Windows XP Registry corrupted after failed installation Office2003

[Guest]

Hi,

I am running Windows XP Professional SP2 and it seems that the registry is
corrupted. All the file associations to the links on my desktop and start
menu are gone. The icons are still there (without the associated picture) but
when I click
on one, nothing happens. Same thing is true with the Start menu, all the
icons are there but when I click on one nothing happens.

I tried to start Windows using F8 and chose "Restore to last good state" but
this didn't help, nor did starting in Safe Mode. In either case, all the
links were gone.

The problem first occurred after I tried to install Office 2003 SP2. The
installion of Office 2003 SP2 failed repeatedly. I tried the tips on
Microsoft web site for installing from full file, etc., but nothing worked.
Now I can't even uninstall Office or do anything else because Windows is not
working.

Has anyone had this problem? How can I restore the registry to a previous
point without Windows working! Is there a way to do this at command prompt
within first booting into Windows?

-Mark

 

[bxf]

I believe using "Restore to last good state" merely uses the last
successful boot to determine that this was a good state. This is not
what you need here. I'd try using System Restore to go back to an
appropriate restore point.

 

[Guest]

Yes, I would like to do just that, but I cannot access the System Restore
function from within Windows as none of the links work (also not to "my
computer" or "control panel"). Is there a way to pick a system restore point
directly from the command prompt before Windows loads ???

 

[bxf]

Yes, I would like to do just that, but I cannot access the System Restore
function from within Windows as none of the links work (also not to "my
computer" or "control panel"). Is there a way to pick a system restore point
directly from the command prompt before Windows loads ???

Fortunately there is:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304449

Good luck.