Post-note to anyone deciding to perform a Windows Repair operation.

Generally speaking, Windows Repair will fix most issues with Windows, but should be used with some discression. Repair will reinstall all original versions of the Windows system files and re-register them with the system registry. Windows Repair will not remove any files or modify any regions of the registry which do not relate specifically to the core OS. This is essentially a Windows re-installation, but with the dual effect of retaining installed programs and user files.

There are multiple side effects however.

• Software that is malfunctioning will simply replicate the issue. If the malfunction is resulting in the damage of Windows core components, you're back to square one.
• System files that have been updated by 3rd party software will not be repaired, and can be replaced with older versions. Windows NT5 and later (2000, XP, 2003) uses a system called COM/OLE, which enabled the co-existence of multiple versions of a system files (as opposed to Windows 4.x (95, 98, ME), which only permitted one version of any system file) and enforces the maintenance of obsolete interfaces. However, an old system file may end up accidentally unregistering the newer version. This usually causes program unpredictability.
• Windows repair will reinstall WHQL drivers, but it will not remove them first. This means, if an attached software component has malfunctioned or the registry has become corrupted, the drivers will not return to their original state.
• Windows repair cannot deal with a corrupt registry, excessively large registry hive file or a corrupt file system. For some stupid reason, although it is well within the reinstall program's power, it does not perform any consistency checks and can simply make matters worse.

Windows Repair has been successful in this circumstance (so far), but I would not normally recommend this coarse of action in this circumstance, due to Windows Repair's relatively poor success fixing driver related problems. Following a Windows Repair, always reinstall the latest Service Pack and perform a chkdsk c: /f.