Real Geek Forums  

Go Back   Real Geek Forums > Archives > Operating Systems > Windows XP

Notices

Reply

Partition problem... I think???

 

LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-04-2003, 07:41 PM   #1 (permalink)
Default Partition problem... I think???

Hi,
I had an HP computer and used the HDD on my new computer.
It no longer boots up correctly. It looks like it is
starting to, I see the XP logo then a blue screen with a
bunch of writing (but disapears to fast for me to read)
and then it reboots.
I then booted with XP start up floppy and tried to switch
to drive C: None of my stuff is there only a single
directory called HP_RECOVERY which is empty.
I rand FDISK and had it display my partitions and it shows
two:
Partition Status Type Volume Label Mbytes System
C: 1 PRI DOS HP_RECOVERY 5404 FAT32
2 A NTSF 32750


Im guessing I need to be able to access the other
partition, but don't know how to do it. Any help?

Thank you,
Gary
Gary
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Reply With Quote  
Old 08-04-2003, 09:51 PM   #2 (permalink)
Default Re: Partition problem... I think???

Did I read it correct? The HD is from old HP and now in new machine (not
HP?)??
If so, you need to do an in-place (aka repair) install to have it recognize
the changed hardware correctly.


--
Most learned here on nntp://news.mircosoft.com
Helsinki, Finland (remove _SPAM)
=================================================

"David Hollway" <threap@angelfire.removethis.com> kirjoitti viestissä
news:3f2ecbda$0$959$cc9e4d1f@news.dial.pipex.com.. .
Quote:
> "Gary" <> wrote in message news:04e201c35ac0$731bd390$a101280a@phx.gbl...
Quote:
> > Hi,
> > I had an HP computer and used the HDD on my new computer.
> > It no longer boots up correctly. It looks like it is
> > starting to, I see the XP logo then a blue screen with a
> > bunch of writing (but disapears to fast for me to read)
> > and then it reboots.
> > I then booted with XP start up floppy and tried to switch
> > to drive C: None of my stuff is there only a single
> > directory called HP_RECOVERY which is empty.
> > I rand FDISK and had it display my partitions and it shows
> > two:
> > Partition Status Type Volume Label Mbytes System
> > C: 1 PRI DOS HP_RECOVERY 5404 FAT32
> > 2 A NTSF 32750
> >
> >
> > Im guessing I need to be able to access the other
> > partition, but don't know how to do it. Any help?
>
>
> Gary,
>
> Your main 32GB drive, which appears as C: in XP, is formatted using the
NTFS
Quote:
> filesystem (filesystem = mechanism for laying the file and directory
> structure out on the disk). This has many advantages over the older
FAT(32)
Quote:
> filesystem - security, reliability, better support for large drives, etc -
> but it is not readable when you boot from a DOS floppy disk.
> The "drive C:" that you see when you boot from floppy is a vendor-specific
> recovery partition that has been put there by HP; probably hidden when you
> boot normally, it's a small (~5GB) partition, probably containing the
files
Quote:
> necessary to restore your "real" C: drive to as-new factory condition.
Check
Quote:
> your system documentation to find out what the partition does. It might
> contain tools to repair your existing install, but it's more likely that
it
Quote:
> will only allow you to re-format the drive and restore the factory config.
>
> Some suggestions:
>
> 1) if you want to verify that your files are still on the disk, you can
get
Quote:
> a tool called "NTFSDOS" from www.sysinternals.com that will allow you to
> read the NTFS drive from within DOS after booting from floppy. It's free;
if
Quote:
> you want to WRITE to the NTFS partition you have to pay for the full
version
Quote:
> of NTFSDOS.
>
> 2) If you were supplied with a Windows XP disk by HP, you could try
booting
Quote:
> from it and selecting the "repair existing install" option. This _should_
> repair your problem, and _should_ retain all your files and programs. But
> proceed with caution.
>
> 3) Have you tried booting in Safe Mode? When the PC starts to boot, and
you
Quote:
> see the white progress bar at the bottom of a black screen, press F8. This
> should display an "advanced options" menu, one option from which is "Safe
> Mode". Select this and press return. Windows XP will try to boot without
> loading any of your normal drivers (soundcard, video etc). If it does
boot,
Quote:
> then you will have a GUI environment from which to try repairing whatever
it
Quote:
> is that is stopping a normal boot.
>
> Hope this helps..
>
>

Thomas Wendell
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Reply With Quote  
Old 08-04-2003, 10:05 PM   #3 (permalink)
Default Re: Partition problem... I think???

