E
Ed Brown
What issues do I need to deal with if I want to reinstall
XP?
XP?
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You should upgrade or use an alternative browser.
M
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
Are you planning on reinstalling XP over itself or do a clean install, in
other words wipe the drive and install to a freshly formatted drive? Why do
you wish to do this? Reinstalling, regardless of which method used should
be a last resort in resolving issues. If you are having an issue, you might
try posting that to see if we can help as what you wish to do is drastic and
may not resolve the issue.
other words wipe the drive and install to a freshly formatted drive? Why do
you wish to do this? Reinstalling, regardless of which method used should
be a last resort in resolving issues. If you are having an issue, you might
try posting that to see if we can help as what you wish to do is drastic and
may not resolve the issue.
E
Ed Brown
real issue is with using the AOL browser. Pretty much-----Original Message-----
Are you planning on reinstalling XP over itself or do a clean install, in
other words wipe the drive and install to a freshly formatted drive? Why do
you wish to do this? Reinstalling, regardless of which method used should
be a last resort in resolving issues. If you are having an issue, you might
try posting that to see if we can help as what you wish to do is drastic and
may not resolve the issue.
--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
.
I was planning on reinstalling over the existing XP. The
everthing else is working fine. All of a sudden the AOL
browser has slowed down drastically. When either
receiving or sending email, using IM or even going to
keywords is moving at a snails pace. I have made many
calls to AOL tech support but to no avail. They have made
me go through many changes and fixes, but none have
worked. I have uninstalled AOL and reinstalled many times
as well. Stopped firewalls, ended anti-virus, even
contacted Road Runner which provides my cable service,
(which they tested and passed)still nothing. AOL said
there must be some conflict with my operating system and
that they could not give support because that was a
Microsoft issue. I often clean temp files, have spyware
protection, no found virus's, etc. Just can't figure out
what is casing this. Thought that maybe there might be
something in the registry or elsewhere that could be
fixed with a reinstall, I know this is drastic and would
rather not do it if there is another fix. I'd even dump
using the AOL browser, but I have business that I use
with AOL email accounts and am sorta stuck. Any help
would be greatly appriciated. Thanks, Ed
H
Harry Ohrn
Make certain you have your Product Key written down
Make certain your CD isn't damaged
Make certain you have a WORKING backup of your important files including
your Addressbook, Favourites, E-mail
Make certain you have written down passwords
XP might not have drivers for various bits of hardware so you should ensure
that you have those saved before hand - especially your modem or network
card drivers so you can get on line and troubleshoot or find drivers after
you've finished the install.
Set aside enough time to complete a clean install. It generally takes me 4
hours to get back to a full setup including my favourite applications.
Unplug unnecessary peripherals like printers, scanners, camera's etc as they
can get in the way.
When you do a clean install ensure that you do a Full format rather than a
Quick format and DO NOT chose the option that says Leave the current file
system intake [no changes] or you might end up with some weird type of dual
boot with your old setup.
Make certain that you have turned on your firewall before accessing the
internet to avoid contracting Sasser, Blaster or other such nasties.
Once you've installed XP, turned on the firewall and installed your AV
program (yes in that order) visit the WindowsUpdate Site and get the
Critical Updates.
After you've installed SP1 and Critical Updates you should run Defrag.
Those a few issues to give consideration to. I am certain there are more.
Make certain your CD isn't damaged
Make certain you have a WORKING backup of your important files including
your Addressbook, Favourites, E-mail
Make certain you have written down passwords
XP might not have drivers for various bits of hardware so you should ensure
that you have those saved before hand - especially your modem or network
card drivers so you can get on line and troubleshoot or find drivers after
you've finished the install.
Set aside enough time to complete a clean install. It generally takes me 4
hours to get back to a full setup including my favourite applications.
Unplug unnecessary peripherals like printers, scanners, camera's etc as they
can get in the way.
When you do a clean install ensure that you do a Full format rather than a
Quick format and DO NOT chose the option that says Leave the current file
system intake [no changes] or you might end up with some weird type of dual
boot with your old setup.
