Re: Installation Problem

Thank you, John! Your suggestion - and the replies from Anna and Brian -
were instrumental in resolving my problem.

Thank you VERY much!

--
Rhino

"John John - MVP" <audetweld@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uBYLdiy9JHA.4376@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Just start again from scratch. Boot with the Windows XP cd and when at
the partition selection screen format both partitions then select the
partition where you want to install Windows and do a new installation on
that partition.

John

Rhino wrote:
I'm afraid I made a rather foolish mistake last night and I'm not sure
how to fix it.

I was installing XP Pro (slipstreamed with SP2) on a computer that has
two hard drives. The computer is a used one that my friend got surplus
from his company; the hard drives were apparently scrubbed before they
gave it to him. It is a Dell Dimension 670.

Anyway, I ran the XP install CD and formatted the first drive, then
proceeded to install Windows on that drive. After the reboot and the rest
of the installation, all was well on the computer. I could see the
desktop, play Spider Solitaire, etc. The only thing left to do was format
the second hard drive.

That's where I made a mistake. I couldn't remember how to format the
second drive from the XP desktop - I think now that I should have gone
into Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk
Management and formatted from there, right? - so I tried a different
approach. I rebooted from the install CD, chose the second hard drive and
formatted. Unfortunately, after formatting for NTFS (quick), it went
ahead and started copying files to this new partition. I realized it was
installing Windows on this partition too but couldn't find any way to
stop it. (I would have expected an Exit or Cancel option.) I could have
powered off the computer but was afraid that would make things worse. I
optimistically assumed that Windows would just boot up anyway, ignore the
second partition containing Windows, and then let me wipe that second
drive and reformat it. But that isn't what happened. The PC won't boot at
all. I've tried it with and without the install CD in the computer but I
just get a blank screen - not even the BIOS screen appears - and nothing
else happens, unless you count fan noise.

How do I get myself out of this mess? I'm afraid Windows installs are not
something I do very often. I don't know what to Google on - what is this
situation called? - so I hope someone here can help me remove the Windows
from the second hard drive.



.

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