can anyone help me reload my install.log files? I get a popup when I try to remove a program that reads cannot open install.log. Thanks, Billyray

Hello billyray, welcome to PCHF.

Reload your install.log files? These will be kept in the folder that they were install on in the first place (for exampe c:\program files\cuteFTP\install.log). Why and how were they removed in the first place?

If they have been deleted, the reinstalling the application will create a new log file. Then uninstall it again as normal.

thank you madmonkey, i was trying to remove a program and a popup said couldnot find install.log. i tryed to download windows sp3 and it said windows files were missing, i was cleaning house to try again. i think mcafee let something in, but it couldn't clean it up. can i reinstall xp only and not loose everything? is there a program i can get to check my system and tell me what to do? thank you very much for your time.

If you think your PC is infected, then take a look at PCHF Prework on my signature. This describes how to post us a HJT and AVG log back here. A member of our security team will check the logs for any nasties. I've lost faith in McAfee too in the last couple of weeks, would recommend sticking with AVG for the moment, at least it's free. Our security team can give you better advice in this area than I in this area.

However, I've not heard of a virus that specifically targets log files. Maybe a disk cleanup utility?

What was the exact error message when you tried installing SP3, did it name any specific files?

If you were to re-install Windows, would certainly resolve both issues, but you would need to copy all of your personal files, documents, music etc onto a CD or other storage media, as well as ensure that you still have all the CD's you need to install any software you have at the moment.

Provided you have enough disk space, you could always do a parallel install, and have a new copy of Windows running on the same disk. You would have an option of which one you want to start up with each time you start your PC. Cleanup however is quite messy when you decide your ready to get rid of your old one.

EDIT: Marked as Answered.