Make certain that you have turned on your firewall before accessing the
internet to avoid contracting Sasser, Blaster or other such nasties.
Once you've installed XP, turned on the firewall and installed your AV
program (yes in that order) visit the WindowsUpdate Site and get the
Critical Updates.
After you've installed SP1 and Critical Updates you should run Defrag.
Those a few issues to give consideration to. I am certain there are more.
D
Dan
This is my son's PC and he is in Italy. The damage has
already been done. He had a boot up problem that he tried
to fix by putting in the XP disk and copying the files
that he thought wre messed up. Now he can not get his PC
to boot up.... . He has an XP Home upgrade disk, but has
only windows 95 original install disk. He borrowed a
windows 98 OS to perform the original upgrade.
I don't know much more about the problem.
Please let me know if it is possible to do a full install
with an XP upgrade disk. MS use to allow this with some
of the older OS.
Thank You
already been done. He had a boot up problem that he tried
to fix by putting in the XP disk and copying the files
that he thought wre messed up. Now he can not get his PC
to boot up.... . He has an XP Home upgrade disk, but has
only windows 95 original install disk. He borrowed a
windows 98 OS to perform the original upgrade.
I don't know much more about the problem.
Please let me know if it is possible to do a full install
with an XP upgrade disk. MS use to allow this with some
of the older OS.
Thank You
M
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
I wouldn't advise reinstalling XP as I'm dubious that it will resolve this
issue. I don't know about the current version of AOL but the last few
versions did not require using the AOL browser. You would need instructions
from AOL on using Internet Explorer or whatever other browser you might wish
to use.
If everything else on your system is working fine, this appears to be an AOL
issue and not the other way around and their responsibility; they just don't
know how to fix it.
As opposed to reinstalling over itself, something that rarely fixes issues
in XP, you might try the following, if they don't resolve it, there's no
point in reinstalling XP over itself as the two options I mentione below
obviate such a need. If they fail, only a clean install would exceed the
threshold of these other options and since you can't identify the issue,
after a clean install and reinstalling AOL, you might continue to have the
same problem which sounds as though it is their software or on their end.
There is of course a chance some update, perhaps some security update might
be the source of the issue. These are listed as hotfixes in Add/Remove
Programs in Control Panel and can be removed one at a time until you find
the culprit, assuming one such update is the culprit. You can check what
these hotfixes are by going to Windows Update and checking your installation
history.
As to the options you have instead of reinstalling over itself, see below:
You say you already checked for viruse but you should also check for any
malware on your system, download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com
If this is a relatively recent issue, you might try using System Restore to
take you back to a time when this worked properly. Start\All
Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Restore. If that doesn't resolve
it, try the information below.
The following assumes you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a restore CD or
restore partition supplied by your PC manufacturer.
Go to Start, type sfc /scannow in the run box and press enter. Note, there
is a space between sfc and the forward slash. You will be asked for your XP
CD. Be aware, upon inserting the CD the XP setup screen may appear, this is
not a part of sfc /scannow, rather it is being invoked by autorun. Simply
minimize the screen and allow sfc to continue.
If the above fails to resolve the issue, try a repair install as follows:
Be sure you are well backed up in case there is a problem from which you are
unable to recover. NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
files intact, if something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be
forced to start over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your
data backed up, you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.
Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.
Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.
Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.
The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.
issue. I don't know about the current version of AOL but the last few
versions did not require using the AOL browser. You would need instructions
from AOL on using Internet Explorer or whatever other browser you might wish
to use.
If everything else on your system is working fine, this appears to be an AOL
issue and not the other way around and their responsibility; they just don't
know how to fix it.
As opposed to reinstalling over itself, something that rarely fixes issues
in XP, you might try the following, if they don't resolve it, there's no
point in reinstalling XP over itself as the two options I mentione below
obviate such a need. If they fail, only a clean install would exceed the
threshold of these other options and since you can't identify the issue,
after a clean install and reinstalling AOL, you might continue to have the
same problem which sounds as though it is their software or on their end.
