Photoshop CS2 Tools Keep Disappearing.

Question

Can you hear me cursing and screaming from where you are sitting? I've had two unrelated problems the past few days, and as a result  have been totally stuck!!!
The most recent problem was  my inability to log  into the Adobe website at all.  It did not recognize my  user name and insisted my password was incorrect. But when I had  Customer support e-mail them to me, they were exactly what I had been using.  As a result, I was unable to  reach the forum to ask for help.
Same thing happened today, until I finally gave up and changed the info in my account. Then before I even had a chance to test them, I was logged in. Sure would like to know what happened there.
Meanwhile, I've been struggling with disappearing tools in Photoshop. I first noticed the problem several weeks ago, when the tools disappeared  after each individual action, requiring that I return to the widnow menu and reactivate them.
But it finally came to a head yesterday, when the tools did not show up at all after I clicked on them in Windows. All I could see was the small rectangle at the top of the  tool box, which links to an ad for CS4. Couldn't reach the forum yesterday, so I started Googling for help; found a couple of suggestions and somehow managed to rest the tools. Was feeling pretty proud of myself for  figuring it all out  . . . until today, when the same thing happened. But since  I was basically just pushing buttons yesterday, I couldn't replicate the solution.  Tried removing  the preference files  and clicking on reset tools, all to no avail. Then wasted 2 more hours trying to login for help.
sure hope my neighbors couldn't hear my shouts and screams.
I know  you guys can help me. Please don't let me down.

Answer 1

Very true. You'd think as much as they charge people for their software, 
they'd give a better (free included) help and tutorial than they do. I have 
Creative Suite 2, purchased new in 2006 and they already no longer support
it,  and won't hardly give a decent answer about it. Kind of have to find my
answers  from techie guys, forums, guess work, etc. I've had CS4 offered to
me for free,  but turned it down. I hope some of the competition gets far
enough ahead of the  game to take some of their market share...because all
Adobe is interested in is  the bottom line...big business, etc., not the little
guy in the trenches. Of  course, there is more available if you have a Mac.
In a message dated 11/16/2009 11:43:14 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, 
[email protected] writes:
Thanks  Doug.
I don't know if anyone other than the first person who  responded to my
dilemma (whom I thanked) ever suggested a solution, but by the  time they did,
I had already solved the problem myself.
I should  have made a note of how I achieved that — but all I remember is
finding   a screen that asked if I wanted to restore  all the tools to
default.  After a few tries, I finally was successful and  have  been 
trouble-free ever since.
As for reading the manual . . . what  manual? The only one I recall seeing
was online, which has never worked for  me. While it's unlikely I ever would
sit down and read a hard cover edition  from cover to cover (because my
memory is not good enough to absorb all that  info and recall it under pressure
when I need it most). . . online help  has never worked for me, because it
requires jumping back and forth from   the help pages to the site of the
problem. In this case, I might have tried  it, but at the most critical times,
even the pointer was unavailable. A  plain, old  handbook would have
offered the best of both worlds!   I'm sure  not providing one was a financial
decision for Adobe, but for  the price they charge for the application, they
could have afforded  it.