XP Maximized: Repair Your Windows XP Installation

If you find that your Windows XP is suffering from poor performance or random crashes, don't immediately assume that your need to reinstall everything from scratch. You may well discover that a repair installation will solve all your problems.

To do this, you need to restart your computer with the Widows XP installation CD inserted, press F8 when the license agreement is shown and then press R. The setup routine will continue in the normal way, and any of your files that have become corrupt will be automatically replaced.

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