Apps Icons disappeared from the Dock

[oldphotofilms]

Hi,

My problem began when I was using Skype on my PowerBook G4 Intel, running on Tiger. First my profile photo and mood message disappeared, and I was appearing to my friend as "offline". I quitted out and then logged back in, but the information had already been lost. So I thought I'd Restart my computer.

After logging in, I noticed that all of my installed applications had disappeared from my dock, and it looks as though the dock went back to default settings.

1) Is it simply a matter of creating new icons in the dock? Or is this a symptom of a deeper problem?

2) I don't have my OS X install disk with me, because I left it in Thailand, where I'd purchased my computer, but I do have a friend with a MacBook Pro. Can I run Disk Utility to try and repair the disk from my friend's laptop?

3) Could this problem have been caused by Skype? By the way, Skype was set to NOT automatically open at my User Log-In, but for some reason, after I restarted my computer, it's been launching after I Log-In.

Thank you very much!
Sincerely,
Ham Tran
p.s Thank you for having this website!!! It's so helpful for folks like me who feel crippled once their Apple Care has expired.

[banterer]

Does zapping the PRAM do this? My computer was getting sluggish so zapped'em and my CS3 apps disappeared!

Can I get the dock back or do I simply have to redrag them there. The CS2 apps are still there.
Jorge