laptop problem
My Sony P3 Win XP laptop would not log on to wireless so I tried disabling a protocol in the wireless list (advertising) then I lost the Start bar. All I can get is the Start icon and the clock, nothing else works. If I drag the mouse down to the Start bar it shows an hourglass and the HDD is being accessed, not continuously but often, as if it is defragging, but hours of this and it still does not recover. The Start button will not operate, since the mouse is not normal when it is in that area. All the desktop icons work, and I can access control panel, so I put back the protocol, but no change. I can only shut down manually, and if I open safe mode it works in that mode, but a lot of the normal functions will not work in safe mode. If I try to go back to previous good condition it does not help, still gives me same problem. Does it go further back every time I try it or just to when it thinks it was being good? Can I access the recover function and choose? (I cannot find any way to do it, even using the help files).
I tried other startups from F8 but nothing helps.
I figure I might have to reload windows, but that is not an option on the list. How do I access it? The windows file is not on CD but is part of Hard Drive. Can I reload windows without losing all my files and programs? Would thrwoing it against the wall help? ( I have a feeling that it would help something ).
Any help appreciated...