I am trying to help an elderly man whose computer is doing some very strange things. He has an HP Pavilion model # XG833 running Windows ME {ugh!}. If I click on the “Start” button, the program list does not open or expand. If I click on “My computer”, I get the error message: “ Your current security settings prohibit running ActiveX controls on this page. As a result, the page may not display correctly”. If I try to explore C drive, all I get in the right-hand window, rather than files or folders, is one line of text which reads: %DirectoryPath%.

If I try to run Norton speed Disk, it says that there are problems and I should run Norton Disk Doctor, which will not run either displaying the “ActiveX” error message, which is displayed when trying to open almost anything.

I do not have the Recovery Disk and was considering a format/reinstall with Windows XP. But, I was hoping there might be another solution first.

If anyone has any suggestions, I would appreciate them. The Internet is about 80% of his day and he is lost without it.

Thanks,

Jeff