It started so innocently.:( I ran chkdsk from My Computer w/ both "Fix Problems" & "Scan Bad Sectors" checked. It prompted to restart - I did - & it ran. Quite a while on c:\ that has ~ 4.75 GB data. It NEVER showed any messages during or after running. Not found a log file, if it exists. Not content, I ran sfc /scannow. I put in the XP CD (w/ SP-2) when prompted. It ran a long time - probably > 1 hr. Again, no messages during or after it ran. Haven't found log file. Now, in addition to my orig problem of a couple of folders in Explorer not displaying quite right, when I click on MS System Information (MSinfo32.exe), it launches the Help & Support Ctr (helpctr.exe & helpsvc.exe). Unless I've lost my mind (no comments), the MS System Information main screen looks nothing like XP Help & Support Ctr. I'm thinking sfc messed up? the msinfo32.exe file(s), or something else I can't imagine. I tried starting msinfo32.exe manually(two vers on the disk - one is a back up in Win\system32\dllcache\). Also typed it into 'Run', and it still launches Help & Support??? Inside msinfo32.exe, I see references to that name, so it doesn't look like the Help Center file was just renamed. XP boots normally & seems to be running OK. I'm not sure what's the best step to take now. I could restore, but that won't necessarily replace all damaged files, depending on how many / which ones. Suggestions?

Have you slipstreamed SP2 onto a CD? In other words, it has XP hm with SP2 & all the hotfixes ( updates ) on it.

I once tried a repair install and it pretty much just seemed to reinstall the OS... Use the system restore or get SP2 and reinstall it. HTH =] There is one subtle yet vital difference between opinion and fact; and the bigger man is he who can whole-heartedly admit this.

I don't have an answer for you. Your post is about the aftermaths of running chkdsk. How come you never explained what prompted you to run it? i_XpUser

Ok, seems running a cleaner prgm that deleted an index.dat in c:\windows\pchealth\helpctr\offline cache\index.dat may be the cause, according to another poster. He got a copy of the index.dat & replaced it, and fixed it. Where would I get a copy or the lines from it, if it's not too long? In my case, I UNintentionally ran SpiderBITE instead of Spider.exe. That's one of the paths mentioned on the report. So, beware of the SpiderBite!

Why dont you system restore? If you are running Windows XP or Windows ME, you can do that. Lo and behold you are. Try it and tell us what you got. It may help =] There is one subtle yet vital difference between opinion and fact; and the bigger man is he who can whole-heartedly admit this.

I got a copy of the missing index.dat and copied to the path mentioned. As quick as you can say, "Gill Bates sucks", it fixed the problem. What in the hell does an index.dat file in the PChealth folder in windows have to do w/ running a simple .exe file, you ask? You'll have to talk to Uncle Bill about that. Nothing that it should have, IMO. Callum, Two reasons why I didn't do a system restore (three really). 1) That doesn't necessarily restore every file that might be missing. Had no idea if it would this missing file or not. 2) Didn't need to restore the system, just a missing file. 3) System Restore doesn't always work, even for what it does include.