'error loading operating system'!

[Steve]

Hi
In a bit of a panic here!
I have a single 200gig HD in my pc, partitioned as 120gb
(c) and 80gb (d). I use the 'd' drive as a backup drive
for user data and files.
Just rebooted my pc and there were errors re loading XP.
Tried a few different things which didn;'t work, so opted
for a repair install. Did the usual, 'enter to setup
windows', the F8, then chose existing installation,
then 'repair'. All seemed to work fine, but when i came to
reboot, after an application hang (office 2003), i now get
the error message ' error loading operating system'. There
are no missing dll's listed, or anything like that, just
the error message.
Thought i'd clean instal xp on the 'd' partition,
then 'take over' the files from the original instal, but
windows reports drive c as unrecognised - saying it need
to format the drive. Same thing for trying to instal
on 'c'.

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can get the pc back up
please? don;t mind about reinstalling windows and apps,
but i have to get the data on the drive 'd'.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Many thanks
Steve

 

[Steve]

Just booted using Bart PE boot disk. My HD shows up
as 'RAW' format - no idea what has happened here!

Advice appreciated

Thanks
Steve

 

[Malke]

Hi
In a bit of a panic here!
I have a single 200gig HD in my pc, partitioned as 120gb
(c) and 80gb (d). I use the 'd' drive as a backup drive
for user data and files.
Just rebooted my pc and there were errors re loading XP.
Tried a few different things which didn;'t work, so opted
for a repair install. Did the usual, 'enter to setup
windows', the F8, then chose existing installation,
then 'repair'. All seemed to work fine, but when i came to
reboot, after an application hang (office 2003), i now get
the error message ' error loading operating system'. There
are no missing dll's listed, or anything like that, just
the error message.
Thought i'd clean instal xp on the 'd' partition,
then 'take over' the files from the original instal, but
windows reports drive c as unrecognised - saying it need
to format the drive. Same thing for trying to instal
on 'c'.

Does anyone have any ideas of how i can get the pc back up
please? don;t mind about reinstalling windows and apps,
but i have to get the data on the drive 'd'.

1. Do a hard drive diagnostic test by downloading a utility from the
drive mftr.'s website. Usually you make a bootable floppy, boot with
it, and do a thorough test. If the drive tests bad, you know you'll
need to replace it.

2. Try booting Knoppix, a Linux distro that runs from cd. If Linux has
no problem with your drive, the hardware is probably OK. If Linux has a
problem with it, then you know it's hardware and not Windows. If your
computer has two cd drives, one of which is cd-r, if Knoppix sees your
files you can burn them to cd-r using k3b. This would be a good thing
to do even if your drive is OK because you will then have a backup and
not be worried about losing your data.

3. You can also try slaving the drive in another working XP box and see
if the drive is recognized. If it is, get the files off by
right-clicking, dragging, and copying (*not* by "Move").

Malke

 

[Steve]

Thanks Malke
I'll give these a try
Really appreciate your help
Best regards
Steve

 

[Jon]

Insert your windows CD and restart computer (adjusting BIOS settings if
necessary to allow booting from CD)
Follow the setup prompts. At the "Welcome to setup" screen press "R" to
start the Recovery Console

From the Recovery Console, make repairs to the first partition
(NB do not delete the entry for the second partition in the partition table)

Type a command and /? to view it's syntax

eg

diskpart (info on partitions on disk)
bootcfg /scan (scans for windows installations)
bootcfg /rebuild (automatically replace the boot.ini)
fixboot (new boot sector for first partition)



Jon