How to Do a Windows XP "Repair

Install"
133,090 view s

Edited 19 w eeks ago

Has Windows been throwing a lot of errors at you lately? It could be that some
of your critical system files have become corrupt. This can happen for a variety
of reasons, but a Repair Installation can fix a lot of the problems. A Repair
Installation will restore your computer's vital system files without touching your
personal files. See Step 1 below to learn how.

Steps

Backup your data. Although a Repair Install should not affect any of your data, it is
always good to be prepared in case something goes wrong. Back up your essential

files to an external drive, CD/DVD, or another form of storage.

Make sure to get files from all of the possible locations, including My Documents,
Desktop, and any other folders you may have created and placed files in.
You should also track down your Windows Product Key in case you end up
needing to do a complete reinstall. Your Product Key is typically located on the
case that the Windows disc came in, or on a sticker affixed to your computer.
Ad

Insert your Windows XP setup disc. If you bought your computer from a
manufacturer such as Dell, you may have a recovery disc instead of a Windows XP

disc. Close out of the program that autoruns when you insert the disc.

Reboot the computer and enter the BIOS. With the disc inserted, restart your
computer. As the computer boots up, press the Setup key to enter your BIOS. The key

varies from system to system, and will be displayed beneath the manufacturer's logo.
Common keys include: F2 , F10 , F12 , and Del .
If Windows begins to load, the Setup key was not pressed in time and you will have
to retry.

Change your boot order. Once you've entered the BIOS, navigate to the BOOT
menu. It may be labeled slightly differently depending on your specific BIOS. You will

need to change the boot order so that your CD/DVD drive is the first boot device, followed
by your hard drive.
Normally, the hard drive is the primary boot device. This means that the system
attempts to boot from the hard disk first, loading your installed copy of Windows.
You want to change it so that it attempts to boot from your Windows disc before
trying the hard drive.

Once you've changed your boot order, save your changes and restart your
computer.

Start the installation. After you computer reboots again, you will see the message
Press any key to boot from CD.... Press any key on you keyboard to

start the Windows setup program.

Setup will load the files necessary to install Windows. This may take a few
moments.

Navigate to the Repair Installation option. When the setup program first loads,
you will be greeted with a Welcome message. At the bottom of the screen, you will

see keys that you can press to navigate the options. DO NOT press the key for Repair;
instead press Enter to continue.
Press F8 to agree to the Windows License Agreement.

Select your copy of Windows. After the license agreement, you will see a list of
your drives. One of them should be labeled "Windows" and will usually be highlighted

automatically. The only time you will need to manually select it is if you have multiple
operating systems installed.

Start the repair. Once you have your copy highlighted, press R to start the Repair
process. Windows will begin deleting system files. After the system files are deleted,

fresh copies will be installed.

No personal files should be deleted during the repair.

Set your preferences. During the reinstallation, you will need to select your Region
and Language options. You will also need to set your network settings. Most users

can choose the first option, "No, this computer is not on a network, or is on a network
without a domain."

10

Wait for setup to finish. Once you've entered your preferences, you'll need to
wait a few more minutes for Windows to finish copying necessary files. Your

computer will likely reboot during this process.

11

Create your user names. After installation is complete and your computer
reboots, you will be asked if you would like to register with Microsoft. This is not

the same as activation, and is completely optional. After that, you will be asked to create
your user name and any other user names for people using the computer. You can add and
remove users later if you wish.

12

Update Windows. After setup is complete, you will be taken to your Windows XP
desktop. The repair installation reverted Windows back to its initial state, which

means any updates, patches, and service packs that were installed have been removed.

You need to update your computer as soon as possible to ensure that you are protected
from threats.

13

Continue troubleshooting. If your problem has been fixed, then your repair
installation most likely worked. If you are still experiencing problems though, you

may need to take your repair efforts further and perform a completely clean install. This will
involve wiping your hard drive of all data and starting over from scratch. See this guide for
detailed instruction on performing a clean installation.[1]
With Microsoft ending all support for Windows XP in April 2014, this might be the
perfect time for an upgrade. See this guide for upgrading to Windows 7 and this
guide for upgrading to Windows 8.
Ad

Are you an expert on handwriting?

If so, share what you know about how to have good handwriting.
Please be as detailed as possible in your explanation. We will take your
detailed information, edit it for clarity and accuracy, and incorporate it into
an article that will help thousands of people.

Tell us everything you know here. Remember, more detail is better.

Tips
Download and Install all Windows Updates after a Repair Install.
Ad

Warnings
A repair install will fix any files system files affected by a virus, but will

not remove the virus itself. This means that the files could become
infected again unless the virus is removed.
A repair installation should not affect your personal data, but back
everything important up just in case.

Sources and Citations

1. https://forums.malwarebytes.org/index.php?showtopic=61918

Article Info

Categories: XP Instructions
Recent edits by: IzzyCam, BR, CQinPDX
In other languages:
Espaol: Cmo hacer una instalacin de reparacin en Windows XP, Italiano: Come
Fare un'Installazione di Ripristino di Windows XP, : Windows XP,
: Windows XP, Portugus: Como Fazer uma "Instalao de
Reparo" no Windows XP, Franais: Comment faire une rparation et rinstallation de
Windows XP, Deutsch: Eine Windows Reparaturinstallation durchfhren
Ad

Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 133,090 times.