Vista reinstall

[Mark]

Is it possible to reinstall Vista without hosing your installed programs/settings?

Reason being; I've somehow deleted a few 'vital' system fonts and need them restoring. I've tried copying all the fonts from my main machine to the laptop but no joy there.

If possible, how do I go about it? With XP, it was a case of wanging-in the Cd and selecting the right option but Vista's having none of it, seemingly.

twitter looks like:





Doh!

[OldWelshGuy]

isn't there a 'repair' option with vista?

[matt.chatterley]

Pretty sure you can repair it - boot off the cd/dvd/satanic tablet and you should be able to step through the options and do a repair install.

It can eat some bits of the system, though, and I suspect programs will probably be on that list..!

[Mark]

Hmm, thanks. I'm not opposed to a full reinstall but want to avoid it if poss.

[Mark]

Originally Posted by OldWelshGuy

isn't there a 'repair' option with vista?

I couldn't see one.

[matt.chatterley]

I have a suspicion repair is quite well hidden in the boot menu - have a feeling you might even have to go into one of the install options to see it (from the CD/DVD). Don't quote me though, as I haven't had to reinstall or repair for ages - touch wood!

[Tridene Solutions]

You can reinstall missing fonts easily. But it's not as simple as copying them to your fonts folder on the new machine.

Basically, grab the files from your other machine and pop them either across the network or onto a memory stick and get copy them to a folder on your laptop. You have to right-click the files and choose install and this will add the fonts properly.

Hope this helps,

Rich

[Mark]

Ahhh, really? I might try that.

[VAExtraordinaire]

Hi Mark,

There are three options you can do this:

1. Go to System Restore and choose a date when the system is working properly say a few days before you accidentally deleted your system fonts. Just follow the process till you are satisfied that the fonts you need are appropriately restored.

2. Your fonts are stored in c:\windows\fonts. If you can find a copy of the missing fonts on another computer you should be able to just copy them over to the correct folder. If they are system fonts you may need to reboot.

3. As a last resort, you can do an 'in-place repair.' You can boot from the CD/DVD as you were doing a fresh install, when prompted click the 'repair' option. That should get you back on track without having to re-install your programs and settings although it will not be without disruption. I repeat only use this last option when all else fails.

Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Grace
VA Extraordinare