Problems Resulting From Recent XP Updates

[Starwind51]

Yesterday I got a Windows Security shield-icon message saying updates were available.  I downloaded the 10 updates and express installed them.  Some were related to virus definitions and some were related to XP.  I permitted an automatic restart and...

1. When I clicked on my log in name I got a message saying my name wasn't recognized and any changes I made would not be saved.  Ctrl-alt-del would not trigger the shut-down window.  I had to use the power button, and the computer did respond.

2. I restarted, was recognized, and saw my desktop background photo was gone and the only two icons on my desktop were the recycle bin and RealPlayer.

3. I walked away while the updates were finishing being installed, came back and saw my chosen screensaver had been replaced by the XP default screensaver.

4. My "recent documents" list was empty, and My Documents contained only empty pre-installed folders for pictures, music, and books.

5. The Works Calendar icon was still on the start menu, but the calendar wouldn't open.  Trying to stop the process I got the Program Not Responding message clicking for further details just said it was a hungup app.

5a. The projects I had created in Works Projects were deleted.  I was only currently using one, but the names of all the projects should have still been listed.

6. My Google Chrome icon was still in the start menu but it wouldn't launch.  No information as to why.

7. The butterfly icon for that version of explorer was gone.

8. The blue e for that version of exlorer still worked, but all my favorites associated with this version of explorer were gone.  The Bing toolbar is displaying the temperature for their default city, not mine.  The Yahoo toolbar, RoadRunner's browser partner, is correctly recognizing my location.

I found my documents in a folder named Stationery.  Formerly this folder had, at most, 1 document - a stationery template I had downloaded from from Windows.  I don't know know why my documents were moved there.  I have kept the folder where I found it, but renamed.

My screensaver, downloaded from a website long ago, was still in the screensaver list and I was able to choose it again without any problems.

Going through All Programs to get to the Windows Task Launcher, I see on the list a task one task I had scheduled for today.  I have 4 calendars in Works Calendar and have different information on each.  I should be getting a pop up reminder of upcoming events.  They're all still listed in the Task Launcher if I click on the appropriate date on the calendar in the Task Launcher, but the Task Launcher can't open the Works Calendar (by clicking a button on the screen) either.  It still gets hung up.
 
I don't know if my Projects were moved anywhere, but fortunately I didn't have anything in them I can't easily re-create.

If these updates wiped information, rearranged information, and reset settings, why does it still have the Google Chrome icon listed in the start menu?  It didn't exist when I first got XP.

I'm posting this for two reasons - to ask if anyone else got these problems from the updates, and to ask for help in getting my calendar open.

[BC_Programmer]

none of your settings were wiped. Your user profile was somehow corrupted and now it is using a default (temporary) profile.

Some of your stuff still appears (google chrome icon) because some programs install icons on the default account; the default account is what Windows copies whenever it makes a new account, including temporary ones it uses when a standard profile fails to load.

This has only happened to me once (it had nothing to do with XP automatic updates, since I always have those entirely disabled) and I fixed it relatively easily; I logged out from the temporary profile and logged in as the administrator- this required that I use the "standard" login dialog (as opposed to the welcome screen) since one of the first things I do with XP is disable the welcome screen, that wasn't a problem. You can get to the standard login dialog from the welcome screen by pressing Control+Alt+Delete twice at the welcome screen. Once logged in as the administrator, I created a new account, which of course resulted in an appropriate new folder showing in C:\Documents And Settings.

I copied the entire folder contents of my old "corrupted" profile whose folder was still in C:\Documents And Settings) to the "new" folder of the account I had just created, replacing it's contents entirely. I then logged out and logged into the "new" profile and all was well again.

[Starwind51]

none of your settings were wiped. Your user profile was somehow corrupted and now it is using a default (temporary) profile.

If I were using a temporary profile I don't think I'd have been able to find my files.  I don't know how to find the history of what was included in the 10 downloads, but things have certainly been rearranged for me.

My only concern is how to open the calendar.  If I were using a temporary profile, wouldn't a blank calendar be presented?  I see my appointments using the Task Manager, but the calendar doesn't open.