Re: helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllp
From: R. C. White (RCWhite_at_msn.com)
Date: 06/27/04
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Date: Sun, 27 Jun 2004 11:51:03 -0500
Hi, Haroon.
Thanks for the post back. And welcome to the (sometimes exciting) world of
newsgroups - also known as Discussion Groups.
My first comments were meant to be more informative than critical. In the
text-only world of newsgroups, it's had to convey inflection, tone of voice,
etc., and often when I read my own posts later, they don't sound like they
did when I wrote them. Emoticons (like ;<) - look at it sideways to see a
Smiley - and there are dozens of them) help some, but what helps most is to
remember what I said earlier: most of us are here because we WANT to HELP,
not to criticize.
To correct at least one erroneous factual comment in this thread: Each hard
drive can be divided into 1 to 4 partitions. All of these can be primary
partitions, or ONE can be an extended partition. The extended partition can
be subdivided into one or more (as many as you want until you run out of
English alphabet letters) logical drives. Each primary partition and each
logical drive can be referred to as a volume. Each volume is assigned a
"drive" letter and each is formatted independently of all the others.
MS-DOS and Win9x/ME can read and write only volumes formatted with some
version of FAT; those OSes cannot even SEE a volume formatted NTFS.
Win2K/XP and later can mix and match FAT and NTFS volumes without
restriction.
ONE of the primary partitions on EACH hard drive can be marked Active
(bootable) at any one time. Only the Active primary partition on the first
HD seen at boot-up can be used as the boot device for that session. Newer
BIOSes often let us set the second or other HD as the boot drive; others
always boot from the Master HD on the Primary IDE channel. Some third-party
boot managers let us designate which HD will be the boot device.
Microsoft's built-in multi-boot system (in WinNT4/2K/XP and later) always
start from the boot drive designated in the BIOS; the Active primary
partition on that HD becomes the "system partition" and MUST contain the few
"system files" for all the Windows versions installed. All the WinNT-based
Windows versions usually use just 3 system files: NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and
Boot.ini, and all these must be in the Root of the system partition, almost
always C:\. (Many users who installed WinXP on a new HD while the old HD -
with an Active primary partition - plugged in as slave or secondary have
been startled to find that the first partition on the first HD is NOT C:,
but F: or some other unexpected letter!) Win9x/ME's system files (io.sys
and msdos.sys) must be in C:\, and C: must be FAT, since Win9x/ME can't read
NTFS; if Win9x/ME's boot folder is on a volume other than C:, that volume
also must be FAT, of course, as well as any other volume that you want to
access from Win9x/ME.
While the few small "system files" must be in C:\ (typically), most of
WinXP's GB or so of files go into the "boot folder" (\Windows, by default)
in any volume on any HD in your computer. It's entirely OK to install WinXP
(or Win9x/ME) on the second primary partition on your third HD (for
example); the entries in C:\boot.ini will point to that volume and C:\NTLDR
and C:\NTDETECT.COM will have no trouble finding it there, regardless of the
drive letter.
"Drive letters" are not permanently assigned. The BIOS starts from scratch
and assigns letters to the volumes it finds each time it reboots. What is
Drive D: this morning might be E: or X: this afternoon if the
drive/partition lineup has changed. And Drive D: may be a primary partition
on the second HD or it may be the second primary partition on the first HD.
The letter assignment sequence is hardcoded into the computer's BIOS but,
thankfully, is standardized for x86 computers. WinXP can reassign letters
after it loads. It has its own algorithm that it will use unless you
specifically assign letters using Disk Management; then it will attempt to
use your assignments on each reboot. The BIOS and WinXP don't always agree
which letter applies to which volume.
