Anyone knows how to install repair Vista, or Windows 7, when I cannot start Windows?

[Joem]

Hi,

On Windows XP, when system will not start, I could do install repair from booting the Dell OEM CD. No need to have working Windows.

Now I have same problem with Vista. But when I try install repair from the CD it tells me I can do only fresh install, that I do not want, or else I must start Windows and from working system do install upgrade. But I cannot start the system .

Anyone knows if possible to install repair/upgrade Vista when Vista will not start?
(I believe same is for Windows 7, do you know?)

J

[k1922h]

You can try running the sfc.exe tool which will repair corrupted or missing system files. To do this insert your Vista DVD and click on "Repair your computer".
Than a "System Recovery Option" should appear choose your OS and once the "Choose a recovery tool" page appears click on "Command Prompt" and then type in this command: sfc /scannow /offbootdir=c:\ /offwindir=c:\windows (Note: 'c' is the drive-letter of the OS you want to repair)
This will scan and repair all missing/corrupted system files.

[Joem]

This is not what I am looking for. Thanks anyway.

Anyone knows how to install-repair-upgrade when the main system is not working?

[hellnoire]

If you do an upgrade, I believe it will save your old partition to Windows.old, but I can't remember off the top of my head.

[Raymond]

You mean "reinstalling" Windows Vista without reformatting the drive?
I know that can be done on XP, but I've never tried it on Vista since I pretty much skipped trying out that operating system.

[A Guy]

If you mean a repair install, which will repair windows but leave your files and programs intact. Look at this [url=http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/88236-repair-install-vista.html]great tutorial by Brink A Guy

[hellnoire]

You mean "reinstalling" Windows Vista without reformatting the drive?
I know that can be done on XP, but I've never tried it on Vista since I pretty much skipped trying out that operating system.

My experience comes with Windows 7... granted, I had to reinstall Vista a lot, but it had to be a clean install.

[grr]

U could 1st insert the System Repair disk & then select the repair/recovery options. Then insert the Recovery disks (1 by 1) to restore the system back to working state.

Before doing this set the BIOS to boot from CD/DVD.

Alternate:
if u have a system image, use it along with Repair CD to get back working system.

[Joem]

I believe this type of install repair is the same for Vista and Windows 7, so if you know how to do one I guess can do the other, not 100% sure.

Different from Windows XP, where you could boot from CD and install repair, in Vista and 7 they call it install upgrade, but you cannot boot from DVD to do it.

Here is what works: you want to install repair Vista, you start Vista normally until system is up normally, not safe mode. Now you put in the _installation_ DVD, like Dell will give you, not the recovery disk you create yourself. Now you have option to UPGRADE, this will do install repair.

Problem, Vista is not starting. When booting from DVD, the installer tell you that "upgrade is disabled because you started from DVD, just start normally to upgrade". I tried starting from live Vista bootCD, but still the installer knows Vista was not started normally from the hard drive.

So, I was wondering if anyone knows how to trick Vista installer that you started from Vista on the hard drive?

I am surprised that since Vista in 2007 I do not see answer

[Joem]

WOW, This is sad.

Today I have another Vista computer that can start in Safe Mode, with many problems, but will not start in normal mode. I want to repair it if I can, not fresh install.

Of course I cannot repair the installation with install-repair (or what in Vista/Win7 is called install-upgrade), because for install-repair I must start from normal mode.

Still no way to install-repair from Safe Mode?