The Microsoft Windows XP system comes equipped with a number of emergency tools that you can use to repair your computer if it encounters a problem. The tools are simple to use and you need not be fluent in technical jargon to use them. With a little guidance and some patience, you can easily get a hang of these tools and fix your PC problems easily. Let’s have a look at the tools and methods that you can use to perform Windows repair.
Bad Installations
The most common cause of PC problems is a defective program install or uninstall due to problems such as faulty software or unwarranted power failure or power surge. Or, when you do not follow the proper steps to uninstall a program—Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs, and just choose to delete its installation folder from Windows Explorer. Therefore, if your PC starts behaving erratically soon after you have recently installed or uninstalled an application, then chances are that this particular application is the culprit. These problems are more common when you frequently download freeware and shareware programs from the Internet.
To perform Windows repair, in case of a faulty installation, you must uninstall the application from the Control Panel. To fix faulty uninstallation problem, reinstall the application and uninstall it again.
If these methods do not work, then you will have to perform a System Restore. You can perform a System Restore in five simple steps: Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Restore. The System Restore utility takes a snapshot of your system everyday, and when you perform a restore, your system is rolled back to its previous configuration. This process does not have any affects on your user documents and folders. It only repairs your system settings.
Faulty Device Driver
At times, your PC may start behaving erratically soon after you have upgraded a device driver. This would indicate that the device driver is faulty and is causing the system to freeze. To fix this, you can rollback your driver to the previous version by using the Device Drive Roll Back tool included in your Windows XP system. To access this tool, open Control Panel > System > Hardware > Device Manger. In the Device Manager window, locate the device with faulty driver, double-click it, select the Device tab, and click the Roll Back Driver button.
Automated Windows Repair Methods
Windows XP also provides a few automated tools and methods that you can use to fix your PC.
One such tool is the Last Known Good Configuration. To run this tool, restart your PC, and press F8 at startup. From the displayed options, select the Last Known Good Configuration option. When you choose this option, the system restores the registry and driver configurations to the last time when your PC started successfully.
You can also perform Windows repair using the Recovery Console tool. To start recovery console, boot your system using the Windows XP OS CD-Rom and then press R when prompted.
Windows XP also consists of the Automated System Recovery (ASR) tool that replaces the Emergency Repair Disk used in earlier Windows versions. This tool helps you restore critical system files and configuration and is available only in the XP Pro operating system. You must use this option as a last resort to perform Windows repair.
There are many methods and tools that you can use to perform Windows repair on XP systems. Some of these tools usually involve reverting something that you have done. For instance, uninstalling a faulty application you have recently installed or rolling back a faulty driver. Additionally, you can use the tools such as System Restore, Last Known Good Menu, Recovery Console, and ASR to perform Windows repair and ensure yourself an error-free computing experience.