System File Checker on Windows XP SP2

[devnulllore]

Hi,

Is it safe to run windows system file checker on an XP SP2 system? The install disk is the original release and SP2 wasinstalled via Windows update.

Thanks,

[panicswitched]

uh just run sfc from the command line it may ask you for the media but itll make sure sp2 files are sp2 even if the cd is sp1 (caches sp2 files) :)

[devnulllore]

  Felosis said:

uh just run sfc from the command line it may ask you for the media but it'll make sure sp2 files are sp2 even if the cd is sp1 (caches sp2 files) :)

That did not work at all. I was afraid of this. It ran fine, asked for the CD then ran fine for a while then told me to put in the original CD again. I checked the disc surface and it is mint. Still thought I had the wrong disc. I tried to exit and it said if I exit now the system will reboot and not all the files are complete and the system may not work properly. After trying to clean the disc again and with nothing else in mind I went ahead and canceled. The system reboot and now it stalls on a flashing cursor instead of booting into Windows.

Any ideas? And yes this is an original Windows XP Pro CD.

Thanks,

[+allan MVC]

Just do a repair install - it's essentially the same as running sfc /scannow. Boot to your XP SP2 cd and choose the second repair option (the first repair option will drop you at the recovery console, which won't help). Allow XP to install on top of itself. If all goes as it should, all system files will be overwritten but everything else will remain the same.

[devnulllore]

  allan said:

Just do a repair install - it's essentially the same as running sfc /scannow. Boot to your XP SP2 cd and choose the second repair option (the first repair option will drop you at the recovery console, which won't help). Allow XP to install on top of itself. If all goes as it should, all system files will be overwritten but everything else will remain the same.

Will try it tomorrow. Thing is it's an original CD not SP2 will that matter? I suppose I could slipstream another disk. Will that work?

[+allan MVC]

You must use an SP2 CD, slipstreamed or otherwise. When you ran sfc /scannow, didn't you use an SP2 disk? If not, that was the problem.

[cork1958]

  allan said:

You must use an SP2 CD, slipstreamed or otherwise. When you ran sfc /scannow, didn't you use an SP2 disk? If not, that was the problem.

Didn't you read the thread. OP said he did not have sp2 disk at least 3 times, before you posted?

But, yes, obviously you needed the sp2 disc seeing as that was already installed. How do you expect disc checker to check for something it didn't have to begin with?

[+allan MVC]

  cork1958 said:

Didn't you read the thread. OP said he did not have sp2 disk at least 3 times, before you posted?

Obviously it was unclear to me that he intended to run system file checker with anything other than an SP2 disk or I wouldn't have asked - "original XP CD" does not rule out SP2 version - I have several "original" SP2 XP CD's. But thanks for your hyperbole.

[devnulllore]

  allan said:

You must use an SP2 CD, slipstreamed or otherwise. When you ran sfc /scannow, didn't you use an SP2 disk? If not, that was the problem.

That didn't work either. Now instead of a flashing cursor I get a quick flash of a blue screen then it reboots and loops again.

As for it being a SP2 Original disc, No it is a SP1, and I mentioned that in my first post and the reply was that the SFC would use the cached SP2 files from Windows update.

[+allan MVC]

Are you booting to the XP SP2 CD? Is it getting as far as the first repair option? Please explain exactly what is happening.