When you get the discs, the first thing to try is an XP "Repair".  Boot from the Windows XP disc and select "Repair" rather than install or reinstall.  Basically this is supposed to repair and corrupted Windows system files or install any missing files.  MOST of your programs will work after this, if the repair is succesful.  There may be some that will require reinstalling but all your data (assuming the data was not on corrupted sectors on the old hard drive) should be there. If the Repair does not fix it or can't be run then you are looking at reinstalling XP and when you do that you will have to reinstall all programs.  Your data will be as noted above. The correct manual install is (1) Install Windows (2) Install Dell Laptop System Software (3) Install Motherboard Chipset Drivers (4) Install Device Drivers including Video, Dell Sound Driver, Ethernet, mouse pad, etc.
Background: I have a Vostro 1710 laptop. The disk went bad and had to be replaced. I cloned the disk using clonezilla. Some of the sectors were bad and could not be copied correctly. Problem: The computer boots into Windows desktop but then shows this error. "Windows explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close." Nothing works from there.The icons are showing up on the desktop but not clickable. The "Start" button is not clickable either. What would be the best way to fix Windows installation without losing all my data and having to start from scratch? I have ordered Dell backup / replacement CD for my laptop. Is it possible to repair / re-install windows xp using this CD on top of existing installation to fix any corrupted files but leave rest of data and programs intact? Any help is appreciated.
Can I fix corrupted Windows XP?