repairing xp: partitions

[Guest]

I have been trying to repair my xp from my boot disk, but of course my
computer does not follow the steps listed in other threads here. I have xp
home with sp2 on a dell dimension 3100. here's what happens:
I boot from the disk... press ENTER to start setup... press F8 to accept the
agreement... but instead of getting a list of xp installations to choose
from i get a message about partitions that looks like this:

The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on
this computer.

Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select an item in the list

- to set up Windows XP on the selected item press ENTER
-To create a partition in the unpartitioned space press C
-To celete the partition press D

-: Partition1 [FAT] 39MB (31 MB free)
C: Partition2 [NTFS] 73171MB (43928MB free)
E: Partition3 [FAT32] 3075MB (943MB free)
unpartitioned space 8MB

I have no idea what this is. when i select one it either says that it is
not able to install windows in that partition, or there is not enough space.
if someone could give me some help i would be very thankful!

 

[C J.]

I have been trying to repair my xp from my boot disk, but of course my
computer does not follow the steps listed in other threads here. I have
xp home with sp2 on a dell dimension 3100. here's what happens:
I boot from the disk... press ENTER to start setup... press F8 to accept
the agreement... but instead of getting a list of xp installations to
choose from i get a message about partitions that looks like this:

The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space
on this computer.

Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select an item in the list

- to set up Windows XP on the selected item press ENTER
-To create a partition in the unpartitioned space press C
-To celete the partition press D

-: Partition1 [FAT] 39MB (31 MB free)
C: Partition2 [NTFS] 73171MB (43928MB free)
E: Partition3 [FAT32] 3075MB (943MB free)
unpartitioned space 8MB

I have no idea what this is. when i select one it either says that it is
not able to install windows in that partition, or there is not enough
space. if someone could give me some help i would be very thankful!

-: Partition1 [Fat] is the DELL service diagnostic partition.
C: Partition2 [NTFS] is Windows XP's partition.
E: Partition3 [Fat32] is factory's XP installation Image for restoring
your PC to factory Specs.

 

[Rock]

I have been trying to repair my xp from my boot disk, but of course my
computer does not follow the steps listed in other threads here. I have
xp
home with sp2 on a dell dimension 3100. here's what happens:
I boot from the disk... press ENTER to start setup... press F8 to accept
the
agreement... but instead of getting a list of xp installations to choose
from i get a message about partitions that looks like this:

The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space
on
this computer.

Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select an item in the list

- to set up Windows XP on the selected item press ENTER
-To create a partition in the unpartitioned space press C
-To celete the partition press D

-: Partition1 [FAT] 39MB (31 MB free)
C: Partition2 [NTFS] 73171MB (43928MB free)
E: Partition3 [FAT32] 3075MB (943MB free)
unpartitioned space 8MB

I have no idea what this is. when i select one it either says that it is
not able to install windows in that partition, or there is not enough
space.
if someone could give me some help i would be very thankful!

It doesn't sound like the CD you're using has the capability to do a repair
install. What kind of CD are you using? A Dell recovery CD or an XP
installation CD, either retail or generic OEM? What exactly are you trying
to accomplish when you write, "I have been trying to repair my XP...". What
are the problems?

 

[C J.]

I have been trying to repair my xp from my boot disk, but of course my
computer does not follow the steps listed in other threads here. I have
xp
home with sp2 on a dell dimension 3100. here's what happens:
I boot from the disk... press ENTER to start setup... press F8 to accept
the
agreement... but instead of getting a list of xp installations to choose
from i get a message about partitions that looks like this:

The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space
on
this computer.

Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select an item in the list

- to set up Windows XP on the selected item press ENTER
-To create a partition in the unpartitioned space press C
-To celete the partition press D

-: Partition1 [FAT] 39MB (31 MB free)
C: Partition2 [NTFS] 73171MB (43928MB free)
E: Partition3 [FAT32] 3075MB (943MB free)
unpartitioned space 8MB

I have no idea what this is. when i select one it either says that it is
not able to install windows in that partition, or there is not enough
space.
if someone could give me some help i would be very thankful!

It doesn't sound like the CD you're using has the capability to do a
repair install. What kind of CD are you using? A Dell recovery CD or an
XP installation CD, either retail or generic OEM? What exactly are you
trying to accomplish when you write, "I have been trying to repair my
XP...". What are the problems?

If he were to have selected C: Partition2 and hit Enter... he'd of seen
options to do a repair install on existing windows Partition, or do a clean
re-install on Drive C: partition. Btw.. Djen - pressing F11 (or 12) on the
Dell Splash screen runs Windows Setup from your E: partition -so using the
CD wouldn't have been necessary, plus its automated install and set up, with
image from factory. No need to provide a product key.

 

[Rock]

I have been trying to repair my xp from my boot disk, but of course my
computer does not follow the steps listed in other threads here. I have
xp
home with sp2 on a dell dimension 3100. here's what happens:
I boot from the disk... press ENTER to start setup... press F8 to accept
the
agreement... but instead of getting a list of xp installations to
choose
from i get a message about partitions that looks like this:

The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space
on
this computer.

Use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to select an item in the list

- to set up Windows XP on the selected item press ENTER
-To create a partition in the unpartitioned space press C
-To celete the partition press D

-: Partition1 [FAT] 39MB (31 MB free)
C: Partition2 [NTFS] 73171MB (43928MB free)
E: Partition3 [FAT32] 3075MB (943MB free)
unpartitioned space 8MB

I have no idea what this is. when i select one it either says that it
is
not able to install windows in that partition, or there is not enough
space.
if someone could give me some help i would be very thankful!

It doesn't sound like the CD you're using has the capability to do a
repair install. What kind of CD are you using? A Dell recovery CD or an
XP installation CD, either retail or generic OEM? What exactly are you
trying to accomplish when you write, "I have been trying to repair my
XP...". What are the problems?

If he were to have selected C: Partition2 and hit Enter... he'd of seen
options to do a repair install on existing windows Partition, or do a
clean re-install on Drive C: partition. Btw.. Djen - pressing F11 (or 12)
on the Dell Splash screen runs Windows Setup from your E: partition -so
using the CD wouldn't have been necessary, plus its automated install and
set up, with image from factory. No need to provide a product key.

It's still not clear what the cause is here. Not all CD's offer the option
of a repair install, and for those that do, sometimes the repair option is
not offered because of some problems with the installation. The OP needs to
come back with more info.