Clean reinstall getting dirtier each attempt?

[Guest]

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?

 

[JS]

I assume you mean Gigabyte and not 39MB. The 8GB partition is most likely
the Vendor's recovery partition, leave this untouched.
Since you just installed Windows it can't hurt to do it all over again, may
be boring and time consuming but it's a learning experience.
I would during the install delete the 39GB partition, create a new boot
partition the same size, format it and then continue with the install.

According to the boot.ini you posted both copies of Windows are located on C
and you can run msconfig (start/run msconfig) and in the boot tab check the
boot path and remove any that are not valid, but you still would end up with
two copies of Windows on the drive.

JS

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?

 

[Ricky]

If you're wanting to do a clean install have a look here..
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

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?

 

[Guest]

JS - I actually DO mean 39mb, not GB. Hence the problem of not being able to
use that unpartitioned space in the install. I try to set the size and it
limits its minimum size to 8mb and maximum size at 31mb. If I then make the
31mb partitioned space in the install I get a message saying the partitioned
space needs at least 1015mb of space to accomodate windows. Do I need to go
through Disk Mgmt. and create a different partition space then start the
install over putting it on the newly created partition?

Also, in MSCONFIG, if I check the boot paths it recognizes the invalid one
but removing it puts me into Selective startup mode - relaunching MSCONFIG
with each reboot. Not sure how to address this (or if i even should) as it
seems the better option would be removing the faulty OS and other data
wasting space on my HD.


Ricky - while I appreciate the link, I've looked over and followed what was
said there to the best of my abilities on the 2nd and 3rd attempts at fixing
this but still am running into the aforementioned problems at the
partitioning phase. This is resulting in not getting clean installation and
instead getting extra OS' on my HD.

 

[JS]

Do you know what the actual size of the drive should be?

JS

 

[Nepatsfan]

Answered below.

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

 

[Guest]

Nepatsfan, answers to your questions addressed in the copied body of your
post.

:

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.

Yes, it is a Dell (Dimension 8250). Yes I have a resources CD, for now I
won'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.

Ignoring this too, for now.

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.

Check! 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/

Understand this and believe i can edit the Boot.ini as directed. Just didn't
think that was fixing the problem as much as directing startup to ignore it.

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?

New installation seems to work ok, I've had a few problems downloading and
reinstalling XP Service Pack 2 (as I've needed to remove it whenever i've
gone back to using the XP reainstallation disk) also had some problems with
Norton Phishing Filter not DLing. Not sure what the question is about my User
Account, if I logoff this is still the only account available to log back in
to and it is the Admin acct. I CAN access my old files, including files for
programs i thought would have been deleted/overwritten by the clean install.
Examples include Teamspeak and WinRAR...Although I haven't reloaded nor
reinstalled either program I can still access both through my Program 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.

In the Documents and Settings folder I have many duplicate an/or additional
folders. 3 Administrator variants, 2 All Users variants, 2 Hidden Default
User variants, 3 Jeffrey variants, 2 Hidden LocalSevice variants, and 2
Hidden NetworkService variants.

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

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Thanks for the help so far. I'll see about editing the boot.ini while
waiting for reply to this.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

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

Because the partitioning utility does not support redefinition, only
deletion and creation.

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

Via the Administrator account, only available in Safe Mode.

nor how to setup the partitions such that I could
safely reinstall anywhere but the C:\ drive,

You can't, since there is no room.

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.

That's the install you said was corrupt?

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.

It doesn't.

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

Which is perfectly ordinary behaviour for Setup and Diskpart. The
partitioning utility doesn't support this action.

into a partitioned place large enough for the install.
This leaves me with only the C:\ drive as a valid location at all.

Yes, and you'll need to format that for a clean install.

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.

What that describes won't help you because you cannot perform these
operations on the system disk while Windows is running. The only way you
can alter the partition with the Windows tools is to boot from the XP CD and
use the partitioning tools. Yes, this will wipe your disk and all the
data.

You can use 3rd party utilities, but they will not fix the problems you are
creating.

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?

No, that's quite wrong. There's no usable space there. You need at least
several gigabytes.

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?

First, you're not describing a clean install, and second, I think you don't
understand your system's layout or the partitioning tools available in
setup. It's really very simple, because there aren't a lot of options
available. Part of the the problem is that you think there are more
options.

Your drive has three sections, the smallest is unallocated space often found
on NTFS partitions, the other is likely some BIOS/EISA utilities, and the
rest is available for use. And it's currently in use as the C drive.

You cannot install to the two smaller areas. They are simply too small and
are not usable by you.

But, you cannot modify or redefine the size of an existing partition with
the XP Setup tools. To change the partition size with these tools, you
must delete and re-create. Yes, this means that any data on the drive
will be destroyed. As I say, there aren't a lot of options available.

What you've done is to create two parallel installs on the same drive, which
forces both to use common folders. However, the boot.ini file references
both as if they are independent, which they aren't quite, and one may or may
not have rights to the files.

