[Retired Tech]

Size and equal free space could mean empty

Is there a reason for them being FAT not NTFS

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Your guess is as good as mine, I haven't done anything to it as far as I know.

What do you mean empty? Could it be the reason windows won't start up?

Should I select C: ?

[twolfe87]

Your guess is as good as mine, I haven't done anything to it as far as I know.

What do you mean empty? Could it be the reason windows won't start up?

Should I select C: ?

[Retired Tech]

Yes, go with C

The smaller ones seem like incomplete installs

[twolfe87]

This is interesting.

I select C: and hit enter a screen comes up that says

"The partition is either too full, damaged, not formatted, or formatted with an incompatible file system. To continue installing Windows, Setup must format this partition.

C: Partition2 [Unknown] 71594 MB ( 71594 MB free)
on 76317 MB Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on atapi [MBR].

CAUTION: Formatting will delete any files on the partition."

Then it gives me the option to select one of two options.

Format the partition using the NTFS file system (Quick)
or
Format the partition using the NTFS file system

What on earth is going on here, and what do I do?

[Retired Tech]

I would find another PC to put this drive into as a slave drive to look for the contents of the drive

If you format, everything is gone, also with it being the largest partition, that's probably where windows is / should be

having unexplained partitions isn't correct or good

[twolfe87]

I'm not quite sure how to do that, but in any case I'll get back to you tomorrow as I've got to get some sleep.

How do I plug it in as a slave drive? It's a laptop.

How could this happen?

[Retired Tech]

I will check that, though laptops can be difficult

[twolfe87]

Ok, catch you later.

[twolfe87]

Ok, just got home from work.

I've had the day to think about this, and I've come up with a few questions and ideas.

First, if it says the drive is empty, the drive is empty, isn't it? I'm not sure what inserting the drive into another computer would do. especially if it is of an incompatible file system is being used. That, and unfortuneately I do not have another computer running XP pro in the house. (I'm not sure if the home or media center versions would work.)

Secondly, I'm wondering how on earth this could happen. I mean I'm not competent enough to do this on my own, I wouldn't even begin to know where to look to change the file system. I'm about 90% sure when I did the last repair install that it said NFTS, I don't know where this FAT, and unknown, and FAT32 would come from.

Do you think this is/was a virus? Could XP just never have been installed correctly/completely to begin with? I mean I have been having problems like this from about a month after I bought it new. Only one has been spyware, winfixer. Since then I have been extremely cautious, and agressive with my anti-virus software. Everything else hase been little things in the microsoft files, which causes me to believe that maybe XP was never installed correctly to begin with.

Seriously, I'm about ready to send it to Dell, and say "It's your problem, fix it" ( I do still have it under a service plan)

Before I do that though, when I had the last problem, I had to get the XP CD sent to me, with it Dell included a "Drivers and Utilities" CD, and a "Application, Dell System Tools" CD, do you think I have everything I need to reinstall XP, just start from scratch you know?

i have the CD's for everything I've bought since I got the computer, which includes Microsoft office. I'm not if that's everything I'll need though.

I have all my important pictures from my trip to europe backed up. My music is replaceable.

Do you think I can reinstall it myself? Do I need anything more?

So what do you think? Have you found out anything more?

Edited by twolfe87, 15 May 2006 - 10:11 PM.

[Retired Tech]

You can install it yourself

It does not have to be another XP PC, just one which can understand the files which are on there

[twolfe87]

What about it being a laptop, how am I supposed to hook it up as a slave drive?

Basically it says the drive is empty, is there any time that it can say it's empty when it isn't?

Browsing the boards I see a lot of people with the same kind of problem, maybe not exactly the same, but trouble with booting and that screen which makes you continuously resart. Do you think this was a virus?

[Retired Tech]

Is there important data on the drive

[twolfe87]

I don't think so.

I have my pictures backed up, my music is replaceable, and I have all the software I've gotten since I bought the computer.

I did buy a student edition of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Powerpoint...) I can just reinstall that right?

[Retired Tech]

The student edition has a product key?

I suspect that the drive is either empty or as it said, too damaged to do anything with

When you go for the repair, press enter onthe first screen, press F8 then press R which should give a screen asking which version you want to repair

[twolfe87]

I believe it did, though I can't recall ever having to enter it.

You're saying that might prevent me from reinstalling those programs? Is there someway to contact MS and say, you know "hey my computer crashed and I need to be able to reinstall MS office", or am I kinda screwed?

You wouldn't happen to have a thread with some detailed instructions for reinstalling XP would you? I am reinstalling it right, not repairing it?

As far as Office, I think I'm going to go find that CD and try and install it on another computer.