Urgent Help Please !!!

ketherin

I have recently purchased a dell comp, everything was working fine, I have Mcaffee virus & firewall running. But from yesterday I cant access the hard drive or any programs all I can do is connect to the internet via the desktop shortcut for explorer.
If I try and goto windows explorer desktop shortcut it waits for a few mins then I get a Drwatson error message and comp hangs, same thing happens when I goto start menu and select any programs.

Please any help urgently needed as both my sons use this comp for school work etc.

If i go into safemode I can still access the hard drive, can I take I backup or something in safemode ?
I'm not a techie so any help please explain in thicko mode that I'll understand.

Thanks for any help.

robnye

i assume you have windows xp?

you could restore back to a system restore point (if you have it switched on- which it is by default)

To run System Restore in safe mode
Access System Restore through Help and Support.
Follow the instructions on your screen.
Notes

To access the System Restore Wizard, click Start, and then click Help and Support. Click Performance and Maintenance, click Using System Restore to undo changes, and then click Run the System Restore Wizard.
While the computer is in safe mode, System Restore does not create any restore points. Therefore, you cannot undo a restoration that you performed when the computer was in safe mode.
You can use System Restore to restore your computer to any restore point while in safe mode. If you cannot start the computer in standard mode, you can use System Restore to restore to a time when you could start the computer without errors.
To restore to a time when your computer started without errors, select a restore point as close to the time you remember it last started without errors.

Talon_Karrde

Best bet is system restore.
Can't think of any situation where you can start windows and run IE and you internet connection but can't do anything else?! DrWatson sounds suspect to me, never liked this feature and got rid of it at earliest opportunity.
Last resort would be to boot up wih your XP CD in the CD/DVD drive and "repair/restore/reinstall" from this, but BEWARE you "could" lose all your installed programs and the details of your internet connection and email settings and any files you have stored, but i guess if system restore doesn't work then you can't access any files or programs anyway right?!

ketherin

Thanks for your help.

I did a system restore for safemode back a couple of days ago and all working now.

Strange thing is I ran my McAfee virus checker twice yesterday and it found nothing ran it today and it found a load of stuff which I've now deleted.?