Registry help

[KenSalomon]

hello out there. i am ken, i need some help. a long time ago when i
was less knowledgeable than i am now, i played with the registry and
messed a few things up. i can't find most of the stuff necessary to
reinstall and the time it would take is ridiculous. i managed to fix
most things but i have a problem. my windows explorer is a bit messed
up. firstly, the most annoying part is that in programs like iTunes,
if i right-click on a song and click "show in windows explorer" i get
an error asking which program i wish to use to open the file. it takes
forever to find explorer and it never stays as default. if i just exit
that menu, explorer pops up and then instantly closes. windows
explorer also opens a new window each time i click the next folder. if
anyone can help me out, thanks. i would also like to ask if anyone
could just send an image file of the look of their registry where the
explorer settings are that would be just as helpful. oh yea, i am not
100% sure where the settings for explorer are, so thats also needed.
thanks

 

[sgopus]

save your data and using your install cd, perform a repair install. you
shouldn't lose anything, you will then need to reinstall all the service
packs and updates.

 

[Andrew E.]

Actually a "repair" install probably wont work..As outlined by microsoft
read & run as described in kb307545 This repairs the registry.

 

[John John]

Why on Earth would he need to go through the complications outlined in
kb307545 when he could straightaway go to System Restore and carry out
the steps as outlined at the very end of the article, which are:

Part Four

1. Click Start, and then click All Programs.
2. Click Accessories, and then click System Tools.
3. Click System Restore, and then click Restore to a previous Restore Point.

The whole purpose of kb307545 is to get to System Restore at a state
where it has available restore points and do a system restore to as
recent a date as possible. The procedure is to be carried out on a
computer that can't boot at all, if you can boot to Windows or boot to a
command prompt you don't need to carry out the complicated procedure in
the article, you would launch System Restore from Windows or from the
command prompt. If the OP has already tried a system restore and if it
didn't fix thing he will have little choice but to do a Repair Install,
short of a clean install it may be the only thing that will get him out
of the mess he is in now.

John