MajorMajorProblem!

Hi there Not sure where to put this but thought this a good place to start.Sorry if not in right place to post this… Downloaded a couple programs last nite.(speedupmypc/ registry booster and ran registry and it cleaned a bunch of files.(which in retrospect which was Not a good idea )Hopefully there isn't any other carp** that got on puter …. Now went to start computer and wouldn't start up it just said either a hardware or new software made changes to puter and won't boot possibly to protect files ( don't quote me on the wording but pretty close… I tried booting into…last known config/safe mode/ or normal start up.tried all won't go..I am using a friends computer and can receive email from his puter if need be…… I seriously need help ( GO Figure) I hope I do not have to lose my pictures ,I was going to back them up today . I don't care about anything else but these pics of family..As you can see I'm in need of some help…I hope someone can help Please with this problem.. sorry if this isn't in the right place…desperate…. should be DIMWIT Not lightbrite

I may not be the best to guide through repair installs, but here is what I suggest you do before anything else, get Puppy Linux and burn it to disk, boot to that disk in the problem system, it wont touch your drive(s), it loads in the ram, so the drives are unaffected, once booted you should then be able to navigate to the files you want to back up, you can save them to a thumb drive or whatever, once you have safely got all that can't be lost, it no longer matters if worst case you have to reinstall, albeit a pain, but if your files are that important this is the first thing I'd do for peace of mind.

Now have you tried booting in safe mode ?
Just wondering if you can access system restore via some means, otherwise a repair install from the OS disk is possibly the best option, but leave registry stuff alone in future, as you have found it can go bad.

Once you have your important data backed up, read here: Repair Install

This will replace system files but leave your personal data untouched. Even so, it's best to have a backup before doing this in case Mr. Murphy strikes.

Chances are, the registry cleaner stuffed your PC up. Those things are VERY nasty things if you select all the stuff it finds and ask it to clean.. You should only really use those tools if you know exactly what you're doing, otherwise, well, you wouldn't be in this situation!! Following from what the others said, if you're worried about losing data, you could always slave your HDD in another PC, by that i mean, put your HDD inside your friends computer and transfer your most needed files onto a memory stick for now, so you have a backup.. Once you backed up all your data, put your hard drive back in your PC, and format and install Windows again? Hope this helps some, 'Bob