Repairing XP home

Hey guys,
Another XP question well this ones been asked a million times but i cant remember the command.Fist a bit of backround info.A friend of mine has a XP Home PC for this question speks arent really important so ill save typing all that.For a long time now they have had alot of minor issues with XP having errors.Most were minor but as time goes by they are getting worse.Under normal circumstances a format would be the best course of action but since they have a ton of important information on there PC and no way to back it all up it's out of the question.

However i think the problem could be solved by doing a repair of windows XP.The problem today was when they attempted to do a disc cleanup in XP the system rebooted automatically and gave back a strange error involving "steering program" i dont understand it as the XP version they have is in another language (there native language).Now i know i cant remember the command but i know there is a way to transfer all the main XP files from the CD to the PC via command prompt.Maybe someone can help me with that.

Now for the experts if the problem is something simple such as a damaged file what are the odds of it being fixed by using the method i just described.Now 2nd if all else fails i was going to suggest a repair of XP using the XP CD this might end up being the best bet without formating.However there PC came with a XP recovery CD and i am unsure if it is even the same as a normal copy of XP and will allow a repair.I also was wondering if doing a repair install will delete any internet connection settings such as the settings for a DSL connection.So just wanted to here some opinions and suggestions or any info one of you might know to help.Thank guys.

EDIT:Also one more question as i have never tryed this.I was just doing a bit of reading via google search and i read that if you are still able to boot into XP you can simply insert the CD and use the XP installationg screen by selecting "upgrade" and this will perform the same function as booting via CD and using the repair option.Any truth to this?

You can try and repair it by opening the command screen, type in /chkdsk -repair (if I remember correctly.) It will schedule an attempt to repair upon your next reboot. That will scan your system and repair/replace any core xp files that are damaged/missing whatever.


Second way is bootup through the disc, during the first screen of the installation process, it gives you the option to repair windows xp. But doing that you will have to reinstall all your programs, which mean you will loose your settings for your DSL and whatever.

**Correction, it will if you repair it through Recovery Console ...**

My suggestion is pick up another harddrive, transfer what you need over and do a fresh install. If your windows is acting up, very likely it is conflicting with other programs you installed, so replacing windows files wont fix that. What you mentioned above, doing the Upgrade option will be the same thing, it will requires you to install all your programs again.

Getting another hard drive isnt my call you see the problem isnt my system it's a friend of mine.Normally backing up wouldnt be a problem but this friend doesnt live close and i have no way of checking the PC myself so i am trying to talk them through the best method.

I already know about booting through i disc thats the first logical method i thought of.It was the other option using chkdsk i could not remember so thanks for that :)

As for why windows is acting up that is anyones guess.My guess is from years of non maintainence there have been issues with spyware and virus's and such in the past but i have been teaching them how to keep there system clean but to little to late i suppose the damage was already done.

Also i appreciate the reply but repair install of XP does not supposed to affect any of your installed apllications or data besides windows XP itself.

If anyone else has anything to add or verify please do so :)

Try SFC /SCANNOW from the run line.

Here are some links describing the tool, explains what it does and does not do, and how to use it.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310747

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/192832

http://www.updatexp.com/scannow-sfc.html

http://ask-leo.com/what_is_the_syste..._i_run_it.html

Thanks Rik and yep thats the command i was trying to remember that someone here mentioned in another topic i could no longer find.I'll check out the links and give it a try if it seems worth it.

Also one more question is there an easy way of telling if an XP Installation CD contains service pack 1 or 2?

Hey guys,sorry for the double posts but a question for rik or anyone else who has used the SFC /Scannow tool i found out more info on the PC in question and wanted to check something before continuing.The PC originally came pre installed with Windows XP home SP1 since then lots of windows updates have been installed but not SP2.If i use SFC will i encounter any issues since i assume some files that will be replaced could be different then whats on the CD thanks to the updates?

Yes there will be some changes, and yes it will probably ask for the cd. No worries. It can't hurt. Even if it doesn't fix the problem you are working on it won't make things worse.

And then...install SP2.

Thanks rik thats exactly what i wanted to know and yep SP2 is a must once the issue is fixed.

Has anyone here tryed repairing XP while the PC is booted using the Upgrade option instead of going through the process of booting the PC using the XP CD?

another double post for me,Ok i have a question more of a what if type question.I did run SFC and it turned out fine.Afterwards i tryed running Disk Cleaner again only this time instead of the strange error the system completely froze on me.So i started thinking.what if a file that Disk Cleaner is trying to remove is corrupt or damaged?Is there a way to manually remove the files instead?

One last post from me just an update and wanted opinions.Ok heres the deal once again.We tryed doing a repair install of XP this did not fix the main issue of whenever you run Disk Cleaner the system would freeze up then crash.After this we went to the last resort doing a full format and install of XP again.Tryed running Disk Cleaner again with the same result.So now i am really lost on what could be causing the problem.My friend is thinking of just saying scre it and getting a new PC but before they do i wanted to hear any opinions on the matter.Thanks as always guys

What do you mean by "Disk Cleaner"?

Hey rik,
I mean the built in windows utility called "Disk Cleanup" which can be found in system tools along with disk defrag,ect.

A few thoughts for you:
1) I don't trust the in-built Windows defragger or cleanup. I recommend either CCleaner and / or CleanUp as far better solutions for getting rid of junk (www.filehippo.com). For defragging, the most excellent PerfectDisk 8 by Raxco is a must - will improve speed no end and you can defrag boot file (Win defragger hasn't a hope of such)
2) You can do a "repair install" if your friend can get his hands on a full version of XP Home SP2 (as opposed to SP1). Once booted on such a CD, you go through as if you're going to do a full install, but it gives you the option to Repair (not to be confused with the first option of "repair" that takes you to the recovery console. However, before doing that, I would be inclined to do a "chkdsk /p" a couple of times from the recovery console to get rid of any HDD probs (I find that chkdsk usually needs 2 runs on the HDD to come back 100% ok - you'll have to reboot after this to do the repair install).

Hope that helps!
Cheers
Peter