Windows 7: Dual boot fresh or repair install?

Back again because about a year ago I had great success with super advice from this forum, re gregrocker.
My problem - massive issues after Office 2010 went awry, the endless circles of .NET, etc, etc made me throw in the towel. Spent many days but error 1935 the constant result.
My current setup - two hard drives, dual boot with XP Pro 32-bit and Windows 7 Pro 64-bit, all running fine excl Office. All personal data in a separate partition on the Windows 7 hd, excl emails which on C partition (Windows Live Mail).
My question - what would be most feasible, fresh install or a repair install of Windows 7?
I know that I will have to reinstall all my progs, drivers & security updates on Windows 7 but would like to keep all my data intact. I know my Windows 7 Registry is a wreck at this stage.

Hi Ionny.

Windows 7 > Run cmd as administrator and type "sfc / scannow" without quotes. After completion, run the Office 2010 applications and see if they work without problems;

Windows XP > here's a little more complicated ... start by running cmd and type "chkdsk / f" without quotes ...

Let us know the results!

Post back or google the exact text and ID number of the error code you are getting to find out how others have solved it. Look for the error and google other repeat errors in the Event Viewer>Custom>Admin view

Type "Solutions" in Start Search box to see if any have been sent for Problems reported or not. Always report problems when asked as Windows 7 is interactive this way.

Some of these steps suggested for cleaning up or clean reinstalling a factory bloatware install might help here: HP laptop has used up all four primary partitions

Note the use of Revo Uninstaller, which is how I always uninstall Office. In this case you might reinstall Office and then uninstall it using Revo to check the difference.

Run SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker as suggested to repair any damaged or corrupt OS files.

As a last resort before reinstall try a Repair Install which can fix most problems as it reinstalls the OS while keeping all programs, files and settings in place.

Tips for a clean reinstall which is actually better than getting a new computer with today's bloated factory pre-installs: re-install windows 7

During Repair Install or Reinstall I would unplug the XP HD so Windows 7 creates its own boot files and is independent, set first to boot in BIOS. Then after install, plug back in XP and boot it using one-time BIOS Boot menu key given on first boot screen or in your Manual.

Thanks Wallonn7, ran it again (sfc /scannow) but the result always the same - "Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations."
Also previously used/applied: full system av scan, at boot up chkdsk /r, defrag, disk cleanup, MGADiag tool, installed Belarc to check for missing updates, checked updates at MS, ran Fixit to remove Office 2010, removed all .NET Framework (.NET Framework Cleanup Tool) and reinstall, etc, etc but all to no avail. That is my reason to step back even further and start from a "cleaner" point.

Hi gregrocker, glad you're still at it. Believe me, I've been through deep waters with error 1935, kept me busy for days on end. I kept track of every link, suggestion & solution I could find. I have 39 folders with 329 files (525 MB) regarding my struggle with this issue. The only tip I never could apply was Revo cause Office always failed to install ending in "Setup failed. Rolling back changes..." & "Error 1935. An error occurred during the installatiion of assembly component {66332652-9C28-58B1-A01F-C8B3B9A1E8E}. HRESULT: 0x80073712". I have Revo and use it often.
I even purchased a new DVD drive, LG USB, due to more doubts. BTW another tip I never applied was to run any Reg cleaner.

The other problem with Error 1935 is that it is so generic, even MS can not pin it very well and following any routes they suggest come to dead end zones. Mostly they agree it is due to .NET Framework but then immediately throw in "if" and "but".

The decision to reinstall or repair didn't come easy because I know there are many pitfalls. Yr advice regarding Repair Install is my next hope.
Plse confirm my steps - I'll boot up into BIOS and try and set the USB DVD drive as 1st boot option, I do not know if that is possible at all?
I'll set the Windows 7 hd as 2nd and remove the XP drive hd option, then save.
I'll try and boot up, if okay I'll close down and unplug the XP drive.
I'm not up to scratch with the BIOS and all its functions, sorry about that.
I'll then insert the Windows 7 DVD and reboot, as far as I know I'll see the option to Repair Install after a few clicks?

A Repair Install is run from the Windows 7 desktop. The steps are in the tutorial posted: Repair Install

Eh, I regret that I have not been helpful ... Follow the directions passed by gregrocker and let us know the results! Good luck!

Hi Wallonn7, no big deal, you gave a logical answer to the limited info I originally supplied.

Success - Repair Install done although not w/o some hiccups. The x48 security updates failed and during the revert process the puter just hung. I let it be cause I had no other option. Eventually after 20 min, and 4 auto reboots, it confirmed all now installed, go figure? Then I had a black desktop and various warnings that my OS not legit. I went through all the required steps and all confirmed OK, desktop also now normal.

BTW for the record, during the first failed repair run Windows 7 advised it required a minimum of 11,848 GB of space in my C partition. After some struggle I cleared 12 GB and then Windows 7 said okay but warned the process will be inefficient cause the actual space required should be 16 GB. That is for Windows 7 x64 Pro but I suppose it may dif for other versions?

And YES, Office 2010 now installed w/o a flicker.
Once again, thanks gregrocker for super support.

Hello lonny, good to see you got it sorted.

You may care to have a look at this tutorial at the link below, sorry it's "after the fact".


How to Free Up and Recover Hard Drive Space

Thanks Bare Foot Kid, I'm familiar with some options but OPTION 5 caught my eye. I can gain 1.53 GB of space should I delete "C:\$INPLACE.~TR" and "C:\WINDOWS.~Q".
Should I keep these two folders for a period or is it safe to delete immediately?

Glad it helped.

Now I'd run CCleaner ("Run Cleaner" and Registry tab) to clean up the temporary files, followed by Auslogics Disk and Registry defraggers to perfectly order the HD:

CCleaner - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com
Auslogics Disk Defrag - Reviews and free Auslogics Disk Defrag downloads at Download.com
Auslogics Registry Defrag - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Download.com