Do I need to re-install if I'm just missing System Preferences?

Lately some parts of my system have been "disappearing." I "lost" the Activity Managet over a year ago but never really knew what I was missing. But now somehow I've lost System Preferences (It shows up with a big question mark when I click on it in the dock) and I really have need of it.
My question is: Do I need to reinstall the whole OS from the install DVD, or can I just selectively install those one or two things that have gone missing?
Imac   Mac OS X (10.3.9)  

hgelman,
Have you looked for System Preferences in your Application Folder? Just because the Dock icon has a question mark does not necessarily mean that it has disappeared from your system.
You can selectively reinstall files and folders with Pacifist, but depending upon the application you may have to reinstall the Mac OS X Combined Update 10.3.9 and the Security Update 2006-003 (10.3.9 Client) to get back to the most current version.
;~)

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