Repair OS

[copiman]

I Have obtained recovery CDs from the Laptop manufacture. I would prefer to do a system repair. My problem is I received 2 disk. One says Operating System CD and the other says Application and Driver Recovery DVD. Does one of these have the option to do a repair? I don't want to boot from the wrong one. First time I've done this.

 

[iPwn]

What's wrong with the PC?

I ask because letting the Windows Repair process try to repair something is like giving a monkey a wrench and throwing a banana into the engine compartment, then expecting tip top performance. The Windows Repair process is full of bugs and glitches. Perhaps we can get it going again without that fiasco...

If you'd like to try anyway... The Operating CD contains the repair process. The application and driver recovery is just that, the drivers and extra programs installed on first use.

 

[copiman]

Thanks iPwn. I tried the repair but it said it was unable to fix. Also, thanks for the input on the repair issues. I have alot of missing files in the OS. The registry is whacked. Someone supposably cleaned up this laptop. When my friend got it back, it was missing docs, files, etc.. running slow and just all kind of problems. I am presently restoring it to the original configuration. I have fought with this so long that I just gave in and starting from scratch. sfc /scannow came back with missing items as well. Thank you for offering to work with me. I am a student at tech school for networking, so I can use all the help I can get. Will post results of my results.

 

[iPwn]

If you're starting from scratch, I would go with a program like DBAN to wipe the drive clean. One little known fact about the Windows install process, is that it will scan the drive for Windows files, even if you chose to format the drive. So if the install is as truly corrupted as posted, I would nuke the drive (or at least 30% of it) to ensure that none of those files make their way into your 'clean' install.

 

[copiman]

Thanks iPwn for the info on wiping the drive with DBAN. Would it be a good rule of thumb to always wipe it before doing any re-installation of an OS, regardless if its a recovery or a upgrade to another OS? I'm one of those who have limited knowledge. Student at Tech college for Networking and trying to learn as much as possible. Unfortunately I already recovered the laptop. All seems ok so far. Doing updates right now.

 

[iPwn]

If time permits then I typically always nuke the drive before installing Windows again. I wouldn't say it's made its way to "Rule of Thumb" status, but in my IT Department, if we have to clean up a PC for whatever reason, I always have my guys nuke the drive first. It's probably not needed even half the time, but the time spent up front will save a lot of headache in the event that scenario comes true.

Again, it's not a rule of thumb, per se, but I always do when I have a faulty Windows installation.

If you've already reinstalled and are in the process of updating, then hopefully there's no lingering issues. (Updates (IME) are the first to show signs of faulty kernel files).

 

[copiman]

Thanks again iPwn for your help. I was able to get all the updates installed. ran into a bit of a problem. Some installed successful and some failed. Per BK_132 I installed sp 1&2 individually. Then all updates after that went well. Wow, there were a lot of updates, but it is Vista. All seems ok now with the exception of the display. It flicks on and off 3 times as soon as the desktop loads, then its ok. It was like that for a long time prior to me getting it. Thought i would do a separate post for this one. Just in case someone searches for same issue.

Added DBAN to my list of tools and utilities. Thank you again for your help. Learned a lot.