repair OS

the intent

the intent behind this is to make the system fully usable again.

Things you can try before doing an OS repair

Windows 7: did you make a System Repair Disc beforehand? may save you some trouble.

read the rest of these subsections:

filesystem hosed?

a lot of system problems can be caused by a hosed filesystem. do chkdsk /f k: (or whatever drive letter it is)

If you have to, mount the offending drive in another computer using a USB-ide-sata adapter cable with external power supply and connect the drive to it, and connect the usb interface to the computer and run chkdsk /f k: (or whatever drive letter it is). when you are done, disconnect the usb cable thing by right-clicking on the green arrow icon in the lower right hand corner called "safely remove hardware".

this is only one of many possible problems.

file associations messed up?

If you have a file assoctations problem, like pictures do not work, desktop a mess and things like that, you may have been infected with a worm or a trojan.
you should full scan your system using your antivirus package, then full scan with malwarebytes antimalware.
A warning though, malwarebytes falsely detects .cmd files as trojans. after that, then try repairing your file associations with these:

vista #1, vista #2

7 #1, 7 #2

(using System Restore point): I accidentally set another application to have a file association with .exe - now what do I do?

A lot of people make this mistake. alternatives to doing a repair:

[windows-logo-flag-key]-R C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\restore\rstrui.exe Enter (you might want to try this from a cmd.exe shell by starting windows in safe mode command prompt and running cmd.exe and then typing in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\restore\rstrui.exe Enter)
boot up, hitting F8 repeatedly and quickly before and during the windows logos have a chance to come up, keep doing it until you get a boot menu. choose safe mode. try running system restore (the command above) from there: start a cmd shell and then type in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\restore\rstrui.exe Enter

run a full scan with malwarebytes anti-malware

get it here. there is a free version.

malwarebytes anti-malware has a problem with false positives with .cmd files - it thinks they are trojans when they are not necessarily and it hasn't done a good job checking the file out. malwarebytes seems to simply do only filename checking rather than checking out the file contents like a virus scanner would.

mounting the drive as a secondary hard drive in another/same computer

apricorn makes a universal USB laptop hard drive box.

or you can get one of the USB IDE/SATA interfaces that can do 2.5" drives.

or you can mount the drive internally in another desktop.

in this manner, it will be a data drive only. the system restore partition will not be available, so you will need system restore media and another hard disk.

taking it to a repair shop

you would need to purchase recovery media for your laptop, since the system recovery partition with the OS on it is on the hard drive most likely (common vendor practice), not the new SSD. so you need to buy the media to reinstall the OS+recovery partition. you will need information off of your laptop/computer (model number, make, serial number, build id, any numbers, OS type on the Microsoft COA sticker) in order to order the media. see this page for manufacturer information on getting the part from the parts department or from tech support known as "recovery media".

they will need the system restore discs, drivers, software discs, whatever discs that came with your pc. unless, of course, you want to install that yourself and save money.

If you take the computer to an authorized dealer repair/computer shop, make SURE you tell the person doing your computer to get your data off of your hard drive before doing any sort of format. tell them to keep your data, and that includes your IE favorites and FF browser bookmarks and thunderbird mail store in APPDATA if you are using thunderbird.

what if I want to keep my costs low?

one of the things you can do to fix the filesystem is do an OS Repair.

an OS repair, depending you your system restore partition's configuration, will repair the operating system. you will likely need to reinstall drivers and software again.

because each company's System Restore partition is different, there is the likely danger of a disk format, especially with xp versions of HP System Restore stuff. so I suggest buying a separate drive to put your valuables onto before doing the operation.

That is, IF you want to do this yourself. drives cost between $70-100, and you will need to partition it.

