Best Windows Downloads for 2011 from Lifehacker

Lifehacker Pack for Windows: Our List of the Best Windows Downloads

Whether you've just reinstalled Windows or you need to fill some holes on your software collection, we've got everything you need in our annual Lifehacker Pack. Here, you can grab our all-time favorite downloads in one, simple installer.
Once again, we've gotten the folks at Ninite to help us out by creating a one-click installer for the Lifehacker Pack. Install all the apps below or just the ones you want, all one easy installer package. And, just like in the past, we have two different packs: an "essentials" pack, with our must-have apps that almost everyone will use, and the "extended" pack, which is for those looking to go a little deeper or replace certain apps in the extended pack that they don't like.
To download the installer, just hit the link below and check the apps you want. When you've got them all together, just hit the "Get Installer" button at the bottom of the page and Ninite will begin installing all your apps for you.
Download the 2011 Lifehacker Pack Here
Below, we've got explanations of what each program in the pack does, and why we chose it. Want to skip to a specific category? Use these links:

• Productivity
• Internet/Communication
• Utilities
• Music, Pictures and Video
• Security
• The Extended Pack

The Lifehacker Pack is a yearly snapshot of our favorite, must-have applications for each of our favorite platforms. If you're curious to see how things have changed this year, here's last year's Lifehacker Pack for Mac.

Productivity

Notepad++

When you edit documents, you use an Office suite, but when you edit plain text or code, you need something specialized. Notepad++ adds a ton of features to plain text editing, like text searching, tabbed editing, syntax coloring for code, and built-in scripting that let you add in pretty much any feature you want.
Need something a bit simpler? Try Notepad2. You can also find other similar apps for a price, like SublimeText, but all they really bring you is a more attractive interface.
Download Page

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PhraseExpress

Text expansion can save you hours of typing every week, and PhraseExpress is probably the best text expander on Windows. It isn't perfect, but it'll get the job done (though we recommend removing all its built-in autocorrect features). Just set up your custom snippets, and with a few choice characters you can instantly fill in long passages, lines of code, or other info like the current date and time.
If you'd like something a bit more minimal, we recommend you also check out Texter, a text expansion program written by our own Adam Pash, or just create your own text snippets in AutoHotkey.
Download Page

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Belvedere

Also written by Adam Pash, Belvedere is an automatic file sorter based on Hazel for Mac. Belvedere lets you automatically keep folders clean by moving and sorting files with a certain extension, deleting files based on their creation date, and a ton more. Just set it and forget it, and you won't have to worry about keeping your desktop clean or backing up those documents to Dropbox ever again.
Download Page

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SumatraPDF

Let's be honest: nobody likes having to open Adobe Reader to read those PDF files. SumatraPDF is everything Adobe Reader isn't: simple, fast, and easy to use. It opens PDFs almost instantly, and supports most PDF features like tables of contents. Plus, for you keyboard junkies, it has some nice shortcuts for flipping through those PDFs at lightning speed.
Want something a little more advanced? Try PDF-XChange.
Download Page

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Internet/Communication

Google Chrome

Chrome has overtaken Firefox as the most popular browser among power users, and it's easy to see why. It's fast, extensible, and syncs your preferences, extensions, passwords, and more all through your Google account. Plus, it updates pretty frequently, improving itself every few weeks through small, incremental updates.
Download Page

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Thunderbird

Most people have switched to web-based email, but we still recommend having a mail client on your system for backup, offline access, or for when the web service goes down. Thunderbird is the best of the bunch, supporting any IMAP-capable mail account out there, and is incredibly customizable due to the number of plugins available.
If you want something a bit more advanced and are willing to pay, both Microsoft Outlook and the Thunderbird-based Postbox are good alternatives.
Download Page

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Pidgin

If you want all your IM accounts in one place, look no further than Pidgin. Pidgin lets you chat from AIM, Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger, MSN, Facebook Chat and more all in one combined buddy list. Plus, with a ton of third party plugins that let you add other IM networks, themes, notifications, and integration with social media services, it's the perfect one-stop-shop for all your IM and communication needs.
If Pidgin doesn't do it for you, you might prefer the polish of the cross-platform Trillian or the social network-focused Digsby.
Download Page

