Color scheme change causes very strange problems with the Control Panel and folders

I don't change the theme altogether, I usually just have it on the Windows XP theme and change the color scheme (under the Appearance tab in Display Properties) which then changes the name to Modified Theme. However, and I have no idea when this happened, when I switched my color scheme to silver, the window pane on the left (that shows common tasks and "see also" ) disappeared, and the Control Panel view switched from Category to Classic, without any way to switch it back. Also, changing the color scheme to silver itself took a VERY long time, whereas changing it back to default or even changing to the olive green took only a few seconds. The window pane also disappeared in Windows Explorer, and new icons appeared at the topic of the toolbar (like an X and an undo button). There is no way to change it except switching it back to default. I have tried going into BIOS and loading factory settings under maintenance - twice - but this did not work. I also tried going into Browse, then loading the LUNA file under C:\Windows\Resources\Themes, but that did not work. Someone told me to run Repair Reinstall, but my OS CD did not autorun when I restarted my computer, and then when I read the instructions over again I noticed that it was a Home Edition example, which makes me think that is why the Repair Reinstall won't work (I checked the registry to see if the values were right for autorun, and they were...but I don't really want to mess around with my registry). I know this isn't a huge problem, but it is driving me CRAZY. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Lindsay


Inspiron 6000
Microsoft XP Professional

Edit: I fixed it. If anyone has the same problem (which I doubt, it was so strange), what I did was go into C:\Windows\Resources\Themes\Luna\Shell\Metallic and right-click the shellstyle.dll and click Properties, then under the General tab, click Advanced and then check the "Compress contents to save disk space" box. Thanks for nothing, Dell Support! This is the third time I've had to fix my computer on my own!

I have NO idea why this caused the strange problem it did, though.

Message Edited by thisxyearsxfaith on 06-25-200608:50 AM