Corrupt installations of Windows can lead to much frustration. Learn avoid losing your data by repairing Windows with the CD.
Instructions
Repairing Windows with the Windows XP CD
1. Enter your computer's BIOS setup to configure the computer to boot from the optical drive. The process to set this up will be different depending on your computer manufacturer and the BIOS installed on the computer. One way to find out boot from the optical drive is to look for the name of the BIOS, which will appear on the screen during the POST screen, and visit the BIOS manufacturer's website for instructions. The POST screen (meaning "power on self test") is the black screen that is immediately shown when you power on your computer. Normally, the BIOS name will be shown at the top of this screen. You can also consult your computer's manual, or visit the computer manufacturer's website for instructions on entering the BIOS setup. Usually, this requires pressing a button (such as "delete") during the POST and changing the device boot order from hard drive first to optical drive.
2. Once the computer is configured to boot from the optical drive, put the Windows XP CD into the drive and restart the PC. After the POST, instead of loading the Windows XP operating system as normal, a new option reading "Press any key to boot from CD" will appear. Press any key quickly, as you will only have a few seconds before the option disappears, and Windows XP will attempt to load as normal. If you miss the prompt, restart the computer.
3. The Windows XP setup will begin. After the Windows XP setup automatically loads basic drivers, you will reach a screen with three options. One option is "To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER." Press enter. Ignore the other options for now.
4. Follow the prompts issued by the Windows XP setup to accept the licensing agreements.
5. After automatically checking for Windows installations, Windows will give you a choice between a clean install of Windows or to repair an existing installation of Windows. Press "R" to repair the installation. Windows setup will install a repaired version of Windows while leaving your programs and settings intact.
6. If repair install is not a listed option, your Windows installation is currently unrepairable. However, you can use the recovery console to attempt to repair the installation to the point where Windows setup can repair it. Reboot the computer and follow the previous instructions to enter Windows setup again. This time, however, instead of pressing "enter" to start Windows setup, press "R" to enter the recovery console.
7. The recovery console will boot. It will first list all installed copies of Windows, and ask which you would like to recover. Select the version you'd like to recover, and press enter. Next, it will ask for the administrator's password. If there is no administrator's password, leave the section blank and press enter.
8. You are now at the command prompt. Enter the command "bootcfg" without the quote marks and press enter. This will load the bootcfg program and fix any errors in your boot.ini file, a crucial system file that periodically becomes corrupt.
9. After you receive the prompt that the bootcfg program is complete, type "chkdsk /r" without the quote marks and press enter. This loads the chkdsk program, which scans your hard drive for corrupt data and attempts to retrieve it. The chkdsk scan can take up to two hours.
10. Once the chkdsk scan is complete, reboot your computer. Do not boot to the CD this time. Wait and see if Windows will load. If it does not, reboot the PC, boot to the CD and attempt the repair install again. If repair install is still not an available option, you must perform a clean install of Windows.
Repairing Windows with the Vista CD
11. Configure your PC to boot from the optical drive as previously stated.
12. Press any key to boot to the CD when prompted.
13. The Windows Vista install will launch. Click on the "Repair your computer" option. The Vista repair program will launch and scan for Vista installations. Select the installation that needs repaired and click the "Startup Repair" button. The Vista repair program will try to automatically repair your installation. If no installations appear, your installation of Vista cannot be repaired automatically by the repair program.
14. If you have access to a Windows XP CD, you can use the recovery console to ensure the boot.ini file isn't corrupt, and there's no corrupt data on the hard drive. If you do not have access to a Windows XP CD, you will have to perform a clean install of Windows Vista. The Windows Vista CD does not contain the recovery console program. See Steps 6 through 10 in the "Repairing Windows with the XP CD" section to learn accomplish this. After completing the steps, reboot the PC and try Vista's repair program again. If your installation does not appear, you will have to perform a clean install of Vista.
Tags: Windows setup, your computer, boot from, optical drive, recovery console
