Repair Methods Available in Windows XP=

By the very nature t= hat XP is substantially more complicated than an amoeba, chances are good that at = some point it will need repairing. This page looks at a number of different 'rep= air' options that are frequently mentioned in forums and self-help websites. Understanding what options are available and how to access those options ma= kes the repair scenario less daunting and increases the chance of the repair be= ing successful. This is not an in-depth guide to the nuances of each different repair option, but more of a roadmap to the available options that can assi= st in repairing an XP system. Often times half the battle = is knowing what tools and methods are available and where to find them.= Use this guide when someone says "pop in the CD and select the repair function" and you have no idea how to get to what the person is talking about.

Backup: Utility supplied with both Windows XP Home and Professional, although in Home it is not installed by default.

In order to use this option the file(s) in question must have been backed up previously and stored on any number of differ= ent mediums for retrieval at a later date.
See Back Up Using Backup Wizard for screen captures and information on using Backup Wizard.
See Back Up Using Advanced Mode for screen captures and information on using Advanced Mode Backup.

Device Driver Roll Back: Used to remove a newly inst= alled device driver and 'roll back' the system to the previously installed driver. Unfortunately, one of the most problematic issues are printer drivers and Device Driver Roll Back does not support rolling back printer drivers.

To access Device Dri= ver Roll Back:

Click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System.
On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. =
Right-click the device for which you want to reins= tall the previous version of the driver.
Click Properties.
Click the Drivers tab.
Click Roll Back Driver.

Disable A Device: This is very similar to Dev= ice Driver Roll Back except it disables the device and the driver that you susp= ect may be causing a system problem.

Click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > System.
On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager. =
Right-click the device suspected of causing the problem and click Disabled.

Add or Remove Programs: This is basically the softw= are version of Disable A Device listed above. If you= suspect a software installation is causing the problem, use Add/Remove Programs to remove the program from the system.

Click Start > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs
Allow the list to populate and then select the pro= gram to be removed.

System Restore: Here is the Microsoft defin= ition of System Restore; "Restores all system and application settings back = to those that were in effect at a point in time you specify. Restores key application, driver, and operating system files changed since that time. Does not affect data files."

If after using the previously mentioned repair options and no success has<= /span> been achieved, System Restore might be the best 'next' option available. Ev= en if you have made changes to data since the last restore point was created, turning the system back will not impact those changes. Changes to applicati= ons will be impacted, but it's likely those changes are what you're trying to reverse anyway so it becomes less of an issue.

There are two method= s of accessing System Restore; one from within XP when the system will boot norm= ally and another method known as Safe Mode and System Restore, accessed from the Windows Advanced Options Menu.

Access System Restore from Within XP - Click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance. On the left side = of the screen under See Also, click System Restore.
Access System Restore from Safe Mode - See the Safe Mode section below for how to start XP in safe mode. Once the system h= as been booted, click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance. On the left side of the screen under See Also, click Syst= em Restore.

An Essential Location - Windows Advanced Options Menu=

One of= the most frequently used options when attempting to repair an XP installation is Safe Mode. Before you can use Safe Mode you have to actually get to where i= t's located and that's on the Windows Advanced Options Menu. To gain access, bo= ot the computer and watch for Please select the operating system to start <= /b>to appear on the boot screen. When it does, press F8 and you should be taken to the Windows Advanced Options Menu screen.

If for= some reason you miss the screen, let the machine boot normally, then shut it down and try again. On the boot screen, you can start repeatedly tapping the F8 = key as soon as the detection of the hard drives is complete and virtually ensure success in finding the Windows Advanced Options Menu. Once it opens you have access to a number of different options.

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Last Known Good Configuration: Starts the XP system using registry information and drivers that Windows saved at the last shutdown. A= ny changes made since the last successful startup are lost. Use this option on= ly if a part of the system has been configured incorrectly. Last Known Good Configuration has no ability to repair or replace corrupt or missing files = and drivers.

