BigSausage 0 Posted December 26, 2003 Share Posted December 26, 2003 OK, I've done a full virus check and we seem to be ok. But, something weird is going on with Windows on my PC. Everything seems to work ok, apart from a few things. You know that X mark in the top right of every window, the one that closes a window. Well, it's not an X now but a funny symbol. So are the 2 maximise and minimise buttons next to it. And some menu items in browsers and software seem to have transformed into symbols. And some fonts on certain website have changed. Hmmmm. Anyone any ideas what might be going on here? And Happy Christmas!! Link to post Share on other sites
fukdane 2 Posted December 27, 2003 Share Posted December 27, 2003 I had something similar (maybe) happento me once. I reinstalled Windows and it seemed to cure the problem. That might be a good idea. Link to post Share on other sites
oblivion 5 Posted December 28, 2003 Share Posted December 28, 2003 I've had a few problems - what version of Windows is it? When I have something like this happen, I re-install. It always seems to do the trick. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 Not Windows XP I am guessing. Sounds like a 9x kinda buggy problem. Chances are one of your sytem files got overwritten or corrupted. There are ways you can go about discovering which file, but it is considerably easier to just reinstall. Start with just reinstalling over the top of your existing install. This doesn't always solve the problem but it means you won't lose any data and all of your programs should still work. For the problem you are having it sounds like this should be okay. Let us know if that doesn't work. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 Is that the corporate 'us' there ender? Link to post Share on other sites
xxx 2 Posted December 29, 2003 Share Posted December 29, 2003 When you reinstall Windows, are all your files etc "safe" - ie they won't suddenly get wiped out or anything. I'm always a bit wary when something like this happens and reinstalling shit. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted December 30, 2003 Share Posted December 30, 2003 I'm practicing Ocean Which category does BigSausage fall under? XXX - With Windows 9x you are pretty safe to just install over the top. You will never lose your files this way. Some of your programs may not work (although that is less likely with this kind of reinstall) but all your data is safe. Unfortunately with Win9x, a reinstall without reformatting usually doesn't help all that much. And to make matter's worse, while reinstalling over the top may return some Windows functionality (as is likely in BigSauage's case) it usually just makes a cluttered OS even more cluttered. Win9x (95, 98, ME) is a really poorly designed OS. To keep it running "well" you really must reinstall, from scratch, every 6 months or less. So an over the top reinstall is really just a temporary fix to keep using your system while you prepare for a reformat and reinstall. All of that only applies to Win9x machines. If your system can handle it (700MHz+, 256MB+) then I strongly suggest installing XP. Link to post Share on other sites
BigSausage 0 Posted January 3, 2004 Author Share Posted January 3, 2004 Thanks for the tips folks - reinstalling Windows seems to have worked and nothing else is going wrong. Cheers! Link to post Share on other sites
badmigraine 0 Posted January 4, 2004 Share Posted January 4, 2004 BigSausage, I have this exact problem about once a year on my Windows 98 and ME machines. A reinstall certainly fixes it, but you can fix it easier another way: Open MS Word (or Excel), go to the Help menu, then select "detect and repair". The machine fixes itself. That always works for me. Until it happens again, that is... Link to post Share on other sites
KlingKlang 1 Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Something similar has happened to me. I usually reinstall and things seem to work ok after that. It's a right pain though. Link to post Share on other sites
Teledude 0 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Easy fix, trash the PC and get a Mac! Finished and no more problems... Link to post Share on other sites
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