Hi everybody today we are going to talk about how to do a repair install of Windows 7. Sometime in the life of almost every operating system the need to refresh the original Windows files will become necessary. This is what a Repair Install will do. A program you installed might have caused the problem or you might of experienced a severe Malware infection. In any case, if you are having severe problems with your computer after a Malware removal, a repair install might be in order. To do this, you will need to meet certain criteria. The computer has to be at least bootable so you can run your current version of Windows. Ion addition, you will need your original Windows installation disk. The disk will have to match exactly including the service pack. If you cannot line up all of these items exactly, you will not be able to do the repair install. If you can say yes to the above, you are good to go.
The first thing you need to do before performing this operation is back up your files. This operation is very invasive and things do not always go as planned. Be sure to have a good backup of any files you really care about. You should do this on a regular basis anyway. This operation is not like the old Windows XP where you can boot right into the media. This repair has to start while the system is booted up into Windows. With Windows 7, if the system will not start, you have to do a full re install of the operating system and loose all your data.
Now that you are ready, the first thing to do is insert your Windows 7 disk into the drawer. The auto play will initialize and the Windows screen will pop up. Click on the “Install Now” button. If you are connected to the Internet, you will want to choose the first option on the next screen to “Go online to get the latest updates for installation”. On the next screen, be sure to choose the “Upgrade” option. This will then begin to repair Windows. The Upgrade option is very similar to the Repair Option in Windows XP. When the operation is completed, you will hopefully have a happy copy of Windows again.
Once the repair is complete and your system reboots, some of your customizations may have been switched back to their defaults. You will have to change these things back to where you want them after the system reboots. You will also have to add any Windows updates that were lost during the repair install. If you are still having problems with your computer or if your system does not boot, you will have to restore your operating system to factory by doing a full re install of Windows. If you made a clone backup prior to the problem, none of these steps would be necessary.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
[…] In all cases, Windows System Restore will not correct the problem. What usually does work is a repair install of the Windows operating system. To do this, you will need the original disk that came with your machine. If you do not have one, […]