Partition problem during XP Repair install

Discussion in 'Software' started by Robebcan, Jan 10, 2009.

  1. Robebcan

    Robebcan Private E-2

    It seems that my XP Pro Setup did not find any XP OS during the Setup. After requesting the Licence Agreement, the next window should be a list of the XP versions on the computer, and the option to either repair, or install a fresh copy in that location.

    Instead, I got the following:
    "Windows XP Professional Setup
    The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on the computer. Use the UP and DOWN arrows to select an item.
    *to setup Windows XP on selected item, press ENTER
    *to create a partition in unpartitioned space, press C
    *to delete the selected partition, press D

    152,646 MB Disk 0 at Id1 on bus 0 on atapi
    C: partition1 (Win XP) (NTFS) 20,000 MB, 11,000 MB free
    E: partition2 (DATA) (NTFS) 132,000 MB, 91,000 MB free

    38163 MB Disk 0 at Id0 on bus 0 on atapi
    D: partition1 (NTFS) 33,000 MB 8 MB free"

    The C: drive is the correct location of my XP Pro, and the MB size data is correct, but the physical drive is partitioned into C:\XP Pro and D:\My Documents etc.

    Similarly, drive E: is a 150GB physical drive with partitions E:\XP home and I:\Data.

    (These 2 physical drives are IDE units in a Master/Slave configuration)

    If select C:\ in this window, I get the following screen
    "You chose to install XP on a partition that contains another operating system. Installing XP on this partition may cause the other operating system to function improperly."
    I am afraid that Continuing with this Repair install will default into a Fresh Install and destroy the registry of programs I run on this drive, because I have NEVER seen this "Partition" screen on the previous times I ran a Repair install.

    I selected ESC and shutdown the computer.

    Here is my Hardware/Software profile.

    WinXP Pro SP2
    ASUS P5QL Pro with 2 Celeron 1.6 Mhz and 2 GB RAM.

    One SATA 40 GB HD which I do not use for Booting, but is partitioned with Win XP Home and "Backup Files". (This is probably the 38163 MB disk D: in the list above)

    One IDE 20 GB Master HD partitioned with XP Pro and "Programs and Files", which I use as my Boot drive. (Probably disk C: in the list above)

    One IDE 150 GB Slave HD paritioned with XP Home, and "Data". (Probably disk E: in the list above).

    Why am I trying to Repair Install Windows XP Pro?

    Last night, when I shutdown the computer, everything was working normally. When I booted up today, the computer refused to start Windows. It initially offered me the choice to boot into Safe Mode or any of the other normal options. None of them worked. Instead, the computer rebooted and brought up the same screen. I tried my floppy WinRescue XP but got the same result. I changed my Boot Device to my SATA HD and am now using XP Home to investigate the problem. I MUST USE my XP PRO on drive C: because that is where all my programs reside.

    While I await advice, I am moving/copying files as fast as I can!
    Thanks
     

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