Problems with Windows XP (home edition)

[mandragora]

One night when I turned on my laptop, I got a message saying that Windows XP (home edition) had had to recover the registry but that the procedure had been successful. This completely baffled me, but things became worse when I noticed that various Windows programs were misbehaving.

On the Start Menu, nothing happens when I click on "All Programs", "Search", "Help and Support", and "Run..." do not work - a message comes up about adding a shortcut onto the desktop.

With Internet Explorer, I am unable to type within the browser window, for instance I can not search on google, or check web-based email. I cannot select text with my mouse in order to copy it. I get error messages when I try to do a text search within a page (ctrl-f), when I click on "About" in the help menu, and when I run Norton Antivirus.

On "Add\Remove Programs" nothing is listed. I have tried "System Restore", however when I go to it there is no calendar visible from which to make a selection. However, I know that the restore points are saved on the computer. I can get to "Help and Support" without using the Start button, but all the options on the right side have vanished. I don't believe the automatic Windows updates are working either. My previous update history is blank.

I managed to run an online Norton virus check, and I am virus free.

I have spent hours searching the internet trying to work out what is wrong. Because of the missing calendar in System Restore, there was a possibility that the .htc association in the registry was missing or corrupt. Unfortunately this was not the solution. I believe that System Restore is my best hope, however I cannot use it!

Does anyone have any ideas?