What's the difference between...

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

This may seem elementary, but since I don't know, I need to ask. What is the
difference between reformat, reinstall, and clean install? And do all of
these options require reinstalling all programs? Currently using XP Pro w/SP1
and downloaded SP2. OS is trashed, but hanging on to the hope we'll be able
to recover some of the files from the hard drive. Have considered getting a
new hard drive (external or internal) then start from there with possibly
adding the old HD as a 2nd. All salvage methods have been tried and failed,
so we know we need to get XP loaded as a starting point. From a command
prompt using chkdsk got message that 1 or more unrecoverable problems
existed. I guess ultimately I need someone's best guess on how to proceed
realizing I need to try to at some point recover some files from the old
drive. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Rock]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

ryjack wrote:

> This may seem elementary, but since I don't know, I need to ask. What is the
> difference between reformat, reinstall, and clean install? And do all of
> these options require reinstalling all programs? Currently using XP Pro w/SP1
> and downloaded SP2. OS is trashed, but hanging on to the hope we'll be able
> to recover some of the files from the hard drive. Have considered getting a
> new hard drive (external or internal) then start from there with possibly
> adding the old HD as a 2nd. All salvage methods have been tried and failed,
> so we know we need to get XP loaded as a starting point. From a command
> prompt using chkdsk got message that 1 or more unrecoverable problems
> existed. I guess ultimately I need someone's best guess on how to proceed
> realizing I need to try to at some point recover some files from the old
> drive. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks.

You really haven't given much information for troubleshooting. First
recover the data from the drive. Try installing it as a slave drive in
another XP or Win2k computer and if the drive is readable, copy the data
that way. If you try that and the drive is not accessible as a slave
drive the next step is to decide just how important the data is. If
it's very important contact one of the data recovery companies such as
www.ontrack.com or www.drivesavers.com. They are not cheap but very good.

Check the condition of the drive using a drive diagnostic utility from
the hard drive manufacturer's web site.

Since you didn't give any information on what "salvage methods have been
tried and failed", I don't know if you've tried running chkdsk from the
recovery console as chkdsk /p. Only try this after you've recovered any
data from the drive.

Another option to read the drive and salvage it is Gibson Research's
spinrite, www.grc.com.

As to your questions, there are two types of installs, a repair install
aka in place upgrade which repairs installs the OS over itself. This
should preserve any data and installed programs. Note however that if
the disk is not readable as above, then a repair install is not going to
work.

See this link for info on a repair install:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

A clean install removes all data and programs from the drive and
installs XP fresh. During the process of the install with your
problems, you should delete the current partition and create a new raw
one, format it, then install windows.

See this link for info on a clean install:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

--
Rock
MS MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

Drives have partitions - essentially like cutting pieces of a pie. A
partition
can take 100% of a drive or a portion. By default drives can have up to
4 Primary partitions (Drives with Letters). A reformat means taking an
existing partition and erasing it's data, like wiping a slate. It's size and
it's
position on the drive remain untouched.
A re-install can mean several things. A repair install overlays XP to an
"Original" state while preserving the programs, accounts and personal
data that is already in place.
A Clean install means to take a drive ( Partition ) , format it to either
FAT32
or NTFS and do a complete/full XP install.

Before you do any of the above, you really should attempt to backup
your data. There are a number of ways to do this. Physically, you could
install the drive in a Working XP machine and using a CD/DVD burner
backup your data. Also, you could image the entire XP partition using a
Imaging program, such as Norton Ghost, Acronis True Image.

The key to your situation is to think it out. Many times when faced with
this unbootable PC, users take hasty actions that eventually can cause a
100% loss of data.

"ryjack" <ryjack@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AF06D843-A2D8-4172-AB02-9E325FCAE180@microsoft.com...
> This may seem elementary, but since I don't know, I need to ask. What is
> the
> difference between reformat, reinstall, and clean install? And do all of
> these options require reinstalling all programs? Currently using XP Pro
> w/SP1
> and downloaded SP2. OS is trashed, but hanging on to the hope we'll be
> able
> to recover some of the files from the hard drive. Have considered getting
> a
> new hard drive (external or internal) then start from there with possibly
> adding the old HD as a 2nd. All salvage methods have been tried and
> failed,
> so we know we need to get XP loaded as a starting point. From a command
> prompt using chkdsk got message that 1 or more unrecoverable problems
> existed. I guess ultimately I need someone's best guess on how to proceed
> realizing I need to try to at some point recover some files from the old
> drive. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks.

 

[kelly]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

1. Reformat - Fdisk/Format cleans your hard drive (operating system and
data).
2. Reinstall - Assuming you mean repair install. If so, some updates will
need to be replaced.
3. Clean Install - Similar to #1 but not as extreme.

Tips for round 2: Allocate at least 15g for the operating system, then
store everything else in other partitions and/or another drive.

