I am REALLY hoping someone has some suggestions on this one. A friend asked to use my computer for something and said that they knew what they were doing. They downloaded one of the free e-mail programs from the internet onto my computer. The friend then apparently just deleted a bunch of files instead of removing the program. Ever since, I have had a hard time starting the system. At first, the first attempt at starting it resulted in a message saying operating system not found. ( I am running Windows 98), If I hit restart, windows booted up no problem. Now, it can take upto 45 minutes of restarting to access my computer. I have re-installed windows hoping that this friend had deleted one of the startup files, but that didn't correct the problem. Anyone have any ideas? I REALLY REALLY don't want to re-format the c drive, but am getting desperate. Also, beware of letting people "try" things on your computer. A little knowledge, can do untold damage. There's nothing worse than spending $1000's on a system and then not being able to use it.

Since you're Web enabled go to the horses mouth. Although the Knowledge Base exists at Mircosoft.com they have a new tool that might be more suited to you. Follow the link below then type in the question "How do I troubleshoot problems with startup", and you will be walked through therelevant info. http://support.microsoft.com/view/pe...crosoft%2ecom/