Yahoo messenger problem

Yesterday, I went to 'delete programs' under control panel, and deleted my current version of yahoo messenger. Then, I went to download the new messenger beta version from yahoo, and the progress bar sat on 0% for a while, then jumped right to 100%, but it never went to the next screen, where it would usually say installation complete. I hit 'cancel' on that window, and the screen was split in half, it still showed the progress bar on 100%, but the top part said 'internet explorer cannot find the page', and then I hit on the red x, and the window wouldnt go away. I tried to close it out with ctrl - alt - delete, but it wasnt a listed task, so i was stuck. I just shut down the computer altogether, re-booted, and tried it again. Exact same result. At this point, I tried to do a system restore, and I chose a date about a week before, but it wouldnt restore- it was in the process of restoring, then all of a sudden a window pops up that says something about some numbers cannot be 'written', click here to close this window, but it pops up so quickly then vanishes so quickly, i cannot write down what it says.. well, the computer restarts on its own, but then says that it cannot restore on the date chosen. I have tried a few different dates, but it still will not restore, and I cannot re-load messenger now. If anyone has any suggestions, please fill me in on a possible cure for this. thank you ...