Vista Tutorial - Vista Repair Install

Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install" ?

Thanks,

-Tom

Tom wrote:
> Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install" ?
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Tom
>
>

Yes. http://vistasupport.mvps.org/windows...ir_options.htm


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

So from that article I would take it that the answer to the question Tom
asked is no.
Such as if you replace the motherboard and cpu do you have to do a complete
reinstall? In Windows XP you could do a repair install but it looks like in
Vista you have to do a complete install. Maybe an upgrade install would
work?

"Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:%23zLr$hjZHHA.3928@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Tom wrote:
>> Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install" ?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> -Tom
>
> Yes. http://vistasupport.mvps.org/windows...ir_options.htm
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Dan wrote:
> So from that article I would take it that the answer to the question Tom
> asked is no.
> Such as if you replace the motherboard and cpu do you have to do a
> complete reinstall? In Windows XP you could do a repair install but it
> looks like in Vista you have to do a complete install. Maybe an upgrade
> install would work?

I wouldn't say the answer is "no" since a Repair Install in XP is not
only used when changing hardware. While it is certainly used when one
changes a motherboard, it is most often used when some parts of the
operating system have been damaged. Tom asked:

"Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install"
so I said "yes" meaning that repair of the operating system was possible
from the Vista DVD.

It is probably more accurate to say the answer is "yes, no, maybe
depending on what you are trying to do". I have no idea if doing an
upgrade install would work in the situation you posit but perhaps
someone else has tried to do this and will know the answer. Or perhaps
you have a testbed machine and you could try it for us and report back.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Malke it is possible to do an 'upgrade' over the original installation of
Vista. I have tried it and it did work. A bit of a pain in the backside
when, after the upgrade had completed, and Vista nicely told me that I was
running an illegal copy (that's a laugh). But it was easy enough to sort
out. I haven't had time to update my website with the instructions for an
upgrade over the original, but i'm hoping to get it done soon.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

"Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:%23H42S%23kZHHA.4008@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Dan wrote:
>> So from that article I would take it that the answer to the question Tom
>> asked is no.
>> Such as if you replace the motherboard and cpu do you have to do a
>> complete reinstall? In Windows XP you could do a repair install but it
>> looks like in Vista you have to do a complete install. Maybe an upgrade
>> install would work?
>
> I wouldn't say the answer is "no" since a Repair Install in XP is not only
> used when changing hardware. While it is certainly used when one changes a
> motherboard, it is most often used when some parts of the operating system
> have been damaged. Tom asked:
>
> "Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install"
> so I said "yes" meaning that repair of the operating system was possible
> from the Vista DVD.
>
> It is probably more accurate to say the answer is "yes, no, maybe
> depending on what you are trying to do". I have no idea if doing an
> upgrade install would work in the situation you posit but perhaps someone
> else has tried to do this and will know the answer. Or perhaps you have a
> testbed machine and you could try it for us and report back.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

John Barnett MVP wrote:
> Malke it is possible to do an 'upgrade' over the original installation
> of Vista. I have tried it and it did work. A bit of a pain in the
> backside when, after the upgrade had completed, and Vista nicely told me
> that I was running an illegal copy (that's a laugh). But it was easy
> enough to sort out. I haven't had time to update my website with the
> instructions for an upgrade over the original, but i'm hoping to get it
> done soon.
>

Thank you so much, John. Since I haven't had to do a repair of my own
Vista install and since not that many of my clients have gone to Vista
(only people buying new laptops), I don't have any hands-on experience
with Vista repair installs yet.

It will be a learning experience for all of us! ;-)

Thanks again and I'll keep an eye on your excellent site.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

I believe, but have not done a statistical comparison, that the repair
install in XP is far more reliable and pretty much guaranteed to fix a
broken XP than any of the Win RE tools.

It would be very interesting to me to do a statistical study with enough
numbers comparing a repair install of Vista and the Win RE tools like but
not excluded to Start up repair.

You can sometimes fix Vista using one of the F8 options also, and
anecdotally but with no statistical comparison a system restorer from the
DVD recovery option (Win RE) seems to be more reliable than a system restore
from F7 on Vista.

CH


"Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:%23xWyXXnZHHA.808@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> John Barnett MVP wrote:
>> Malke it is possible to do an 'upgrade' over the original installation of
>> Vista. I have tried it and it did work. A bit of a pain in the backside
>> when, after the upgrade had completed, and Vista nicely told me that I
>> was running an illegal copy (that's a laugh). But it was easy enough to
>> sort out. I haven't had time to update my website with the instructions
>> for an upgrade over the original, but i'm hoping to get it done soon.
>>
>
> Thank you so much, John. Since I haven't had to do a repair of my own
> Vista install and since not that many of my clients have gone to Vista
> (only people buying new laptops), I don't have any hands-on experience
> with Vista repair installs yet.
>
> It will be a learning experience for all of us! ;-)
>
> Thanks again and I'll keep an eye on your excellent site.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

Hi Guys, Joe from Oz here a newbie. Customer brought a new laptop with Vista
basic, tried to install XP as dual boot, then deleted the XP partition in XP.
Thought Vista will still boot. Obvious it doesn't and no recovery disc, have
Vista serial, what do I do? Thank you in anticipation!

"Tom" wrote:

> Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install" ?
>
> Thanks,
>
> -Tom
>
>
>

If he has no recovery disk then the vista operating system should be on a
hidden partition on the hard drive. Check the user manual to see how this is
accessed. With some it can be access prior to windows actually booting, i.e.
in the old dos type environment. You may need to reimage the drive from that
hidden image.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

"Superputer" <Superputer@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:64316420-7A63-49B7-B3BD-BE528485C515@microsoft.com...
> Hi Guys, Joe from Oz here a newbie. Customer brought a new laptop with
> Vista
> basic, tried to install XP as dual boot, then deleted the XP partition in
> XP.
> Thought Vista will still boot. Obvious it doesn't and no recovery disc,
> have
> Vista serial, what do I do? Thank you in anticipation!
>
> "Tom" wrote:
>
>> Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install" ?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> -Tom
>>
>>
>>

Joe, as an addition to my last post you may find that the laptop
manufacturer has included either the original Vista repair options or a set
of repair options of their own. You really will need to study the
instructions that came with the laptop for this.

If there are recovery option available (it will probably be a case of
hitting one of the F buttons when the machine is booting (but again check
the user manual)) then you could posssibly 'repair' the problem by selecting
the startup repair options. The repair option will then check the laptop to
see what operating system is on it and, as it is simply a case of the boot
manager files being removed, recreate the boot manager. If this can be done
then Vista should boot when you reboot the computer. If no repair options
are available then the only other option is to re-image as stated in my
previous post. If you still can't get to the hidden partition to re-image,
then you may have to contact the laptop manufacturer and, for a fee, the
should be able to supply a recovery dvd of some sort.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows - Shell/User

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

"Superputer" <Superputer@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:64316420-7A63-49B7-B3BD-BE528485C515@microsoft.com...
> Hi Guys, Joe from Oz here a newbie. Customer brought a new laptop with
> Vista
> basic, tried to install XP as dual boot, then deleted the XP partition in
> XP.
> Thought Vista will still boot. Obvious it doesn't and no recovery disc,
> have
> Vista serial, what do I do? Thank you in anticipation!
>
> "Tom" wrote:
>
>> Does the Vista DVD have the equivalent of a Windows XP "Repair Install" ?
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> -Tom
>>
>>
>>