lost files on a HDD

Hi
i had a problem with my HD and now , windows cannot boot anymore.
when booting from the CD, windows xp detects the hard disk as empty with an unknown file format.
I can see the files with some recovery tools but dont have another hard disk to recover to the files to.
is there any way to "tell" windows the disk is using NTFS so i can recover the old setup without formatting the HD and without using another one for the files recovery ?
thx a lot

 

When you boot the PC, what happens? Do you get any kind of error message?

 

when i boot i get the usual windows screen with the progress bar then the blue screen saying i have to restart windows again.

 

When you booted using the XP cd, did it take you to the Install screen? If so, we can try a repair install of XP; one that should leave all of your files and applications intact - it will just over-write the operating system files (you will lose all the XP updates and will need to re-install those later).

I don't mean using the repair console - I've had little success with that.

 

I dont think it will work
the install screen detects my HD as using an unknown file format so the disk will be formatted before any install and the data will be lost.
Ontrack easy recovery detetcts the files on th disk but doesnt allow me to recover them to an external USB disk.
any ideas ?