[hugiioo]

i have a serious problem! i have window Xp pro and i downloaded an Xp theme..i used the theme for about 6 months already and the other day, the trial expired and now i have no desktop or taskbar when i start my computer. my window starts but i can only see my wallpaper and nothing else. i tried using the ctrl+alt+del and run programs but it failed to start the programs and a message appear saying "Uxtheme.dll is not found. re-installing the program may fix this problem." i checked the previous forum previous forum and it didn't help much...i don't want to reformat also because i got a lot of information stored in the computer. i tried system restore but it just won't work because the program freezes and the same message appears. i also tried the "last known good configuration" and "safe mode" but it is still the same. i can't even go to any folders also. PLEASE HELP!!!!!

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Are you saying that in safe mode you still don't have any desktop?

If you have your XP disc, you can use the Repair Windows option. It should not destroy your data.

[makai]

Are you saying that in safe mode you still don't have any desktop?

If you have your XP disc, you can use the Repair Windows option. It should not destroy your data.

[hugiioo]

sadly i don't have an xp cd and it is a laptop. i have a Acer TravelMate 8104WLMi.
Mobile Intel® Centrino™ technology with Intel® Pentium® M 760 2 GHz processor 533 MHz - Intel® 915PM Express chipset, Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition, 15.4" WSXGA+ TFT display, 128MB ATI Radeon X700 PCI Express x16 , 100GB HDD (5400rpm), 2GB (2*1GB) DDRII SDRAM-533MHz. I didn't buy it off a store. i brought it off ebay. i brought the laptop in May and had no problems with it till now. Thanks for your help again.

[Betta]

Whatever theme program you have, it overroad the standard explorer bar.

To get rid of this, you should try starting up in Safemode, which you can get to by repeatedly pressing F8 during startup. From there, you should uninstall your theme program, and see if it works.

Good luck,
-Betta

[hugiioo]

i tried going on safemode but same problem occurs....there are no icons or tskbar or start menu....and most programs still can't open or even when it open it freezes...

[Retired Tech]

Do you get anywhere if you press ctrl + alt + delete keys, if the task manager shows, click file, new task, type explorer.exe and press enter

If not, download this on a PC, save it to disc, load it onto the problem PC

Get the trial of Tune Up 2006 here

Tune Up 2006 Trial

Run disc clean up then registry clean up then click optimize to run reg defrag, which needs a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to optimize the computer, select computer with an internet connection from the drop down menu, this also requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to accelerate downloads, select the speed just above your actual connection speed, this requires a reboot

After the reboot, click optimize then system optimizer to run system advisor

[hugiioo]

hello again....thank you for all the advice but i still have one more problem...i got an XP Professional SP2 CD from a friend and i used the Repair Windows option but there was still a problem. When i get to the part when they ask for my Product Key, I used mine and it said that my Product Key is not valid. Then i went on and used other Product Keys from others and it also said that the Product Keys aren't valid either? I don't know whats wrong with the product key?! PLease HELP! Thanks for everything

[Retired Tech]

This might not require the product key

Or here if you are unable to run XP Repair Install

Alternative XP Repair Install Method

Use Windows Installation CD to repair the current installation, from the list, which uses a slightly different method

Windows XP repair feature won't delete your data, installed programs, personal information, or settings. It just repairs the operating system

After running XP Repair you will need to install all Windows Updates

Microsoft Update

[hugiioo]

they still need my product key and it still doesn't work.

[Retired Tech]

Download this, you need Winzip, unzip. open the folder, click the blue / white window and it will tell you the product key, so you can check it

http://www.majorgeek...ad.php?det=4628

You vcan download this to another PC and save it to floppy to run it from there if you need to

[hugiioo]

I just found out that my laptop is OEM installation of Windows. Thats probably why my product key is invalid. And the fact that the XP CD I got is retail. What should i do now? and another problem is that I can't even go back to my windows now. Everytime i start up my computer, it continues where I left off with the installation of the XP repair. Thanks for helping in advance!

[wannabe1]

Hello hugiioo...

Let's try something...If this option is available, it will restore the machine to it's factory settings. All user data and settings will be lost.

Enter your BIOS setup (tap the F2 key during bootup). Once you are in BIOS, under the "Main" heading, Enable D2D Recovery, save the settings and exit BIOS. Reboot your machine.

Let us know if you are able to do this.

wannabe1

Edited by wannabe1, 15 December 2005 - 07:12 PM.

[hugiioo]

so all my data is going to be lost if i do this? but i want to keep all my files.

[gondon]

i have experienced problems in the past where all file associations are lost and all files become .lnk and I cant do anything with the system, no system restore, no XP restore, all associations are lost.

I checked out Microsoft's knowledge base article KB 304449, link is: http://support.micro...kb;en-us;304449

Details how to restore your system to an earlier state using "system restore" from the safe mode command prompt. info as follows:

Start the System Restore tool at a command prompt:
1.Restart your computer, and then press F8 during the initial startup to start your computer in Safe Mode with a command prompt.
2,Log on to your computer with an administrator account or with an account that has administrator credentials.
3.Type the following command at a command prompt, and then press ENTER:
%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe
4.Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to restore your computer to an earlier state.

I guarantee this will enable you to restore your system and then delete the offending software manually after your system is up and runnig again.

Good luck

[hugiioo]

yea i know i can do that but it still can't open the file. anyways i can't even go to my windows now becuz i tried the XP SP2 CD repair and now i'm like half way install but i need a CD KEY which i don't know why mine doesn't work. i tried others but it doesn't work either. Then i found out that my OS is OEM installation so i don't know what to do now. and since i'm half way install from the XP SP2 CD i can't go back to windows. PLEASE HELP