How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade (Reinstallation) of Windows XP (Q315341)

The information in this article applies to:

* Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

* Microsoft Windows XP Professional



SUMMARY

This article explains how to perform an in-place upgrade, or reinstallation, of Windows XP. This is also called a repair installation.

When you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows XP, you reinstall Windows to the same folder. You may want to do this if you need to repair your installation of Windows XP. To reinstall Windows XP, use either of the following methods.

MORE INFORMATION

Before You Perform an In-Place Upgrade
IMPORTANT : ?

* If your computer came preinstalled with Windows XP, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base before you follow the steps later in this article:

Q312369 May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling Windows XP

* If you perform an in-place upgrade of Windows XP, all existing restore points are removed and a new System Checkpoint restore point is created after the in-place upgrade is complete. Do not perform an in-place upgrade if you may need to use System Restore to roll your system back to a previous state.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q301224 System Restore 'Restore Points' Are Missing or Deleted

* Backup copies of your registry files (in the %systemroot%\Repair folder) are also replaced after the in-place upgrade is complete. The registry files in the Repair folder are either from the first time you started Windows XP or the last time you used the Backup utility to backup your System State. Copy these registry backups to another location before you perform an in-place upgrade if you may need to use them after the in-place upgrade is complete.

Method 1: Reinstall Windows XP from Within Windows XP
To reinstall Windows XP from within Windows XP, follow these steps:

1. Start your computer.

2. Insert the Windows XP compact disc into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

3. On the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP page that appears, click Install Windows XP .

4. On the Welcome to Windows Setup page, click Upgrade (Recommended) in the Installation Type box (if it is not already selected), and then click Next .

5. On the License Agreement page, click I accept this agreement , and then click Next .

6. On the Your Product Key page, type the 25-character product key in the appropriate Product key boxes, and then click Next .

7. On the Get Updated Setup Files page, select the option that you want, and then click Next .

8. Follow the instructions on the remaining pages of the Windows XP Setup Wizard to reinstall Windows XP.

Method 2: Reinstall Windows XP by Starting Your Computer from the Windows XP Compact Disc
To reinstall Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP compact disc or from MS-DOS mode, or by starting your computer from a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Microsoft Windows 98 startup disk, follow these steps:

1. Do one of the following:

* If you want to reinstall Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP compact disc, insert the Windows XP compact disc into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.

When the "Press any key to ? boot from CD" message is displayed on the screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP compact disc.

NOTE : Your computer must be confi?ured to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. For more information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, please see your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.

-or-

* If you want to reinstall Windows XP from MS-DOS mode by starting your computer from a startup disk, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP compact disc into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

2. Insert the Windows Me or Windows 98 startup disk into your computer's floppy disk drive, and then restart your computer.

3. When the Windows Startup menu appears, select Start Computer with CD-ROM Support .

4. Make a note of the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive -- for example, E.

NOTE : Before you proceed to the next step, you may want to run SMARTDrive (Smartdrv.exe). If you do not use SMARTDrive, the portion of Windows XP Setup that copies files to the hard disk may perform very slowly.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q296814 Setup Stops Responding (Hangs) During File Copy

5. At the command prompt, type the following lines, and be sure to press ENTER after each line

e:
cd i386
winnt.exe

where E is the drive letter of the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP compact disc.

6. Type the path to the Windows XP installation files, and then press ENTER. For example, type e :\i386 , where E is the drive letter of the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP compact disc.

7. When you see following message displayed on your screen, remove the startup disk from your computer's floppy disk drive, and then press ENTER:

The MS-DOS based portion of the Setup is complete.
Setup will now restart your computer. After your computer restarts,
Windows XP Setup will continue.

If there is a floppy disk in drive A; remove it now.

Press ENTER to restart your computer and continue Windows XP Setup.

The computer restarts and Setup resumes.
2. The following message is displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen that appears:

This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

Press ENTER to set up Windows XP.

3. On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

4. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected?in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.

5. Follow the instructions on the remaining screens to reinstall Windows XP.

After you repa?r Windows XP, you may be required to reactivate your copy of Windows XP.

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q310064 HOW TO: Troubleshoot Windows XP Setup Problems When You Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Me

For additional information about how to troubleshoot specific Windows XP Setup issues, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q312369 You May Lose Data or Program Settings After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP

Q312368 Data Loss May Occur After Reinstalling, Repairing, or Upgrading Windows XP

For additional information about Windows XP Setup, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q286463 Release Notes for Windows XP Setup Contained in the Pro.txt File

Q306824 Release Notes for Windows XP Setup Contained in the Home.txt File

Q286647 Windows XP Read1st.txt File Contents

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