As you may have noted, Haroon, my posts tend to be long-winded. I've
learned that, too often, any part of the explanation that I try to abridge
or omit turns out to be exactly the sticking point that is bothering the
poster with the problem. Also, as you see from this thread, you and I are
not the only people in this conversation. Several have posted here, but
dozens or hundreds of others probably have read it without posting; we call
them "lurkers" and, in newsgroups, that is a GOOD word. But those of us who
post explanations have to anticipate that some lurkers will misunderstand
what we say unless we broaden the context. The hard part is knowing when to
stop broadening - and that's my weakness. :^{
I'm glad your problem is fixed. Come back when we can help again. Or when
you want to read about other users' problems - and fixes for them. We can
learn a lot just by lurking. And some day, you'll see someone with a
problem that you know how to fix. You'll post the answer. The original
poster (OP) will post back saying, "Haroon, you're a GENIUS!" And then
you'll be hooked, just like so many of us who try to help here. ;<)
RC
-- R. C. White, CPA San Marcos, TX rc@corridor.net Microsoft Windows MVP "haroon" <haroon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:0A488710-91F1-490F-BECF-0D91E408B958@microsoft.com... > My first posting and it seems I have started ww2. Thanks for informing > about the netiquette and suggestions. The postings were duplicated in > error although I had posted on different groups board as I was unsure of > the right group to use for my problem. I have tried the suggestions > offered without success. > Thanks for your help any ways. > > "R. C. White" wrote: > >> Hi, Haroon. >> >> First, a couple of Netiquette points: >> >> 1. A subject line like "helllllllllllllllllllllllllllllp" is not likely >> to >> generate many responses, except from a guy like me who tries to read all >> posts. Something like "Can't boot WinXP after formatting drive" would do >> a >> better job of interesting readers who might be able to help with your >> problem. >> >> 2. Posting a second message 1 minute after the first just wastes >> bandwidth >> and does not increase your chances of getting help. We all are >> volunteers >> here. Nobody pays us a salary to answer questions. None of us knows >> everything, and you may need to wait at least a few minutes for someone >> who >> knows about YOUR problem to come along. We are not all in one big room; >> we >> are in our own homes or offices around the world - just like you. And, >> just >> like you, we sometimes take coffee breaks, or turn off our computers and >> sleep at night, or even go on vacation. But we WANT to help; just give >> us >> some time. ;<) >> >> Now, to your problem: You gave us a lot of good information, but you >> left >> out some key details. >> >> HOW were you dual-booting before? Were you using the method built into >> WinXP? Or did you use Boot Magic or some other third-party boot loader? >> The Microsoft way is the only one that I'm familiar with, but others know >> about the other methods. >> >> Which partition did you reformat? Drive C:? Normally, when using >> Microsoft's multiple-boot arrangement, that's where the "system files" >> for >> ALL Windows installations are kept, no matter where the rest of Windows >> is >> installed. You did say that WinXP is on Drive C:, so that may not be the >> problem in your case, but we need to confirm that. >> >> HOW did you reformat your Win98 drive? Did you boot from an MS-DOS >> floppy >> and use Format.com? Or did you use WinXP's Disk Management? Or some >> other >> method? >> >> You said, "when I start the computer it asks me for a system dics". How >> are >> you starting the computer, and what is the exact error message? I've >> never >> seen WinXP ask for a "system disk"; that message must be coming from the >> BIOS, not from Windows. It sounds like the message that you might get if >> you've left a non-boot floppy in Drive A: and your computer is trying to >> boot from that. >> >> Have you tried booting from the WinXP CD-ROM and using the Repair options >> there, including the Recovery Console? Do you even have a full WinXP >> CD-ROM? You haven't told us the make and model of your computer, or >> which >> version of Windows (if any) was pre-installed on it. Many OEMs customize >> Windows before sale, and many of them include only a crippled CD with the >> computer. >> >> Several of us (including myself) have been dual-booting for years and can >> probably help you if we know more about your system. But it will >> probably >> take us more than 1 minute. ;<} >> >> RC >> >> "haroon" <haroon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message >> news:270EFBB9-434A-4055-82FA-D5F9A83C473B@microsoft.com... >> > Help!! >> > I have been operating with 2 primary FAT32 parttions using both win98 >> > and >> > wnixp in each fo these partions as operating systems. As my HHD was >> > getting too full I decided to reformat my win98 drive, as I was not >> > using >> > win98 much, to FAT32 Primary Partition with a view to using this drive >> > as >> > backup and storing files not being used regularly. I cannot get the >> > win-xp >> > loading now and when I start the computer it asks me for a system dics. >> > Can any one guide whether how can I get the system to start with >> > win-xp. I >> > have checked that all the files in Drive C (win xp) drive are intact. >> > Thank you.
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