This is *not* a clean install, which starts from at least a format, and you
are going to run into problems, as you are finding.

To take ownership of files on XP Home, you must reboot as Administrator,
which is only available in Safe Mode, and use the security tools to take
ownership.

What I would suggest that you do depends on whether or not there's data of
value on the drive.

If there isn't, re-run setup and tell it to format the space identified as
C:. You will then be able to do a real clean install. YES, this means
that ALL data WILL be lost.

If there is data of value, you need to protect it before you destroy it.
So, go get a new hard disk - these aren't expensive - and install it as the
only drive in the system, using the same jumper settings. Physically remove
the old drive. Now run Setup and let it make partitions, format them, and
install XP. Once it's complete, re-attach the old drive as a secondary
drive, setting jumpers as appropriate. You can now take ownership of the
files on that drive and copy them to useful locations.

Either of these will probably take less time than trying to figure out how
to safely fix the currently broken bits, and give you a more reliable base.

HTH
-pk

 

[Nepatsfan]

Nepatsfan, answers to your questions addressed in the copied
body of your post.

:

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.

Yes, it is a Dell (Dimension 8250). Yes I have a resources
CD, for now I won'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.

Ignoring this too, for now.

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.

Check! 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/

Understand this and believe i can edit the Boot.ini as
directed. Just didn't think that was fixing the problem as
much as directing startup to ignore it.

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?

New installation seems to work ok, I've had a few problems
downloading and reinstalling XP Service Pack 2 (as I've
needed to remove it whenever i've gone back to using the XP
reainstallation disk) also had some problems with Norton
Phishing Filter not DLing. Not sure what the question is
about my User Account, if I logoff this is still the only
account available to log back in to and it is the Admin
acct. I CAN access my old files, including files for
programs i thought would have been deleted/overwritten by
the clean install. Examples include Teamspeak and
WinRAR...Although I haven't reloaded nor reinstalled either
program I can still access both through my Program 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.

In the Documents and Settings folder I have many duplicate
an/or additional folders. 3 Administrator variants, 2 All
Users variants, 2 Hidden Default User variants, 3 Jeffrey
variants, 2 Hidden LocalSevice variants, and 2 Hidden
NetworkService variants.

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

Good luck

Nepatsfan

Thanks for the help so far. I'll see about editing the
boot.ini while waiting for reply to this.

The single Windows folder along with the extra user accounts
confirms that you only have one installation of Windows XP on
your computer. Editing boot.ini is all you need to do to
resolve that issue.

That brings us to the extra folders in the Documents and
Settings folder. When you reinstalled XP into the existing
Windows folder it simply wrote over the old Windows files.
Unfortunately, when you do this Windows creates a whole new set
of user accounts. Since you can't have two user accounts with
the same name, Windows will add the name of your computer to
the end of the new account name. You've probably got an
Administrator folder along with an Administrator.XXXXXX folder,
where XXXXXX is the name of your computer.

To determine what set of folders Windows is using, do the
following.
Go to Start -> Run and enter %userprofile% in the Open box.
Click OK.
This should open the current folder for the Jeffrey account.
Note the last part of that folder name, Jeffrey.XXXXXXX.
Any folders which have the same letters appended to their name
represent the current set of user accounts.

The bottom line is that those extra folders are probably not a
problem other than the fact that they take up hard drive space.
How you handle this is up to you. If it was me, and I didn't
plan on performing a clean installation anytime soon, I'd leave
them be. You may find yourself needing some of the files that
are in those extra Jeffrey folders.

If that was my computer I'd run it for a couple of weeks. If
major problems, or a number of minor ones, kept occurring, I'd
then do a clean installation.

Speaking of clean installations, should you decide that you
need to reinstall Windows, here are some articles that you may
find helpful.

Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP
Clean Install Windows XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Clean Install with Illustrative Screen Captures
http://www.theeldergeek.com/xp_home_install_-_graphic.htm

Once you've backed up all your important files you should
gather up all the installation media for your applications
along with their associated CD keys. This time, you'll be
deleting all the existing partitions and creating new ones.
Keep in mind that any data on your hard drive will be lost if
you haven't backed it up.

As for the issues you had with Service Pack 2, that can be
resolved by creating what's called a "slipstreamed"
installation CD. Here's some information on that procedure.

Create a Slip Stream version of Windows XP
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm

Here are some of the files you'll need to obtain in order to
follow this procedure:

Windows XP Service Pack 2 Network Installation Package for IT
Professionals and Developers
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...be-3b8e-4f30-8245-9e368d3cdb5a&displaylang=en

Order Windows XP Service Pack 2 on CD
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/updates/sp2/cdorder/en_us/default.mspx

AutoStreamer 1.0.33
http://fileforum.betanews.com/detail/1092632287/1

CDBurner XPPro
http://www.cdburnerxp.se/download.php

Here are some other resources you might want to take a look at:

How to use AutoStreamer to Slipstream Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/using_autostreamer/using_autostreamer.html

Slipstreamed Windows XP CD Using SP2
http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp2_cd.htm

Slipstreaming Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Create Bootable CD
http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/winxp-sp2-bootcd.html

How can I slipstream service packs into the Windows 2000,
Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 media?
http://www.petri.co.il/windows_2000_xp_sp_slipstreaming.htm

Universal Windows Slipstreaming and Bootable CD Guide
http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=show&showarticle=49

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

There is nothing of value on the drive. I have no qualms against doing a
clean reinstall as i haven't reloaded much of my software until I was sure
things were moving forward acceptably.