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Adobe Flash

Whether you like it or not, lots of the web still uses Adobe Flash to play videos, power webapps, or just plain navigate their site. So while it may not be the most stable or speedy plugin around, we still recommend you install it for a better web experience. If it's causing a lot of problems, you can always block it using FlashBlock for Chrome and FlashBlock for Firefox, too.
Download Page

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Skype

Skype's still the biggest name in video chat, not to mention one of the cheapest ways to make international phone calls. And, it's available on nearly every platform imaginable, including Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, Android, and more. Even if you aren't a Skype fan yourself, it's a program you'll want to have on hand, since chances are someone you know uses it—and when it comes time to chat with them, you'll have it at the ready.
Of course, when given the option, we're pretty big fans of Google Chat and the new Hangouts feature in Google+.
Download Page

Utilities

µTorrent

µTorrent is easily our favorite BitTorrent client for Windows, being both extremely lightweight and full-featured. Beyond the basic downloading of torrents, you can easily share files with your friends, remote control torrents from the web interface, and even stream videos as you download them. And, while you're at it, you can tweak these settings for increased speed and privacy.
Download Page

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SABnzbd

If you don't like BitTorrent for one reason or another, Usenet is another great way to share and download files, and SABnzbd is our favorite Usenet client out there. It's super easy to set up, runs in the background, and lets you control it from any computer through your web browser. It automates nearly every step of the process, too, so you just need to load up the NZB you want to download and it'll do the rest.
Download Page

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Dropbox

Dropbox is still the best file syncing tool around, letting you back up files to the web and sync them between all of your machines and mobile devices. You get 2GB of space to start, but it's easy to get more space for free, and useful for so much more than just syncing your documents. It's a must have on any system you own.
If you don't like Dropbox or have problems with it's recent security issues, there are a lot of alternatives out there to consider.
Download Page

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Crashplan

Everyone should back up their computer, and Crashplan is our favorite backup tool around. Not only can it back up to local drives and remote computers, but you can also back up your data to Crashplan's cloud service for an affordable fee, which protects your data in case of fire or other local catastrophe. Of course, if you're really against paying, you could always back up your data to a friend's computer and they yours, to keep your backups in more than one place.
Download Page

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ImgBurn

If you ever burn live CDs or rip movies, you've probably come across image files before. ImgBurn is a simple utility that will burn them to disc in just a few clicks. Just start it up, load your ISO, and hit Burn.
Download Page

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CCleaner

Over time, your hard drive gets filled up with leftover files, temporary caches, and other cruft that can slow your computer down. CCleaner is the best tool around for cleaning it up, and you can even run it on a schedule so you never have to think about it. If you're using Windows, it's an essential tool to have.
Download Page

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Revo Uninstaller

Windows has its own built-in uninstaller, but sometimes it misses certain files (which is why we need CCleaner to keep things neat). Revo Uninstaller is much more effective at removing every trace of a program from your system, and can even help you manage your startup items to keep things running smooth from the moment you power on.
Download Page

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7-Zip

Windows can handle ZIP files natively, but all other archives (like 7Z, RAR, and tons more) require an external program. 7-Zip is a simple yet powerful archive tool, letting you both unzip files with the press of a button or zip them up securely.
Download Page

Music, Pictures, and Video

KMPlayer

VLC may be the most popular play-anything program on Windows, but KMPlayer is really our favorite of the bunch. With a light footprint, codecs for just about any video and more settings than you can shake a stick at, it can make even the lowest quality video files watchable—even if they're damaged. If you watch videos on your system, this is the program to use.
If KMPlayer isn't for you, we've included VLC in the extended pack below. We also recommend checking out Media Player Classic, SMPlayer, and PotPlayer for your video-playing needs.
Download Page

