Tech Handbook: Bringing XP back from the brink, without losing everything

Bringing XP back from the brink, without losing everything
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TheAtheist on 03/06/2009 05:22:00
 
Bringing XP back from the brink, without losing everything
If you turn your computer on, and you get a black screen with the following
text or similar:
“Files in folder C: WINDOWS/System 32 are corrupt. Windows could not boot”
It looks like your system may be doomed, but that is often not the case. The
common advice is to place the windows cd into the cd tray and enter the windows
recovery console. Unless you have lots of computer experience, and a lot of time
and patience, this option is not the best for you. This method requires a fairly
adept knowledge of MS DOS commands and often does not work when the root cause
is spyware or Adaware as the admin password is changed by such irritants, making
it impossible to make the changes.
The other way that shall be detailed in this article still carries some risks,
but is much more logical and less problematic.
DISCLAIMER: TECHSUPPORT FORUMS (www.techsupportforum.com) SHALL NOT BE HELD
RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS OF DATA OR DAMAGE TO YOUR SYSTEM FROM USING THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN THIS ARTICLE.
You are still susceptible to losing files if you haven’t backed up your data
before now, but this should limit the damage.
The process:
*Place your windows XP setup CD into the CD tray  	*Reboot the computer
(RESTART)  	*After the computer POST screen has appeared, resist the temptation
to click whatever key your computer tells you to at the bottom of the screen
regarding booting from disc. Windows setup will do this for you, it’s a
further complication you don’t want, so let the computer do its work as if it
were going to load windows normally to the login screen, except of course it
won’t, but that’s fine this time.
The next screen presents the following options:
*To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.  	*To repair a Windows XP installation
using Recovery Console, press R. *  	*To quit Setup without installing Windows
XP, press F3.
* You do not want to select this option, as this defeats the object of this
article
At this stage, press ENTER to setup Windows XP now. You will then be presented
with the EULA or License agreement relating to Windows XP. Press the F8 key to
accept this agreement ( failure to read and fully understand this agreement is
not evidence enough to remove you of responsibility if you fail to comply with
it.)
After a few seconds perhaps, providing you haven’t formatted the hard drive,
setup will present you with a message informing you that there appears to
already be a copy of Windows XP on the hard drive. This is where you get the
option to repair that installation. Using the relevant keys as instructed by the
setup, select the partition of XP you wish to fix, which in most cases will be
the only one that is presented. Now press R to repair – this repair is
different to the repair option on the previous screen and is the one we want.
A new screen appears, stating that the relevant files for setup are being
copied across to the hard drive. There is very little user intervention from now
on; the setup is designed to run itself, including any reboots it needs to
perform.
The system will now reboot; this is perfectly normal. When it turns back on,
still continue to do nothing, unless prompted. Setup will now proceed to install
XP as if it were doing a clean install, except it is now intact, and all your
documents are safe and in 99% of cases so are all your programs. See the notes
later on for the reason why it’s only 99% of cases and how to resolve these.
At intervals throughout the setup, you will be asked the normal XP install
questions, such as Regional settings, and your registration key. Answer these as
you would do if you were installing XP from scratch.
Known issues with Repair Install:
*It clears any updates you have ever installed, including SP1 and SP2, unless
you have slipstreamed them, so ensure you do a windows update as soon after
reinstall as possible.  	*Ensure you turn the windows firewall on prior to
activating your copy of XP again, due to a known worm called the “Blaster
Worm” that can cause problems with your systems security.  	*Some programs are
known to have issues when a repair install is done on a system, most notably
McAfee, due to issues relating to registry. Often the only fix is a complete
uninstall and reinstall of the problem program.  	*This repair method is by no
means foolproof; things can go wrong, and so you could still lose data if you
haven’t backed up. See warning above.
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