Vista repair installation - time? prep?

I may have to run a Vista "repair/install" and I wonder how long this takes?
Soon seems best before SP1 is released, so any suggestions/advice about how
to do this safely will be appreciated.

Hi,

There is no "repair" install of Vista like there was in XP and other
previous versions. These were basically an overwrite of system files with
the original versions. Vista doesn't install as an overwrite, but rather as
an image, so that type of "repair" install isn't possible. So, the reinstall
time is basically the same as the original install time, anywhere from 45
minutes to 2 1/2 hours depending on the system. Backup any data you wish to
save before beginning.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Victek" <Victek@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:%23Y4wKvtVIHA.6140@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>I may have to run a Vista "repair/install" and I wonder how long this
>takes? Soon seems best before SP1 is released, so any suggestions/advice
>about how to do this safely will be appreciated.

>>I may have to run a Vista "repair/install" and I wonder how long this
>>takes? Soon seems best before SP1 is released, so any suggestions/advice
>>about how to do this safely will be appreciated.

> There is no "repair" install of Vista like there was in XP and other
> previous versions. These were basically an overwrite of system files with
> the original versions. Vista doesn't install as an overwrite, but rather
> as an image, so that type of "repair" install isn't possible. So, the
> reinstall time is basically the same as the original install time,
> anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 1/2 hours depending on the system. Backup
> any data you wish to save before beginning.

Thanks for the reply. Let me explain more specifically what I want to do
and see if it's possible. I'm currently dual booting XP and Vista. The XP
install has gotten flaky over time and I want to wipe the partition and
install it fresh. The problem is installing XP is going to break the
dual-booting arrangement, and I thought the solution was to use the Vista
DVD to repair the MBR. Is this correct? If not how can I make this happen?

Hi,

Ok, I understand what you're asking and yes, you have it correct.
Reinstalling XP will break the Vista-based bootloader, so after reinstalling
XP you will need to load the Vista DVD and run a startup repair (a very
different operation than a repair install). If you run into trouble with
this (and very few do), you can also use Vistabootpro (free from
vistabootpro.org) to fix the bootloader.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

"Victek" <Victek@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:eplUb8zVIHA.6044@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>>>I may have to run a Vista "repair/install" and I wonder how long this
>>>takes? Soon seems best before SP1 is released, so any suggestions/advice
>>>about how to do this safely will be appreciated.
>
>> There is no "repair" install of Vista like there was in XP and other
>> previous versions. These were basically an overwrite of system files with
>> the original versions. Vista doesn't install as an overwrite, but rather
>> as an image, so that type of "repair" install isn't possible. So, the
>> reinstall time is basically the same as the original install time,
>> anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 1/2 hours depending on the system. Backup
>> any data you wish to save before beginning.
>
> Thanks for the reply. Let me explain more specifically what I want to do
> and see if it's possible. I'm currently dual booting XP and Vista. The
> XP install has gotten flaky over time and I want to wipe the partition and
> install it fresh. The problem is installing XP is going to break the
> dual-booting arrangement, and I thought the solution was to use the Vista
> DVD to repair the MBR. Is this correct? If not how can I make this
> happen?

>>>>I may have to run a Vista "repair/install" and I wonder how long this
>>>>takes? Soon seems best before SP1 is released, so any suggestions/advice
>>>>about how to do this safely will be appreciated.
>>>>
>>> There is no "repair" install of Vista like there was in XP and other
>>> previous versions. These were basically an overwrite of system files
>>> with the original versions. Vista doesn't install as an overwrite, but
>>> rather as an image, so that type of "repair" install isn't possible. So,
>>> the reinstall time is basically the same as the original install time,
>>> anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 1/2 hours depending on the system. Backup
>>> any data you wish to save before beginning.
>>>
>> Thanks for the reply. Let me explain more specifically what I want to do
>> and see if it's possible. I'm currently dual booting XP and Vista. The
>> XP install has gotten flaky over time and I want to wipe the partition
>> and install it fresh. The problem is installing XP is going to break the
>> dual-booting arrangement, and I thought the solution was to use the Vista
>> DVD to repair the MBR. Is this correct? If not how can I make this
>> happen?
> Ok, I understand what you're asking and yes, you have it correct.
> Reinstalling XP will break the Vista-based bootloader, so after
> reinstalling XP you will need to load the Vista DVD and run a startup
> repair (a very different operation than a repair install). If you run into
> trouble with this (and very few do), you can also use Vistabootpro (free
> from vistabootpro.org) to fix the bootloader.
>
> --
> Best of Luck,
>
> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Thanks for confirming the process!