XP repair install problem

[Vic Baron]

I have done several re3pair installs of xp with no problems but the last one
was different. I had Xp +sp3 installed and had to change the motherboard. I
had made a backup CD with SP3 slipstreamed on the CD. When I started the
install from the boot cd I never got the option of a repair install.
Nothing I tried worked. I* aborted the install and tried with a cd with only
SP2 slipstreamed - wouldn't even begin the install. Ultimately I had to do a
fresh install and reinstall of all programs.

I have to do this again on another system with SP3 installed.

Is the no Xp repair install showing due to the fact that I have sp3
slipstreamed? If I uninstall Sp3 and try using an SP2 slipstream CD - will
that work?


Thanx

Vic

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have done several re3pair installs of xp with no problems but the
last one was different. I had Xp +sp3 installed and had to change
the motherboard. I had made a backup CD with SP3 slipstreamed on
the CD. When I started the install from the boot cd I never got
the option of a repair install. Nothing I tried worked. I* aborted
the install and tried with a cd with only SP2 slipstreamed -
wouldn't even begin the install. Ultimately I had to do a fresh
install and reinstall of all programs.
I have to do this again on another system with SP3 installed.

Is the no Xp repair install showing due to the fact that I have sp3
slipstreamed? If I uninstall Sp3 and try using an SP2 slipstream
CD - will that work?

Was the CD customized in any other way? OEM customized maybe? Unattended
installation - with unattended.txt/winnt.sif?

 

[Vic Baron]

Was the CD customized in any other way? OEM customized maybe? Unattended
installation - with unattended.txt/winnt.sif?

It is/was an OEM disk but not set up for unattended. All I did was
slipstream SP3 on to a copy of the original OEM disk. Figured reinstalls
would go easier. Had done the exact same thing with SP2 and had no reinstall
problems. I read somewhere that you *can't* do repair installs from an OEM
disk but I've been doing them for years. BTW, it is a generic OEM disk, not
a DELL or ACER or branded product.

 

[smlunatick]

It is/was an OEM disk but not set up for unattended. All I did was
slipstream SP3 on to a copy of the original OEM disk. Figured reinstalls
would go easier. Had done the exact same thing with SP2 and had no reinstall
problems. I read somewhere that you *can't* do repair installs from an OEM
disk but I've been doing them for years. BTW, it is a generic OEM disk, not
a DELL or ACER or branded product.

I too have successfully completed repair re-install from OEM CDs. It
is just that several "recovery CDs" are mislabelled as install CDs.

 

[Anna]

It is/was an OEM disk but not set up for unattended. All I did was
slipstream SP3 on to a copy of the original OEM disk. Figured reinstalls
would go easier. Had done the exact same thing with SP2 and had no
reinstall problems. I read somewhere that you *can't* do repair installs
from an OEM disk but I've been doing them for years. BTW, it is a generic
OEM disk, not a DELL or ACER or branded product.

Vic:
Shouldn't have been a problem, but obviously it was.

I take it the OS you were trying to Repair had SP3 installed, right? Can we
assume that the *original* XP installation had been created with that
generic non-branded OEM CD that you mentioned? And that the OEM XP
installation CD had the capability of fresh-installing the XP OS?

And subsequently SP3 had successfully been installed on the system?

When you say that after you vainly used the XP-SP3 slipstreamed installation
CD (because no Repair option was available), you then used an XP-SP2
(presumably slipstreamed, yes?) installation CD, but it "wouldn't even begin
the install". What exactly does this mean? You couldn't even access the
setup process? A black screen?
What?

Anyway, after the failed Repair attempt, I take it you did not use the
original OEM installation CD to try to undertake the Repair install?
Assuming you didn't, was there any reason why you didn't attempt to do so?