You say simply "re-run setup and tell it to format the space identified as
C:". This is the part I'm not understanding.

I've gone back following instructions for clean install up to the point it
wants me to select where to put the installation. As mentioned, it doesn't
let me do anything to the unpartitioned small spaces. It DOES let me
reinstall onto C:\ but also gives a warning that it will install another OS
where one already exists and that it can cause conflicts with a reference
link about Dual-Booting (which I don't want to do). At this point I exit out
of setup because it doesn't seem like it intends to overwrite nor reformat
the drive before installing the OS.

How, why, or where am I missing this step to reformat my C:\ drive before
proceeding with the install?

 

[Nepatsfan]

There is nothing of value on the drive. I have no qualms
against doing a clean reinstall as i haven't reloaded much
of my software until I was sure things were moving forward
acceptably.

You say simply "re-run setup and tell it to format the space
identified as C:". This is the part I'm not understanding.

I've gone back following instructions for clean install up
to the point it wants me to select where to put the
installation. As mentioned, it doesn't let me do anything to
the unpartitioned small spaces. It DOES let me reinstall
onto C:\ but also gives a warning that it will install
another OS where one already exists and that it can cause
conflicts with a reference link about Dual-Booting (which I
don't want to do). At this point I exit out of setup because
it doesn't seem like it intends to overwrite nor reformat
the drive before installing the OS.

How, why, or where am I missing this step to reformat my C:\
drive before proceeding with the install?

Just out of curiosity, how are you starting the installation?
Are you booting from the installation CD? Or, are you starting
the installation from within Windows?

You need to boot from the CD in order to be able to delete the
partition that contains your current XP installation. To boot
from the CD restart your computer with the XP installation CD
in the CD drive. Press the F12 key as soon as you see the
screen which displays the Dell logo. If that doesn't work,
you'll have to configure your system's BIOS to boot from the
CD. Take a look at the documentation that came with your
computer for more info.

Look at the information starting on pages 71 and 115
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim8250/K0004bk0.pdf

Once you start the installation proceed to this screen.

Windows XP Home Edition Setup
http://www.theeldergeek.com/images/XP Home Setup Graphic/HH.gif

Delete all the partitions on your hard drive by pressing the D
key.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Patrick Keenan]

There is nothing of value on the drive. I have no qualms against doing a
clean reinstall as i haven't reloaded much of my software until I was sure
things were moving forward acceptably.

You say simply "re-run setup and tell it to format the space identified as
C:". This is the part I'm not understanding.

Boot from the XP CD, do not run Setup from within Windows.

I've gone back following instructions for clean install up to the point it
wants me to select where to put the installation. As mentioned, it doesn't
let me do anything to the unpartitioned small spaces. It DOES let me
reinstall onto C:\ but also gives a warning that it will install another
OS
where one already exists and that it can cause conflicts with a reference
link about Dual-Booting (which I don't want to do). At this point I exit
out
of setup because it doesn't seem like it intends to overwrite nor reformat
the drive before installing the OS.

Which would probablby describe the behaviour of the Windows-lauched setup.
Boot from the CD.

How, why, or where am I missing this step to reformat my C:\ drive before
proceeding with the install?

It's right after the part where you select the partition, where you can
remove and create partitions. And IIRC that is not available if you
started Setup within Windows. Boot from the CD.

It's not a bad idea to remove the C partition and re-create it, and takes
only a few seconds. If you want to alter the size, this is the only place
you can - delete the partition and create a new one of the new size.

If you do this, also delete the other small area that isn't the Dell
diagnostics partition, and *then* create one partition the full size that's
available. You may find that the 3rd small area is re-created anyway, but
you'll have fresh partition tables to work from.

But, if you are running XP Setup from within Windows, you probably won't see
the partition or format information since Setup is using the partition at
the moment, and you'd be removing what it is running on.

Boot from the XP CD and you will have more control of the drive and be given
access to the partition tools. Read the screens carefully.

You may need to adjust the boot sequence to allow booting from the CD.

HTH
-pk

 

[Guest]

Thanks guys. I was able to find where I was going wrong and it was indeed due
to not booting directly from CD. I was using the up/down arrows instead of
the +/- to try and enable the CD-ROM Drive to work. Finally the reading &
comprehension kicked in and said "wait...that says use + and - not
arrows....doh."

Clean install went through without any issue after correcting that and
everything is again correctly installed and updated.

Thank you for the patience and feedback.