[happydaze29]

Hi,

I've had so many problems with my machine but they all seem sorted. There are still some things not 100%. Especially opening folders that then hang for a few seconds before showing me the contents.

I had a Trojan and got rid of it (USB drives not showing), been through "First Steps", done defrags, cleared temp folders, have all anti-malware in place, did a CHKDSK, even did a registry fix AND dumped my prefetch. (And those are only the things I remember).

I was wondering if I can do a new / repair XP install but keep all my apps. Is this wise and / or possible? The only thing I am worried about is that I would have to update to SP3 again - my CD is SP2 - and a host of other updates I have now. I am away from home at the moment and have limited bandwidth.

It's not the end of the world do reformat & reinstall all but it will take days of sitting in front of my PC to get things back again, an idea I do not relish.
Any advice / threads to help me out?

Many thanks,
Henry.

 

[cetkat]

Did you Run > sfc /scannow? That will fix any protected windows files that may be damaged.

A repair install will keep everything intact except My Documents and anything saved under the desktop.

As long as you got everything, you shouldn't need to do a fresh install.

 

[Old Rich]

This is a good guide to performing a repair install

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

[happydaze29]

Hi,

Please tell me exactly what I will lose. What about the million Windows updates since my XP CD was produced? Like I said it is only SP2. What about drivers, apps, other updates, antivirus defs etc?

I've backed up My Documents & there is nothing on the desktop except shortcuts.

Many thanks,
Henry.

 

[Riskyone101]

Hello,

make and model of pc?

You shouldnt lose any drivers or information while doing a repair install, but
as a precaution we are suggesting you backup you data. If you tell us the make and model of pc, we can look up your drivers and give you a link to them, you can burn them to a cd if you would like to in case.

As for the updates, cant say what or how many you will lose, but why dont you
just install sp3, its safer browsing and more stable online than sp2 now.

Sp3 download: (2 choices here)

ISO Image: (you will need to burn this to a cd as an image).
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...FamilyID=2fcde6ce-b5fb-4488-8c50-fe22559d164e

IT pro network install: ( this can be used for a 1 pc install also)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...FamilyID=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4

 

[cetkat]

Please tell me exactly what I will lose. What about the million Windows updates since my XP CD was produced? Like I said it is only SP2. What about drivers, apps, other updates, antivirus defs etc?

You shouldn't loose any third party updates, but you will lose the Windows updates - including SP3. If you want to avoid this, you can use a program called nLite to slipstream SP3 onto the SP2 CD (creating a second CD with everything on it) - but you have to re-download the the standalone SP3 package.

You'll still need to install the updates that came after SP3, but it will be much less time consuming than re-doing everything.

 

[happydaze29]

Hi,

I've done a repair install which goes fine until the part where XP reboots and carries on installing in windows. (You know the part where Microsoft tells you how great XP is). After a while a window pops up saying some file could not be copied. When I browse to find it (e:windows\i386 I think), the file is right there. Even if I double click it I get the same response. So then I tell XP to carry on installing without this file. After a second the same happens with a different file. And so on and on for several files, all from the same i386 folder. Eventually this stops & XP finishes the install, reboots and all is well. Except for the initial problem that made me do the reinstall. I tried the CD in a different drive (I have a CD drive & a DVD drive). No difference. I copied the XP install to the hard drive. No go.

I've got the SP3 update & tried & failed to slipstream a new CD with my original XP SP2 disc. I did it on a DVD but will try next time on a CD. Is this relevant.

Please help.
Henry

 

[Old Rich]

The " cannot copy file XXX" errors are often memory errors . . have you tested your Memory?

Other causes:

Dirty or scratched CD
Using a copy versus an original install CD
Faulty CD Drive.

At what point did the slipstream process fail? I have never tried it on a DVD

 

[happydaze29]

Hi,

Original (bought) install CD, not scratched, tried 2 different drives as well as from the XP copy on my hard drive. The slipstream went well, burning the ISO went well & verified, but if I try boot from it nothing happens.

How do I test my memory?

Henry

 

[Old Rich]

You can click the link to Memtest in my signature

 

[Riskyone101]

Only have 1 stick in the pc at a time, do 6 to 7 passes on each one.