If XP is installed twice how do you get back to one install. He lives three hours away so I have to call him with the advice I get from here. So I may be slow in my response, but I do thank yall in advance for any and all help. Hogan
hey ddp, He said he went start, programs then accessories but no windows explorer. Can you install one xp on top of another?
Hey hogan, yeah you can install Xp over another installation of Xp but it is highly unrecommended, the best thing to do is format the hdd and install a fresh copy of Xp to avoid system crashes.
have him do a file search & create a shortcut to desktop as i've done a few times a windows explorer icon & other went missing
Another possibility is that they created a new profile. Try logging off (Start then Log Off) and see if there is more than one profile listed. A default new profile will only have what you said, just a few desktop icons and whatever else has been installed for all users.
One thing I may advise you to do to avoid problems like this in the future (if you are tech savvy enough) is to buy a second hard disk - preferably the same size as the one you are using - and buy a backup program (perferably Norton Ghost 2003). Use the Clone (or similar) feature under Advanced options. Just beware - if your system is like my system, you may have to copy all files from the Norton Ghost CD-ROM to the HDD because it gets file not found errors if you don't.
Thanks all. I e-mailed my friend all the advice I got here. I don't know why i didn't think about system restore. I'll let you know how it works out.
Of course to open windows explorer you could always press Start+E, or go start-run-C:\ or double-clicking on my computer im sure there are more ways of doing it than that... How about system restore, as previously mentioned?
I talked to my friend and he said it won't let him do a system restore. When he clicks "Help and Support" to go to System Restore he gets a "File Corrupted" message. The only thing I can think is to reformat and reinstall xp. Any advice to keep me from doing that is appreciated.. Thanks
I think the best thing to do at this point is to throw in the XP cd and try a system recovery...if that doesn't help you will have to lose er' thing on the hdd and start over fresh! Sorry.
Did you try my suggestion and check for multiple profiles? Just had the exact same thing happen at work today. Guy that sits beside me logged on to workstation only instead of the domain and all his icons were gone. It saw that logon as a new profile and created a default profile with all of his icons, wallpaper, etc gone. All he had to do was log off and log back on with the correct profile and all of his stuff was back. You can also check for multiple profiles a couple other ways - on the C: drive go to Documents and Setting folder and you should have a few profiles there - your username, administrator, default user, all users. See if there are more than that though there may be more like network service. Another way is to open Control Panel, click on Users and see what accounts are there - there should be your user, administrator, and guest with guest disabled.
It never fails to amaze me how much really good info is available at this website. Evbery bit of the above info is good, acurate, advice. I can't add anything except to f00dl3, I personally like and have had to use Acronis. It won't give the problems that Ghost does.
Thanks all. I was trying to do this over the phone (with a guy who knows less than I do, scary huh) but it can't be done that way. I am meeting him half way and bringing the computer here. I will try all of this , or beg more help, this weekend. And like wbfconst said, this site and everyone here is always willing and eager to help. Thanks BTW: no multiple profiles.
