titus12 said:
What is the best way to fix this problem? I have attached another hard
drive into my computer and installed WinXP Home and all updates. Is there
a way fix the operating system on another hard drive when the two are
connected? I tried a XP repair but a lot of files will not install.
Thank you;
David
There's no easy way to do that unless you already know exactly what the
problem is, such as a corrupted registry where you're going to copy the
original registry in place of the existing one. If you want to try, expect
to spend a lot of time at it.
If the repair terminates with files that won't install, consider hardware
failure as a cause. That hardware can include the XP install media itself,
the CD drive, the cabling, the hard disk, and memory.
Consider the value of the time you're going to spend trying to fix this on
potentially damaged hardware, and compare that to the time to just start
over with a fresh drive, fresh install, and copying your data from the non-
booting drive. The question comes down to whether you are planning to
actually use the system or to conduct a science experiment reanimating
failed installs.
Migrating data to a new install can be quick - I did this for two upgraded
systems this week, at a little over an hour each system, including getting
the Windows Updates. And bear in mind that drives *do* have limited life
spans, and newer drives often tend to be faster, so you'll probably make
things easier for yourself in the future by using a new drive and new
install. Install XP first, then board drivers, then all Windows updates,
then Anti-virus software, such as AVG Free, and *then* copy your data over.
FileSync is of great help with this:
www.fileware.co.uk . After
installation, point one side at the old drive's My Documents folder, the
other at your new account's My Documents folder, tell it to compare files,
then copy them. You'll be done in no time.
HTH
-pk
