First, decide whether you have any personal files on the PC that are worth
saving and not already adeqautely backed-up. If so, use a free KNOPPIX CD
to boot the PC into LINUX and copy your files off to a USB hard drive.
KNOPPIX is a big download and comes as an "ISO" image, which must be burned
to CD with a program like Nero or Easy CD Creator. Do not attempt to
drag&drop it to a CD. Note that by default KNOPPIX will not write to the
internal hard drive, and it will not install on it, so it can not hurt
things:
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html
Once your personal files are safe, try a repair installation of XP. For
that you will need a real XP CD, not a restration CD that is sometimes
shipped with PCs. Check with your PC maker, if you got XP from them. Note
that a reapir undoes all service packs issued after the date of the CD. So,
plan on doing XP update after the repair, until you have all critical
updates. Also, consider turning on the XP firewall or instaling your own
firewall, before going on the internet.
If the repair fails, then try a clean installation. At this point you could
also delete all partitions and even write a new master boot record. The XP
CD is bootable and you can run the recovery console from it, whihc can
handle partitions, format, boot record. If the recovery console balks, due
to a corrupted registry/password problems, you can also use a win98 boot
bootdisk with FDISK to remove/recreate partitions:
www.boodisk.com
You could also try the XP setup diskettes, which are multiple floppies, and
a free download from Microsoft:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...FamilyID=E8FE6868-6E4F-471C-B455-BD5AFEE126D8
However, before proceeding, be sure to have all necessary drivers easily
available (floppy, CD, external USB drive). XP comes with many drivers, and
the XP update feature can get more as necessary. But, sometimes you have to
get them yourself from the hardware maker.
Final note: If this is a brand-name PC, that came with XP pre-installed, it
may have a restoration CD, which will copy a (hidden) image of the PC back
to C:\. If so, this will make it as good as the day you bought it, assuming
no hardware problems. If this is the case, check your PC documnetation or
the spport website for the PC.
