Can't access admin control panel

When i try to access my admin area, all i get is a string of funny characters!
I opened my configure.php in the admin/includes
and the instances match the admin folder name.
i tried changing them all to match, but no luck, so i changed them back.
HELP! faints
will i have to re-install? ow do i do that?

Have you made any changes to your:
/admin

Has this ever worked?

Has anything changed on your server?

What constitutes a "string of funny characters"?

Hi Ajeh,
nope, it hasn't worked at all.
i tried to rename the folder and change the instances in the folder again, no luck.
i get a blank grey page with many chinese characters. do i need to reinstall? i can just upload the zc_install folder and do it again?
thanks

If nothing has ever worked ... and you have no products etc.

I would delete the files from the server and empty the database table and start over with a clean download of Zen Cart v1.3.7 from the Download link at the top of your screen ...