System repair for windows xp

Also, check these folders under other user's accounts if more than one person logs onto your PC. You should also locate the Windows XP product key , a digit alphanumeric code unique to your copy of Windows. Not using Windows XP? Every modern Windows OS has a similar operating system repair process.

First, watch for a Press any key to boot from CD message similar to the one shown in the screenshot above. Once you see it, press a key to force the computer to boot from the Windows CD. If you do not press a key, your PC will attempt to boot to the operating system that's currently installed on your hard drive.

If this happens, simply reboot and try to boot to the CD again. The Windows Setup screen will appear and a number of files and drivers necessary for the setup process will load. On the other hand, if you're installing from an older version of the Windows XP installation CD and you have an SATA hard drive, you will need to press F6 here to load any necessary drivers. The instructions that came with your hard drive or computer should include this information. For most users, though, this step can be ignored.

After the necessary files and drivers are loaded, the Windows XP Professional Setup screen will appear. Press Enter to set up Windows XP now.

Even though the second option is to repair a Windows XP installation , the Recovery Console is not the option we want. We choose to truly perform a complete repair installation a few steps from now. Read through the agreement and press F8 to confirm that you agree with the terms. Press the Page Down key to advance through the licensing agreement faster.

This is not to suggest that you should skip reading the agreement, though! You should always read "small print" especially when it comes to operating systems and other software. On the next screen, Windows XP Setup needs to know which Windows installation you want to either repair or install a fresh copy over. The single installation of Windows on your PC should already be highlighted.

If you have multiple installations, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the installation that you are wanting to reinstall.

Since we want to repair the selected Windows XP installation , press the R key to continue. Windows XP Setup will now delete the necessary system files from the Windows XP installation that's currently on your hard drive. This step usually only takes a few seconds and no user intervention is necessary. No data files like word processor files, spreadsheet files, music files, photos, etc.

It is clear and easy to learn. You deserved a 10! I'm not posting this to slam the article - I loved it! It sent me looking in the right direction and taught me way more about Recovery Console than I ever knew.

I love the part where it states "Neither of these procedures are cheap in the realm of commercial PC repair, nor do they inspire a tremendous level of confidence in the technician or the hopeful client. But thanks geeksquad, because if it wasn't for you guys i wouldn't be so busy fixing the problems you either couldn't or caused.

It worked form me. I am going to save this webpage in my Bookmarks. Much better than saving all data first and then formatting and reinstalling Windows. I've spent three maddened days without access to my PC changing ribbon cables, testing different drives and all sorts of crap.

Now I'm back online and typing this comment. But I wished someone would have told us newbbies the Windows disk may not be boot-able until you run it from the "safe mode" screen and press any key within 4 seconds! I started checking for problems with my cd drive because it wasn't auto running.

And in a less painful way. As the techniques given here perfectly illustrate, Windows' recovery options are nothing but a bad joke. How do we eliminate one of those options?

I'm bringin' the Yankee pain. That's because in the likely event the registry breaks enough to break Windows altogether, there's nothing you can do about it but reinstall. The registry pretty much guarantees that NO rescue disk whatsoever will succeed at fixing Windows if the problem lies within its stores.

Compound this problem with the fact that the registry has a horribly low tolerance for invalid data stored inside it, no matter how innocuous. No boot disk can access it, not even Microsoft'd own crippled recovery console can do anything about it. This, along with things like drive letter access, the fact that its still really a single-user system, and the fact that Microsoft can't secure it properly largely BECAUSE it's a single user system, are all reasons why Windows is a horribly inferior operating system.

Poorly designed. VERY poorly designed. To the point you only get a handful of options for even fixing it if it breaks before you have to reinstall it. Which is horrible because the drive letter system makes reinstalling it a real hassle, as not only do you have to reinstall your software, but backup and reinstall ALL your data. You can fix both with even basic text editors from boot disks, no matter what the configuration is that's broken. I can even fix a broken initramfs from a boot disk.

You just can't do that with Windows. Well got used Dell and my God its a pain. Just freezes up on that screen and only option is to hold power button for 7 seconds as ctrl-alt-del does nothing also.

Any help would be wonderful! Totally lost as to what to do. INI It says "No matching files were found. Anyone know what to do? The problem is I know nothing about XP so I'm always stuck with using a combination of common sense and Google.

I got stuck with a Config error last week and could not fix it, had to send to the repair guys, but now I know, thanks so much for this Once I located an XP boot disk, took me half an hour to recover the computer. Thanks much and Happy Holidays to all. Is there a way to get rid of the old version? Help please! Unfortunately every command: "No matching files were found" OR "The system cannot the file or directory specified". Twee's return on TikTok.

Windows Windows. Most Popular. New Releases. Desktop Enhancements. Networking Software. Trending from CNET. Registry Repair Free. Scan and clean up your registry to improve your system's performance. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help.

Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. Easy to follow. No jargon. Pictures helped. Didn't match my screen. Incorrect instructions. Too technical. Not enough information.