I went in to msconfig and tried to stop all my startup programs, but on accident I stopped all of the services and now my wireless internet will not work and my computer has a Windows 2000 look instead of XP. How do I fix it back the way it was I cannot system restore because my computer hasn’t set dates for it.
MSCONFIG is a really useful utility that will help you troubleshoot the Windows startup process and can often help you isolate where any problems are occurring. Many users hide some of the systems when they are trying to fix a problem with your system. It not only modifies the programs that run at startup, it will also simplify controls over Windows services and will edit some configuration files.
Fixing the Windows 2000 “Look”
As you found out, the “Disable All” button is frustratingly easy to press, thereby stopping everything from running. Your computer is looking like Windows 2000 because that is one of the options that Microsoft offered when Windows XP came out - many users preferred the old look, so they allowed that as an option. It isn’t actually Windows 2000, it is still XP, but it looks like the old version. Even though it seems that you did this using MSCONFIG, the usual fix for this is on the desktop, so give it a try. Find a blank spot on the desktop and right click on it. Now choose Properties and then find the Appearances tab. From here, you can select the XP buttons and color scheme that you want.
MSCONFIG
In order to fix your startup items and services, I recommend going back the way you came. Go to Start and then Run and type in msconfig again. Click on the Services tab and see if you can choose Enable All (you can also click on them individually if you want to keep some disabled). While you’re here, go into the Start Up tab and you can individually select what you want to run at startup.
This is the most straightforward way I know of to restart the services on your computer. If, after reconfiguring the desktop back to XP and working your way back through MSCONFIG you are still having a problem, let us know exactly what you are seeing and we can try to help you further.
Kat Delong | May 27th, 2009
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