Random New Problems w/WinXP

Problem: Earlier today, after I restarted my computer, a popup told me something to the effect of (sorry, I don't know the exact wording) "a part of your registry had to be restored, the restoration was successful". I had done nothing out of the ordinary beforehand, so I do not understand what the point of this was. Now, there are several things wrong with my computer. First, Norton AntiVirus didn't work, and it suggested that I reinstall my Symantec products. So, I uninstalled SystemWorks 2003, AntiVirus 2003, and Internet Security 2003. I reinstalled all of them, but Internet Security still does not work, and I cannot figure out why. This is not all of my problem, however. Now whenever I open Internet Explorer, a page will load, and then the browser will hang and not respond or allow me to do anything. I have to do a Ctrl+Alt+Del and close it myself. In addition, I cannot open Windows Explorer, Help and Support, the Control Panel, and perhaps other things, I have not tried everything. It is vital that everything be back to normal, please help ASAP!

What I've Tried: I looked in the System Restore, but for some reason there are no restore points earlier than today, and those points are only because of the Symantec products I uninstalled and reinstalled earlier. I'm currently using Mozilla because Internet Explorer won't work, and using PowerDesk to access my files since Windows Explorer won't even open. I need these things working, however, there seems to be alot wrong and it needs to be fixed, please help.

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That was yesterday, and the Dell tech support email response I got said to do a Repair Install, so I did, but it didn't help at all. The same problems still exist, and have not changed.

Any and all help is truly appreciated!

Yes I did.

I would've thought that a Repair Install would've been all that was needed, I certainly don't see what else could be wrong if it isn't the core Windows files that are restored in a Repair Install.

Certainly, a reformat and clean install would fix the problem, but it is an absolute last resort.

Any other comments and thoughts are always appreciated!

Doesn't an actual reinstall require a reformat though?

I might give it a whirl, thanks.