Reinstalling XP Home

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Craig

I made a terrible mistake. My computer came with Windows
XP installed from Gateway. For some reason (I'll still
cursing myself) I put in the XP Home dick that came with
the computer and chosse to reinstall XP Home. I had one
choice to make- either a new install or a Upgrade install
that also had the word "(recommended)". It said this
option would keep the current files and documents
preserved. So I chose the Upgrade install.

It told me the process would take about 51 minutes. It
worked smoothly to about '14 minutes remaining'. Then it
hung up. After about an hour is started again and got down
to '9 minutes remaing'. By midnight last night it was down
to '7 minutes remaining'. I woke up this morning and it
was stil at '7 minutes remaining', but while looking at it
is moved to '6 minutes remianing'. So as you can see, it
is working, but super slow. I called my wife at lunch and
it was still at '6 minutes remaining' but at least the
progress bar had moved about a quarter inch show more
progress.

I'm concerned becuase the harddrive has been running
constant for about 18 hours now. What should I do. The
inportant thing are the existing documents on the
computer. My wifes final paper for school is on there and
it is due next week. I'm already sleeping in the dog house
for this, and I really don't want to completely move out.

My question is, should I shut it down and re-start? Will
my files still be there? That is the most important
question. She needs those files for next week and here
finals at school. Please help.

Craig
 
A reinstallation of Windows XP does not affect your saved documents,
spreadsheets, photos, etc. A reinstallation installs Windows over itself,
which doesn't touch the My Documents folder. Reinstalling does create new
user accounts, so initially it will seem as if all your old documents are
gone. But have no fear - all you need to do is to 'take ownership' of your
old folders.

"HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP"
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421&Product=winxp

As for why your reinstall is taking so long, that could be for any number of
reasons, but as long as it's still alive I would not halt it. Let it run to
completion and then see what you have.

One thing you should always do before reinstalling Windows is to backup
everything that is important to you. As soon as Windows is installed,
disconnect yourself from the Internet and backup everything that matters.
Something is going on with your computer, and you don't want to lose
anything while you're trying to fix it.

Backing up often will keep you away from the dog house.

Rocky
 
THnaks Rocky! You really made me feel better. In fact, I
just got a call from my wife and the status has moved
to '5 minutes remaining' and the status bar has moved
another quarter inch. So it does seem to be working.
(just very slowly)
I know I screwed up on the not backing up part. I have
already told myself to commit to a scheduled backup
excercise in the future.
One more question- since it took about 6 hours to go
from '6 minutes remaining' to '5 minutes remaining' should
I really let this thing run for another 24+ hours to
complete? Will the hard drive last that long. The computer
is only about 4 months old. (Celeron 2.4G)

Thansk again Rocky. I really do feel like I may be able to
move back into the house soon!.
 
If you're worried about the hard drive running continuously, you needn't
worry. In the first place, hard drives are very reliable, and in the second
place, it's unlikely that your computer has been running flat out for the
past 24 hours. More likely, it's waiting for something to happen, then
taking the next step, then waiting...

Something to consider: Your computer may be overheating. Does it sound
unusually loud to you? Installing Windows is very processor intensive and
that generates a lot of heat. If your computer is situated in a warm or
inadequately ventilated place, or if the insides are filled with dust, your
computer may be halting as it waits for itself to cool down.

If you think your computer may be overheating, then you should consider
stopping the install. If your components are destroyed by heat, you're
looking at a long time in the dog house. Otherwise, as long as the install
is proceeding, you may as well let it try to work itself out. When Windows
finally does install, you will be able to use its many tools to diagnose
what went wrong. If you kill it now, you may lose this ability.

If the install stops altogether, or if you feel that you really want to stop
it, post back asking specifically what to do, and someone who knows about
this will answer. I've never had that happen to me, so I'm not familiar with
the established protocol for what to do that poses the least threat to your
computer.

Rocky
 
Thanks again Rocky. You are definitly making me feel
better. My wife called and said it has now moved again
to '4 minutes remaining'. It seems to be picking up speed.
I'm thinking you temperature thing may be a great piece of
info. Here in Chicago, it has been unussually warm, and
we've had our windows open. This afternoon a front came
through with a lot of rain and very cool temps. And the
process seems to be speeding up. My wife just ran to the
store, but I will have her place the notebook (did I
mention it was a notebook?)into the basement were it is
even cooler.
Thanks again for all the help. I really hope after all
this is doesn't stop all together. I would feel like I've
wasted a day and a half for nothing. I'll let you know how
it turns out.
Craig
 
Aha...so it's a notebook.

Notebooks do get very warm, even during normal use. If you can (gently) lift
the notebook and support it from below, so that there's some air flowing
underneath, that might help. I've seen special cooling pads for notebooks
being sold at Staples, CompUSA, etc. Apparently, people's genital organs are
getting singed.

It does seem like heat is your problem here. Once XP completes its install,
let the notebook cool down for a while, then you can start it up and
hopefully everything will be OK. Did I mention backing up? Backing up is
like kissing your wife - the more you do it the better off you are. Much
better than the dog house.

Rocky
 
Just to chime in here--

I think it is just as likely that your harddrive was nearly full, or heavily
fragmented, and you probably have minimal RAM. Installation requires the
creation of a lot of temporary files and folders on top of what you already
have so your computer is probably using the swap file quite a bit--that will
slow things down quite a bit.

A more scary scenario is that the harddrive has some bad sectors and windows
is attempting to write files, then gives up, then write files, then gives
up...etc
 
Gerry is right - all those things would interfere with reinstalling Windows.
I guess I presumed that you had already checked your disk and defragged
before starting to reinstall Windows. Careful preparation is what keeps me
out of trouble and you out of the dog house ;-)

Rocky
 
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