What you can do with your Windows XP cd other than install Windows

This article is to explain the recovery console and repair install functions on the Windows XP/2000 disks. Windows Vista lacks these features.

The very first step is to get your computer to boot off of the disk. The easiest way is to bring up a one-time boot menu. This is usually achieved by pressing "esc", "F10" or "F12" keys while the computer is starting. Every motherboard is different, so there is no guarantee that will work. The second method is to enter the bios settings. Pressing the "esc", "F1", "F2", or "del" keys while the computer is starting should get you in. Hopefully, your bios splash screen will tell you what button to press to get into either you're one-time boot menu or your bios settings.

If you get into your one-time boot menu, simply select the optical drive your Windows disk is in, and then press enter when it says "press any key to boot from cd". If you get into your BIOS, you need to locate your boot device order menu. This will list your possible boot medium and what order in which the computer will try to boot from. Just get your optical drive to the top of the list. You may also have to change which optical drive it tries if you have two of them. Since there are many different motherboards with different BIOS, you may have to use google.com to get yours set up the way you need.

First I will explain the recovery console. After you boot from the Windows XP disk, you will eventually get to a screen with three options. One of them will be "press r to boot into the recovery console". Press 'r' and then log into your windows installation. This should be self explanatory. When you are done logging on, you will be greeted with a command prompt c:/

The main reason people usually come to a command prompt is to run a file-system check if their computer will not boot Windows. To do this, enter "chkdsk c: /r" and press enter (unless I specify otherwise, never include the quotes). This command will check the c: and repair any errors it can. It will also tell you how many bad sectors there are when they are finished. You should ask someone knowledgeable about the subject if you should replace your hard drive according to how many bad sectors came up.

You can also run other DOS commands from the recovery console including moving, copying and deleting files. This can be useful in virus removal. Consult a DOS command guide for more details.

If your chkdsk did not get your computer booting windows, you can try a repair install. This will replace the Windows system files with new ones, hopefully fixing your problem and not losing your personal data and programs. Keep in mind, this process is not perfect. You should back up any important data before starting it.

After booting from the Windows XP and getting to the first blue screen with three options, press enter. After that, you should be greeted with the EULA (end user license agreement). Press F8 to accept. At this point, setup should list your operating system and ask you if you want to repair it. Press 'r' and it will start the process.

If setup takes you to a list of your hard drives and partitions, exit setup immediately, as going further will destroy your information. There are 2 reasons that setup will skip the repair install screen:
1) Setup could not detect your OS. If this is the case, you must wipe/reload windows to fix it.
2) You put in the wrong disk. If you have Windows XP Professional, you can only repair install with the Windows XP Professional disk. Windows XP Media Center will not work.

After running the repair install, your operating system may boot and it may not. If it does not, you should start considering a wipe/reload of Windows on your computer.