Have to reinstall stuff all the time

[Leroy1981]

I'm not positive it's a problem with the operating system
but for certain software I have to reinstall it when I turn
my computer back on. Some examples are:

Kazaa, 3D Studio Max, Blasterball 2 Revolution

 

[linney]

Kazaa, that might be a good thing if it never got installed, maybe you mean the light version.

You could do a lot worse than start off here.

Removing adware & spyware
faq608-4650


See what's happening in your Event Viewer.




Some general things to try.


Try running ChkDsk to check your drive for errors. Right click your Drive icon/ Properties/ Tools/ Error Checking.

Run the System File Checker program from the Run Box by typing.....Sfc /Scannow in it and have your XP CD handy.

HOW TO: Verify Unsigned Device Drivers in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/5/14.asp

If they don't work you could try repairing windows by running it over itself. You will lose all your windows updates but your files will be untouched.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q315/3/41.asp

 

[coakerb]

A similar thing happens to me if I remove anything in the TEMP folder (NOTE: Not temp internet) but all the advice says deleteing from this folder should have no effect but always does on my XP home system?

 

[linney]

coakerb,

Many running programs will store "in use" files in a Temp folder. In normal circumstances they would not be able to be deleted until the program has finished with them. Perhaps you would like to elaborate more on your particular problem or see if any of the basic suggestions above (or below) help.

Is it safe to remove all *.tmp files?
thread779-821227

Do you know what is in your temp files? Maybe you ought to?
thread760-825169

 

[coakerb]

Thanks for the links linney made things a lot clearer for me now!

 

[Leroy1981]

Thanks for your input guys but I found out that my computer
had a virus and when I kicked it's ass everything went back to normal