All things being equal, there's no reason why a successful Repair
installation cannot be undertaken with an XP installation CD that contains a
previous SP (or no SP at all) even though the existing OS contains a later
SP than what is installed on the CD that originally was used to
fresh-install the OS. So there really should be no reason why you couldn't
undertake a successful Repair of an XP-SP3 system with a slipstreamed XP-SP2
installation CD. So (at least theoretically) there should be no reason to
uninstall SP3 from the existing system before undertaking such a Repair
install.
Anna

 

[Vic Baron]

Responses inline......

Vic:
Shouldn't have been a problem, but obviously it was.

I take it the OS you were trying to Repair had SP3 installed, right? Can
we assume that the *original* XP installation had been created with that
generic non-branded OEM CD that you mentioned? And that the OEM XP
installation CD had the capability of fresh-installing the XP OS?

Yes, that is correct.

And subsequently SP3 had successfully been installed on the system?

Sp2 first and later SP3, yes.

When you say that after you vainly used the XP-SP3 slipstreamed
installation CD (because no Repair option was available), you then used an
XP-SP2 (presumably slipstreamed, yes?) installation CD, but it "wouldn't
even begin the install". What exactly does this mean? You couldn't even
access the setup process? A black screen?
What?

It was a slipstreamed SP2 that I made when SP2 was released ( Original OEM +
SP2)

Started to do the install and after copying files - BSOD - do not recall the
error. Tried again with same result - assumed it was because it was sp2.

Anyway, after the failed Repair attempt, I take it you did not use the
original OEM installation CD to try to undertake the Repair install?
Assuming you didn't, was there any reason why you didn't attempt to do so?

All things being equal, there's no reason why a successful Repair
installation cannot be undertaken with an XP installation CD that contains
a previous SP (or no SP at all) even though the existing OS contains a
later SP than what is installed on the CD that originally was used to
fresh-install the OS. So there really should be no reason why you couldn't
undertake a successful Repair of an XP-SP3 system with a slipstreamed
XP-SP2 installation CD. So (at least theoretically) there should be no
reason to uninstall SP3 from the existing system before undertaking such a
Repair install.
Anna

Out of curiosity, if that's the case and the repair option did not show up -
what could be the cause?

Bad slipstream? Hardware issue?

Ultimately switched the above system to XP64 and am resurrecting an older
system for XP32 with a new mobo so since I have to do this again it seems
that *IF* I have the same problem with the SP3 slipstreamed disk, I should
just do the repair with the original CD and reinstall SP3 after. Makes
sense

Thanx!

 

[Anna]

Yes, that is correct.

yes.

slipstreamed SP2 that I made when SP2 was released ( Original OEM + SP2)

Started to do the install and after copying files - BSOD - do not recall
the error. Tried again with same result - assumed it was because it was
sp2.

Doh! Frankly, had tunnel vision - did not even think of it. <blush>


Out of curiosity, if that's the case and the repair option did not show
up - what could be the cause?

Bad slipstream? Hardware issue?

Ultimately switched the above system to XP64 and am resurrecting an older
system for XP32 with a new mobo so since I have to do this again it seems
that *IF* I have the same problem with the SP3 slipstreamed disk, I should
just do the repair with the original CD and reinstall SP3 after. Makes
sense

Thanx!

Vic:
I was afraid you were going to ask me that last question. I just don't know.
In nearly every case (not involving a defective XP OS installation CD) the
usual reason for the Repair option not being present is because the user's
installation CD is actually an OEM recovery/restore type provided by the
OEM. Or if there's no OEM-branded issue, the installation CD contains a
different edition from the existing system, e.g., the installed program is
XP Home, but a XP Pro installation CD is being used.

But from the information you provided it doesn't appear any of those
considerations are present here. And I wouldn't think this might be a
hardware issue.

I guess it's moot now, but it probably would have been wise to create
another slipstreamed CD on the off-chance that was an issue. But
truth-to-tell I'm not at all comfortable with considering *that* was the
problem. I assume you had used that slipstreamed CD before with no problem.
As I previously indicated it probably would have been useful to try the
Repair with the *original* installation CD and presuming that would have
been successful to subsequently install SP2/SP3.
Anna