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Picasa

If you have photos to manage, Picasa's the program to do it in. Just import your mishmash of photo folders, and Picasa will help you organize them into an easy-to-browse library, and even give you some dead simple editing tools while you're at it. Plus, with Picasa Web Albums, you can upload them to share them with your friends or just keep them backed up.
If you don't like Picasa, Windows Live Photo Gallery is a good Windows-integrated alternative, and seasoned photographers might like the more advanced Adobe Lightroom.
Download Page

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Paint.NET

When something like Photoshop or the GIMP seems like overkill, Paint.NET is the perfect program to do simple photo edits. With Paint.NET you can do anything from cropping to removing red eye, and even work with layers—just without an overwhelming feature set like you'd find elsewhere. It isn't the most powerful program on the block, but it's more than enough for the majority of users.
Download Page

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iTunes

iTunes isn't our favorite music player, but it is the most ubiquitous, and if you have any Apple devices in your backpack, you're going to need iTunes to manage them. It's got more than enough basic library functions to satisfy the average user, and chances are, it's the music program that most of you need, so we've included it in the essentials pack.
Download Page

Security

Microsoft Security Essentials

Antivirus programs abound on Windows, but you really don't need to pay money to get good security. Microsoft's tools are great at catching viruses, integrate well with Windows, and do their job in the background without ever nagging your for money. It's also lightweight, which is a big plus in the security department. Save your money—Microsoft Security Essentials is all you need.
Download Page

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The Extended Pack

Firefox

Chrome may be our favorite browser, but that doesn't mean Firefox doesn't have anything going for it. Firefox is still more customizable than any other browser you'll find, and it's getting faster all the time. And, with multiple channels, a rapid release cycle, and a new interface on the way, it's catching up to Chrome big time.
Download Page

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LibreOffice

OpenOffice doesn't have the momentum it used to, and the OpenOffice community has left Oracle's offering in favor of LibreOffice, the new standard open-source office suite. It's got a few features OpenOffice doesn't, as well as a more active community. If you don't want to pay for Microsoft's offerings, LibreOffice is the way to go.
Download Page

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Microsoft Office and Office Viewers

Love it or hate it, many of you might need to edit documents in Microsoft Office (or at least view them). Thus, we've added a trial version of Office 2007 Standard to the pack, as well as the Office Viewers for those that only need to open a file here and there.

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.NET, Silverlight, and Java

You're probably going to need all three of these frameworks for something. Better to install them all now and get it over with—after all, waiting for Silverlight to download is a pretty big buzzkill when all you want to do is watch Netflix.

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Recuva

Accidentally deleting files is a horrifying thing that can happen to anyone. Recuva can often get it back, so it's a good tool to have in your back pocket to help keep you cool in those emergencies.
Download Page

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Teracopy

When you have to copy big files between drives, TeraCopy is a great alternative to Windows Explorer. It'll move them as fast as possible, pause and resume, and even recover from errors.
Download Page

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K-Lite Codec Pack

Windows Media Player is actually a pretty nice player, and if you'd rather use it than install a separate program, this pack of codecs will make sure that it—and any other player—can handle every video format you might run into.
Download Page

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VLC

We understand that many of you are still in love with VLC, and we understand—it might not be our favorite video player, but it's still one of the best and most popular out there. If you can't live without the lightweight, play-anything VLC, we've included it in the extended pack for you.
Download Page

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Foobar2000, MediaMonkey, and Winamp

If you're lucky enough to be free of iTunes (or you only use it to manage your iPod), these three players are some fantastic music managers. Foobar2000 is minimal and customizable, MediaMonkey is an library-organizing monster, and Winamp is just a great all-around player for any user.

