Re-installing NT 4.0

[ohuett]

Can I re-install NT without losing all of the data on my hard drive? I know you can do it in 95/98, but I'm not sure about NT. If so, can someone give me instructions on how to do this. I'm having Dr. Watson errors everytime I boot up that will not go away and I can't access anything!! The exact error is, "An application error has occurred and an application error log is being generated.

explorer.exe

Exception: access violation (0xc0000005), address (these numbers always change)

Thank you for any help!

 

[TheOldMan346]

ohuett,

Yes, you can reinstall withut losing your data. Just make sure you do not do the format step.

Another option you might want to try is just doing a "repair." Boot from the CD, just as you would for an install, but choose "Repair" instead of install.

Hope that helps.
The Old Man

 

[JEDORI]

Will this install over the old version like 98 does? Does it retain all the Software setups previously installed?

 

[TheOldMan346]

That depends. Repairing will keep the settings and installs unless the app depends on a component that was faulty and repaired. Reinstalling will rebuild the registry and .ini files so you may lose the settings for the apps but you would retain the data and the apps would still be on the disk. You may need to just rerun the install to repopulate the registry. If the app does not use the registry and has its .ini files in its own directory, there will be no effect.

Also reapplying service packs will often correct errors that have come up. This will leave all apps intact as well.

Hope that helps.
The Old Man

 

[ltromans]

Can you access your control panel and uninstall Explorer? Then you can reinstall it. You will probably have to reinstall your service pack too.

 

[TheOldMan346]

Explorer.exe is the GUI shell. If it is having problems, the system is basically unstable. Uninstalling and reinstalling the app probably will not work. Try the service pack first. IF that does not work, do the repair. If still no go, do the reinstall.

Hope that helps.
The Old Man

 

[ohuett]

Thanks for all your help...the repair worked. We had to re-install some of the other programs b/c we had alot of errors but after that, it worked great. Thanks again for your help.