help with wierd software installation

[mrgee]

ok my 1st post so hope its an easy one for the experts to help with.

im an trying to install screenlock on my laptop but i get a wierd problem so ill explain.

i have installed this software before before no problem to try it but i uninstalled it to try others . since i tried others i decided on going back to screenlock so tried to install again but it messes up.

i click the install.exe it starts to run then i get a bar accross the botom of the screen. its the same size as the blue bar ontop of explore with the minimize ,restore,close buttons exept it only has
close button. it says screenlock-installshield wizard on the left but program wont run any further and i cant close down the bar unless i do ctrl>alt>del>end task

sometimes webpages wont close too untill i end ask

have scanned for virus but not got one . any body anydeas what it can be please already had to put laptop back to fatory image 2 weeks ago due to problems dont want to go through that again

thanks

[TrueRollers]

When installing and uninstalling various programs, especially trials, shareware, and freeware, they still use DLL sharing** like in the old versions of windows. When you install some DLL's* are overwritten and can cause newer windows programs to become unstable, unresponisve, or inoperable. I wish I could tell you there is an easy way to fix this problem... the only thing i can think of, try restoring your system back to before you uninstalled the good program in the first place. WindowsXP system restore may have a point from back then. That may fix your problem. Good Luck!

* DLL = Dynamic Link Library, strings or lines of code an application can access to run specific tasks for itself.

** DLL sharing = Older versions of windows used to have multiple programs accessing the same DLL, Microsoft did this to save hard drive space on systems due to small capasities at the time. This lead to programs overwriting important DLL's and rendering windows inoperable at times. WindowsXP has tried to address this issues as best as possible by assigning certain DLL's to individual programs only. You can still cause issues installing older programs, but typically Windows will not allow the overwriting without conformation, or will prompt your on the next reboot to insert the WindowsXP cd to repair a replaced DLL.

[mrgee]

how do i run sfc (system file checker in xp ) ? and could ou point me in right direction to do a system restore point , only been using ep for 2 weeks
thanks

[TrueRollers]

Ok, System File Checker... try running your command prompt, Start, Run, CMD, click ok.

typs sfc /scannow

That should run the System File Checker.

Ok, System Restore. Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Restore. Click "Restore my computer to an earlier time" then click "Next". Click a BOLD date from before you uninstalled your good program. Choose one of the times from the box on the right. Click "Next". Read the next page, then click "Next". System restore (if there is a good restore point found) will restore your system to what it was before you uninstalled the good program. This will only replace system files and such, as the program sais, it doesn't recover lost documents, programs, etc... Some of the programs you have installed since then may have to be reinstalled, but probably not. Again, good luck!