How to reinstall XP without losing data

It’s a myth that you have to lose your data when you reinstall your computer. Computer shops do it because it’s easier for them, but you can save yourself the money and do it yourself.

What you’re going to need:

• Windows XP installation disc that came with your system (XP Home or Professional?)
• XP COA License on the side of your PC or bottom of your laptop, 25 characters long in sets of 5

Here’s the steps:

1. Insert your XP into the CD drive and turn on the computer. When you see ‘Press any key to start from CD…’, press a key on the keyboard.
2. If you don’t see the message, you need to check the boot order to make sure that your machine is trying to boot from the CD.
3. The XP setup should begin, it takes a couple minutes to get through the initial stage, so grab a cup of tea while you wait.
4. At the installation prompt, we need to enter the recovery console. Hit R.
5. Press C to enter the console.
6. Select the installation by pressing 1 and hitting enter.
7. If it asks you for a password, enter it. Usually the password is blank, so try hitting enter if all else fails.
8. Now we’re going to run maintenance on the disk, sometimes this actually fixes the machine and allows it to boot. At the prompt, type chkdsk c: /p and hit enter. The machine will scan the disk and repair any problems it finds. Once it has completed, type EXIT to restart.
9. If you like, you can wait and see if the computer will start now to save yourself the time it takes to reinstall. Otherwise, onwards we go.
10. Hit a key to start from CD again like in step 1, and wait until the installation prompt comes up.
11. This time we’re going to actually install, so press ENTER.
12. Hit the F8 key to confirm you agree to the terms.
13. Setup is now scanning for previous installations, if it finds any it will ask you if you want to repair it. Say no by hitting the ESCAPE key.
14. Choose the partition you want to install to (typically the C: partition).
15. When asked if you want to format the drive, select ‘Leave partition intact, no changes’.
16. Next follow the on screen instructions to complete the setup process. Note that you will probably be asked for the COA key that is 25 characters long, so be sure to have it ready!

That’s it for now.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 6th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Computer Help. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.