[rshaffer61]

When you boot to the cd it should give you the option to repair.
It may give you two types of repair... Destructive and Non Destructive
You want Non Destructive as this will keep your data safe.

What I would suggest you do is to Backup your Data Files.
For this I would suggest using a External Hard Drive Enclosure. This will allow you to keep your Important Data safe and Separated from the main system in case of problems. The cost for this kind of Backup System has come down a lot. I would suggest a 500 Gig capacity for your needs. Since you will only be Backing Up Data Files Only this should be sufficient to do that for you. Follow the next two links to see examples of the price you will be looking at.
• HERE
• HERE

I suggest going to Microsofts Backup Tutorial and follow the steps to do a Backup to a External Drive and also it will guide you on how to do a Scheduled Backup even at night.

Another way you can do a Backup is by using DVD’s. This method is just as effective and can be done using the same steps as above.


After the above is done then go on to the next step.



Repair Installation Instructions

· Insert your Windows XP CD in your CD-ROM and then Restart your computer.
· At the first post screen start tapping the Del key to enter System Bios
· Find the Advance Options or Boot Sequence screen.
· You will need to change the boot sequence so that the CDrom is first and the HD is second.
· Press F10 to Save and Exit and then press Enter to accept.
· The system will now reboot
· When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
· When you see the following message displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER
· To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
· At this point an option to press R to enter the Recovery Console is displayed. DO NOT SELECT THIS OPTION.

· On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.
· Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected and highlighted in the box, and then press the R key to repair Windows XP.
· Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.

You can also go HERE
to read a step by step tutorial with screenshots.

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I went as far as to find out that I do have the option to repair the C:WINDOWS "Windows XP" installation. A couple of days ago a friend mailed me my external hard drive, and I should be getting it in a few days. I have a clone of my hard drive from about nine months ago on this external drive. I'm wondering if Windows might boot from that. I also have a fairly recent backup of my data on that drive, and would be willing to risk the repair without making a newer backup if you think the odds are good that the repair would not lose the data. Thanks, Jim

[JimSellers]

I went as far as to find out that I do have the option to repair the C:WINDOWS "Windows XP" installation. A couple of days ago a friend mailed me my external hard drive, and I should be getting it in a few days. I have a clone of my hard drive from about nine months ago on this external drive. I'm wondering if Windows might boot from that. I also have a fairly recent backup of my data on that drive, and would be willing to risk the repair without making a newer backup if you think the odds are good that the repair would not lose the data. Thanks, Jim

[rshaffer61]

Well I can't guarantee it won't lose data but it's always a possibility.

[JimSellers]

If I do the repair, and if it works normally, will I have to reload my programs?

[rshaffer61]

Nope with XP it reloads corrupt or missing files and doesn't touch the programs.

[JimSellers]

I did the repair, and when it got to the screen where it said if there was a floppy in the drive, remove it, I assumed that included the CD, so I opened the drive, and pressed "enter." It said the process would continue, but it booted to the blinking cursor. Should I have left the CD in the drive and booted from it again to continue the process? It's Valentine's day, so I guess I should pay a little attention to my wife, so I'll continue tomorrow. Thanks very much for the help. Cheers, Jim

[rshaffer61]

Did it do the repair stuff and go through everything like it was installing windows?

[JimSellers]

It loaded files, then initialized windows, then configured, and than I got a message to remove all floppy disks, and press "enter" to proceed. I did that including opening the CD tray, and it rebooted to the blinking cursor and the black screen.

[rshaffer61]

Hmm strange.. I guess we need to try a parallel installation.

Parallel Installation of Windows XP

Boot to the Windows XP installation cd by pressing a key when the "Press any key to boot from cd" prompt appears at the top of the screen.

• At the "Welcome to Setup" screen, press Enter to set up Windows XP.
• Accept the License Agreement by pressing F8
• With your current installation selected in the box, press Esc
• Select C: Partition1 [NTFS] in the box and press Enter
• To continue setup using this partition, press C
• Now you should see formatting options...choose the last one, Leave the current file system intact (no changes), and press Enter
• To use a different folder, press Esc
• Name the folder WINDOWS0 (just type a 0 (zero)) and press Enter

The Windows installation should begin. This will install Windows to a new folder, leaving your data intact. Any programs installed on the old directory will have to be reinstalled to the new one. Device drivers will also have to be installed for all the hardware to work as it should.

The data will be located in the Documents and Settings folder (C:\Documents and Settings) under your old user account name...so when you set up the new installation, give yourself a slightly different user account name.

[JimSellers]

Do you think I should wait and try to boot from my old hard drive, which I should get in a couple of days? Thanks for the help, and talk with you later or tomorrow. Cheers, Jim

[rshaffer61]

I would be surprised if any files are left on it. Most shops usually will format the drive and if needed reload the OS fresh. I'm not sure how you are having yours done but a parallel installation will not delete any data but simply put a second windows on your system. If it boots into it then that would show a problem with your OS. The data could be moved over but the programs all would have to be reinstalled again to work.

[JimSellers]

My old hard drive which should be arriving in a couple of days has not been in the shop. It was the one that was replaced by the current hard drive in the computer now. When I got the new one, I cloned the old one onto the new one, so I think maybe Windows will boot from it, as it was working fine when I replaced it. Does that sound logical?
Also, I just noticed in the Bios that it lists the Primary Hard Drive as 137 GB, and it actually is 250 GB. The 250 GB is noticed in recovery console, and everywhere else I see it. Could this be the problem? If you think it might be, is there a way to correct the Bios? Cheers, Jim

[rshaffer61]

Yep could be a problem. What was your old hard drive capacity?

[JimSellers]

The old drive was(is)30 GB. It was working fine, but I decided I needed more space, so I replaced it with the 250GB one about nine months ago, and have been using the 30GB one to backup my data. I cloned the old drive onto the new one, and still have that on the old one, which should be arriving in a couple of days.
I have run the Dell diagnostics from the boot menu (F12). I did the "thorough" analysis, and everything passed perfectly. Cheers, Jim

[rshaffer61]

OK that would not answer for the size difference.
What is the model number of the 250 gig hard drive? Something is not right with all this and the way it is identifying the drive..