WinXP will not repair install from CD?

[Guest]

For the 9th time windows refuses to boot up because of some boot path
conflict which I have no idea what it means. I have to repair install it to
get it to boot up again usually. Only now this time it gives me no option to
repair install from the CD. I get to the part after it tells me to choose the
partition and now it says I must either completely reinstall in the windows
directory deleting everything there or choose a different directory. What
could be wrong? It's the same exact CD I've used 8 times before but it just
won't give me a repair install option. Any ideas?...

CodeguruX

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

For the 9th time windows refuses to boot up because of some boot path
conflict which I have no idea what it means. I have to repair install it to
get it to boot up again usually. Only now this time it gives me no option to
repair install from the CD. I get to the part after it tells me to choose the
partition and now it says I must either completely reinstall in the windows
directory deleting everything there or choose a different directory. What
could be wrong? It's the same exact CD I've used 8 times before but it just
won't give me a repair install option. Any ideas?...

CodeguruX

Performing a repair installation is perhaps a little premature.
If you state exactly what happens at boot time, how far the
process goes and what message you see on the screen then
it may be possible to repair the damage.

I am concerned about the number of times this has happened.
My clients run Windows XP for years without any problems.
Your report suggests that your installation has some serious
problem or that it is infected with viruses and/or malware.
If so then your best bet would be to allow the disk to be
formatted and to perform a complete installation of Windows
and all applications. You must, of course, save your data
files first, including your EMail files.

 

[Guest]

Performing a repair installation is perhaps a little premature.
If you state exactly what happens at boot time, how far the
process goes and what message you see on the screen then
it may be possible to repair the damage.

I am concerned about the number of times this has happened.
My clients run Windows XP for years without any problems.
Your report suggests that your installation has some serious
problem or that it is infected with viruses and/or malware.
If so then your best bet would be to allow the disk to be
formatted and to perform a complete installation of Windows
and all applications. You must, of course, save your data
files first, including your EMail files.

Well there's no chance of a format I only have 16GB free on my 120GB drive,
way too many files to move or lose. Exactly what happens is when I click on
the option to book to windows XP it says some kind of hardware problem or
boot path problem prevents windows from booting up. It doesn't get to the
loading screen at all. I am using my dual boot option Win98 installation to
post and both my harddrives are readily accessable as well as all the files
on them. Nothing is wrong except winXP just refuses to load...

CodeguruX

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Well there's no chance of a format I only have 16GB free on my 120GB drive,
way too many files to move or lose. Exactly what happens is when I click on
the option to book to windows XP it says some kind of hardware problem or
boot path problem prevents windows from booting up. It doesn't get to the
loading screen at all. I am using my dual boot option Win98 installation to
post and both my harddrives are readily accessable as well as all the files
on them. Nothing is wrong except winXP just refuses to load...

CodeguruX

Sorry, I won't get involved in guessing games. You really need
to report precisely on the points I mentioned in my previous
reply.

I note that you may have two other problems:
a) Your disk is too full. A disk that has less than 20% spare capacity
is a poorly managed disk. Get a second disk and move your data
there while you can.
b) You do not appear to believe in backing up your important files
to an independent medium. You are in excellent company. We
deal on a daily basis with the problems that arise out of this
approach. Many of those who post here after losing all data
have to learn this simple lesson: Back up all your important files
every week or so to an independent medium. The tuition fee
for this lesson can be very high.

 

[Guest]

Thanks dad, anyone else?...

CodeguruX

Sorry, I won't get involved in guessing games. You really need
to report precisely on the points I mentioned in my previous
reply.

I note that you may have two other problems:
a) Your disk is too full. A disk that has less than 20% spare capacity
is a poorly managed disk. Get a second disk and move your data
there while you can.
b) You do not appear to believe in backing up your important files
to an independent medium. You are in excellent company. We
deal on a daily basis with the problems that arise out of this
approach. Many of those who post here after losing all data
have to learn this simple lesson: Back up all your important files
every week or so to an independent medium. The tuition fee
for this lesson can be very high.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

b) You do not appear to believe in backing up your important files
to an independent medium.

Kudos to you for telling it like it IS.

I have NO sympathy for anyone who has lost important info and has no
backups.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

For the 9th time windows refuses to boot up because of some boot
path conflict which I have no idea what it means. I have to repair
install it to get it to boot up again usually. Only now this time
it gives me no option to repair install from the CD. I get to the
part after it tells me to choose the partition and now it says I
must either completely reinstall in the windows directory deleting
everything there or choose a different directory. What could be
wrong? It's the same exact CD I've used 8 times before but it just
won't give me a repair install option. Any ideas?...

It sounds like you have some other major issue. I have machines that have
had Windows XP installed and working properly since 2002 and these machines
have dozens of users and dozens of applications running on them.

To me it sounds like you have an issue with your motherboard, HDD controller
or HDD.

My suggestion is to purchase an inexpensive external HDD and use something
like Ghost, TrueImage or BootItNG to make a full backup of your system. You
could even just use something like a BartPE/Ultimate Windows Boot CD to boot
up to and copy the stuff manually that you need off the drive. Then I
suggest downloading and running the hard drive manufacturers' diagnostics
utilities and thoroughly checking the installed hard disk drive. That will
either prove or eliminate the HDD as the issue. (A suggestion for the
external drive - Seagate - something like:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148170 )

Once you have confirmed the drive is not the problem (if it is - replace it;
if it isn't - I still suggest performing a full zero-write with the
manufacturers' utility, just to clean it up and applying the image or better
yet - reinstalling and copying your data back...), you should get the
computer back to normal (either by applying the image/repair install or
doing a clean installation) and make sure you have the latest drivers for
your motherboard chipset, video card, network card, sound card, etc... You
may even consider updating the system BIOS.

Of course - all the above assumes you do not already have a consistent
backup system. If you already have a periodic backup system - you can just
use your own methodology to backup/restore. I seriously believe you have an
underlying hardware issue and just continuing to ignore/repair install - you
will continue the same time-sink loop you have going now (9 times?!)

You also might consider integrating SP2 and post-SP2 into your current
installation media - to help speed up any future procedures/installs you
might need to perform.

 

[DL]

1)You have too little free space to do anything meaningfull
2) You dont appear interested in meaningfull advice

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Thanks dad, anyone else?...

CodeguruX

Your PC, your problem, your choice.