Iphone

We have a laptop that is blue-screening. Cannot write down nor even read the message because the blue screen appears for about two seconds then the machine restarts. Goes through the POST, Windows begins loading and the blue screen appears again. This keeps going over and over. Can't get to Safe Mode nor to Last Known Good Configuration. Would love to wipe it and reinstall Windows but - what else is new - the client has data on the drive that MUST be saved and, you guessed it, there is no backup. Is there any way known to run the Repair function from Windows Setup without the floppy? Any comments on that directly or any other approach are welcome.

Iphone

Insert the Windows XP CD in your drive. Reboot the computer and press "del" (or F2 or F10, or whatever key combo gets you in) to enter the BIOS setup. Look for the boot order of your drives (usually under Advanced Settings). Change the order so that the CD drive is the first boot device. Save and exit.

As the machine reboots this time it will find a bootable CD and prompt you to press any key to boot from the CD. Press a key. XP setup will now start to load - takes a little time before it requires input from you.

Once setup is ready it will prompt you to press 'R' to enter the recovery console or 'Enter' to continue installing Windows. We don't want the Repair Console here so just press Enter. Setup will then prompt you to accept the EULA by pressing F8. Press F8.

The next screen will show you the partition[s]] available and will inform you that Windows is installed (usually on the C: drive). At this screen you will have an option to press 'R' to repair the current installation. Press 'R' and setup will then take over and do the necessary work.
After you perform an in-place upgrade or repair installation, you must reinstall all updates to Windows.
Here are a couple of Microsoft Knowledge Base articles you should read which concern possible data loss when you reinstall/repair XP:

You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP
You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP

Data loss occurs after you reinstall, repair, or upgrade Windows XP
Data Loss May Occur After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP

Note that, from the above articles, the problem of data loss if your Windows XP was installed by the OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) has been corrected if your Windows XP has Service Pack 1 installed.


This is another excellent article on how to perform an XP repair:

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install

Visit, InformationWeek - Windows - Fred Langa

And check out the following articles.

Langa Letter: XP's No-Reformat, Nondestructive Total-Rebuild Option
InformationWeek, June 19, 2006
Fred Langa shows you how to completely rebuild, repair, or refresh an existing XP installation without losing data, and without having to reinstall user software, reformat, or otherwise destructively alter the setup.

Langa Letter: The OS Inside The OS
InformationWeek, April 30, 2006
Fred Langa shows how a simple tweak turns XP's low-level Recovery Console into a complete, standalone mini-operating system--in effect, an XP DOS!

Langa Letter: XP's Little-Known 'Rebuild' Command
InformationWeek, April 17, 2006
There's an easy fix for "Missing HAL.DLL," "Invalid Boot.Ini," and several other fatal startup errors, Fred Langa says.

How to Repair Windows XP
Sheharyaar Saahil

A system repair is not the same as getting into the Recovery Console. To perform an XP repair:

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/expertzone/tips/dougknox/doug92.asp