Been down so long....

I installed and ran "Windows Registry Repair Pro" by 3B software, only to have a system file destroyed in the process, hence the machine wouldn't boot. Microsoft tech support, at least on the initial call, compounded the problem. The next call to MS tech support solved the problem but at the price of a clean install, necessary to fix the first fix it seems.

Long story short: avoid "Windows Registry Repair Pro" like the plague. I've used "Registry First Aid" for years without incident and should have left well enough alone. It's better to learn from other people's stupid mistakes that to learn from your own stupid mistakes.

Fortunately, most of my files were backed up on a separate drive but I did lose a weeks worth of email and notes. So to quote the Gubernator, "I'll be back."