Problem with returning to XP with dual boot vista.

[Guest]

I recently got Windos Vista, and I wanted to have it without losing windows
XP, so I installed it on a seperate partition as a dual boot. Windows Vista
works fine, but when I try to get back into Windows XP, I get a message
saying the Hardware Ajustment Layer has been corrupted (HAL.DDL) I put in my
Win XP disk to try to run recovery console, and it does not even detect that
I have windows XP. All my user data is still on the C: drive, while vista is
on F:, and it is locked from me being able to access it from Vista due to the
password I put on XP. I even tried altering the access controlls. (cacls
icacls), and I can not get to my data.

 

[Bryan Phillips]

Take Ownership of your C: drive. If that does not work, use a bootable
OS CD like Knoppix (Linux-based) or Bart PE (Windows XP-based) and
access your files that way.