Reinstall XP or repair?

[netjes]

I recently cleaned a lot of crap and useless files from my hard drive.
Everything is great, except my internet connection is not as good as it was.
Some programs cannot connect to the internet, while others work just fine
(for example, IE works, but Firefox does not). How can I restore the
internet connection so that all the programs connect?

 

[Malke]

I recently cleaned a lot of crap and useless files from my hard drive.
Everything is great, except my internet connection is not as good as it
was. Some programs cannot connect to the internet, while others work just
fine
(for example, IE works, but Firefox does not). How can I restore the
internet connection so that all the programs connect?

Well, it's obvious that not all those files you removed were as useless as
you thought. Since we don't know what you did, it's hard to give you
focused help.

Here are various things you can try. When troubleshooting, always do one
thing at a time and test before going onto the next thing (if necessary).

1. If you used a registry cleaner (strongly not recommended to do), then use
its Undo feature and undo whatever it was you did.

2. If you manually removed files, try and remember what they were and put
them back.

3. Since you can still connect to the Internet, we know you didn't remove
the adapter drivers. First try fixing the winsock:

http://www.spychecker.com/program/winsockxpfix.html - WinsockXPFix.exe

4. If that doesn't work, reset TCP/IP:

Start>Run>cmd [enter]
netsh int ip reset [log_file_name] and press Enter. To run the command
successfully, you must specify a log file name where actions taken by netsh
will be recorded, such as:

netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt

The system pauses for up to a minute while the TCP/IP stack is reset. The
cursor returns but no message is displayed. At the cmd prompt, type: exit
[enter] to return to Windows. Reboot.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;EN-US;Q299357&ID=KB;EN-US;Q299357

5. If that doesn't help, run the System File Checker to replace
missing/damaged system files:

Start>Run>sfc /scannow [enter]

6. If that doesn't help, do a Repair Install:
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

7. If that doesn't help, back up your data and do a clean install.
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html - Clean Install How-To
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Reinstalling_Windows - What
you will need on-hand

Consider purchasing an external hard drive and an imaging program such as
Acronis True Image for quick and easy restoration the next time you decide
to get wild with the housekeeping. ;-)

Malke

 

[v2win]

"Crap" and "useless" may NOT have been...

If the deleted files exist in the Recycle Bin, restore them. Alternatively
if you have System Restore enabled, roll back to a restore point which
existed before you did the "maintenance". Good luck.

 

[netjes]

No, the computer is working great. I am happy with the changes overall. The
hard disk was so full it was unusable. I cannot do any of the things you
suggest. I want to reinstall XP or repair it.

 

[John]

No, the computer is working great. I am happy with the changes overall. The
hard disk was so full it was unusable. I cannot do any of the things you
suggest. I want to reinstall XP or repair it.

Why not just try re-installing the programs that aren't working, like
Firefix?

John.

 

[netjes]

I reinstalled Firefox twice.

Why not just try re-installing the programs that aren't working, like
Firefix?

John.

 

[netjes]

Thanks, I reinstalled Firefox twice.

Why not just try re-installing the programs that aren't working, like
Firefix?

John.

 

[netjes]

Thanks, I reinstalled Firefox twice.

Why not just try re-installing the programs that aren't working, like
Firefix?

John.

 

[John]

Thanks, I reinstalled Firefox twice.

I make that 6 times you've re-installed it then!

John.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

I make that 6 times you've re-installed it then!

<grin>