I suggest you partition the *new* drive using gparted, unless it is vista/7. it will appear as blank space if it appears at all - I don't know about linux's ability to do USB drives, that may work. choose the blank drive, partition the blank space as NTFS and format and then APPLY.

please note that USB drives are SLOW, so when doing a format on a new drive, choose quick format if you have the choice.

what about my software?

most computers I see on craigslist don't come with the system restore cd's or the drivers cd's or the software. Legally, the OEM software belongs with the machine, not to you. If it's not a boxed copy of the software, it's probably OEM (and usually says so on the paperwork). people don't realize that the license for OEM software is only legal if it STAYS WITH THE MACHINE IT WAS FIRST INSTALLED ON.

this means it is not legal to sell your OEM software apart from the machine. it goes with the machine.

so please do the next person a favor, keep it legal, and move the OEM software right along with the machine you sell.

software that is retail, this is yours. you can keep retail/boxed software and software that you have purchased over the internet.

you may want to check the EULA to see what it says regarding transfer to a different CPU. Some software EULAs (licensing agreements) don't allow that.

regarding wiping the disk and why I don't recommend it

I do not recommend this except in extreme circumstances.

I have disk wiping software that wipes the whole disk. it's better than DBAN (because it boots on more systems), but not fast. but I don't recommend it because:

your hard disk may have an EISA Config partition (my Dell does). you DON'T want to eliminate that! On my Dell it shows up as 4GB FAT (Eisa Config).
your hard disk may have a System Restore partition on it. On my Dell it shows up as 32GB FAT32 (Unknown). HP and Dell computers, at least, use System Restore partitions, and more and more companies are doing this instead of giving you the System Restore media as a "cost saving" measure. :-( Take it from me, order the media in case you get a techie who doesn't know any better and does a wipe!
some linux partitioners only work if windows is there.

Reasons to wipe:

You are replacing windows with linux - some partitioners are buggy and only work if it's empty. some only works if there's windows there.
you are installing a full version of windows over the top of another version of windows - this does not work! the disk must be empty!
installing a weird OS
windows or other OS installation isn't taking for some reason - could be a hardware problem, or could be some remnant on the hard disk.

the XP era System Restore Partitions typically format the section of disk that should be formatted.

getting my data off before a possible format

if you ended up with a virus, you can take your laptop in to have it cleaned up by a computer shop, and tell them to save your data and that it is infected and to format it fresh. provide them with your laptop cd/dvd media that came with it.

or, find a friend with a desktop or laptop, buy a 2.5" USB hard drive dock or the USB hard drive interface that handles 2.5" IDE+SATA, take your laptop drive out (you will need very small screwdrivers for this) mount the drive on the USB interface. make sure it is polarized right, and don't force!

steps to repair system

IF the manufacturer forgot to put that system restore partition on the hard drive, you could possibly send it back to have them put it back on (since they messed up and you paid for the OS). and I highly suggest you purchase a set of OS Recovery Media for occasions such as this. This does not usually happen (there would probably be no OS!)

with an OS installation system manufacturers will put in a system restore partition alongside the windows partition.

on windows somewhere there is usually some software for making recovery discs (which I hope you did).

you find your System Restore keypress one of 3 ways:

the key to (repeatedly) press during a split displayed for an instant during boot before windows comesx up (maybe on a splash screen) so you have to really be proactive to get to it, OR it is available . technical support from your manufacturer will have the details on exactly how to get to system recovery mode or OS Repair mode or whatever they call it.
by hitting F8 repeatedly during the boot process like there's no tomorrow before windows comes up. it will be a menu item.
by doing a keypress repeatedly during boot by discovery - trying function keys during the boot process. one of them will get you into CMOS SETUP where you configure things, that's NOT it, hit Esc. Try F1-F12, Shift-F1 through Shift-F12.
by looking up in an online service manual at your manufacturer's web site to find out what the key/process is. If they have one, it is usually free.
by contacting technical support to find out what the key is (hopefully your product is under warranty if that's the way your manufacturer works, or you pay something like $49/incident).

