Partition Magic - Boot Partition Wiped?

[oceanclub]

I've been using PM8.0 to create a partition on my main hard drive, then
move files from one partition (C) to the other (D). (XP Home machine)

While last attempting to decrease the size of C and increase D, I got a
"bad argument" error.

On rebooting, the Windows XP logo only shows for a second before
rebooting.

When I tried to repair the Windows installation on the C drive, I found
that the XP setup disk can't find it. It shows the C partition as
"Unknown" and with all space free on it!

Any idea what I should do now?

P.

 

[Edward W. Thompson]

I've been using PM8.0 to create a partition on my main hard drive, then
move files from one partition (C) to the other (D). (XP Home machine)

While last attempting to decrease the size of C and increase D, I got a
"bad argument" error.

On rebooting, the Windows XP logo only shows for a second before
rebooting.

When I tried to repair the Windows installation on the C drive, I found
that the XP setup disk can't find it. It shows the C partition as
"Unknown" and with all space free on it!

Any idea what I should do now?

P.

Use your 'image' to restore the C drive. You do have an 'image'? No?
Oh dear!

 

[Jim]

Yeah, your goose is cooked seems to me. The only chance you have at this
point is perhaps recovering the partition using some other utility. I know
BootIt NG has an undelete feature, which I believe scans the hard drive for
tell-tale signs of a partition, then rebuilds the MBR (Master Boot Record).
I seem to recall one or two or utilities doing something similar, but their
names escape me at the moment. If I think of it, I'll let you know.

Btw, I use to PM for many years, but stopped around version 5 or so. There
seemed to be a noticeable decrease in the reliability and quality of the
product at that time. Not sure what happened (did it change hands?).
Whatever the reason, IMO, the product seemed to go into decline, at least
compared to its previous releases. Just too many cases of ppl losing
partitions, corrupted MBRs, goofy error messages, etc., for my comfort
level. For that and other reasons, I stopped using it and found
alternatives that have proven more reliable. Hate to say it, PM once was
king of the hill in this category, but right now it's just an average
product. Very risky given its current state to not make a backup of your
partitions before using it.

JMTC

Jim

 

[Jim]

If you Google "partition recovery", you'll see many possibilities, might be
worth a try. A lot just depends on how much PM changed things before the
error occurred. If the expand/move completed, for example, but perhaps only
the MBR update failed, recovery may be trivial. On the other hand, if data
was in the process of being moved when the error occurred, recovery may be
problematic. Good luck.

Jim

 

[oceanclub]

Phew, panic over. I got another drive from somewhere, installed Windows

on that from scratch, then attached the drive above that appeared to be

wiped to the machine. It appears fine.

As to create a partition now, what application instead of PM would you
recommend?

Cheers,

P.

 

[Peter]

Phew, panic over. I got another drive from somewhere, installed Windows

on that from scratch, then attached the drive above that appeared to be

wiped to the machine. It appears fine.

As to create a partition now, what application instead of PM would you
recommend?

Operating System utility. In case of Windows XP, that will be Disk
Management.