I just ran "CHKDSK /F" from the command prompt to clean up my system, but it didn't clean up my system, it messed everything up. When I log in, the start menu and taskbar are gone. They don't show up on my desktop, and I cannot get at them. Naturally, I restart in safe mode and try to do a system restore, but system restore gives an error message, saying "System Restore is not able to protect your computer. Please restart your computer and run system restore again." After a restart, however, the same error occurs. I hadn't run the checkdisk program in a long while, and it took a long time and said that it was deleting many many files, so I'm assuming it deleted things that it shouldn't have. How can I fix my computer when system restore doesn't work even when in safe mode? I do not have an XP disk, since XP came preinstalled on my desktop, or else I would just reinstall the OS. Please help, I am so angry at the CHKDSK program right now!

When you put your pointer as far down to the bottom as it will go does the start menu show up? On your keyboard, the bottom row, second from the left end press the windows symbol. Does anything show up? cg

I have to point this out. If chkdsk found problems and corrected them you do realize the problems were there before you ran chkdsk. It was only a matter of time before your computer would have died. Chkdsk only fixes stuff that is broken. Before you go any farther, you need to learn where the OEM software is. Contact Dell and find out if your OEM software is on a hidden partiton. They usually have a way to restore the computer to OEM state. Well, in fact I never heard of a Dell that didn't have some way. You might have to pay a bit to replace the CD's if they were offered.

Thanks jefro. Yeah, I didn't really believe that it was a problem with the check disk program. I will check with dell about the original software and how to restore it. Does anyone have any ideas how I can get system restore working in the meantime? Any idea why I would be getting this error message even in safe mode?

System Restore works at a more superficial level than the problems you have - which are at a deep, disk level. System Restore fixes corrupt settings. But your system files and disk is corrupt way before the system can even load all the settings. I hope other readers can suggest some options for repair. I would suggest "Disk Checker" http://www.rssoftlab.com/diskchecker.php, if you can get to a stable OS. But I think it may be a job for the expensive but excellent SpinRite by Gibson Research. Good luck anyway! "If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure." - BILL CLINTON

Hey I don't know if this will help.. A while ago something similar happened to me. CHKDSK ran and found problems with one of my drives.. i started windows to find all (80%+) my files were missing or corrupted. I spent months on the net trying to find a data recovery etc - but that didn't work out... Meanwhile, everytime I started my computer, CHKDSK wanted to run again, but I skipped it, thinking I was avoiding more files getting ruined... One day, I was tired of the whole thing and just let it run.. and when I started my computer again, it had restored all the files and it all worked again. Random... is yours trying to run when you start your computer? Maybe it will restore the files again. Hope this helps in any way

If you are using NTFS then running chkdsk is worth a try but, as retroguy has implied, System Restore will be of no help to you so I wouldn't waste your efforts in trying to get to it. There continues to persists a widespread gross misunderstanding of what System Restore does. In the very simplest of terms it is little more than a registry backup and therefore can only repair problems in that area, i.e. the "System". What it CANNOT do is restore or recover damaged or deleted files. Apologies if I'm wrong here but I suspect you have been getting the chkdsk message on startup for some time and have been cancelling it and it's now turned round and bit you in the a**!