Sidebar not even starting no matter what | Please help

Question：I defragged my hard drive last evening. Restarted, and ever since, my sidebar won't even start up. I've tried renaming the settings.ini file and restarting the application, but no dice.  Won't even start. Ironically, even in my startup programs it shows that it is supposed to start, but doesn't. So, can someone please help? I have Vista Ultimate and do not want to reinstall windows. I was considering on trying this, but not sure how to run properly this command in the prompt:

1. Right click on Command Prompt and click Run as Administrator
2. CD to C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar ( cd drive letter:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar )
3. Run these commands in this order:
1. regsvr32 -u sbdrop.dll
2. regsvr32 -u wlsrvc.dll
3. regsvr32 atl.dll
4. regsvr32 sbdrop.dll
5. regsvr32 wlsrvc.dll

Can someone help? I need my sidebar, and thank you....

Answer 1：

Hi Michael,

You may try these steps mentioned below:
- Click Start >>  All Programs >>  Accessories >> right-click Command Prompt  >> select "Run as administrator".
- Type these commands one by one:
Regsvr32 atl.dll
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\sbdrop.dll"
Regsvr32 "%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll"

Click Start >> in start search type in sidebar properties >> Enter.
Make sure that "Start Sidebar when the windows start" has a check mark against it.

You may also try SFC Scan on the computer:
Try running a SFC Scan:
1. Click on the Start menu, choose All Programs, then Accessories, then right-click on the Command Prompt item and select Run as administrator.
2. Click Continue to authorize opening a command prompt with administrative privileges.
3. Run this command in the cmd prompt: sfc /scannow
4. The cmd prompt should list text stating "Beginning system scan. This process will take some time."
5. Wait for the scan to complete (this can take several minutes so be patient).  This command will scan all protected system files and attempt to replace incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions
6. When the scan completes, the SFC tool will indicate whether or not it found any problems and whether or not it was able to fix them
7. If any errors are reported that SFC was unable to fix, there are steps in this knowledge base article that explain how to locate and attempt to fix the errors.
8. After fixing any errors that are found, try accessing the Windows Sidebar.

If the above steps don't help then you may also try restoring the computer to the previous date on which it was working fine.
To restore the operating system to an earlier point in time, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, type system restore in the Start Search box, and then click System Restore in the Programs list.  If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type your password or click Continue.
2. In the System Restore dialog box, click Choose a different restore point, and then click Next.
3. In the list of restore points, click a restore point that was created before you began to experience the issue, and then click Next.
4. Click Finish.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936212/

Let us know if that helps.

Regards,
Chethan Kumar.

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