reformat and slave drive

[Jim]

I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

Why do you need to reformat? Do you have only an OEM Recovery CD? If
you have a true OEM installation CD, though, you would be able to
perform a repair installation.

How to Perform an In-Place Upgrade of Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/directory/article.asp?ID=KB;EN-US;Q315341

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Conditionally, yes. The answer to this depends upon the specific OEM
Recovery method you have. Some (a minority, but a concern, nonetheless)
OEM Recovery CDs will work only on the original hardware configuration
with which they were originally sold.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

As I said, it should work, in most cases. However, you really should
look into performing a repair installation first.


--

Bruce Chambers

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safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[db]

i don't think that you
are out of options

for one thing, you have a backup
registry already reserved/preserved
for you on the disk. This is one
of the advantages built into windows
by microsoft.

further you should also have
the option to repair your o.s. in addition
to replacing the o.s. or replacing the physical harddrive.

i suppose one of the questions that remain
is "what caused the lost of registry to begin with"


- db
I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Jim]

I think some shutdown issues caused the corruption. I tried the recovery console with no luck. After looking online, I found out that OEM versions could not be repaired. I couldn't load with last known good configuration either. Still, can I install that drive as a slave, and if so, after recovering my data files, I would like to reformat it and use it as a true slave drive.

Jim
"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message i don't think that you
are out of options

for one thing, you have a backup
registry already reserved/preserved
for you on the disk. This is one
of the advantages built into windows
by microsoft.

further you should also have
the option to repair your o.s. in addition
to replacing the o.s. or replacing the physical harddrive.

i suppose one of the questions that remain
is "what caused the lost of registry to begin with"


- db
I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[db]

It may not be a good idea to reformat
the harddrive that came with your pc.

Some installation disks are "upgrade"
versions, meaning that if your oem is
a WinXP upgrade, your original harddrive
likely has some files pertaining to an older
windows.

Unlike retail "full" versions of Windows,
Windows upgrades require some evidence
that there is a previous version in your
possession. During the installation, WinXP setup will
either look for it on the hd or ask you for the
setup disks of the older windows like
win 95, win 98, win me, etc.

For me, it is my win 95 that allows me
to upgrade windows. But for sentimental
reasons I still have win 3.1 as well.

I am glad you have been doing some
research. However, please keep in mind
that Microsoft is the authority on its
o.s. I went back and found some useful
knowledge base articles that describe
similar issues you are having at this time.

I hope you can take a look at them, do
some of the steps Microsoft suggests and
hope that you will get your o.s. back
up and running.

Afterwards, we should look into discovering
the cause of your registry crash. Sometimes
a crash like yours happens when the o.s.
is writing data to the registry file and
the power goes out.

I / we will be keeping a look out
for your additional postings if you
have some questions or want to
provide us with a status.....

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341/

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545/

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

- db
I think some shutdown issues caused the corruption. I tried the recovery console with no luck. After looking online, I found out that OEM versions could not be repaired. I couldn't load with last known good configuration either. Still, can I install that drive as a slave, and if so, after recovering my data files, I would like to reformat it and use it as a true slave drive.

Jim
"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message i don't think that you
are out of options

for one thing, you have a backup
registry already reserved/preserved
for you on the disk. This is one
of the advantages built into windows
by microsoft.

further you should also have
the option to repair your o.s. in addition
to replacing the o.s. or replacing the physical harddrive.

i suppose one of the questions that remain
is "what caused the lost of registry to begin with"


- db
I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[db]

oh, i almost forgot.
it shouldn't be a problem
for expanding your system
with another hd. but you
should hold off a bit to get
the other one up and running
first......
I think some shutdown issues caused the corruption. I tried the recovery console with no luck. After looking online, I found out that OEM versions could not be repaired. I couldn't load with last known good configuration either. Still, can I install that drive as a slave, and if so, after recovering my data files, I would like to reformat it and use it as a true slave drive.

Jim
"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message i don't think that you
are out of options

for one thing, you have a backup
registry already reserved/preserved
for you on the disk. This is one
of the advantages built into windows
by microsoft.

further you should also have
the option to repair your o.s. in addition
to replacing the o.s. or replacing the physical harddrive.

i suppose one of the questions that remain
is "what caused the lost of registry to begin with"


- db
I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[Jim McConaughey]

DB,

Thanks for your input and the links to some helpful articles. I went ahead with the reformat and it worked smoothly. After it was up and running I installed the other drive as a slave and was able to recover all of my data files. I am counting my lucky stars that this didn't turn out to be anything more than $100 and a day's worth of putting everything back on the drive. I guess doing a "Spring cleaning" didn't hurt either!

Jim
"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message oh, i almost forgot.
it shouldn't be a problem
for expanding your system
with another hd. but you
should hold off a bit to get
the other one up and running
first......
I think some shutdown issues caused the corruption. I tried the recovery console with no luck. After looking online, I found out that OEM versions could not be repaired. I couldn't load with last known good configuration either. Still, can I install that drive as a slave, and if so, after recovering my data files, I would like to reformat it and use it as a true slave drive.

Jim
"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message i don't think that you
are out of options

for one thing, you have a backup
registry already reserved/preserved
for you on the disk. This is one
of the advantages built into windows
by microsoft.

further you should also have
the option to repair your o.s. in addition
to replacing the o.s. or replacing the physical harddrive.

i suppose one of the questions that remain
is "what caused the lost of registry to begin with"


- db
I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[db]

you're welcome.
DB,

Thanks for your input and the links to some helpful articles. I went ahead with the reformat and it worked smoothly. After it was up and running I installed the other drive as a slave and was able to recover all of my data files. I am counting my lucky stars that this didn't turn out to be anything more than $100 and a day's worth of putting everything back on the drive. I guess doing a "Spring cleaning" didn't hurt either!

Jim
"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message oh, i almost forgot.
it shouldn't be a problem
for expanding your system
with another hd. but you
should hold off a bit to get
the other one up and running
first......
I think some shutdown issues caused the corruption. I tried the recovery console with no luck. After looking online, I found out that OEM versions could not be repaired. I couldn't load with last known good configuration either. Still, can I install that drive as a slave, and if so, after recovering my data files, I would like to reformat it and use it as a true slave drive.

Jim
"db" <databaseben.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message i don't think that you
are out of options

for one thing, you have a backup
registry already reserved/preserved
for you on the disk. This is one
of the advantages built into windows
by microsoft.

further you should also have
the option to repair your o.s. in addition
to replacing the o.s. or replacing the physical harddrive.

i suppose one of the questions that remain
is "what caused the lost of registry to begin with"


- db
I just received the nice news that my registry is corrupt and that Windows
can't start. After some research, I see that with the OEM copy I have, I
have no other choice than to reformat.

My question..the drive itself is fine, it's Windows that has a problem. Can
I install a new hard drive, install Windows on that, then install the
original drive as a slave so that I can retrieve my files. I know, should
have backed up more often.

Will that work, and are there any special procedures other than setting the
jumper to slave and restarting Windows so that it will recognize the new
drive?

Thanks!

Jim