How do I reinstall Windows XP and recover all my data?

[mcke1672]

My OS is beyond repair so, how do I reinstall Windows XP and recover all of
my data. Could you go step by step. HELP.

 

[Gordon]

My OS is beyond repair so, how do I reinstall Windows XP and recover all
of
my data. Could you go step by step. HELP.

Depends on several factors.
What type of XP disk do you have? (I.e do you have a Recovery CD or is it a
proper XP CD?)
Is your data on the C drive in the default locations, or did you create a
separate Data partition?
And lastly, are you still able to boot into Windows or not?

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

My OS is beyond repair so, how do I reinstall Windows XP and recover all
of
my data. Could you go step by step. HELP.

Rather than reinstalling Windows and recover your data, it's the other way
round: Recover your data, then reinstall Windows. Here are a few methods to
recover your data:
a) Recover it from your backup medium.
b) Remove the hard disk, then install it in an external USB case (2.5" or
3.5", depending on the size of your disk). Now connect to USB case to some
other WinXP machine, then copy your data across (including your EMail
files!).
c) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (or similar), then copy your
files to some other disk.

About a): If you did not believe in creating backups of your important files
until now, this is the time to review your backup philosophy. Important
files must at all times be stored on two independent media that are not kept
in the same place.

About b): If this is a laptop then you would have a 2.5" disk. Removal is
very easy with some laptops and diabolically difficult with others.

About c): If this is a laptop then the "other disk" would have to be a disk
installed in an external USB case. If it is a desktop then the "other disk
can be an internal IDE or SATA disk.
To create a Bart PE boot CD requires a going WinXP machine, a CD burner and
a fair bit of patience.

 

[Paul Randall]

snip

c) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (or similar), then copy your
files to some other disk.

I think if you go to http://ubcd4win.com/ and use that method to create a
similar boot CD, you will find it easier than going the Bart PE route,
especially for someone who has never created such a CD. The first step of
finding a really good link to Bart PE can be daunting.

I'm interested in your thoughts as to which would be easier for a newbee or
more useful for a more experienced person.

-Paul Randall

 

[Gordon]

I'm interested in your thoughts as to which would be easier for a newbee
or more useful for a more experienced person.

IMHO the easiest of all is to download and burn a Linux live CD. Just
download an iso an burn image to disk and that's it.

 

[SC Tom]

IMHO the easiest of all is to download and burn a Linux live CD. Just
download an iso an burn image to disk and that's it.

Having used all three suggested methods, I prefer UBCD. I find it easy to
work with, and has the programs already installed so I don't need to import
them like on the PE disk. Just my opinion; YMMV.

SC Tom

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

snip


I think if you go to http://ubcd4win.com/ and use that method to create a
similar boot CD, you will find it easier than going the Bart PE route,
especially for someone who has never created such a CD. The first step of
finding a really good link to Bart PE can be daunting.

I'm interested in your thoughts as to which would be easier for a newbee
or more useful for a more experienced person.

-Paul Randall

I downloaded the CBCD4Win CD about a year ago and I agree that it was much
easier to manufacture than the Bart PE boot CD. On the other hand it took
almost 10 minutes for it to load, compared to 2 minutes for the Bart PE CD.
This would be irrelevant for the OP but in my case I could not afford to
twiddle my thumbs for ten minutes while a client was breathing down my neck.

 

[Paul Randall]

I downloaded the CBCD4Win CD about a year ago and I agree that it was much
easier to manufacture than the Bart PE boot CD. On the other hand it took
almost 10 minutes for it to load, compared to 2 minutes for the Bart PE
CD. This would be irrelevant for the OP but in my case I could not afford
to twiddle my thumbs for ten minutes while a client was breathing down my
neck.

My version 3.5 of Ubcd4Win takes just under 6 minutes to boot if I'm sitting
there to click the two or three prompts. I like that all the applications
I've tried to run with it have worked. My BartPE is generic and I haven't
spent the time to customize it to allow it to run VBScripts or other
applications I want run with it.

-Paul Randall

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per mcke1672:

My OS is beyond repair so, how do I reinstall Windows XP and recover all of
my data. Could you go step by step. HELP.

Can't speak to that, but if you have to format the drive, losing
data that would be a good time to partition the drive into "C:\"
for the system and "D:\" for data.

Once that is done, you need to get obsessive about figuring out
how to make sure all your data (Outlook's DB, for instance...)
gets stored on "D:'".

With those two strategies in place, you will be a lot better off
if/when the system goes South again.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Per mcke1672:

Can't speak to that, but if you have to format the drive, losing
data that would be a good time to partition the drive into "C:\"
for the system and "D:\" for data.

Once that is done, you need to get obsessive about figuring out
how to make sure all your data (Outlook's DB, for instance...)
gets stored on "D:'".

With those two strategies in place, you will be a lot better off
if/when the system goes South again.

Couldn't agree more. I've been doing this for years but every new machine I
buy for someone has a single partition on the hard disk. Splitting it
without risking the lot is far beyond the scope of the average user. There
are, of course, partition managers but they can and do fail on rare
occasions. Now that the OP is about to re-install Windows, he should make
good use of the opportunity.