MAJOR XP PROBLEMS...Please help me

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support (More info?)

Hi rudofensis,

See if you can run System Restore from a command prompt:
How to start the System Restore tool at a command prompt in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=304449



Regards,

--
Patti MacLeod
Microsoft MVP - Windows Shell/User

"rudofensis" <rudofensis.1rnodn@pcbanter.net> wrote in message
news:rudofensis.1rnodn@pcbanter.net...
>
> Hellow everyone,
>
> First off, this is my first post so please go easy. And second *PLEASE
> EXCUSE THE LONG POST[/B]. I just could not express the problem in a
> shorter way.
>
> I encountered a problems yesterday that I cannot fix or find help on.
> I'll try to make this as short as possible:
>
> I was trying to install Adobe Professional 7.0 when near the end of the
> install I get the following error message:
>
> "Error 1402 Could not open key:
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\.........etc,
> verify that you have sufficient access to that
> key, or contact you support personnel"*
>
> I looked up some help on google and found out that it may be a registry
> problem. So I ran regedit and went to the extension mentioned in the
> error message, right clicked on the entry and saw that system
> Administrator was not there...only Owner. So in my ignorance I used
> "Add" to add in Administrator and give full privalleges.
>
> This actually helped the install of Adobe proceed further but again I
> get the same error message but for a different registry entry. I know
> well enough not to mess too much with something I don't know about so I
> followed advice from another website and downloaded Registry Mechanic
> 4.0 to try to clean up any errors that may be in my registry.
>
> After running the program and restarting, I tried reinstalling Adobe
> but the same error occured. This time however is when I noticed a major
> problem.
>
> I tried opening the Adobe Install folder that I made and put on the
> desktop but it would not open. So I tried right clicking on the folder
> and noticed that the open command was not there...only cut, copy, etc.
> I thought it was only a glitch so I rebooted the system.
>
> After doing this I noticed that all of my desktop icons (except for the
> Recycle Bin, My Documents, and My Computer) were not loading. I don't
> know how to explain this but the icons were there but their normal
> appearance was not loading. Explorer and Mcafee were not loading at all
> so I had no internet access.
>
> I know I was in trouble so I tried to use system restore to reset to
> the point befor I ran Registry Mechanic. But when I tried to go through
> Start-->Programs-->Accessories-->System Tools-->System Restore, it would
> not work. I would get an error on the screen saying something like
> "there is no program associated with that file"....those were not the
> exact words but something like that. Actually trying to access any file
> would result in the same error message.
>
> I then tried to reboot in safe mode but the same problems carried over
> there. In last resort I tried to run regedit again but the system would
> not allow me to. It would prompt the same error on the screen that no
> program is associated with the file. Even msconfig would not work.
>
> Does anyone know how to fix this asside from reformatting the hard
> drive. I am in my 2nd year of my Masters Degree and have a lot of stuff
> on there that I cannot lose. I have most of it backed up of course but
> there is so much on there I wouldn't know what I lost until it was too
> late.
>
>
> --
> rudofensis