i can get into my computer and my control panel. i cannot get any of the programs to open it just say access denied. someone posted that you can go to windows option and use the set up and install me over the existing one. well i can get the options but the set up isnt there. any more help or info ill sure appreciate. my system restore was not on so i cant go back. im fairly sure its something in my registry that is blocking comp. also i ran micro trend and i have no viruses

a: c:\windows\options\cabs\setup click enter next a: c:\windows\cabs\setup click enter there are two place that set up might be. if you dont have cab files you wont have setup.exe you may have a full install cd of m.e this will have option to do this allso but not recovery cd,s

You most likely have A variant of the CoolWebSearch on your system. Download and run from your desktop CW-Shredder , hit the scan button then the fix button, let it run and fix what it finds. Next you have to replace your version of control.exe, that files is located in your Windows folder (C:\Windows). The file that is there now is a bogus file - delete it. You can get a fresh copy from your Windows CD , restore disk, or cab files. It's in a folder called Win98 for Windows98 or Win9X for Windows ME. For Windows 98 - look for Win98_44.cab. Windows ME, look for Win9X_16.cab. If after doing that you still can't get into the control panel, download HiJackThis and run a scan of your system. Check entries 05, 06, and 07, if they exist, have HJT fix them, reboot, see if the system is OK now. HiJackThis-Explained MrC

Do you use Spybot Search and Destroy? It has locking features that can cause symptoms such as you describe, on the immunize tab. Scroll down and uncheck these if you have checked them in the past. You don't have to de-immunize just uncheck the control panel lock at the bottom of the window.