[SRTUK]

ok thank you

my email is

[email protected]

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it will work --I mean the upgrade disk

You want to use the testdisk application to recover your partition.

Simply fixing the master boot record will not work...I am not 100 percent certain you will be able to do this, since it sounds like Windows XP created a new partition and then formatted it--the error loading OS message you get occurs when? When the setup routine you noted above asks for your previous OS?

If so, you are a couple steps beyond restoring a partition, which normally must be done immediately after it is deleted.

[gerryf]

it will work --I mean the upgrade disk

You want to use the testdisk application to recover your partition.

Simply fixing the master boot record will not work...I am not 100 percent certain you will be able to do this, since it sounds like Windows XP created a new partition and then formatted it--the error loading OS message you get occurs when? When the setup routine you noted above asks for your previous OS?

If so, you are a couple steps beyond restoring a partition, which normally must be done immediately after it is deleted.

[SRTUK]

It basically happens when I turn the laptop on....you get the dell logo and then the message Error loading operating system_

[dsenette]

i think it's just not finding the original partition. because i think that with the xp upgrade disk it wont install unless you have the previous os. if the os was removed before the install started then it wouldnt have re done the partition. one way or another 2000 has to get back on there.

[dsenette]

that file is decidedly not gonna email.

[gerryf]

i think it's just not finding the original partition. because i think that with the xp upgrade disk it wont install unless you have the previous os. if the os was removed before the install started then it wouldnt have re done the partition. one way or another 2000 has to get back on there.

he said he removed the partition earlier.

If he removed the partition, windows xp setup creates a new one.

If he simply formatted, then a recovey program may work from the cd, but...may be not since many file recovery programs restore files, but not folder heirarchy--and windows setup will look for files in certain places.

However, all of this may be academic....do you have a windows 98, 98se, or ME disk?

[SRTUK]

No I dont i'm afraid only that XP upgrade one......I'm sorry if I have given wrong information though but to be totally honest I'm ot 100% sure what I done all I know is that it was stupid .

[dsenette]

gerryf- if he chose the delete partition selection in the windows setup that happens when you boot from a windows cd it only removes the pointer from the mbr thats why it only take a few seconds to process. the XP update cd shouldnt format or install anything without running ontop of another os.

[gerryf]

dsenette,

I know what the delete partition function does, however, if the partition is deleted, windows setup notes there is no active partition, then offers to create one, then offers to format.

That is what I am talking about.

His error message is somewhat vague as to where is error is occuring. Perhaps I am wrong at which point the windows setup routine asks for the proof of previous OS, which I thought occurs after this point.

Now that I think about it, that would be rather odd....i will take a look

[dsenette]

right, and if the partition is still available the fixmbr and the mbr wizard can make the partition active.

[dsenette]

besides, like i said- can't really mess it up any more than it is.

[gerryf]

okey dokey...let's see wait and see what happens then. I am interested in the outcome

fwiw, I checked, and you are correct...it asks for the previos os verification before the partition creation routine, so that would not be the case.

Srtuk, how did you delete windows 2000?

If you had used the windows xp disk to delete the partition, you would already be past that point, and it would have continued. DOS bootdisk?

Or, did you not delete the partition, but formatted the drive?

[SRTUK]

I'm really sorry but I dont quite understand :S

As far as I can remember (and this was a few months ago now) I used the upgrade disk and actually dleeted the partition or whatever with Windows 2000 on it stupidly thinking that because I have Win XP it wont matter. But then obviously straight after doing so I remembered it was only an upgrade.

Sorry if that's wrong or whatever but I can barely remember.

[dsenette]

so basically you inserted your xp setup disk and rebooted. on reboot you booted from cd. the windows setup system came up. you agreed to the eula and then chose to set up windows. which gave you the option to do some things with the current partitions. the one you chose was delete right?

[SRTUK]

Pretty much yeah