Running WinXP service pack 2, latest updates installed.
AMD Athlon XP 2100+
Epox 8RDA3+ Nvidia Nforce 2 mobo
Nvidia Geforce4 Ti 4200
80Gb hard disk
If there's any more relevant system info I should provide, lemme know what it is.
Lately, I've been having this problem. Sometimes, when the computer boots up (usually after having been shut down improperly -- e.g. some doofus forgets to shut it down, or or the power flashes, etc), I'll get to the desktop but no icons show up. I'll have the taskbar, complete with start menu and background programs (which are: McAffee Virus Scan, 2wire router software, HP printer center, logitech mouse software, and InCD). But no desktop icons, and if I attempt to run anything (anything -- programs such as Word, or games, or even control panel) via the Start menu, the computer hangs for awhile then comes back with "Cannot find [null] or its components, please make sure the program is in the specified location" (paraphrased).
The computer boots up in Safe Mode with desktop icons, but I get the same problem -- it will not run any programs. If I run a system restore and choose the most recent restore point, the problem is solved and everything works OK after that. However, the error is liable to come back again. I'm worried that it's the first symptom of a greater problem. What could be causing this? I was wondering if there were any steps I might take in order to prevent this problem from becoming something worse. After the first time this happened, I ran a full error check on the hard disk but it came back squeaky clean.
Thanks in advance for any replies!
-GS
AMD Athlon XP 2100+
Epox 8RDA3+ Nvidia Nforce 2 mobo
Nvidia Geforce4 Ti 4200
80Gb hard disk
If there's any more relevant system info I should provide, lemme know what it is.
Lately, I've been having this problem. Sometimes, when the computer boots up (usually after having been shut down improperly -- e.g. some doofus forgets to shut it down, or or the power flashes, etc), I'll get to the desktop but no icons show up. I'll have the taskbar, complete with start menu and background programs (which are: McAffee Virus Scan, 2wire router software, HP printer center, logitech mouse software, and InCD). But no desktop icons, and if I attempt to run anything (anything -- programs such as Word, or games, or even control panel) via the Start menu, the computer hangs for awhile then comes back with "Cannot find [null] or its components, please make sure the program is in the specified location" (paraphrased).
The computer boots up in Safe Mode with desktop icons, but I get the same problem -- it will not run any programs. If I run a system restore and choose the most recent restore point, the problem is solved and everything works OK after that. However, the error is liable to come back again. I'm worried that it's the first symptom of a greater problem. What could be causing this? I was wondering if there were any steps I might take in order to prevent this problem from becoming something worse. After the first time this happened, I ran a full error check on the hard disk but it came back squeaky clean.
Thanks in advance for any replies!
-GS