David, Isn't that copy of XP tied to the original computer????
"David Hollway" <threap@angelfire.removethis.com> wrote in message
news:3f2ecbda$0$959$cc9e4d1f@news.dial.pipex.com.. .
Quote:
> "Gary" <> wrote in message news:04e201c35ac0$731bd390$a101280a@phx.gbl...
Quote:
> > Hi,
> > I had an HP computer and used the HDD on my new computer.
> > It no longer boots up correctly. It looks like it is
> > starting to, I see the XP logo then a blue screen with a
> > bunch of writing (but disapears to fast for me to read)
> > and then it reboots.
> > I then booted with XP start up floppy and tried to switch
> > to drive C: None of my stuff is there only a single
> > directory called HP_RECOVERY which is empty.
> > I rand FDISK and had it display my partitions and it shows
> > two:
> > Partition Status Type Volume Label Mbytes System
> > C: 1 PRI DOS HP_RECOVERY 5404 FAT32
> > 2 A NTSF 32750
> >
> >
> > Im guessing I need to be able to access the other
> > partition, but don't know how to do it. Any help?
>
>
> Gary,
>
> Your main 32GB drive, which appears as C: in XP, is formatted using the
NTFS
Quote:
> filesystem (filesystem = mechanism for laying the file and directory
> structure out on the disk). This has many advantages over the older
FAT(32)
Quote:
> filesystem - security, reliability, better support for large drives, etc -
> but it is not readable when you boot from a DOS floppy disk.
> The "drive C:" that you see when you boot from floppy is a vendor-specific
> recovery partition that has been put there by HP; probably hidden when you
> boot normally, it's a small (~5GB) partition, probably containing the
files
Quote:
> necessary to restore your "real" C: drive to as-new factory condition.
Check
Quote:
> your system documentation to find out what the partition does. It might
> contain tools to repair your existing install, but it's more likely that
it
Quote:
> will only allow you to re-format the drive and restore the factory config.
>
> Some suggestions:
>
> 1) if you want to verify that your files are still on the disk, you can
get
Quote:
> a tool called "NTFSDOS" from www.sysinternals.com that will allow you to
> read the NTFS drive from within DOS after booting from floppy. It's free;
if
Quote:
> you want to WRITE to the NTFS partition you have to pay for the full
version
Quote:
> of NTFSDOS.
>
> 2) If you were supplied with a Windows XP disk by HP, you could try
booting
Quote:
> from it and selecting the "repair existing install" option. This _should_
> repair your problem, and _should_ retain all your files and programs. But
> proceed with caution.
>
> 3) Have you tried booting in Safe Mode? When the PC starts to boot, and
you
Quote:
> see the white progress bar at the bottom of a black screen, press F8. This
> should display an "advanced options" menu, one option from which is "Safe
> Mode". Select this and press return. Windows XP will try to boot without
> loading any of your normal drivers (soundcard, video etc). If it does
boot,
Quote:
> then you will have a GUI environment from which to try repairing whatever
it
Quote:
> is that is stopping a normal boot.
>
> Hope this helps..
>
>

Glen
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Reply With Quote  
Old 08-04-2003, 10:17 PM   #4 (permalink)
Default Re: Partition problem... I think???

Oops, I misread the original question - that'll teach me to post in haste.
Yes, the recovery partition will be tied to the HP PC, and should be deleted
if the new PC is not an equivalent model HP (unlikely). The install of XP is
probably an OEM tied copy too; in which case, best approach would be to hook
up the drive as a slave in another XP system, pull all the data off, and
then wipe & reinstall it from a fresh copy of XP.

My comments about NTFS and FAT still stand, though - at least I typed
*something* intelligible..

"Glen" <glenrobrts@netzero.net> wrote in message
news:%23i6LIStWDHA.2032@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
Quote:
> David, Isn't that copy of XP tied to the original computer????
> "David Hollway" <threap@angelfire.removethis.com> wrote in message
> news:3f2ecbda$0$959$cc9e4d1f@news.dial.pipex.com.. .
Quote:
> > "Gary" <> wrote in message
news:04e201c35ac0$731bd390$a101280a@phx.gbl...
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
> > > Hi,
> > > I had an HP computer and used the HDD on my new computer.
> > > It no longer boots up correctly. It looks like it is
> > > starting to, I see the XP logo then a blue screen with a
> > > bunch of writing (but disapears to fast for me to read)
> > > and then it reboots.

David Hollway
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Reply With Quote  
Reply

Tags
None

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads

Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
partition problem Scott Windows XP Configuration & Management 1 07-23-2004 07:55 PM
partition problem Bryan Boyne Windows XP Hardware 5 01-29-2004 06:00 PM
Partition Problem Kath Windows XP Help & Support 5 01-29-2004 05:26 PM
Problem with Partition Mark Windows XP Setup 0 09-21-2003 03:47 PM


All times are GMT. The time now is 01:31 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright © 2005 - 2007 RealGeek.com. All rights reserved.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90