Reinstalling XP over XP

[Fuelm@n]

Can I reinstall Windows XP Pro, over itself without it messing up any of my previously installed programs? I've reinstalled WinMe over itself several times and it not ever mess up any program installations I had on it. Doing so always fixed the current issue that I had with WinMe and I'm wondering if XP will do the same for me (Fix It). The problem I'm currently having with XP is not being able to install the Critical Updates from the Windows Update site. Maybe the reinstallation will fix this for me since no one has been able so far, not even MS Support. Sure they sent me several things to do that should fix it, but none worked.

Thanks for any replies.......

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Will I also have to reactivate windows again if I do reinstall XP over XP? ô¿ô

[This message has been edited by Fuelm@n (edited 03-09-2002).]

[SuperSparks]

Boot up from the WinXP CR-Rom, run Setup as normal, and you'll come to an option to repair - this will take you to the command line Recovery Console, so ignore it (press Enter to continue installing). Eventually you'll get the option to repair an existing installation - choose this and WinXP will install over the top of itself. You will lose any Windows Updates that you've installed, but otherwise your programs and settings will remain unchanged.

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Nick
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At the source of every error which is blamed on the computer you will find at least two human errors, including the error of blaming it on the computer.

[downtime]

Make sure that you remove encryption, or set a recovery agent, for any encrypted folders you have created. Here are a couple of links that are very important for folks who use encryption. http://support.microsoft.com/default...;en-us;Q255026 http://www.microsoft.com/WINDOWSXP/p...ry/default.asp
The latter link/download is a MUST READ before reinstalling. No fooling.
I'm searching for info on a number of other major problems caused by reinstalling, such as a second hdd requiring data recovery progs to recover data when the reinstall destroys the possibility of seeing the data from xp. They are related to backing up security certificates.

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Please help us help you by posting which linux distribution, version, and desktop manager you use. Have a good one.

[Fuelm@n]

Thanks SuperSparks and downtime, I'll try the reinstallation later this week. Hope it'll help

[fflan513]

Repairing and Reinstalling Windows
When all attempts to repair your system fail, you may be able to repair your Windows XP installation using the Windows Setup program. As a last resort, you can reinstall Windows over an existing installation and hope that the new installation will recover enough of your old settings to allow you to retrieve your data files.

The repair option is quick and painless and typically does not adversely affect user settings. To exercise this option, start from the Windows CD as if you were going to do a clean install. It’s easy to become confused during this process, because the word repair appears in two different places when you start your computer using the Windows CD. At the Welcome To Setup screen, do not choose the option to repair your installation using the Recovery Console. Instead, press Enter, which starts the Windows Setup program. After you accept the license agreement, Windows searches your system for existing Windows installations. When you reach the screen that lists your current Windows installation, select it from the list and press R to start the repair process. The remainder of this procedure requires the same steps as if you were performing a clean installation; when Setup finishes, your system files should be refreshed and your existing data and settings should be accessible again.

In cases of severe disk damage or registry corruption, a repair installation will not be effective; the only alternative is to reformat the disk and install a clean copy of Windows.

[Fuelm@n]

Thanks for the info, I'll make a note of that before I start doing the repair.

[NomaxCoverall]

You mention that you want to reinstall windows over itself because you can't install the windows updates? There may very well be nothing wrong with windows and maybe your problem is with a firewall, your internet connection, the website itself, the security settings for your browsser, etc. Do you have more info on the actual problem you are trying to fix by reinstalling windows?

[Fuelm@n]

The problem I'm having is when I download an update and it starts to install, I get a page saying that no updates were installed. I've disabled my firewall, antivirus and everything in between, but still the updates will not install. I can download them, but that's all. I've tried several things that MS support suggested me on doing, but still no help. In their last email to me was that there was only 2 more things that I could try, I tried them but still no install. I even downloaded them to my desktop and then tried installing them in safe mode, and still the same problem. I uninstalled firewall, virus software and about 10 other programs and still. I used to be able to have them install, but I have no idea as to what happened or what I did to cause them to no longer install. I haven't tried the Windows repair option as of yet.... If you can help me, you'd be my hero. ô¿ô

[Preacherm@n]

Just to let you all know, I have become Fuelm@n's hero.

[Fuelm@n]

Well Preacherm@n is correct!! The problem turned out being that I disabled a couple of programs that are shown in "Services". I went ahead and put those things that showed "Disabled" as now showing "Manual". I then went to Windows Updates and tested the change with success. I now have Windows Updates and am current.

Several have suggested a site called "www.overclockersclub.com" and by disabling some of the Services that are suggested on that site is what caused my problem. I'd advise everyone to not disable anything within "Services" unless you are 113% sure of what that service does and its primary role in Windows is.

Thanks again Preacherm@n for leading me back to "Services". ô¿-