Windows XP Repair Installation

At some point you may need to repair the installation of Windows XP.  This is preferable to a clean install in many cases since it attempts to only repair your copy of windows without having to delete all the files on your computer first.  In many cases a repair installation is enough to fix the problem.  A repair install deletes the files normally installed by windows XP and then reinstalls them off the disc.  A repair install will not rebuild your computer's registry, delete applications and user settings, or fix problems caused being caused by a program.

1. First you have to boot the computer with the Windows XP cd in the cd tray.  You will see a black screen and it will ask you to press any key to boot from the cd so press the spacebar and your computer will boot from the CD.

2. After a moment you will be taken to the Windows XP Setup screen.  Though the second option says to repair do not press R.  Instead press enter to select the setup for Windows XP.

3. Next, you have to accept the license agreement from windows.  Once you've done that it will search for your existing installation of windows.

4. Once it has finished detecting the installation you need to select the XP installation you want to repair.  You can repair the installation by pressing R.  If you don't see the repair option you will need to do a clean installation.  Your version of windows may have been damaged in a way that it cannot carry out a repair. 

5. Setup will then copy the files it needs to the hard drive and reboot the computer.  A message will come up asking you if you want to boot from the cd, don't press any keys and just let the timer run out.  The set up will continue and look like is doing a clean install but all of your applications and settings will be intact when it finished.

An important note is to not activate your windows over the internet right away.  Always enable the XP firewall to protect yourself.

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