There is of course a chance some update, perhaps some security update might
be the source of the issue. These are listed as hotfixes in Add/Remove
Programs in Control Panel and can be removed one at a time until you find
the culprit, assuming one such update is the culprit. You can check what
these hotfixes are by going to Windows Update and checking your installation
history.
As to the options you have instead of reinstalling over itself, see below:
You say you already checked for viruse but you should also check for any
malware on your system, download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com
If this is a relatively recent issue, you might try using System Restore to
take you back to a time when this worked properly. Start\All
Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Restore. If that doesn't resolve
it, try the information below.
The following assumes you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a restore CD or
restore partition supplied by your PC manufacturer.
Go to Start, type sfc /scannow in the run box and press enter. Note, there
is a space between sfc and the forward slash. You will be asked for your XP
CD. Be aware, upon inserting the CD the XP setup screen may appear, this is
not a part of sfc /scannow, rather it is being invoked by autorun. Simply
minimize the screen and allow sfc to continue.
If the above fails to resolve the issue, try a repair install as follows:
Be sure you are well backed up in case there is a problem from which you are
unable to recover. NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
files intact, if something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be
forced to start over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your
data backed up, you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.
Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.
Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.
Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.
The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.
M
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
If you mean by full install, a clean install of XP using the upgrade CD, as
long as he has qualifying media and a Windows 95 or 98 CD would qualify, he
can do a clean install (Clean install meaning one which wipes the drive of
all data and any OS on the drive before installation) as follows below.
NOTE, during setup, he will be asked to insert qualifying media at some
point during setup as mentioned above:
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.
A few screens into the boot process, if you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.
After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:
To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
In your case, press ENTER.
Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.
You will then be taken to a screen with two options.
To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.
This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.
long as he has qualifying media and a Windows 95 or 98 CD would qualify, he
can do a clean install (Clean install meaning one which wipes the drive of
all data and any OS on the drive before installation) as follows below.
NOTE, during setup, he will be asked to insert qualifying media at some
point during setup as mentioned above:
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.
A few screens into the boot process, if you see the message on the boot
screen to "Press any key in order to boot from the CD," do so.
After loading drivers and files, you should be taken to a screen with
the following:
To Setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.
To Repair a Windows XP Installation using Recovery Console press R.
To Quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.
In your case, press ENTER.
Agree to the License agreement by pressing F8.
You will then be taken to a screen with two options.
To repair the selected Windows XP installation press R.
To continue installing a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing,
press ESC.
This will bring you to a partition map where you
can delete, create and format partitions.
Select the drive you wish to format, delete the partition, then create a new
partition, format as desired and continue with XP installation.
E
Ed Brown
responsibility; they just don't-----Original Message-----
I wouldn't advise reinstalling XP as I'm dubious that it will resolve this
issue. I don't know about the current version of AOL but the last few
versions did not require using the AOL browser. You would need instructions
from AOL on using Internet Explorer or whatever other browser you might wish
to use.
If everything else on your system is working fine, this appears to be an AOL
issue and not the other way around and their
that I use Drive Image 7.0 to backup once a week.know how to fix it.
As opposed to reinstalling over itself, something that rarely fixes issues
in XP, you might try the following, if they don't resolve it, there's no
point in reinstalling XP over itself as the two options I mentione below
obviate such a need. If they fail, only a clean install would exceed the
threshold of these other options and since you can't identify the issue,
after a clean install and reinstalling AOL, you might continue to have the
same problem which sounds as though it is their software or on their end.
There is of course a chance some update, perhaps some security update might
be the source of the issue. These are listed as hotfixes in Add/Remove
Programs in Control Panel and can be removed one at a time until you find
the culprit, assuming one such update is the culprit. You can check what
these hotfixes are by going to Windows Update and checking your installation
history.
As to the options you have instead of reinstalling over itself, see below:
You say you already checked for viruse but you should also check for any
malware on your system, download, install and run Ad Aware:
www.lavasoftusa.com
If this is a relatively recent issue, you might try using System Restore to
take you back to a time when this worked properly. Start\All
Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Restore. If that doesn't resolve
it, try the information below.
