Posted 17 March 2010 - 12:33 PM
Got a complicated one for you folks, hope someone out there has an answer...
I have a customer who, for some reason unbeknownst to me, deleted a s***load of Windows files. Then, having been instructed by a friend to try a repair install, he proceeded to accidentally install a second copy of Windows to C:\Windows1 (without formatting), which he did not complete the GUI section on.
Here's the problem:
I need to figure out how to repair the C:\Windows installation, because he has some (apparently) irreplaceable software on the machine, which he cannot reinstall, and which is (apparently) critical to his business. No problem, right? Just boot from an XP disc and run a repair-install.
Problem to the problem:
It appears that so much of Windows is missing, the setup process does not give me the Repair Install option, only the Repair Console, which has yet to yield any results. It can see both C:\Windows and C:\Windows1, but when I run bootcfg /scan, /rebuild, or /list, it only sees C:\Windows1. Microsoft has a procedure on TechNet regarding getting the Repair Install option to appear again, which involves copying a series of files between the \Repair and \System32\Config subfolders in Windows.
Problem to the problem to the problem:
These folders are EMPTY. I ran GetBackNTFS to find them, and was able to recover 3 of the 7 necessary Config files, and none of the Repair files. I am still, as yet, unable to get a repair install going.
Is my customer SOL? Is there any POSSIBLE way to repair this Windows, or import its registry into a clean install so that my customer does not have to lose these apps permanently? They're not portable (I checked), and require reg entries to function. Blech. Not one simple problem today.
Between Windows Repair and Sprint AirCards, I'm ready to go Thoreau and find a nice low-tech pond to haunt.
PLEASE help! I'm usually pretty versatile and clever, but this one has completely eluded me as to an equitable solution.
-Joel