Reinstalling windows xp without reformatting

To maintain system stability, Windows must restore the original versions of these files. I'll check the service pack next time I switch to the old tower Try this. Navigate to the following entry. Set the value to 0 and save the changes.

I see there's quite a few "threats detected" so far I'll do the other scan next. So, in acouple hours I'll have all the info you requested. It's also interesting to note that I have NOT received that error message the entire time.

Usually, the pop-up appears with that error message and I just let it be. I don't click on it. By avoiding it, my computer doesn't crash or shut down. Only when I click on "cancel" does it shutdown immediately. But like I said, no error message yet today. The error very well could have been the result of malware. However, until the scan completes and you actually remove the infections they are still active on your computer.

So, the detection alone is insufficient to prevent the effects. Thanks for the update. Looking forward to the end results. A very short scan but powerful rootkit detector. Any help would be appreciated. This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread.

I have the same question Do not enter the recovery console. Hit F8 once you are done reading the agreement to continue the setup process.

Press Esc to continue with a fresh install. Delete the partition. You should see a list of your hard drive partitions. These are your C: and D: drives The lettering is dependent on the way the system was set up. This is your last chance to restart and back up any files you forgot. Once the partition is deleted, your data is gone.

Create a new partition. Select the unpartitioned space. Press C to create a new partition. Enter the maximum size possible and press Enter. You can create smaller a smaller partition if you want to create other partitions in your hard drive later through Windows.

There are multiple reasons why someone might do this, but for most users simply creating the largest partition possible should be fine. Begin Windows setup. Once the partition is created, highlight it and press Enter to begin the Windows installation. You will be asked to format the partition. Formatting will begin. This could take up to several hours depending on the size and speed of your hard drive, but for most users it will take a few minutes. Windows will begin installing. This is a mostly automated process that requires the user to enter some data at a few points.

The first option that pops up is changing the default language and region. Click Customize… if the settings are incorrect for your region. Once the settings are correct, click Next to move on. When prompted, type your name and organization. These will be used when labeling documents, and can be changed in Windows settings later.

Enter your Product Key. You will be prompted to enter your digit product key at this time. Your Product Key should be found at the lower part of you Certificate of Authenticity.

Enter your computer name. This is the name that will appear on the network to describe your computer. For XP Professional, you will be asked to enter an Administrator password that will be used to access the Administrator account. Set the correct date and time. You will now see a calendar and clock that can be adjusted to your specific time. You can also select the correct timezone for your location. Setup network basics. You will be asked if you want to install Typical or Custom network settings.

For nearly all users, Typical is the correct choice. If you are installing in a corporate setting, check with your system administrator first. When asked to enter a workgroup, most users will want to select the first option, and leave the workgroup label as default.

If you are in a corporate setting, you may need to specify a domain. Again, check with your administrator. Windows will finalize the setup. This will take several minutes and requires no input from the user. Your computer will continue to boot from the hard drive and finish the Windows install.

Select OK to adjust screen resolution. Windows will attempt to automatically change the screen size to make reading easier. Once the screen resets, you will be asked if you can read the new text box. If you can, click OK to continue. If you cannot, then hit Cancel or simply wait 20 seconds for the screen to revert to its original settings. Select Next to proceed with the installation. The Welcome to Microsoft Windows screen will appear once the screen changes are made.

This process will just take a couple minutes. Windows will attempt to check your network connectivity. If you are planning on setting this up later, you can skip this screen. Enter the names of your users. In this step, you can create separate logins for each of the users of your computer. You must enter at least one name. You can enter up to five users on this screen, but more can be entered through the Control Panel after installing.

After entering the names, click Finish to finalize the installation. Windows will work for a few moments and then you will be greeted with your new desktop. Run Windows Update. This will download the latest system updates from Microsoft. These are very important, as the patch system vulnerabilities and stability issues. If you have data that you can't back up, or programs that you can't later reinstall, reinstalling Windows without reformatting is a must.

The most effective method is to perform a repair installation of Windows XP. This will install Windows again, over top of the existing installation that you're currently having problems with. Through that link above, you can follow along with us as we do a repair install of Windows XP. There are screenshots and details about each page you'll see as you move through the install wizard. While a repair install is designed to keep all of your data and programs intact, we highly advise that you back up everything you can before undertaking a repair installation.

If something were to go wrong during the reinstall, it's possible that data loss could occur. Better to be safe than sorry! Backing up your files is really easy and although it usually takes a good amount of time to back up everything you have, it is highly recommended, even outside the context of repairing Windows.

The quickest way to back up all your data is to use an offline, local backup program. You can look through a list of free backup software tools here. With these applications, you can back up your data to an external hard drive , large flash drive , or any other device that will hold the files you want to store elsewhere.

The other option is to back up all your files online using an online backup service. In the long term, online backup may be more beneficial over local backups your files are stored off-site and can be accessed from any internet-capable computer , but if you're wanting to repair Windows XP soon, you might opt for local backup simply because online backup is a long process lots of files have to upload, which typically takes a long time.

If anything goes wrong during the repair process, and your files disappear, you can restore some or all of your data using whatever method you took to back them up. For example, if you used COMODO Backup to save your files to an external hard drive, you can open that program again and use its restore feature to get your data back.

The same goes for cloud backup services like CrashPlan or Backblaze. Another option, which definitely saves time, is to just manually back up the files you know you don't want to lose, like images, documents, desktop items, etc.