If you don't have System Restore discs, now is a good time to purchase them, they can come in handy in case of an emergency.

first off, you have to get into CMOS Setup from the moot menu (F1? F2? F10? Delete? manufacturer dependent) and change the boot order so that the cdrom is before the hard drive.
save your work first and close your apps.
if you can, fix the filesystem. [windows-logo-flag-key]-R chkdsk /f Enter. when it asks you a question, answer Y Enter. then [windows-logo-flag-key]-R shutdown -s -f Enter. it should shut down. if it doesn't after 20 minutes, power the computer off (unless it is doing updates).
turn on the computer. on boot past the windows logo screen, you should see the chkdsk session running in blue. this will take an hour.
backup old data: burn to DVD/cd or copy to usb flash drive or usb external drive.
click on the safely disconnect hardware green icon in the system tray (lower right hand corner) and disconnect your usb external drive which you just backed up your data to, then disconnecct the cable after it is safe.
if the laptop uses system restore disc(s), insert the system restore disc and boot. If you have a system restore partition instead, you will have a special boot menu at startup prompting you to press a certain function key, so do so. system restore MAY be an earlier boot option than F8 which is what comes up when windows boots, or you may have to hit F8 repeatedly during boot to see if anything interesting comes up. I am talking about what comes up when the BIOS/Dell screen comes up. you may have to experiment with keys. could be F12, F10, don't know, but you have to watch and catch it fast.
install, choosing to install, when it comes time to choose to Format or Repair, choose R for Repair/refresh, and choose to install windows over the old NTFS partition you had. don't remove the media until windows has booted to the welcome screen or booted "normally" to the desktop.
install the drivers cd/dvd(s). drivers for the motherboard/laptop/desktop first.
install latest service packs, in order from whatever came with your OS to the latest. you will probably have to burn some cd's/dvds. note that if it is XP, you must install IE8 before SP3, or IE will be forever broken!
use Internet Explorer to visit windowsupdate.microsoft.com and install updates and reboot. repeat this step until there are no more updates.
install IE6 if you have win2k and below.
install the drivers for your other products
install microsoft works and microsoft office upgrade, or full or OEM edition of microsoft office if that is what you have
If you don't have an office package, you can get the OpenOffice.org Productivity Suite which is an extravagant package of OpenOffice.org with about 70 pieces of free software and a few pieces of can't-part-with shareware, or IBM Lotus Symphony, which is more compatible with MS Office than OpenOffice.org.
install cd burning software such as cdrtfe and Windows Media player or VLC, Java, .Net Framework redistributable, Adobe Air, Adobe Flash, IE8/9/10.
install Printer Drivers, scanner drivers, and any other peripherals you may have - don't forget those. I hope you have those discs available and unscratched.

Your old software configuration and registry entries will be kept. the only exception is Microsoft OS software and IE, which are tied into the OS. I don't know about Office.

if you can't repair/refresh/rebuild

If your conputer is configured to use the recovery console and you have absolutely no way to do a (R)epair, then this is your only choice left.

format the computer. here is how. backup your data first,
take the hard drive to a data recovery shop if you data is that important to you and you have lost data. can cost up to $1000

HP/Compaq

repeatedly press F10 during boot.

emachines

F11, F12, or alt-F10 repeatedly during boot. or see this article.

Dell

F8 repeatedly during boot. on some older machines like the dimension 4600 I think it is F10 (but the tech wasn't sure until I paid money).

Acer

alt-F10 or alt-F11 repeatedly during boot.

Toshiba

see yahoo answers post

Sony Vaio

all VAIO computers are shipped with recovery partition, present in a hidden partition of the hard drive.
You may also use the recovery partition to create the recovery discs.
You may use the recovery partition to reinstall the preinstalled operating system, applications and the original drivers.
Please press the F10 key for 5 to 10 seconds when the VAIO logo appears to access the recovery partition.
Please press the Enter key when you view the edit boot options window to access the recovery menu.
Please use the VAIO care rescue feature to backup important data to any removable media (like USB, DVDs) before performing the system recovery.
Please use the 'Restore C drive' option to perform the system recovery.
This option is used to recover the entire C: drive partition to its original factory software configuration.
All the data on the C: drive will be erased while the data on other partitions is not affected.