Safe Mode:= This is often thought of as a singular item, but in reality it's actually three different items as the sc= reen capture below illustrates.

Safe Mode - Starts XP using only basic files and drivers including mouse (except serial mice), monitor, keyboard, basic video, mass storage devices, default system services, and no network connections.

Safe Mode with Networking - Includes all items lis= ted under Safe Mode plus network connections.

Safe Mode with Command Prompt - Includes all items listed under Safe Mode. Once logon has been accomplished, a command pr= ompt is displayed rather than the Graphical User Interface (GUI).

Recovery Console:= In the progression of repair= items for XP, Recovery Console is the next logical step if Last Known Good Config= uration and Safe Mode have failed in allowing the system to boot. As Microsoft stat= es, "This method is recommended only if you are an advanced user who can u= se basic commands to identify and locate problem drivers and files."

Access the Recovery Console: Start the computer wi= th the Windows XP installation CD in the CD drive. When prompted during text-mode setup, press R to start the Recovery Console. See screen cap= ture below.

Rather than go through the process of booting from= the XP CD to get to the Recovery Console, it can be installed to the hard drive so it will appear as an option each time the system boots. If you frequently access Recovery Console it can be a great timesaver. Click = Instructions= and Screen Captures for directions.

Automated System Recovery: Be= fore you arrived at the screen shown above, if you had been watching the gray ba= r at the bottom of the window you would have seen another possible choice for XP= Pro users. ASR is not available for XP Home users.

· = F2 - Pressing F2 allows running Automated System Recovery (ASR). See the screen capture below.

I think the Microsoft explanation of Automated System Recovery pretty much says it all. In talking about ASR and when you might want to use it on a damaged system, they state, "After all other attempts at recovery fail, or if you have replaced a damaged system hard drive. You must have previously used Backup to create an Automated System Recovery set." There you go; not exactly a confidence builder in my opinion, especially since v= ery few users I know actually use Backup that's included with Windows XP.

Windows Installat= ion CD - Repair Current Installation: The process begins by booting the system with the XP installation CD. The CD drive must be set as the initial boot device in the computer BIOS. There are a number of different ways to access the BIOS, but pressing Delete on the initial boot screen is one of the most common method= s. Watch the boot screen and it normally displays a message with the appropria= te key sequence to grant BIOS access.

The boot sequence wi= ll continue. Again, watch the screen for a message to appear that the system is looking for a bootable CD ROM. Watch the monitor for the message that the CD has been auto-detected, followed by the “Press any key to boot CDR= 21; message. Don’t fall for the old joke about looking for the “Any” key and just hit the spacebar or any other key that’= ;s convenient within the five second time span the message will be displayed. = The screen shown in Figure 01 will appear while Windows inspects the hardware configuration.

Once the inspection = is complete, files will start to load from the CD to begin the installation. Eventually the screen shown in Figure 02 will be displayed offering three options. This is the point where the majority of confusion occurs about repairing a current installation. The second option asks if you want to rep= air an XP installation using Recovery Console. In some situations this may be t= he desired course of action, but in this case we want to repair XP without<= /b> using Recovery Console. Rather than the second option, select the first opt= ion to set up Windows by pressing Enter.

More files will load= from the CD until you are taken to the screen shown in Figure 03. A list of all = the current installations of Windows XP will be displayed in the lower portion = of the window. Use the arrow keys to select among them if you have more than o= ne installation. Once the selection has been made, press the R key to begin the repair process. If you want to install an additional copy of XP rather than repair an existing copy, press Escape.

Note that when you p= erform a repair of a current installation you will be asked to enter the Product K= ey that came with the CD. In essence you are installing a fresh copy of XP over the existing copy. While data and settings are not destroyed, any Service P= acks will have to be reinstalled after the repair process has completed. Repairi= ng a current installation is not a substitute for reformatting a drive and doing= a clean installation. It may help clear up some problems with the current installation, but it will not restore an ailing system to like new condition and performance that a clean installation will provide.