System Recovery has messed everything up

[jd_30]

I did something incredibly stupid the other day that has completely messed up my computer. The first thing I should point out is I am not exactly an expert when it comes to all this so I could really use your help.

My computer is a Compaq and anyway the other day as my pc was loading I noticed at the bottom of the screen something saying '[F10] System recovery.' Well anyway I went and pressed F10 and before I knew it I had started the whole system recovery process and couldn't stop it. For anyone not familiar with this I think it is something on Compaq and HP computers that allows you to reinstall windows as it was when you first installed it, without deleting any of your other files and applications.

Well anyway I accidentally started the system recovery thing and about 3 hours later it finally finished what it was doing and brought me to a screen that I remember from when I first got this computer where it asks you to do things like give the computer a name, choose a time zone, etc. (All this is Windows XP by the way).

So anyway I did all that but basically everything is messed up. Before I ran the system recovery I had 3 user accounts, one the administrator and 2 limited accounts. After running system recovery i was presented with just an owner account. It seemed like all my applications and files we're still there because when I go into the C:\Documents and Settings folder all of the original user account folders remained with all the files in them.

Anyway one of the main problems I am having is setting up limited accounts for other people again. The administrator account is ok, I can rename it, set a password for it, change the display properties and eveything.

However when I set up a limited account, if I try and load it up the computer either freezes leaving me no option but to 'pull the plug', or it does load up but with loads of problems. For example the limited accounts open up in the traditional windows display theme. When I open the display properties box and try to change the background I just get an error message saying something like "the visual styles could not be changed". Also Internet explorer doesn't work properly in limited accounts as when I change the home page it doesnt remember it and keeps opening on msn.com.

Other problems I've got are things like Norton Anti-Virus Live Update not working properly. Having followed all the instuctions on the Symantec website I eventually got to the point where it told me to reinstall it. So after unistalling it I just get error messages when I try to install it.

I've got other problems like Real Player seems to have disappeared too.

Anyway I've been trying to fix things all day. The only progress I made was managing to set up my DSL connection again and download all the updates like service pack 2 that we're erased in the whole process, even that wasn't easy.

So with all these faults do you think it would be better to just erase the whole memory or reformat or whatever and start again? If so how do I go about doing this. I mean I don't mind having to reinstall all my programs and download service pack 2 all over again. But how can I got about starting over, and what's the best way to do it and still keep things like my music files and photos which I have stored.

Sorry I've written so much but your help is really appreciated.