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Spotify

While the above players are each desktop powerhouses in their own right, we've also fallen in love with the cloud music service Spotify. It's great for discovering new music and testing it out before you buy, so even if you have a local music player, we can't recommend Spotify enough.
Download Page

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Adobe Reader

It's slow, naggy about updates, and somewhat insecure, but unfortunately, sometimes you just need Adobe Reader. Whether you've got PDF files with special features Sumatra doesn't support, or your file just won't open correctly, chances are it'll work in Adobe Reader. We recommend keeping SumatraPDF as your default reader, and keeping Adobe around for those unfortunate occasions.
Download Page

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AutoHotkey

it's one of the geekier selections on our list, so it isn't for everybody, but AutoHotkey is one of the most powerful, useful programs you can get for Windows. With just a bit of code, you can turn just about any action in to a keyboard shortcut, or even create your own little programs. It may look intimidating, but it's surprisingly easy to learn, so if you've ever thought "my life would be perfect if I just had this keyboard shortcut", AutoHotkey is a godsend.
Download Page

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Once again, to get the above programs, just head over to our Ninite page and select the apps you want. It'll give them all to you in one, unified, hassle-free installer. Got any other Windows apps you can't get by without? Share your favorites with us in the comments.

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You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
 

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  Source: http://lifehacker.com/5826909/lifehacker-pack-for-windows-our-list-of-the-best-windows-downloads

Win7′s no-reformat, nondestructive reinstall

Another great tip from the folks at The Langa List at Windowsecrets.com

Microsoft won’t tell you this, but you can do a fast, nondestructive, in-place, total reinstall of Windows 7 without damaging your user accounts, data, installed programs, or system drivers.

That means you may never have to do a full, from-scratch reinstall again, even when your system is misbehaving so badly that a full reformat-and-reinstall seems the only answer!

As I’m sure you know all too well, from-scratch reinstalls are ordeals. They take hours. And when a reinstall is done, you still have to recreate all your settings, reinstall all your software, and so on. It can take days to fully recover from a total reformat/reinstall.

Windows’ little known, in-place reinstall takes only a fraction of that time and effort and yet completely rebuilds, repairs, and refreshes an existing Windows installation. It leaves your other software alone (no reinstallation needed!) while also leaving user accounts, names, and passwords untouched.

When you’re finished, your Windows installation is just as it was before, except that all the system files are fully repaired, refreshed, and ready to go.

This nondestructive-reinstall ability has been in Windows since XP. (See this XP reinstall article that I wrote for another publication, years ago, when XP was new.) But — for reasons unknown — Microsoft has never made nondestructive reinstalls an official repair. In fact, it’s not even listed in Win7′s System Recovery Options (Help & How-to page).

(Vista users, you’re not forgotten! The nondestructive reinstall process for Vista is nearly identical to that described in the rest of this article.)

You need three things before you begin
First, you need access to a standard Win7 installation DVD. Ideally, you have your original setup DVD tucked away somewhere. But if not, it’s perfectly OK to borrow one from a colleague or friend, as long as it’s the same 32- or 64-bit version as your installation. Ideally, it should also match the general type — retail disk or OEM/vendor-supplied disk — as well.

Why is it OK to borrow? A standard Win7 DVD actually contains all editions of Win7. For example, a 32-bit Win7 DVD has all the files for the 32-bit editions of Win7 Home, Win7 Professional, Win7 Ultimate, and so on. Your license key unlocks whichever edition you paid for.

This means it’s perfectly legitimate for you to use someone else’s Win7 setup DVD to install Windows on your system, as long as you use your own, original, paid-for product key during installation. Sharing disks is fine. Sharing keys is not.

This also provides an easy workaround for the all-too-common problem of PCs that ship without setup DVDs. As long as you can borrow a standard setup DVD of the same general type (as described above), you should be able to rebuild your system using it, with your own original, unshared product key.

And that’s the second thing you need: your original 25-character product key. It’s usually found on a sticker on your computer or in the paperwork that accompanies a retail copy of Windows 7.

If you’ve lost track of your product key, no problem: you can use a free keyfinder tool to dig it out. One such tool is the excellent, but absurdly named, Magical Jelly Bean (info/download). There also are many other free product keyfinders, as this About.com list shows.

The third and final thing you need is a current backup. Although the reinstall process works reliably, it’s not infallible. Deep-seated system errors, OEM customizations, hardware trouble, or other variables may foil your reinstall efforts. Having a complete and current backup is a sensible precaution. (See the May 12 Top Story, “Build a complete Windows 7 safety net.”)

