Solved I have been trying for a few days to fix my computer

Hello,

I have been trying for a few days to fix my computer and I'm just exhausted from it all. I'm seeking help because regedit.exe no longer opens, this is what I've done so far and what I've researched:

-I thought it may have possibly been a virus since that is what the results suggested when I googled stuff like "cannot open registry/regedit etc" but i'm doubting that. I ranned my virus scanner and i ranned other malware spyware services, so i'm clean.
-I'm an admin on my pc, I have always been able to access regedit
-I went into gpedit.msc/admin template/system/prevent access to registry editing tools etc, it was checked as not configured, I changed it to disable even though I've never bothered these things.... no results
-I can open command, but when trying to get into registry in command, no results. I even tried to open command (run as admin)
-I've tried the tutorial on repair install for vista, everything was going great but the cd won't install anything. The DVD spins and then stops a couple minutes into it on both my E&F drives. There is nothing wrong with my drives I've tested this by putting in a regular cd and it works fine. When I check task manager, I noticed there are 3 things running that said setup/vista installation, etc stacked on top of each other. When I end one installation process another pops up like I just placed the cd in or something.
-I have a recovery D drive on my computer. I noticed something strange, I can go into D drive, click on windows, click on regedit and it opens fine. I noticed that something I uninstalled yesterday (malware program) is currently listed in that regedit.
-I've tried making a copy of the working regedit file from my D drive into my C drive but when I do so, it doesn't work...
-I don't have that many system restores, I clean my pc often. They only go back 2 or 3 days and the problem is on all those restores because I checked them (which was painful b/c it takes forever to wait patienly during system restores)
-regedit doesn't work in safe mode
-tried making a new profile and it doesn't work either, as a matter of fact the pc almost blew up and it crashed....... I had to delete the profile
-ranned a system file check, and I have the details, which i will attach to this post. -The scan indicated that I do have corrupted files that cannot be fixed and one of those is the regedit file.. it was listed as regedit.exe.mui
-i can still open task manager and command, regedit is the only thing i can see so far that is not opening or running. When I do try to open it I can see a dll pop up briefly in task manager and then disappear.
-tried changing regedit to regedit.com thinking again it was a virus... nothing
-tried going into C drive/windows/regedit.exe....nothing and I also tried system32 regedit32... nothing again.

I didn't want to bother anyone with my computer problems b/c i've managed to fix it by myself in the past when something went wrong, but this is puzzling to me. I need to be able to access my regedit, it needs to be cleaned and I need to get rid of files I no longer have installed on my computer.

Sorry for the large post. I would be grateful if anyone has a solution. Thank you.

P.S attached is the SFCdetails.txt from today.

Hello PosterGirl, and welcome to Vista Forums.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but with as many issues you are having and the amount of files that cannot be repaired in your sfcdetails.txt log, I would recommend to start over with a new installation of Vista.

If this is still the Vista that came preinstalled on your Dell computer, then the link below at Dell can help show you how to do a factory recovery to restore Vista back to factory conditions if you like. Be sure to backup anything that you do not want to lose first though.

Restoring Your Dell Computer to Original Factory Installation with Dell DataSafe Local Backup 2.0 | Dell

or

Restoring Your Computer´s Software to the Factory Settings | Dell

or

How to restore the Dell Factory Image for Vista if the option does not appear in the Windows RE menu | Dell

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thank you so much for responding. I was fearing you would say this, I will try to do this later tonight or tommorow and come back and tell you the results.

Over the years the problems have been accumulating, so I knew this would eventually happen. My desktop running XP has never had these issues, so I have that as a backup in case something goes wrong. This is still the vista that came preinstalled when Dell shipped the computer, it doesn't have any service packs added and i'm still running internet explorer 7 which was also preinstalled. I backed up everything earlier today when I was trying to complete the reinstall/repair vista tutorial.

I'm really happy I found this forum, this is all very helpful. I will be posting tommorow after trying to attempt to restore vista to factory settings. If that doesn't work, I will try to do a complete clean install.

Thanks again,
PosterG

After the reinstall I highly suggest that you install the service packs. They are important. Without them you won't get any new hot fixes or patches.

You should also backup your personal files before doing the restoration to factory settings.

Part of the contributing factor to your having been infected by malware was not installing updates. Internet Explorer has come a long way from version 7, with many vulnerabilities repaired. Some robustness was introduced with SP2 as well. Not running any of that left you rather exposed, despite having anti-virus software running. So... DEFINITELY update your browser and operating system frequently, and don't tempt fate. Sorry for the long process ahead of you, but in the end you'll be much happier. Good luck!

:DThank you everyone for all your advice. I'm happy to say that everything is running again. I went to the Dell website as advised by Brink in his first solution link above and it repaired my computer.

I'm getting ready to update internet explorer to version 9 and also add the service packs to Vista. I backed up all my important files yesterday and sometime next year, I will probably get Windows 7 but right now I'm in my last year of college on a budget so it will have to wait a little longer.

Again thank you so much, I will definitely keep this site bookmarked and recommend it to friends and family.

After taking the valuable advice, given above, dont forget the last step. When you have all your software installed and its running just the way you like, go to the Macrium Relfect website and make an image of your OS. If you do this and you ever have a problem, again, you could be back in business in just a few minutes. Oh yes, its free software. Put your image on an external hard drive.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

Thank you Rich, I'm finishing up all my Windows updates right now and doing as you suggested.

You are very welcome. I am glad that the Forum was able to help. Come back often to learn or to just have fun.

PosterGirl.

I'm happy to hear all is going well. Thank you for posting back.

Congrats on the recovery, PosterGirl! Good to know that Dell was able to get you started on the right path again and that the Vista Forums was very helpful for you. Plus, thanks for the acknowledgement!