Re: Clean reinstall getting dirtier each attempt?

Answered below.

"Jeff Mc" <JeffMc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:7DBBE28D-4C74-4693-A664-A84126C4727F@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
I'm reposting this as it seems my additional questions
received no notice after dropping down to pages two and now
three. Still looking for a few answers/ideas if any are able
to help out with my problems.

The Original install was corrupt, the reinstall was complete
and seems overall functional. When I reinstalled I selected
Setup (not repair). It then took me to the partition
selection screen. I had a partition with 39mb, my C:\drive,
and a partition with 8mb. I deleted the partitioned space
(not C:\ drive) and tried setting the install on either of
them getting messages back that it could not be performed
(39mb due to not enough space and unable to redifine size
larger than 31mb, and the 8mb one said it contained stuff
important to setup). So, I installed it onto my C:\drive and
now have two OS. I can only access the one from the prompt
at startup, and overall it seemed to work ok.

The closest solutions I've been able to find in others
similar questions was this
http://www.cyberwalker.net/faqs/reinstall-reformat-winxp/two-copies-xp.html
but it goes a little further into the deep end of the pool
and I fear causing more harm the more I try to do to fix it.
I'm not very clear on how to take ownership of the bad files
nor how to setup the partitions such that I could safely
reinstall anywhere but the C:\ drive, which at this point
makes me think I'll just endup with a third OS there.

Do I need to remove the old OS? Do I need to
remove/reinstall over them both somehow that I'm not seeing?
Can/Should I use the working version I've got and just edit
the startup procedure to only recognize the working version?
I really am not sure how to progress, any help appreciated.

For reference, current BOOTINI file reads as follows;

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft
Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft
Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect=OptIn

If I hit any button or do nothing it takes me to the working
installation, if I try and select the other it doesn't allow
me and reboots. I assume from that that the working version
is the "/NoExecute=OptIn" one and could probably change the
BOOTINI to no longer recognize the other on startup, but I
don't see how that fixes the issue entirely or removes the
bad OS from my computer.

Started the process of reinstalling again but exited out of
it at the stage of selecting a partition. It is not letting
me redefine the max size of the unpartitioned space into a
partitioned place large enough for the install. This leaves
me with only the C:\ drive as a valid location at all. I
exited out at this point fearing I would just be putting a
third operating system on the same drive.

After coming back to search out info on partitions I came to
this http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000/ but am a little
unsure how to proceed.

The Disk Mgmt. utility Lists Volume= (C:), Layout=
Partition, Type= Basic, File System= NTFS, Status= Healthy
(System), Capacity= 186.22 GB, Free Space= 164.71 GB

Then below that is color breakdown thing with a Black
Striped Box that says 39 MB (Unallocated) and a Navy Blue
Striped Box with the aforementioned C: drive info (Primary).


Judging from the install issues I 'think' I need to create a
new partition space in the Unallocated section then I format
it? Or reinstall onto it? How big should it be? How does
creating a new partition and installing on it remove the two
operating systems currently on my C:\ drive?

Jeff,

I sure hope you have your important files backed up. Do that
before you try anything else.

I don't know where to start so let's get some things explained
so we've got a frame of reference to work with.

First off, forget about the small partitions. The 39MB
partition probably contained diagnostic programs that the
manufacturer put there so they'd be available when you first
booted your computer. If your computer is a Dell, then you can
change probably in the previous sentence to definitely. These
same diagnostic programs are available on one of the CD's that
Dell ships with their systems. Look for a Resources CD if
you've got a Dell. They'll be on there. For now, don't worry
about this.

The 8MB of unallocated space is put there by Windows in case
someone wanted to convert their Basic disk to a Dynamic disk.
You'll be just fine with your Basic disk.

Let's move on to your Boot.ini file. Originally your hard drive
had a small first partition, 39MB, and a large second
partition, your C drive. That would account for the second
entry under operating systems pointing to partition 2 since
your C drive was the second partition. That's the old
installation. Your original Boot.ini file looked like this.

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft
Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect=OptIn

I'd be willing to bet that you have a file named boot.bak that
when opened with notepad will look very similar to the above.

Now here's where things got out of whack. When you deleted the
39 MB partition, leaving it as unallocated space, your C drive
became the first partition on your hard drive. When you
reinstalled XP without formatting the partition you ended up
installing it right back into the Windows folder on your C
drive, which was now partition 1. That's where you got this
line added to your boot.ini file.

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft
Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

And since it was the latest installation it became the default
operating system. You really don't have two installations of XP
since both entries point to a Windows folder. Look on your C
drive. Are there any large folders with names similar to
Windows or just the one Windows folder? I'm betting there's
just the one Windows folder.

The boot.ini issue can be resolved by editing out the reference
to partition 2. Here's what your boot.ini file should look
like.

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft
Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

You can edit the boot.ini file by following the procedure
outlined in this article.

How to edit the Boot.ini file in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/q289022/

You say that the new installation is working OK. Can you run
all the installed programs on your computer? How about your
user account? Can you access all your old files?

Finally, look in the Documents and Settings folder on your C
drive. What folders does it contain? Are there duplicates? FYI,
to see all the folders, make sure you go to Control Panel ->
Folder Options and click on the View tab. On the View page,
select "Show hidden files and folders" and uncheck "Hide
protected operating system files". Click OK.

Post back with answers to the above questions. Hopefully,
editing your boot.ini file will resolve this issue.

Good luck

Nepatsfan





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