Avoiding problems with Win7 Service Pack 1
If you’re not running Win7 SP1, skip ahead to the next section.

You can also skip ahead if you’re repairing an SP1 setup with a Win7 setup DVD that already contains the SP1 files — but such disks are still relatively rare as of this writing.

If you’re still reading this paragraph, then you’re most likely attempting to repair a Win7 SP1 setup with an original, pre-SP1 DVD. That’s OK, provided you take an important preparatory step.

Win7 SP1 replaced many of your original system files with newer versions. If you try to install the older, original Win7 files over the newer SP1 files, the setup process will balk at what it sees as an erroneous downgrade.

So, if you’re attempting to repair Win7 SP1 with a pre-SP1 DVD, you need to remove SP1 from the target PC before proceeding. Fortunately, that’s easy, as Figure 1 shows.


Figure 1. Control Panel’s Uninstall an update feature makes it a cinch to get the SP1 files out of the way.

Here’s how: Open Control Panel’s default view and click on Uninstall a program. In the left-hand pane of the uninstall applet, select View installed updates. When the Uninstall an update dialog box opens, scroll down to SP1 — listed as Service Pack for Microsoft Windows (KB976932) — and select Uninstall.

The system will churn for a while, but when it’s done, SP1 will be gone — and you’ll be able to use an original Win7 setup DVD to repair your system.

Start your Win7 in-place reinstallation
With Windows running — or limping, if it’s badly broken — insert the Win7 setup DVD. When the AutoPlay dialog box pops up, click to run setup.exe. (See Figure 2.) Alternatively, you can run setup.exe manually by navigating to the DVD drive and selecting the setup file.


Figure 2. Run the Win7 installation DVD’s setup.exe from inside your current Windows, either via AutoPlay (shown) or by manual selection.

When setup starts to run, the User Account Control asks whether you want to make changes to your PC. Answer Yes.

After a few moments, the Win7 installation process starts. (See Figure 3.)


Figure 3. When asked, click Install now to get the ball rolling.

Next, you’ll see several information screens such as that in Figure 4.


Figure 4. Screens such as this one are just FYI and require no user intervention.

After several moments, you’ll be asked whether you want to check online for updates related to the installation process, as shown in Figure 5. I recommend that you allow this online access to ensure essential files are current.


Figure 5. It’s usually smart to allow the setup program to check for installation-related updates.

You can accept or reject the I want to help make Windows installation better option shown further down in the same dialog box. Your reinstall will proceed in the same way, regardless of your answer.

Assuming you allowed it, Windows then goes online to collect essential updates. (See Figure 6.)


Figure 6. It normally takes only a few moments to collect any needed installation updates.

Now we come to the heart of the matter. Windows asks you Which type of installation do you want? (See Figure 7.) But there’s no Reinstall option listed. Instead, you have to bend the normal installation routine to your wishes by selecting the upgrade option.


Figure 7. Tell Windows a little white lie — that you’re upgrading, even though you’re really not.

You’re not really upgrading; you’re reinstalling the same version of the OS that’s already on the PC. But the upgrade option leaves your files, settings, and programs in place, undisturbed. By pretending that you’re upgrading, you can trick the setup program into doing an in-place reinstall!

And then, finally, the installation process begins in earnest, as shown in Figure 8.


Figure 8. Depending on the complexity of your setup and the speed of your hardware, reinstallation can take up to several hours.

There’s no need for you to baby-sit the installation; no further user input is required until near the end. As you check in from time to time, note the progress indicators (see Figure 9) to keep track of the installation’s evolution.


Figure 9. The progress bar at the bottom of the screen and the numeric indications (e.g., percent complete) let you easily monitor the process.

Windows reboots several times during the installation; you see various information screens— some unusual — along the way. (See Figure 10.)


Figure 10. Don’t be alarmed at unusual-looking screens, such as this one.

At the very end of the installation process, you’re asked to enter the product key from your original installation of Win7. (See Figure 11.)


Figure 11. When prompted, enter your original product key.

