Repairing XP - Can't Find Previous Installation

[oceanclub]

After getting a virus, I decided to perform a full reinstall. Before I
did this, I attempted to shrink the C: partition on the disk, then
enlarge the D partition (so I could copy files to it before wiping the
C partition).

While doing this, PartitionMagic gave an error. On rebooting, the
Windows XP logo is only displayed for a second before the machine
reboots.

When I attempted to perform a repair installation, the setup cannot
find the previous installation on C. (It only knows it now as
"Partition 1 0- Unknown".

Any ideas what to do now? I'm worried I'll now lose all files on my
drive.

P>

 

[John Barnett MVP]

You may have already lost the files on the drive, especially with PM
throwing up an error.

--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org

The information in this post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any kind,
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[Malke]

After getting a virus, I decided to perform a full reinstall. Before I
did this, I attempted to shrink the C: partition on the disk, then
enlarge the D partition (so I could copy files to it before wiping the
C partition).

While doing this, PartitionMagic gave an error. On rebooting, the
Windows XP logo is only displayed for a second before the machine
reboots.

When I attempted to perform a repair installation, the setup cannot
find the previous installation on C. (It only knows it now as
"Partition 1 0- Unknown".

Any ideas what to do now? I'm worried I'll now lose all files on my
drive.

P>

Do nothing further on the drive. If you are skilled in partition repair
(doesn't sound like it) and comfortable working in DOS, you can use
ptedit (included with PM 8.01) to fix the partition. Otherwise, take
the drive to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
version of BigShopUSA) for data retrieval.

Malke

 

[oceanclub]

Phew, panic over. I got another drive from somewhere, installed Windows
on that from scratch, then attached the drive above that appeared to be
wiped to the machine. It appears fine.

P.

 

[Malke]

Phew, panic over. I got another drive from somewhere, installed
Windows on that from scratch, then attached the drive above that
appeared to be wiped to the machine. It appears fine.

P.

Glad to hear it. Now design a good backup strategy and use it for the
future.

Malke