The following assumes you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a restore CD or
restore partition supplied by your PC manufacturer.
Go to Start, type sfc /scannow in the run box and press enter. Note, there
is a space between sfc and the forward slash. You will be asked for your XP
CD. Be aware, upon inserting the CD the XP setup screen may appear, this is
not a part of sfc /scannow, rather it is being invoked by autorun. Simply
minimize the screen and allow sfc to continue.
If the above fails to resolve the issue, try a repair install as follows:
Be sure you are well backed up in case there is a problem from which you are
unable to recover. NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
files intact, if something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be
forced to start over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your
data backed up, you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.
Assuming your system is set to boot from the CD-ROM drive, boot with the XP
CD in the drive. If it isn't or you are not sure, you need to enter the
system's BIOS. When you boot the system, the first screen usually has
instructions that if you wish to enter setup press a specific key, when you
see that, do so. Then you will have to navigate to the boot sequence, if
the CD-ROM drive is not first line, set it first in the boot sequence. Save
your settings and exit with the XP CD in the drive. The system will reboot.
Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.
Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.
Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.
The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.
--
Michael Solomon MS-MVP
Windows Shell/User
Backup is a PC User's Best Friend
DTS-L.Org: http://www.dts-l.org/
.
Thank you for your help. I have an external hard drive
Obviously I should do a complete back up before I do
anything. I have never tried to restore items from a back
up before. If something goes wrong with some of the fixes
and I need to restore from the back up, how do I make
sure I don't put back the problem? Thanks, Ed
M
Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)
The only way to ensure you don't bring back the problem is to install the OS
clean, install your apps and then restore only your data from backup. I'm
pretty sure Drive Image has the option to restore selected files from an
image, you would need to use that option. I believe they have a utility
called "Image Explorer" and you would use that to restore your data only.
That said, I can't guarantee you won't then have the same issue with AOL as
their might be some driver or application with which the AOL browser
conflicts or is having an issue at which point it probably would be
advisable to use XP's native environment, Internet Explorer, etc. for your
online functions. Generally, you don't need anything but their connection.
In other words, if it's dial up, you use their dialup, then open the
Internet Explorer and surf.
clean, install your apps and then restore only your data from backup. I'm
pretty sure Drive Image has the option to restore selected files from an
image, you would need to use that option. I believe they have a utility
called "Image Explorer" and you would use that to restore your data only.
That said, I can't guarantee you won't then have the same issue with AOL as
their might be some driver or application with which the AOL browser
conflicts or is having an issue at which point it probably would be
advisable to use XP's native environment, Internet Explorer, etc. for your
online functions. Generally, you don't need anything but their connection.
In other words, if it's dial up, you use their dialup, then open the
Internet Explorer and surf.
C
Cavemanz
Ed Brown said:real issue is with using the AOL browser. Pretty much
everthing else is working fine. All of a sudden the AOL
browser has slowed down drastically. When either
receiving or sending email, using IM or even going to
keywords is moving at a snails pace. I have made many
calls to AOL tech support but to no avail. They have made
me go through many changes and fixes, but none have
worked. I have uninstalled AOL and reinstalled many times
as well. Stopped firewalls, ended anti-virus, even
contacted Road Runner which provides my cable service,
(which they tested and passed)still nothing. AOL said
there must be some conflict with my operating system and
that they could not give support because that was a
Microsoft issue. I often clean temp files, have spyware
protection, no found virus's, etc. Just can't figure out
what is casing this. Thought that maybe there might be
something in the registry or elsewhere that could be
fixed with a reinstall, I know this is drastic and would
rather not do it if there is another fix. I'd even dump
using the AOL browser, but I have business that I use
with AOL email accounts and am sorta stuck. Any help
would be greatly appriciated. Thanks, Ed
First you have to find out what actually causing this problem before doing
the reinstallation. My suggestion is try to get another pc to connect thru
your line and see if the same problem persist. If so then you can be sure
it's the AOL issue and not the winxp issue.