You also can elect to either Activate the fresh install of Windows immediately or wait. But unactivated instances of Windows get only limited access to Windows Updates and related services. I recommend activating without delay so you have immediate access to all Windows Update services.

If you defer activation, your desktop background will be set to an ominous black with the words This copy of Windows is not genuine (circled in yellow in Figure 12) in the lower-right corner. You’ll also see Activation nag screens, as shown in Figure 12.


Figure 12. An unactivated Windows gets an ominous desktop background and recurring nag screens.

Personally, I think it’s simpler and better to just activate and get it over with. (See Figure 13.)


Figure 13. Once it’s activated, your reinstalled Windows desktop background can be set normally, and no further activation nags will appear.

By the way, activation is not a one-time-only thing — Microsoft allows for periodic reactivations of a given product key. Unless you’ve done several reactivations in a relatively short time, you should have no trouble. But if you do, just follow the remedies listed in the Activation Failed dialog box. As long as your product key is legit, Microsoft will work with you to resolve an accidental activation mishap.

Your Win7 reinstall is almost done!
At this point, the basic reinstall is finished. Your Win7 setup now has fresh copies of all the original system files. All that’s left is to bring the installation up to date.

This generally takes several iterations of running Windows Update. (See Figure 14.) Run WU once, let the updates install, and then reboot. Repeat until WU reports that no further updates are available.


Figure 14. Your new Windows installation immediately needs to be brought up to date with the latest security patches from Windows Update. Don’t put off this step!

When you’re done, you have a fully refreshed, up-to-date copy of Windows with all your essential files, settings, and programs intact and working. In fact, if all has gone as planned, the only significant change you’ll notice is that the original problem is gone!

With just a smidgen of luck and this article, you’ll never again have to face a dreaded, start-over-from-scratch reformat/reinstall of Win7!

Have more info on this subject? Post your tip in the WS Columns forum.

Fred Langa is a senior editor of the Windows Secrets Newsletter. He was formerly editor of Byte Magazine (1987-91), editorial director of CMP Media (1991-97), and editor of the LangaList e-mail newsletter from its origin in 1997 until its merger with Windows Secrets in November 2006.
Related posts:

1. Reinstall Win98 W/O Reformat
2. XP’s No-Reformat, Nondestructive Total-Rebuild Option
3. Reinstall XP Without Losing Any Software Or Settings
4. An Install/Reinstall Tip
5. More Reformat Time- and Step-Savers

Source: http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive-reinstall/ http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive-reinstall/

XP's No-Reformat, Nondestructive Total-Rebuild Option

Langa Letter: XP's No-Reformat, Nondestructive Total-Rebuild Option

Fred Langa shows you how to completely rebuild, repair, or refresh an existing XP installation without losing data, and without having to reinstall user software, reformat, or otherwise destructively alter the setup.

By Fred Langa   InformationWeek
June 19, 2006 12:00 AM

It's one of those software design decisions that makes you scratch your head and wonder, "What were they thinking?"

The "it" in this case is XP's most powerful rebuild/repair option, and yet Microsoft chose to hide it behind seeming dead ends, red herrings, and a recycled interface that makes it hard to find and (at first) somewhat confusing to use.

But it's worth exploring because this option lets you completely and nondestructively rebuild, repair, or refresh an existing XP installation while leaving already-installed software alone (no reinstallation needed!). It also leaves user accounts, names, and passwords untouched and takes only a fraction of the time a full, from-scratch reinstall does. And unlike a traditional full reinstall, this option doesn't leave you with two copies of XP on your hard drive. Instead, you end up with just the original installation, but repaired, refreshed, and ready to go.


We've saved this technique for last in our discussion of the various XP repair/rebuild options because the fixes we've previously discussed are like first aid--the things you try first. For instance, see this discussion on removing limitations on XP's Recovery Console, turning it into a more complete repair tool; or this discussion on the Recovery Console's little-known "Rebuild" command that can cure many boot-related problems. (There's also lots more on the Recovery Console here.
But when the Recovery Console techniques don't work, and you're facing the prospects of a total reformat/reinstall, stop! Try the no-reformat reinstall technique we're about to illustrate, and you just may get your XP setup running again in a fraction of the time and with a fraction of the hassle of a grand mal wipe-and-restore.

