Help Please - Set up and Recover Console won't work

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I have a corrupted Registry on a Dell PC. It is loaded with XP Home edition
and I recently applied SP2. I created set-up disks and tried to go through
the procedures in:
How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry [Q307545]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545

But got hung up at the part where you select the installation to repair. I
only have one installation (C:\Windows) but when I select "1" for that
installation the
computer just hangs there.

I decided to try and go throught the set up process and even purchased a
copy of Windows XP Home Edition (Upgrade) to try and avoid the OEM problem.
The process goes fine using the six Set Up floppy disks until I press F8 to
accept the license. The message then says Set Up is looking for previous
installs and it hangs there with that message on the bottom of the screen.

At this point I don't care about having to reinstall applications and I have
most of my documents backed up...I just want to get the computer running
again with a clean copy of XP. Any help would be apreciated. If I need to
change the BIOS boot drive so I can boot from the upgrade CD I purchased,
please tell me how to do that from the A: drive.

Thanks in advance!
 
The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| I have a corrupted Registry on a Dell PC. It is loaded with XP Home edition
| and I recently applied SP2. I created set-up disks and tried to go through
| the procedures in:
| How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry [Q307545]
| http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=307545
|
| But got hung up at the part where you select the installation to repair. I
| only have one installation (C:\Windows) but when I select "1" for that
| installation the
| computer just hangs there.
|
| I decided to try and go throught the set up process and even purchased a
| copy of Windows XP Home Edition (Upgrade) to try and avoid the OEM problem.
| The process goes fine using the six Set Up floppy disks until I press F8 to
| accept the license. The message then says Set Up is looking for previous
| installs and it hangs there with that message on the bottom of the screen.
|
| At this point I don't care about having to reinstall applications and I have
| most of my documents backed up...I just want to get the computer running
| again with a clean copy of XP. Any help would be apreciated. If I need to
| change the BIOS boot drive so I can boot from the upgrade CD I purchased,
| please tell me how to do that from the A: drive.
|
| Thanks in advance!
 
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