How to Fix Windows XP with a Repair Install?

Answer 1

Windows XP is such an amazingly stable OS that some people still prefer it despite Windows Vista and Windows 7 having succeeded it. Unfortunately, amazingly stable does not mean bulletproof, and sometimes our operating system becomes so corrupt that it is unusable. Fortunately, Windows XP has a mechanism in place to recover from this sort of failure called the repair install.

1. Put your Windows XP CD in the CD drive, and then reboot the computer. Note that it may be necessary for you to first enter your BIOS and change the boot order so that the computer accesses the CD drive first.

2. Pay attention to this step closely. At the welcome screen, you will see three options. Select the one that reads, “To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER’. This is confusing because one option reads, “To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R’. However, we do not want to use the Recovery Console.

3. After pressing enter, accept the Windows license agreement. Windows will now search for and find the existing window installation or installations.

4. Highlight the Windows XP installation that needs repairing, and then press “R’ for repair. If repair is not an option, exit setup, and then read the section below called “What do I do if repairing is not an offered option?’

5. During this phase, Windows XP setup will copy over all necessary files, and in doing so replace the corrupt ones. This is just like a complete install except that your settings and files stay intact.

What do I do if repairing is not an offered option?

First, note that continuing setup will ERASE ALL of your files and settings. There is one thing you can try before resorting to that and that is reconfiguring the boot.ini via the Recovery console.

A. Boot with the Windows XP CD in the drive. Alternatively, you can use the Windows XP floppy recovery disks.

B. From the setup screen, press “R’ to load the Recovery Console.

C. Type the command “bootcfg’. This will repair any errors in the boot.ini file, which is what usually prevents Windows XP setup from being able to repair a Windows installation.

D. Go back to step #1, and start the repair process again.