reinstall for deleted XP files

[Guest]

Had grandkids over and the got into some the the "Start" area (not start menu) messing about and deleted the shortcuts for some files. THey did this as "at school we were told to get some stuff out of "start menu"... they went to start file instead, so now how do I get back the files they deleted, and I do not know which ones the deleted... They told me over the phone by asking "is it running faster now'... Then I noted on "programs" accessories" not there and I do not know what else is gone.. Using XP home.. help need to get it back for use ASAP, cannot open CD's with the choice of programs that used to come up when CD inserted, etc. Ideas XP was not an OEM, I have CD!

 

[Gary Tsang]

Hi,

Have you tried using the System Restore function of Windows XP?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/gethelp/systemrestore.asp
You may be able to revert your computer back to the day before your
grandchildren came over.

--
Gary Tsang
Microsoft MVP - Windows XP Shell/User
http://www.microsoft.com/mvp

Had grandkids over and the got into some the the "Start" area (not start

menu) messing about and deleted the shortcuts for some files. THey did this
as "at school we were told to get some stuff out of "start menu"... they
went to start file instead, so now how do I get back the files they deleted,
and I do not know which ones the deleted... They told me over the phone by
asking "is it running faster now'... Then I noted on "programs" accessories"
not there and I do not know what else is gone.. Using XP home.. help need to
get it back for use ASAP, cannot open CD's with the choice of programs that
used to come up when CD inserted, etc. Ideas XP was not an OEM, I have CD!

 

[Guest]

Gary
tried "restore," files nto there, but cannot restore what is gone it seems... they DELETD files and Norton cleanup ran on restarts files appear gone. THoughts? Any way to run the XP disc and load what is missing, as said have no idea of what they got rid of!

 

[Cerridwen]

Gary
tried "restore," files nto there, but cannot restore what is gone it
seems... they DELETD files and Norton cleanup ran on restarts files
appear gone. THoughts? Any way to run the XP disc and load what is
missing, as said have no idea of what they got rid of!

I'd try a repair installation. And buy some imaging software (Drive Image 7,
not Ghost). Image the drive before the brats come over; then, if all hell
breaks loose, you can simply restore the image when the little b*****s have
gone.

You will need a separate drive - or partition - for the image, and about 30
minutes each way (depending on the size of the Windows drive/partition.

The software really is "so simple even a grandad could use it" (no offence
meant). If you don't have a partitioned drive, you will need some
partitioning software, too. I've seen plenty of deals on Partition Magic
with Drive Image (look at Amazon for starters).

I had to restore my Windows partition the other day because I stupidly
installed an Nvidia driver (I have a Radeon card). It was a very smooth
process.