The First Fork In The Road
The no-reformat reinstall operation starts with a normal boot from an XP setup CD. Ideally, to save time, use a setup CD that's been "slipstreamed" to include the SP1 and SP2 patches and upgrades. (Need info on slipstreaming? See "How To Save An Hour (Or More) On XP Installs" and also this third-party site.
Start your PC with the setup CD in a drive, and hit a key when you see the following screen:

Screen One Boot from your XP setup CD to gain access to the no-reformat reinstall option. (click image for larger view)

If instead of booting to the CD your PC boots from the hard drive, you may need to modify your PC's "boot order." It's easy and only takes a minute to make the change so that the PC will check for a bootable CD before trying to boot from the hard drive. See this for more information.




Once your PC starts to boot from the CD, you'll see something like what's shown in Screen 2:

Screen Two Let the CD boot proceed normally and automatically through "Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware..." to the "Windows Setup" screen. (click image for larger view)

(Page 2 of 5)

After a minute or two, you'll see the "Windows Setup/Setup is starting Windows" screen, shown in Screen Three. Don't be alarmed: It's still just the setup process running, and nothing's been changed on your PC yet.

(click image for larger view)

Screen Three The "Starting Windows" screen is a bit of an overstatement; it's just the setup process getting going. Windows, as we normally think of it, isn't running yet, and no changes have been made to your PC.

Soon after Screen Three, you'll be presented with the normal "Welcome to Setup" screen, as shown in Screen Four.

Screen Four The "Welcome to Setup" screen is poorly worded; the "Repair" option we want isn't the one explicitly offered here. In fact, the repair option we want isn't shown at all. See the text for full detail.

(click image for larger view)

The poorly worded options in Screen Four lead many users astray. The only mention of "Repair" here is "...repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console..." but that's not the no-reformat repair/reinstall we're seeking. (The Recovery Console Repair option is useful in its own right for fixing relatively minor problems with the operating system, and we fully explore it in the links listed above.)
The repair option we do want--a nondestructive, no-reformat reinstall--is actually hidden beneath the Setup option, "To set up Windows XP now, press ENTER."

So hit Enter, just as if you were setting up Windows afresh and from scratch.
The next screen, about licensing, gives no reassurances that you're on the right path for a nondestructive repair/reinstall--in fact, it's the same screen you see when you're setting XP up on a virgin hard drive. But this is only the first of many screens that the Repair option will borrow from a full-blown setup. Press F8 to accept the licensing terms and to go on.

(click image for larger view)

Screen Five The licensing screen gives no indication that this is a Repair and not a brand-new, from-scratch installation. But don't be alarmed. You're on the right track.

Next, the XP setup process will show another screen that you may recall from your initial setup of XP. It searches for "a previous version of Microsoft Windows." In our case, we're not replacing a previous version of Windows, but rather repairing the very same version that's on the setup CD--but that's OK; it's just another poorly worded screen.

Screen Six Our intent is to repair the same version of Windows as is on the setup CD, but another poorly worded screen makes it seem like you're upgrading a previous version of Windows or installing one anew. But don't let the bad wording alarm you; we're still on track for a nondestructive reinstall.

(click image for larger view)

(Page 3 of 5)

Screen Seven finally shows verbiage that's not recycled from the generic XP setup, but is specific to our Repair task. Setup should find your damaged copy of XP and present it for repair, as shown:

(click image for larger view)

Screen Seven At long last, Setup begins to refer to a Repair option. Here, Setup should have found your damaged XP setup, which you can select and then press R to start the nondestructive repair.

If your damaged copy of XP isn't highlighted in the list box, highlight it now. When it's selected, press R to start the repair process.
The Repair process then selectively deletes system files in the \Windows folder and subfolders and copies undamaged replacement files from the setup CD to their proper locations.

