UPDATE>>> Staaay calm...take a deep breath...

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Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:17 pm

EDIT: UPDATE: All of you who recommended the "restore point" as a possible fix were correct! I found it, set it to 8/14, and now I have my wee character map again...and it opens! I have learned something tonight and will remember it. So thanks again, ladies and gents. You have made my day! Very Happy

OP: By the nice calm way I'm writing this you probably wouldn't guess that I'M ABOUT TO THROW THIS FREAKIN' LAPTOP AGAINST THE WALL!!! Mad

Okay, here's my problem. My computer has been working fine. But the other night I got all conscientious and decided to run scandisk, disk cleanup, and defragmenter. I did all this, and the computer seemed to work fine, but now I seem to have a problem.

I recently located (with some expert advice in here) the Character Map. I went to Start Menu, System Tools, then CharMap. Then I added CharMap as an icon on my Start Menu...and it has worked fine.

But now that I have done all that busywork (defrag, etc.) somehow ALL of my normal icons on Start Menu were changed to other icons that I didn't place on there (Streets & Maps, WinCD??, etc.) The CharMap icon is gone!

So I went into Start Menu again...System Tools...then clicked on Character Map again. It didn't open (that's a clue.) I tried to save it as an icon again in Start Menu, but it refused. Then I went back and tried again to just open Character Map. It refused again to open. In fact, NOTHING on the System Tools list opens (that's another clue, I suppose.)

So then I took my shoe off and rapped sharply on the side of the computer...just kidding. Confused

But seriously folks...can anybody give me a hint about what my running Defrag did to my computer? And remember...I am not even a NOVICE at computers...I'm a bloody BEGINNER (as my mentor Cherrie so tactfully informed me. Very Happy

) So if you advise me, go easy on the terminology and other technical stuff.

Thanks!

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:34 pm

I've been using the Charmap since Win 1. It used to be in the utilities window (Win 1 to 3.11) by default. Win95 had it installed by default. Since Win98 it's been stuck away.

It can cause problems, i.e. it uses more resources than one would expect, but what you're describing sounds more like a registry problem. Could be caused by "installing" the charmap together with all the other stuff you did. The Charmap alone shouldn't cause that.

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:09 am

KD is right about the registry issue. What caused it? Who knows. Cosmic rays? Get the tin hats. Can you go back to a previous date in your Restore settings? Try that first. Make sure that you do set a restore point before you attempt any other fixes.

I like to use CCleaner on a regular basis. Its free and works like a champ. You can get it at Download.com. Get the updates, and let it rip. Once you cleaned out the crap, go for the issues and fix the registry. Its the second icon on the left.

Laptop hard drives and portable hard drives do not get the cooling that a desktop computer can give its drives. Is not a good idea to pound the hot hard drives with scandisk and defrag during one session. I stopped defragmenting small drives entirely just to be safe.

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:26 am

Like to help OM.

What's the operating system?

Backups? Restore Points?

What utilities do you use for maintenance.

Did you actually lose anything or is it that your desktop is just different?

How do you feel about Linux? Very Happy

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

I agree with going back to a restore point. (I am assuming you are running XP)

Here is what I use to back up my XP system.. It is worth the 50 bucks and has saved my ass on several occasions.

http://www.acronis.com/

And C Cleaner was also mentioned, I use it as well.

http://www.ccleaner.com/

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 4:55 am

Stoker Thompson wrote:

Like to help OM.

What's the operating system?

Backups? Restore Points?

What utilities do you use for maintenance.

Did you actually lose anything or is it that your desktop is just different?

How do you feel about Linux? Very Happy

Ahhh...um...uh...yes, that's correct. And, thank you EVER so much! Very Happy

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:03 am

OM, <A HREF="http://personal.inet.fi/business/toniarts/ecleane.htm">here's another option for you</A> - one that I use. It not only cleans your registry but also allows you to uninstall programs, that have not been "uninstalled enough" before (love this Windows logic), etc.

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 12:27 pm

Old Master wrote:

Ahhh...um...uh...yes, that's correct. And, thank you EVER so much! Very Happy

Well then, we're off to a good start. Wink

So lets try a couple of things. Go to downloads.com and get a copy of winxp manager. http://www.download.com/WinXP-Manager/3000-2086_4-10727166.html?tag=lst-0-1

there is a 30 day trial with this app and it does a very good of cleaning and optimizing your system. I use it on a lot of my clients computers because it makes me look good. Very Happy

Start out with the wizard and just follow the recommendations.

I agree with PF on Acronis I use it a lot. well worth the money and it will let you set up a recovery partition.

Then see if you can get your hands on an old p3 or p4 machine and give Ubuntu a try. With Vista being what it is, there are going to be tons of nice machines being chucked.

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:03 pm

I've seen Vista thrash brand new laptops. The hard drives died in record time.

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