Repair install

[WraithTDK]

I’m trying to pull of a repair install of Windows 7 without booting into windows. I found this thread, and I have to say, it was more than a little frustrating. The user clearly stated that he could not log in to Windows, which was WHY he needed to do a repair install (indeed, the most common reason FOR a repair install is that you can’t log into windows), and the response he got was a “here’s a tutorial on how to do a repair install. The first step is to log into Windows.” Doesn’t really help, does it? He then explained that he couldn’t log into Windows, and was told “I already told you how to do it. That was the official instructions.” It doesn’t really matter if the instructions came from God himself is they don’t apply to his situation. It’s important to listen to the problem before responding.

All that being said, I’m looking for a way that you CAN do a repair install without logging into Windows. Does anyone know of a way of actually doing it?

 

[SIW2]

Can you boot the 7 install dvd, select Repair My Computer, and see if you can do a system restore?

Repair install is only possible if you can boot into windows, as you discovered.

For the future, the best protection is to make an image of your windows installation - that can be restored at any time in . Windows 7 has a built in imaging program , but free 3rd party solutions from Macrium and Paragon are much better.

Macrium Reflect FREE Edition - Information and download


Free Backup Software: Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Advanced ...

 

[gregrocker]

Rich simply misspoke in the thread. The second tutorial he linked was for Startup Repair which is the first step to get into your installation. I confirmed in the next post that he meant Startup Repair.

Confusion between Startup Repair and Repair Install happens frequently and is mostly semantic.

You want to make sure Win7 is marked Active and then run Startup REpair from the booted DVD up to 3 separate times in case it needs to repair the MBR. System Restore is automated in Startup Repair.
Partition - Mark as Active
Startup Repair