How to fix XP home edition

sparky

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Dec 15, 2009, 2:01:02 PM12/15/09

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I was trying to update to Vista. Tried many times without success. Always
crashed at the end and revert to XP.
I think i have a problem with XP. Sometimes i have an error with svchost.exe
unable to write to a certain memory. Also system is very slow to start.
I would like to reload XP or fix it without having to go to the factory disk
and restart from total scratch if possible.
Anyone can help
tks

Pegasus [MVP]

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Dec 15, 2009, 2:17:29 PM12/15/09

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"sparky" <spa...@discussions.microsoft.com> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:4AA935D5-C2D0-45BE...@microsoft.com...

Would it not be simpler to install Vista onto a freshly formatted disk than
attempting to reload Windows XP, then upgrading to Vista? The result would
certainly be superior, in particular if your current WinXP is flawed. An
upgrade is not a heal-all - it is often struggling even with a healthy
system.

Shenan Stanley

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Dec 15, 2009, 2:18:57 PM12/15/09

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Not very descriptive. Probably should have attempted to fix it before
upgrading to another OS was ever tried. It's sort of like painting a car
that smokes - strangely it usually still smokes after the paint job. ;-)

Probably need to clean up/etc first. If that fails - there are other things
to try - but the cleanup will help narrow down things and *will* get more
information collected - which is what you need to solve the problem if the
cleanup doesn't do it for you.

First - please verify the exact edition, version and architecture of
Windows XP you have:

Press and hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and then press the
"Pause/Break" key. Let go of both. This is equivalent in Windows XP to
having right-clicked on the "My Computer" icon and chosen "Properties"
from the menu that appears. When the new window appears - ensure you are
under the "General" tab. Is there *anything* in there to indicate you
have a 64-bit version of Windows XP, like the words, "Windows XP
Professional x64 Edition Version"?

Next we will get the edition and version information...

Start button --> RUN
(no "RUN"? Press the "Windows Key" + R on your keyboard)
--> type in:
winver
--> Click OK.

The picture at the top of the window that opens will give you the general
(Operating System name and edition) while the line starting with the word
"version" will give you the rest of the story. Post _both_ in response
to this message verbatim. No paraphrasing - instead - ensure
character-for-character copying.

What version of Internet Explorer are you currently using? Easy to find
out. Open Internet Explorer and while that is in-focus, press and hold
the "ALT" key on your keyboard. With the "ALT" key still pressed, press
(just once, no holding) the "H" key. Now, with the "ALT" key still
pressed, press (just once, no holding) the "A" key. That will bring up
the "About Internet Explorer" window. It will give you the exact version
you are using - repeat what you see there in response to this message.

Now that we have some base information, let's cleanup your Windows
XP system.

Reboot so you start with a fresh machine. For everything here you will
need to logon as an user with administrative (installation) priviledges.

Fix your file/registry permissions...

Ignore the title and follow the sub-section under
"Advanced Troubleshooting" titled,
"Method 1: Reset the registry and the file permissions"
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949377
*will take time
** Ignore the last step (6) - you should have SP3 - but not now.

You will likely see errors pass by if you watching, even count up. No
worries *at this time*.

*After* that is done, continue on to the next part where you clean off
some excess (unnecessary) files. It only removes those you definitely
do not need, if you follow the directions *as given* and do not deviate.
So reboot (for each of these steps, it is just best to reboot right
before - but I will continue to point that out) and logon as an user with
administrative priviledges.

Download/install the "Windows Installer CleanUp Utility":
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301

After installing, do the following:

Start button --> RUN
(no "RUN"? Press the "Windows Key" + R on your keyboard)
--> type in:
"%ProgramFiles%\Windows Installer Clean Up\msizap.exe" g!
--> Click OK.
(The quotation marks and percentage signs and spacing should be exact.)

It will flash by *quick*, don't expect much out of this step to get
excited about. But the cleaner your machine is to start with, the
better your luck will be later (not really luck - more like preparedness,
but that's not as fun to think about, eh?)

Yeah - you will get tired of rebooting - but let's soldier on and reboot
again and logon as an user with administrative priviledges.

This time (and this is one of the more time-consuming steps) you will be
running (one at a time with reboots in-between each) three different
anti-spyware/anti-malware applications to ensure you come up clean.

Download, install, run, update and perform a full scan with the following
(freeware version):

SuperAntiSpyware
http://www.superantispyware.com/