hi guys,

my toshiba laptop was working fine until it got a virus & i formatted it. i used a Windows XP Corp ed. CD (cuz i forgot to make a recovery CD out of the pre-installed XP).

thats when all the problems began. i'd just format it, install a few harmless programs (MSN messenger, google toolbar etc) but after 1 day it kept getting errors like "Generic Host for win32 Services encountered a problem" or "A file that is required to run search companion cannot be found.", so i formatted it again cuz my efforts to fix them failed.

it worked fine for another few days then right away the computer began freezing whenever i clicked anything, eg. if i tried to type my username & password into my MSN messenger it'd freeze and not respond for like 3 minutes then just shut down with an error. the comp just acted like i hadn't formatted it for a decade. it also got errors with files like flash.ocx .

so i formatted it again! it worked fine for 1 day and now no programs seem to work. when i click on Help & Support, or Internet Explorer, or System Restore, or ANY program besides Firefox, it just says it "encountered a problem and needs to shut down."

this is driving me crazy. formatting a comp & reinstalling all your programs is hard work and i've formatted 5 times already but errors never stop. i never installed any dodgy programs or went into dodgy sites. in fact the comp would work fine, then i leave it alone overnight and in the morning it's just stopped working.

im wondering if it's cuz i didnt use Toshiba's recovery cd (with all the driver files on it). i just can't figure this out. please help!!

You should do this:

1. install windows
2. install service pack 2 (you didn't specify if the Corp. XP is SP1, SP2 or original non-SP)
3. install drivers (start with 1. chipset/IDE controller, 2. Video Driver. the rest is up to you) *
4. update windows via microsoft update
5. Install AV software
6. Update AV software
7. Make backup
8. now install all those non-essential programs

If the windows start acting wierd again, use backup (ASR). That way you won't have to do all those things again. Beware that using ASR means formating you C drive, so anything you want to perserve, you'll need to move it someplace else.


* If you misplaced your CD that came with laptop.
That can be a nag. Without it, your laptop is running without some essential drivers that are not included with Windows XP setup disk.
To check for your self, look at control panel/system/hardware tab/device manager.
If you see yellow question mark labeled "other devices", or some expanded branches with some devices having a tiny yellow error icon on it, that means that the drivers are either missing, or not installed at all.

Getting another one from Toshiba would be choice No. 1, but not so neccessary. Net is vast and driver-rich. Maybe I can help you if you tell me exact laptop model.