Help -- can't access my desktop now! How do I fix it?

[Rollingstone06]

Ok, this is my prob...I don't see my desktop anymore. I'm running Windows XP. After start up, I get the message: "THIS APPLICATION HAS FAILED TO START BECAUSE WININET.DLL WAS NOT FOUND. REINSTALLING THE APPLICATION MAY FIX THE PROBLEM."

At the moment, I can access parts of my hard drive, but have to do CTRL+ALT+DEL first to access the task manager, and then access it from there, by clicking on BROWSE, and then selecting the file or folder I want to open. Nevertheless, there are certain programs which won't open now, such as Skype, Outlook Express, and Real Player, as examples.

This is what I have installed on my PC:

AMD Athlon XP 3000+ BARTON V 2167 MHZ
ASUS A7N8X-E DELUXE NFORCE2 LAN DDR400, sata
Samsung 160GT S-ata 7200rpm
512Mt 400 MHz DDR CL 2.5 DIMM
Club 3D Radeon 9600 XT 128 MB CRT+TV+DVI
LG DVD+-RW DVD Writer 8X
SB Audigy 2 PCI

How can I get my desktop back where it should be? Or how do I proceed? Will I have to reformat the hard drive, and if so, how would I do that, and what exactly would I need to re-install?

Please advise...I'll be so grateful...

RS

 

[ChrisR]

YOu need the windows disc you originally installed.

 

[Rollingstone06]

Hey ChrisR,

Thanks for the reply. How should I go about using the Windows XP disc? Do you mean reformatting the hard drive with it? Please explain further on what type command I should use and where I should use it. And will I need to reinstall drivers, too, and, if yes, where should I get those from?

Many thanks in advance...

RS

 

[Igorian]

There may be other issues, but you could try this first, if you have the Windows disk.

 

[Rollingstone06]

Hey Igorian,

Thanks alot for that link. Do I have to hit ALT+F4 before Windows starts up to get to the BIOS?

RS

 

[Igorian]

For ASUS boards, the Delete button during POST will get you to the BIOS.

 

[Rollingstone06]

What is POST? How do I get there? As with all keyboards, I have the following keys:

Ctrl
Start
Alt
Arrow up
Caps Lock
Left and right tab
Alt Gr

Cheers,
RS

 

[Rollingstone06]

Does anyone know how I get to POST in the first place? I've held the TAB key, and that doesn't get me to POST. Also, I've held the DEL key, and that doesn't get me anywhere, except that the PC after rebooting gets back to my empty desktop.

Plz advise soon.

RS

 

[Igorian]

POST=Power On Self Test.

As the machine starts to boot, you will see a prompt to press the Del key to enter setup. It doesn't appear for long and may be gone before your monitor powers up. In this case tap the Delete key a few times immedately after you power on.

 

[Rollingstone06]

Thanks alot, Igorian, for that info...that clarifies things. Soon, I'll try out the method from the "Xperience Xp" link you posted. (First, though, I have to back-up all my music and data files on CD-Rs, just in case I lose access to the hard drive at some point.)

I hope to report good progress on restoring my desktop thereafter...fingers crossed.

Cheers,
RS

 

[Rollingstone06]

Folks,

Having probs here. Plz help! I'm revisiting this issue. Last night, after a long delay in getting this matter sorted, I did the "Auto.fix file systems Check" thingy, but still I can't get access to my desktop. Actually, folks, the situation's gotten worse. I also tried accessing the BIOS and "Last Known good configuration that worked", but that didn't help either.

I also tried to restore the Wininet.dll file from the link:
http://xperiencexp.blogspot.com/2006/01/wininetdll-missing.html

It started loading drivers, etc. Then I got a "Welcome to set up" message. I clicked on "Repairing a WXP installation using Recovery Console", but the resulting message was "Set up did not find any hard disk drives installed on your computer."

I then went into Advanced BIOS and thought that a low level format would help in my tired state of mind . After a few secs, I cancelled the command, realizing that a full format was going to be disadvantageous.

Now, when I turn on my PC, I get the the message "Verifying DMI
pool data". I hit return, but nothing happens. No progression.

Here's what settings I have in BIOS:

Primary master = HL-DT-ST-DVDRAM
Primary slave = none
Secondary master = none
Secondary slave = none

In advanced BIOS, I have:

First boot device = CDROM
SEcond boot device = HDD-O
Third boot device = CDROM

What's happening? What do I need to change? How can I get access to my computer's hard drive files and folders? Is all my data lost? Or not?
I'd really like to get this sorted at home, since the PC repair place will say it's probably a driver issue, right?

?????????????????

RS

 

[eggplant]

ok

I then went into Advanced BIOS and thought that a low level format would help in my tired state of mind icon_sad.gif. After a few secs, I cancelled the command, realizing that a full format was going to be disadvantageous.

now requires a reinstall of windows from your windows cd.

What's happening? What do I need to change? How can I get access to my computer's hard drive files and folders? Is all my data lost? Or not?

lost - yes pretty much so

d really like to get this sorted at home, since the PC repair place will say it's probably a driver issue, right?

no its most definately not a driver issue, you may have driver issues (ie having to install them) once you get windoes back on to your drvie that isnt detecting or a replacement.

What is confusing me a bit is this

Primary master = HL-DT-ST-DVDRAM

Your hdd should be your primary master, although it is possible to setup otherwise. Have you opened the pc at all? In bios, go into standard setup and have it redetect the drives if you havnt already, if you still dont see a hrd drive detected then you have 2 options - take it to the shop to get fixed, or post back, please dont be offended but from you questions do far it would indicate that your experience with the workings of a pc are limited, and what I dont wnt to happen is you end up with a big pile of bits on the floor!

 

[Igorian]

I then went into Advanced BIOS and thought that a low level format would help in my tired state of mind

You really didn't want to do that.

After a few secs, I cancelled the command, realizing that a full format was going to be disadvantageous.

Too late.

What's happening? What do I need to change? How can I get access to my computer's hard drive files and folders? Is all my data lost? Or not?
I'd really like to get this sorted at home, since the PC repair place will say it's probably a driver issue, right?

?????????????????

RS

If you started the low level format, you've wiped it. There is a possibility of retrieval, but you would need some data recovery sotware.

 

[Spark123]

If its anything like what I went through last week you will also need to download a driver disk for the SATA hard disk from your motherboard website, Igorian and eggplant were stars as can be seen here: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=68271
If its any concellation I can't see the HDD in bios either on mine, it just refers to is as SCSI. On mine there is an additional VIA SATA setup streight after the POST screen where I can setup the hard disks etc but unless you want to setup a RAID array (need two hard disks) you probably won't need to access this.

 

[Rollingstone06]

Hey folks,

Thanks for the replies -- but can can someone please let me know why, in the first instance, before I did a low-level format, when I used the XP CD drivers were actually installed, but however no hard drive was detected, so pressing R for recover was unsuccessful?

For now, I'll do as suggested, and make HDD my primary master, as well as go to BIOS for standard set-up to have it redetect the drives. I hope to have some hard drive detected, and will post back after finding out.

In the meantime, plz advise asap further on the above point.

Cheers,
RS