Stop Incomplete Installation

[Guest]

Prior to figuring out my problem I thought that reinstalling Windows XP would
solve it... It may, but it's also telling me that my product key isn't valid.
Since then I've figured out that I only need to replace a couple dll's and my
original installation will be ok.

When installing the second time I chose a different folder (instead of win i
used win2 as it suggested to do so if you didn't want to lose My Documents).

This second installation is still at the point where it's asking for the
product key, is there anyway to undo everything that has been done up to that
point? Is there anyway to do that with a boot disk or anything just to, more
or less, get me back to my original problem? Even if I reboot it takes me
right back to the installation.

p.s. - original problem was msgina.dll and comdlg32.dll errors if you're
interested

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Prior to figuring out my problem I thought that reinstalling Windows XP would
solve it... It may, but it's also telling me that my product key isn't valid.
Since then I've figured out that I only need to replace a couple dll's and my
original installation will be ok.

When installing the second time I chose a different folder (instead of win i
used win2 as it suggested to do so if you didn't want to lose My Documents).

This second installation is still at the point where it's asking for the
product key, is there anyway to undo everything that has been done up to that
point? Is there anyway to do that with a boot disk or anything just to, more
or less, get me back to my original problem? Even if I reboot it takes me
right back to the installation.

p.s. - original problem was msgina.dll and comdlg32.dll errors if you're
interested

You could use your WinXP CD to boot into the Recovery Console
mode. If this works and depending on how your system is configured,
you could do this:
- Copy the hidden file c:\boot.ini to a floppy disk.
- Modify this file on a different machine so that it points at the
correct Windows folder.
- Copy it back to the hard disk.

You write that you don't want to lose your documents. Attempting
to repair a failed installation is always a risky thing. Much better to
back up your important files to a different medium regularly (e.g. weekly)
so that you're safe when disaster strikes.

 

[Guest]

how can i get into the recov console? right now, when i boot up it takes me
right back to that same point in the XP installation.

 

[Poprivet]

You would be best off IMO to allow the installation to complete.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

- Boot the machine with your WinXP CD.
- Select Repair when prompted.
- Select Recovery Console when prompted.