Question regarding my computer

[snugglegirl05]

Here are the problems I am having with my computer....

I have AT&T Yahoo DSL service, & when I double click on the icon on the desktop to sign in & input my password, I get this message: the software is corrupted.

I have several documents stored in a folder I created on the desktop. When I go into that folder to delete a document either by right clicking on it or clicking on it & pressing the delete key, I get this message: windows explorer has caused an error & needs to shut down.

Since I have a Compaq computer, I contacted their tech support by e-mail & was told that I have to do a complete recovery using the recovery discs.

Is a complete recovery necessary?

Are there any other solutions to solve the 2 problems?

[crashhelmet]

I'd try running CheckDisk first. Without knowing what version of Windows you're running, I'll recommend these steps.

1) Click the Start button
2) Click My Computer (It's called "Computer" in Vista)
3) Right-Click your C:\ Drive
4) Select Properties
5) Click the Tools tab
6) Click the Check Now button in the Error checking section.
7) Check the box to automatically correct errors and start the scan.

It should come back and say that it can't check everything and ask if you want to check on restart, say yes and then restart your system.

If this resolves your problems, I would HIGHLY suggest making an immediate backup of everything you can't afford to lose or don't have the necessary software to reinstall.

CH

[snugglegirl05]

I'd try running CheckDisk first. Without knowing what version of Windows you're running, I'll recommend these steps.

1) Click the Start button
2) Click My Computer (It's called "Computer" in Vista)
3) Right-Click your C:\ Drive
4) Select Properties
5) Click the Tools tab
6) Click the Check Now button in the Error checking section.
7) Check the box to automatically correct errors and start the scan.

It should come back and say that it can't check everything and ask if you want to check on restart, say yes and then restart your system.

If this resolves your problems, I would HIGHLY suggest making an immediate backup of everything you can't afford to lose or don't have the necessary software to reinstall.

CH

Unfortunately, it did not solve the problem.

What else can be done?

[Naaman]

Does it do the same in Safe mode?

Either way, from the details, it doesn't sound good either Windows or hard drive may be hosed.

If you do have Vista (or Win 7 presumably) and your recovery disk isn't just a "Scrub everything and re-install" then it'll default to chucking your old install to it's own folder and slip a new install in place without losing any of your data.

If your machine is in warranty it's probably worth grabbing an external drive anyway, partially because it's always good to have a back-up and mainly because wipe and reinstall is probably part of their diagnostics