Note: You shouldn't need the product key to do a repair installation but it's good to have it in case your situation gets progressively worse and you find yourself needing to do a Clean Installation of Windows XP later.
1. Boot From the Windows XP CD
To begin the Windows XP repair process, you will need to boot from the Windows XP CD.
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Watch for a Press any key to boot from CD... message similar to the one shown in the screenshot above.
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Press a key to force the computer to boot from the Windows CD. If you do not press a key, your PC will attempt to boot to the operating system that's currently installed on your hard drive. If this happens, simply reboot and try to boot to the Windows XP CD again.
2. Press ENTER to Set Up Windows XP
After the necessary files and drivers are loaded, the Windows XP Professional Setup screen will appear. Press Enter to setup Windows XP now.
Note: Even though the second option is to repair a Windows XP installation, the Recovery Console is not the option you need.
The next screen that appears is the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen. Read through the agreement and press F8 to confirm that you agree with the terms.
3. Select the Windows XP Installation to Repair
On the next screen, Windows XP Setup needs to know which Windows installation you want to either repair or install a fresh copy over.
The single installation of Windows on your PC should already be highlighted. If you have multiple installations, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the installation that you are wanting to reinstall. Press the R key to continue.
4. Windows XP Repair Installation Process
Windows XP will now begin installing. No user intervention is necessary.
From this point on, the rest of the steps will ask you to customize your Windows settings.
We deeply apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Thank you for cooperating.
Best regards,
The BullGuard Support Team