Win XP Pro repair

[JoeSoap]

I had a problem with win xp pro. I did a ‘Repair’ which turned into a
full re-install. Why? I have lost files and pictures. I think there
should have been a warning that xp could not repair. Or am I expecting
too much from the M$ system.
Joe.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Perhaps you should have prepared yourself first before attempting a
repair install (instead of blaming Microsoft.) There is abundant
information on the internet which the describes the process in detail.

If you chose to format your hard disk and start from scratch, everything
that was on the disk before is gone.

If you ended up installing Windows a second time, everything on the disk
is still there and you can still get to it. If this is your situation,
post back and we'll show you how.

 

[POP]

I had a problem with win xp pro. I did a ‘Repair’ which
turned into a full re-install. Why? I have lost files and
pictures. I think there should have been a warning that xp
could not repair. Or am I expecting too much from the M$
system. Joe.

Unfortunately Joe, that's an easy thing to do. For future
reference, do some research on how to Repair XP so that it
doesn't happen again.
IN reality, the process is simple, BUT ONLY IF you are aware
of what the sometimes vague meanings of words are when you booted
from the XP CD. Interestingly enough, you do NOT want the Repair
Console but want to go on past that to the next "R" choice in the
menues which, depending on some settings you may have made, may
or may not be available.
IMO it's not an MS software problem but is rather a serious
deficiency in the way they word and name things. MS
documentation stinks and always has for some reason.

I don't have the links handy but I'm sure if you asked here,
someone would post the best links to read about how to initiate
the repair process for XP in a fashion that prevents data loss.
There is one irrefutable warning in ALL articles dealing with
the operating system though, which is "BACKUP FIRST"!! Never
touch the system unless/until you have backups in place and ready
for use. Had you backed up, all your data would be safe right
now.

Luck,
Pop

 

[JoeSoap]

Unfortunately Joe, that's an easy thing to do. For future
reference, do some research on how to Repair XP so that it
doesn't happen again.
IN reality, the process is simple, BUT ONLY IF you are aware
of what the sometimes vague meanings of words are when you booted
from the XP CD. Interestingly enough, you do NOT want the Repair
Console but want to go on past that to the next "R" choice in the
menues which, depending on some settings you may have made, may
or may not be available.
IMO it's not an MS software problem but is rather a serious
deficiency in the way they word and name things. MS
documentation stinks and always has for some reason.

I don't have the links handy but I'm sure if you asked here,
someone would post the best links to read about how to initiate
the repair process for XP in a fashion that prevents data loss.
There is one irrefutable warning in ALL articles dealing with
the operating system though, which is "BACKUP FIRST"!! Never
touch the system unless/until you have backups in place and ready
for use. Had you backed up, all your data would be safe right
now.

Luck,
Pop

I did the second 'R', I also backed up using the win xp back up system,
Could not restore from it. I am not an expert nor a novice.
Thank you for the help.
Joe.