Could it be a screen saver or other program you've downloaded recently. I'm not familiar with Vista but you should be able to reinstall Vista - overlay, don't un-install. If you do it carefully, you should have the same settings. Just guessing. Hope it helped. ------Edit Is there a Repair option on your Vista CD? -- Q: In XP I could run two commands "fixboot" and "fixmbr" how can I restore Vista's boot loader? A: You can do this by booting to the Vista DVD. Then select the "Repair" option. Follow the on-screen prompts from there. This will replace the boot loader in Vista. Source: http://www.5starsupport.com/vista-faq/vista-troubleshooting.htm#solutions ----- 1. Go to Start 2. Click Control Panel 3. Select System Maintenance 4. Click Problem Reports and Solutions 5. Select "Check for new solutions" from the left pane. You may need Administrator privileges to view these solutions. Note: Right clicking a solution gives more options. Source: http://www.5starsupport.com/vista-faq/vista-troubleshooting.htm#solutions -------Edit See: System Restore fails Use the following steps if System Restore fails to create a restore point or fails to restore. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/fastFaqLiteDocument?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=212728&docname=c00850095#N736