Question ? Is it possible to reinstall win 2000

[waycoolgal]

When windows 98 was my OS I would periodically reinstall the OS to refresh things. I don't mean I reformated or anything just reinstalled it over itself to refresh system files and things. I now use windows 2000 and years ago I tried doing the same thing but it ended in failure and I had to reformat and start over.

Is it possible to do this with the 2K OS and if so how. I have installed any uninstalled alot of programs lately testing them out and a reinstall of OS would be great if possible.

Thanks,

Waycoolgal

[lacywest]

I use to Reinstall on top of Windows Millenium all the time ... but I had to go into DOS and remove all the system files.

I would use a program called Norton Commander from a floppy Disk ... worked great ... I also included a DOS Logitech Mouse Driver on the Floppy Disk.

After I seeked out every file and folder that had been updated from ... Microsoft Update on the Internet ... I could reinstall Win Me.

But Win 2000 is a NTSF program and I don't think I would be successful ... I don't know actually ... I never messed around and tried.

[lordsmurf]

An NT-based OS cannot be installed on top of itself like a Win32 OS could do. What you have to do for an NT system (2000, XP) is boot from the install disc, DO NOT PICK RECOVERY, do a normal install, and then PICK REPAIR INSTALL. That will copy the base system files on top of the corrupt ones, but your installed software and other user options remain unchanged.

If you install fresh on top of itself, or do a RECOVERY install, you will lose everything. The files will still exist, but your registry will be gone, so no software or user settings will work anymore.

[CrayonEater]

And the registry is usually the cause of the problems. And, to make matters worse, you gotta re-patch the thing. Better start downloading those administrator patches now while you can.

[lordsmurf]

The registry is actuallly not the #1 problem, corruptions in drivers and elsewhere are the problem. I don't recall if any of the registry is replaced with a repair install, but I know it's not completely erased. Same for for Win32 on top of Win32, it does not blank out and install a new registry either.

[waycoolgal]

Okay that worked great. NOW ! I have two boot choices. I know there is a place to go to eliminate one of them but I forget where. You guys are so smart and I thank you.

Waycoolgal

[lordsmurf]

Two boot options sounds like you have restore points, and have the option set to give you a choice instead of automatically using the most recent one. I don't ever use this option, I maintain backups in other ways, so I'd refer you to somebody else.

You may want to spend time at www.annoyances.org
That site basically tells you how to solve most Windows problems, especially the aggravating little things that piss users off so often.

[Supreme2k]

If you go to the root directory and choose to show hidden and system files under Folder Options, there is a file called boot.ini. You need to change it from read-only, make the corrections (remove the boot that you don't want), save it and mak it read-only again. Then set it to hidden again. Reboot and it should go right into Windows without a choice.

Follow ls's link above for finer details.

[lordsmurf]

You can also edit the boot.ini from within Windows, by going to START -> RUN and typing in MSCONFIG and then editing from there. I prefer this method.

If you wanted to edit the file using supreme2k's method, I would suggest doing it when booting from a BartPE CD boot. It does not have a concept of hidden or read-only files that I'm aware, so you can edit anything in there, without it being a pest like Windows would be on the file attributes.

[TJohns]

Go to SYSTEM in Control Panel
(or right-click on MY COMPUTER and then PROPERTIES)
(or hold WINDOWS key and press BREAK key)

click ADVANCED tab

click SETTINGS under Startup and Recovery

click EDIT button to manually edit startup options in BOOT.INI

Trev

[jollyjohn]

What's the BREAK key?

[ntscuser]

An NT-based OS cannot be installed on top of itself like a Win32 OS could do. What you have to do for an NT system (2000, XP) is boot from the install disc, DO NOT PICK RECOVERY, do a normal install, and then PICK REPAIR INSTALL. That will copy the base system files on top of the corrupt ones, but your installed software and other user options remain unchanged.

If you install fresh on top of itself, or do a RECOVERY install, you will lose everything. The files will still exist, but your registry will be gone, so no software or user settings will work anymore.

Is it possible to do a repair-install of Win XP SP2 over the top of Win XP?

The reason I ask is that whenever I do a piecemeal update of Win XP there's a good chance of the system failing at each reboot so I tend to avoid updates altogether for as long as possible.

(kim)

[Supreme2k]

I always forget about the easy way to do things. I guess I'm more of a hands-on, roll-up-my-sleeves kind of user.

[Seeker47]

If you wanted to edit the file using supreme2k's method, I would suggest doing it when booting from a BartPE CD boot. It does not have a concept of hidden or read-only files that I'm aware, so you can edit anything in there, without it being a pest like Windows would be on the file attributes.

It wasn't my preference to shoehorn an alternate (tho' slightly related ?) topic in here, but since you mentioned BartPE . . . . I have a boot problem on a W2K partition, due to expanding and moving partitions further down the drive. The drive letter assignments (this is a multiboot drive, with a number of partitions) have not changed, but W2K seems to think they have. The result is an endless loop of "Loading Your Settings" / "Saving Your Settings" at every boot attempt. The Pagefile also cannot be found. There are a couple of MS KB articles on this: I've read 'em, so no need to re-cite them. Not a great deal of help there, in terms of things that are practical for me to attempt. (For example, I have no network at hand.)

One idea I saw mentioned elsewhere, as a possible fix, was offline registry editing -- but this is far from a noob-ish exercise. I don't have a Bart cd, but I do have Nordahl's, UBCD, and a few others of that genre. Several of these use the same or a similar offline registry editor tool. There are apparently some drive-letter related lines in the Registry that can be adjusted -- temporarily -- to bypass this problem, allowing you to successfully boot and then correct it long term. (I can still boot from a separate, "maintenance" W2K partition.) I was trying to navigate my way around the use of this tool, but found it kind of like trying to use a Mapquest map that was written in Hindi. Perhaps you are deep enough into this stuff to know just how this tool is to be used . . . or someone else here is ? What I'd really love to find is a good, VH-style step-by-step guide on its use. I've Googled etc., but haven't found one yet.

[bevills1]

There is no MSCONFIG in Win 2000. For some dumb reason Microsoft took it out of 2000 but apparently realized their mistake and added it back in XP. For MSCONFIG like functions in Win 2000 you'll need something like STARTER from http://www.snapfiles.com/get/starter.html.

[lacywest]

There is no MSCONFIG in Win 2000. For some dumb reason Microsoft took it out of 2000 but apparently realized their mistake and added it back in XP. For MSCONFIG like functions in Win 2000 you'll need something like STARTER from http://www.snapfiles.com/get/starter.html.

Is this what you are talking about ??

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,22662,00.asp

Starter v5.5.4.2184

Starter lets you view and manage all the programs that start automatically whenever your operating system is loading. You can disable or permanently delete selected registry entries, edit existing ones, and create new ones. The software also lets you monitor and terminate running processes.

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/countit.asp?fid=22662&fileidx=1

DOWNLOAD INFO
Starter v5.5.4.2184
Author: CodeStuff
Version:5.5.4.21
File Size:435KB
Price:Free
Operating System(s):Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows NT, Windows 9.x
Requirements: Windows 9.x, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows NT, Windows XP
Downloads:17842

[bevills1]

Yes, that's the one I've been using for several years now.