Screen Eight The Repair operation replaces all potentially damaged system files with fresh copies from the CD. (click image for larger view)

The Repair process then works on the current setup's Registry, leaving much of it intact and rebuilding the rest.

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Screen Nine There's no fanfare, but this is one of the nicer parts of the Repair process: Setup retains what it can in the current Registry so that already-installed hardware and software will remain installed.

The system then needs to reboot and will do so automatically. If your setup CD is still in the drive, remove it so that the system won't try to boot from it.

Screen Ten With the system files freshly copied and the Registry ready for rebuilding, the system needs to reboot. Remove the CD from the drive so that the PC will boot to the hard drive instead of to the CD. (click image for larger view)

The first Repair reboot will take longer than normal. Don't be alarmed. Also, don't be alarmed when Setup resumes. Once again, it will appear that you're performing a full, from-scratch setup; there's nothing on-screen to indicate that you're repairing an existing version of XP. But although the setup screens are the same as what you'd see in a full install, it's still a repair process, as will become clearer in a moment.
The first two of the Repair setup screens ask for your language preferences and product key. Enter these normally.

	Screen Eleven (click image for larger view)		Screen Twelve (click image for larger view)
	When Setup resumes, it will appear that you're performing a full, from-scratch setup. But don't worry--you're still indeed repairing your existing version of XP.

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Many of the next few Repair screens will also be familiar. The "installing devices" screen, for example, is identical to the one you normally see during a full, from-scratch setup. But Repair is actually retaining much of the current setup's configuration and so will move through these steps faster than in a full setup.

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Screen Thirteen The Repair version of the setup process skips or shortens many steps because it already has the information it needs from the existing setup. For example, Repair's "installing devices" and the network setup steps are both much faster and require less user input than a new setup does.

The setup screens don't reflect the fact that a Repair proceeds much faster than a normal, full setup. In fact, the time estimates in the setup progress bar will be way off. You'll be done in far less time than the progress bar predicts.

Screen Fourteen Just as with "installing devices," the network setup proceeds rapidly because Setup can reuse many of the configuration details from the current installation. In fact, a Repair setup takes far less time than the installation progress bar indicates.

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When this portion of the Repair is done, you'll see a "completing installation" screen:

Screen Fifteen The "completing installation" screen means most of the heavy lifting is done, and you're just minutes away from finishing the repair operation. (click image for larger view)

Setup then reboots your PC again, and this reboot will also take longer than usual. This is normal.

Screen Sixteen With the bulk of the repair work done, your PC needs to reboot once more and will do so automatically. The reboot will take a bit longer than a standard boot, but this is normal. (click image for larger view)

After the reboot, you'll be brought to an abbreviated version of the "Welcome To Windows" setup pages.

Screen Seventeen The Repair process ends with still more screens borrowed from the full setup. (click image for larger view)

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You'll be asked if you want to register and--depending on how badly hosed the previous installation was -- you may or may not be asked to reactivate the copy of Windows. Next, the setup software handles the final networking details and then offers a "thank you" screen.

Screen Eighteen The final steps in the Repair process pass very quickly, and you'll soon reach the last screen in the Repair operation, a "thank you." (click image for larger view)

In most cases, the system will now reboot for a final time. The Repair is done. It's a normal boot, bringing you to the normal choices for login.

Screen Nineteen With a final, fully normal reboot, you're done. Your copy of XP should be as good as new, but with all your previously installed hardware, software, and user configuration data undamaged! (click image for larger view)

If all has gone as planned, you'll find all the user accounts and passwords intact, all the hardware devices set up as before, and all the previously installed software still installed and configured. In fact, if all has gone as planned, the only significant change will be that whatever problem your copy of XP was previously experiencing will now be gone!

You now have a range of repair tools at your disposal, ranging from simple on-the-fly fixes such as Registry cleaning and safe Mode fixes to Recovery Console fixes (see links in the beginning of this article) and, now, a nondestructive, no-reformat repair/rebuild option.
With this information, you should almost never have to face a dreaded start-over-from-scratch reformat/reinstall of XP!

Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/189400897?pgno=1