Multiple problems with XP home laptop

[Guest]

Hi,

I have a compaq presario with multiple problems. It takes forever for the
PC to respond to anything such as clickin on My documents and MY Computer.
Whenever, I reboot, I get a message saying the Active Desktop needs to be
restored. The CD-Rom drive does not work. I ran a Norton Scan which yielded
nothing along with a spyware search. I also used Registry Mechanic against
it but the same problems occur. I went into the Device Manage but it says
everything is working fine including the CD-rom which does not work. I want
to reload windows with the recovery cds but since the cd drive doesn't work
that is not an option either. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks,

 

[S.Sengupta]

You have a myriad of troubles.Best option is to go for a clean
install.You have to arrange the recovery CD.

regards,
S.Sengupta[MS-MVP]

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

Hi,

I have a compaq presario with multiple problems. It takes forever for the
PC to respond to anything such as clickin on My documents and MY Computer.
Whenever, I reboot, I get a message saying the Active Desktop needs to be
restored. The CD-Rom drive does not work. I ran a Norton Scan which yielded
nothing along with a spyware search. I also used Registry Mechanic against
it but the same problems occur. I went into the Device Manage but it says
everything is working fine including the CD-rom which does not work. I want
to reload windows with the recovery cds but since the cd drive doesn't work
that is not an option either. Can anyone offer any suggestions?

Thanks,

Are you sure the CD-ROM is not working or is it just not working in XP?

Download the Ultimate Boot CD for Windows http://www.ubcd4win.com/

Try booting from this cd to see if it is your drive or just a problem
with XP.

Back up your data to some external store just incase you have to do a
full reinstallation.

You may like to take a look at:-

How to perform an in-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315341

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

or the documentation that came with your machine to see if you can do a
repair install with the CDs supplied by Compaq

 

[John Wunderlich]

I have a compaq presario with multiple problems. It takes forever
for the PC to respond to anything such as clickin on My documents
and MY Computer. Whenever, I reboot, I get a message saying the
Active Desktop needs to be restored. The CD-Rom drive does not
work. I ran a Norton Scan which yielded nothing along with a
spyware search. I also used Registry Mechanic against it but the
same problems occur. I went into the Device Manage but it says
everything is working fine including the CD-rom which does not
work. I want to reload windows with the recovery cds but since
the cd drive doesn't work that is not an option either. Can
anyone offer any suggestions?

These kinds of problems are usually either a disk full/going bad, a
network hang, or the CPU is running at 100%. Remove the network
connection to eliminate that contention. Run "Task Manager" to check
the CPU usage (start->run->taskmgr). Look at your disk access light to
check that one. (how full is your disk?)

How does it work when you boot to safe mode (F8 while booting)?

If it works better in safe mode then use a tool like msconfig, Startup
Control Panel, or Autoruns to cut back on what loads with a normal boot
until you find the program that is affecting your performance.

Startup CPL: <http://www.mlin.net/StartupCPL.shtml>
AutoRuns: <http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/Autoruns.html>

Good Luck & HTH,
John