Member Avatar for LisaFDavis

Hi --

Without warning, my copy of XP stopped responding, giving me only a blue screen with the mouse pointer at the center. Tried Windows Repair console, repairing the boot record, etc., even reinstalling Windows on top of the original version, nothing worked. So I installed XP in a new folder, and it works fine, except that none of my previously installed software will work with the new version. I can access the folders for the old XP, so I could copy my files into the new "My Documents," but I can't get any of the software to work. Is there some setting from the old Windows that I need to copy into the new one? Eventually I want to delete the malfunctioning copy, but not until I sort out this problem...Thanks...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Catweazle

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Member Avatar for pcschrottie

Did you hit F8 during startup and tried to start up with the last functioning configuration? If not:

You would have to copy the registry files from your "old" XP installation, but I cannot really recommend you that since the registry might be damaged. You could try to extract an earlier version of the registry from the "System Volume Information" folder in the old XP-folder, here's more or less how to do it:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/en-us


Michael

Member Avatar for LisaFDavis

Did you hit F8 during startup and tried to start up with the last functioning configuration?

Yes, that's the first thing I did. Didn't work. So should I try to copy the registry or not? Or should I just forget it and reinstall all the software and uninstall the non-functioning Windows?

Member Avatar for LisaFDavis

When you say "copy the registry files from your "old" XP installation", does that mean simply copy the System32 folder from the old version to the new version? The Microsoft support page you sent me to sounds like it would result in reverting back to the original registry, since it says that "any changes and settings that occurred after the Setup program was finished are lost." Doesn't that mean that installed software still won't run?

Member Avatar for pcschrottie

The registry in the repair-folder is an copy of the registry that was made during installation. It is "clean". That's why you would have to extract a previous version of your "System Volume Information" folder. The problem is that there's no guarantee that it's going to work. The blue screen that you are experiencing could also resolve from a driver problem or else.

Michael

EDIT:

When you say "copy the registry files from your "old" XP installation", does that mean simply copy the System32 folder from the old version to the new version?

No. The registry is in the system32/config - folder. Just read the article linked above, I think it decribes it really well.

Member Avatar for Catweazle

You havew created a mess, and shouild not have installed a new version of Windows to a different folder. New (additional) installations of Windows should be located on a new partition.

Back up your data to removable media or a different drive, get your drivers and software CDs ready, format and install Windows again cleanly. Then set your system up and reinstall all your software again.

The mess you have is definitely not worth the effort of fiddling with!

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