Computer help?

[Valles]

So, XP has a new update out, of sorts. As usual, it seems to've had a negative impact on my machine's stability. In an of itself, that's never been
more than an annoyance before, but this time, it went down while I was trying to reinstall OpenOffice, though personally I doubt that the 'new program'
has anything to do with the problem itself.

When my machine rebooted, it asked to run a disk-check on my C drive, which took a while... and when I finally got back to the 'user end', I found
that,

1. ) The taskbar no longer showed tabs for active programs, though the quick-launch and such were just fine. Minimizing programs either causes them to vanish
entirely or to show as shortened 'top bars' at the very bottom of the rest of the screen - apparently without rhyme or reason.

2. ) My sound no longer works - the box itself just 'boops' rather than playing any sound. The speakers are fine but MP3s don't play, nor does game
sound, nor video.

3. ) I can't cut, copy, paste, or otherwise move icons or files without opening them in a third party program and using 'Save As'.

System Restore reports that it is 'unable to protect my computer' and says to reboot and try again.
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Sofaspud]

It sounds like you've got a couple of possibilities going on here, V.

You -might- have a nasty bit of malware playing games in there. If you still can, run your AV and anti-spyware mojo on that puppy. I don't think
that's the deal, but you can't be too sure.

It sounds to me like Windows itself got a bit thrashed. First thing I'd check would be to bop into your Device Manager (right-click My Computer,
Properties, Device Manager) and see if there's anything reporting there with yellow or red flags, specifically in your sound (since that's a problem
you've noted).

That, and the basic tasks not working (which are all handled by Windows itself) make me suspect it was corrupted somehow. Malware -can- cause all those
symptoms, though, so be sure to check that first.

If you have the source for XP, I'd try reinstalling over the top. It's usually best to reinstall clean, but sometimes you can get away with
reinstalling right over the top of what you've got. Try repairing, first, if the install gives you the option.

I'd have to play around with it directly to be more help, I'm afraid.

--sofaspud
--"Listening to your kid is the audio equivalent of a Salvador Dali painting, Spud." --OpMegs

[Valles]

That may be problematic; the company that made my sound card's been out of business for something like a decade.

...Why no, I'm not a sound snob, why do you ask?

And ZA just says, 'Protection is up, UI is initializing' and stays that way.

I do still have the disc and such I installed from, somewhere.
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Wiregeek]

what's the brand and model?

prolly a turtle beach..
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies

[Valles]

Sound card is an Aureal Vortex 8830; device manager says that it's fine, but under 'other devices' the 'Ethernet Controller' and 'Multimedia Audio Controller' are yellow question marks. 'Asus Enhanced Display Driver Helper Service' is also showing a problem.
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Valles]

Trying the reinstall; wish me luck.
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===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."

[Valles]

It worked! Thanks, guys!
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"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."