An all too common repair problem that Windows users face is a situation where the system is damaged and needs to be repaired. The user may experience an inability to boot, disruptive BSODs (blue screen of death), a crippling virus attack or horrible performance accompanied by frequent and strange errors Ac repair las vegas.
Most users want relief and fast. However, they don’t want to lose all the programs and data that they worked so long and hard to put into place.
Repair Options
Before any repair can proceed, any hardware problems that may be causing the problem need to be corrected. It should be determined that the hard disk and motherboard at a minimum are working properly.
Once hardware has been checked out, 4 options exist for XP systems to resolve the problem
- Performing an XP repair install to achieve XP automatic recovery.
- Installing a clean version of XP and recovering from a backup.
- Direct bare metal restore from a backup such as Acronis.
- Reimage automated XP repair.
Windows system XP Repair Through a Repair Install
XP has provided for automated system recovery by allowing a user to do a repair install. The user goes through the motions of installing the operating system but instead of doing a fresh install selects an option to repair an existing installation.
This option can be technically challenging, requires careful preparation, needs special care for a number of situations and can be very time consuming.
The best source for information on how to do this is provided by Michael Stevens Tech.
Preparation for this process requires that data be backed up before starting. Optimally, all existing data should be backed up but certain crucial data absolutely must be saved. Certain files which would initiate a wipe out of the system must be removed. XP Files And Settings Transfer should be invoked.
If the XP CD that is being used for the repair install is not at the highest service pack upgrade level, the current service packs on the system need to be undone. Alternatively, a slipstreamed version of XP which includes XP and the service packs can be created before starting. Michael Stevens Tech offers some methods for doing this.
The user has to be careful not to use the recovery console which is not the same thing as a repair install. If the repair install doesn’t find the existing operating system, some emergency measures are needed. One option is to get a new hard drive and install a fresh copy of XP on it and put the old drive in as a 2nd drive which can be accessed for it’s programs and data.
If the user has not retained the progam installation software or cd, it may be impossible to restore some applications. It may be possible to get the repair to recognize the old operating system by reconfiguring boot.ini.
If everything else goes, well and service packs have to be reapplied, the system should not be connected to the Internet until the packs are in and a firewall is active in order to avoid being infected by the Sasser worm.
All in all, this is a complex and error prone process.
New OS and restore
A user can do a fresh install and a restore from a backup if they kept one but it can be tricky knowing what shouldn’t be overwritten on the new system
Direct bare metal restore from a backup such as Acronis
Acronis can restore a system with no programs or operating system installed from a recovery cd. The recovery can also be initiated from the damaged system if it can get the restore started.
Reimage Automated XP repair
Reimage can repair a damaged XP system automatically with very little user intervention. If the system can boot and get to the Internet, the Reimage program can be started. A scan of the system is done and all errors are found. The Reimage system uses a database which contains information and software to repair any problems in the XP system.
All missing or damaged components are repaired. All harmful or questionable items are removed. The process takes around 35 minutes. This repair is modestly priced and is much cheaper that getting professional repair. It’s certainly worth it compared to the time that would have to be spent by doing it yourself. If the user is not satisfied, the repair can be reversed and there is no charge.
Advantages for a Repair Depot
Repair processing can be optimized by splitting off hardware and software problems.
Most software issues can be handled by Reimage .This frees up repair personnel to work on hardware. More gets done with less resources.
Multiple repairs can be run simultaneously using Reimage. The repair process is simple, quick and requires no backup. An undo option is preinstalled if necessary. You have no worry about data and applications being preserved.