Good luck!
--

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com



"ryjack" <ryjack@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AF06D843-A2D8-4172-AB02-9E325FCAE180@microsoft.com...
> This may seem elementary, but since I don't know, I need to ask. What is
> the
> difference between reformat, reinstall, and clean install? And do all of
> these options require reinstalling all programs? Currently using XP Pro
> w/SP1
> and downloaded SP2. OS is trashed, but hanging on to the hope we'll be
> able
> to recover some of the files from the hard drive. Have considered getting
> a
> new hard drive (external or internal) then start from there with possibly
> adding the old HD as a 2nd. All salvage methods have been tried and
> failed,
> so we know we need to get XP loaded as a starting point. From a command
> prompt using chkdsk got message that 1 or more unrecoverable problems
> existed. I guess ultimately I need someone's best guess on how to proceed
> realizing I need to try to at some point recover some files from the old
> drive. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

R. McCarty wrote:

> Drives have partitions - essentially like cutting pieces of a pie. A
>partition
>can take 100% of a drive or a portion. By default drives can have up to
>4 Primary partitions (Drives with Letters). A reformat means taking an
>existing partition and erasing it's data, like wiping a slate. It's size and
>it's
>position on the drive remain untouched.
> A re-install can mean several things. A repair install overlays XP to an
>"Original" state while preserving the programs, accounts and personal
>data that is already in place.
> A Clean install means to take a drive ( Partition ) , format it to either
>FAT32
>or NTFS and do a complete/full XP install.
>
>Before you do any of the above, you really should attempt to backup
>your data. There are a number of ways to do this. Physically, you could
>install the drive in a Working XP machine and using a CD/DVD burner
>backup your data. Also, you could image the entire XP partition using a
>Imaging program, such as Norton Ghost, Acronis True Image.
>
>The key to your situation is to think it out. Many times when faced with
>this unbootable PC, users take hasty actions that eventually can cause a
>100% loss of data.
>
>"ryjack" <ryjack@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>news:AF06D843-A2D8-4172-AB02-9E325FCAE180@microsoft.com...
>
>
>>This may seem elementary, but since I don't know, I need to ask. What is
>>the
>>difference between reformat, reinstall, and clean install? And do all of
>>these options require reinstalling all programs? Currently using XP Pro
>>w/SP1
>>and downloaded SP2. OS is trashed, but hanging on to the hope we'll be
>>able
>>to recover some of the files from the hard drive. Have considered getting
>>a
>>new hard drive (external or internal) then start from there with possibly
>>adding the old HD as a 2nd. All salvage methods have been tried and
>>failed,
>>so we know we need to get XP loaded as a starting point. From a command
>>prompt using chkdsk got message that 1 or more unrecoverable problems
>>existed. I guess ultimately I need someone's best guess on how to proceed
>>realizing I need to try to at some point recover some files from the old
>>drive. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks.
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
Can XP be installed on a FAT32 formatted HDD like Win2K???

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

The PC froze after deleting several malware and Trojans. Shutdown, wouldn’t
restart. Doesn’t read CD drive, but does see the DVD and floppy drives.
Things tried include “how to get to system restore when you can’t boot� “how
to repair corrupted registry from a command prompt� resource disk,
diagnostics. After loading the proper 6 start up disks, I chose the “R�
option. Looked like everything was going normal, then a dialogue box popped
up with an Lsass system error, something about trying to update password
being invalid. (no passwords were ever assigned). and that’s where we are. It
just keeps recycling over and over. I read that this is sort of typical
behavior for the sasser worm. Anyway, all attempts to do anything further
gets the same result…this Lsass error. Trying the 6 disks again, gains me
nothing, so choosing “R� here only gets me to where I was. Screen keeps
displaying F1 to continue or F2 to enter setup. I was able to use the
resource disk and ran diagnostics which indicated everything passed. Whatever
that means.

Then I thought I’d try to take the HD from this machine and install it to a
different computer. This 2nd computer only has Windows XP installed. No other
software. Swapped the hard drives. The exact same thing happened on the 2nd
machine (Lsass error). I tried every F8 option and still the error. I did run
chkdsk as mentioned in my 1st post and got back “one or more unrecoverable
problems exist�. Is it normal for the clean computer to not recognize the
hard drive? Or is it because the hard drive is only linked to the screwed up
OS?

Reading thru all of the terrific stuff you all have provided so far, I hope
you can work me thru the slave idea on the 2nd computer. I thought of trying
this, but not sure what I need to do it. Obviously I have 2 internal hard
drives.(willing to buy an external if that makes sense) What cables do I need
for a 2nd? I’d set the bad drive as the slave. Windows will run via the good
drive, but what will occur if I try to access files on the bad drive? Will I
be able to? FAT v NTFS? How do I know which? I have all original disks that
came with the Dell system. I’ll go have a look at the various links you all
shared. Thanks.


"ryjack" wrote:

> This may seem elementary, but since I don't know, I need to ask. What is the
> difference between reformat, reinstall, and clean install? And do all of
> these options require reinstalling all programs? Currently using XP Pro w/SP1
> and downloaded SP2. OS is trashed, but hanging on to the hope we'll be able
> to recover some of the files from the hard drive. Have considered getting a
> new hard drive (external or internal) then start from there with possibly
> adding the old HD as a 2nd. All salvage methods have been tried and failed,
> so we know we need to get XP loaded as a starting point. From a command
> prompt using chkdsk got message that 1 or more unrecoverable problems
> existed. I guess ultimately I need someone's best guess on how to proceed
> realizing I need to try to at some point recover some files from the old
> drive. Any suggestions will be most appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general (More info?)

"Willard" <guess@msn.invalid> wrote in message
news:Os6jrS5iFHA.2156@TK2MSFTNGP14.phx.gbl...

> Can XP be installed on a FAT32 formatted HDD like Win2K???

yes