I tried to clear the CMOS by removing the battery but then couldn't get into the Admin log-on. All of the passwords that could have been used didn't help.
I eventually had to reload XP. The reload offered me a choice of partitions. One was a FAT32 (a very small partition) and an NTFS partition. I selected to reload into the NTFS partition. The reload went fine, but .... now I can't see any of my previously installed programs in the "all programs" selection in the Start menu. I haven't found any method of getting those already installed programs to show up.
I can establish a shortcut to the installed programs in a couple of cases, but this doesn't seem to work with most of the installed programs.
Of course, I can see the programs in Explorer, but how do I regain those programs in the "all programs" selection?
Or have I completely screwed up the system? Can I regain the installed stuff, or am I eventually going to have reformat the whole shebang and start all over?