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Windows XP Issue
Hi all
Background
A dual boot system with Win XP pro and Suse dual boot. Boot loader GRUB 1.5
Problem
Well i want to uninstall suse for some disk space and the solution i was after was to boot with xp cd and issue fixmbr command to get the bootloader to that of xp and then use partition magic to merge the disk space.
Now when i insert the xp disk it displays the message the setup is inspecting your hardware configuration and then the screen goes blank. The LED on my cpu which is a signal that processing is going on(atleast i think so) glowed contineously during the whole period. Well i ran the cd for one and half hours but the screen remained fixed and the LED kept on full flow without even blinking which it normally does.
Sloutions tried
1. Ran cd for large amount of time. Results nothing.
2. Ran the boot disk of xp. Error floppy unreadable.
3. Tried to create a boot cd by copying boot.ini, ntldr and ntdetect.com files. Result the cd didnt boot.
4. Tried fixmbr after logging in xp. Result no internal or external command.
5. Booted with suse disk. no option to reverse boot loader install.
6. Saw Ultimate Boot CD site but not sure if it can help. If it can please give some details as i have a slow connection and it will be a hefty download.
Help required
Well i am not in a position to do a reinstall of xp. I think my floppy drive is not working because of not being used for months. I cant buy a new hdd.
Can anyone explain the unusual behavior or xp disk. I have tried both xp pro and xp media center edition disks. Same result. Blank screen and processing going on.
Is there any other way to set the mbr to use xp only.
Will the UBCD provide an environment where fixmbr can be used.
The solution is urgently required.
Please Help!
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well.........I would reinstall xp......but you cant ...why???
If you need the data off the harddrive....slave it into another machine and pull it that way???
MLF
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Hi
Actually i am extremely busy and cannot reinstall all the softwares that i need. It'll take a lot of time. That is why.
Moreover if the cd isnt working how will i reinstall??
Thanx for the early reply.
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well I dont think its a XP problem if your cd isnt working :rolleyes:
I thought it was the floppy that wasnt working...
sounds like a hardware issue....best way to tell is to repair\install....see what errors you get.
I would definately pull the data off the disk
as for time.....hire someone to do it for you
MLF
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Have you tried another CD (music, a game or whatever)? I guess the first thing to establish is if your CD drive is working?
Try running a CD cleaning disk 2 or 3 times. I would also clean your floppy drive as well.
Incidentally, I wouldn't use Partition Magic on a live HDD................ I have seen far to many disasters :eek: In fact one of my friends insists on calling it "partition tragic" after a particularly bad experience ;)
Am I right in thinking that you can still boot into Win XP? If you can, you might run the disk check and defragmenter?
Also take a look in device manager and check that the CD drive isn't flagged as having a problem.
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Hi
The cd and the drive are fully functional when i log into xp. I burnt 2 cds today after i tried this stuff. The xp cd worked fine on autorun when i placed it into drive. I even tried the media center cd but it gave same result.
Well the screen remains blank and processing continues so i cant possibly know whats happening.
I repeat the cd drive is fine.
Is there a way to get the boot files as on a boot disk so i can burn them to a cd and boot with it and use the command prompt from there for fixmbr. The same files used by floppy should work for cd. The official program from microsoft is a 4mb download and requires 6 floppies. As my drive is not working i cant use it.
Even in order to reinstall i have to make the xp cd to boot. It goes to the blank screen after the message "the setup is inspecting your hardware configuration". I think it shoud suffice for the fact that cd drive is working. Also it asks do you want to boot from cd.
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Boot into SUSE.
Log in as root.
type cfdisk
delete the /swap and / and any other Linux partitions you've set up.
Check the screen to make sure all you see if your NTFS partition or whatever Windows file system you've used.
Write to disk and shut down.
Second option:
Boot into Windows. Run Fdisk. Do the same as above. fdisk /mbr I think is the one you need to get grub off.... Can't remember, I've only done this in Windows 98.
Fdisk /mbr should work though.
Reboot. If it won't loading anything, you've messed up and need to boot from an XP disk and do the fix you tried on the MBR.
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Hi
Well i was able to boot with suse disk. I tried to find any process to change mbr on cd. There was none. I doubt that the first way will solve my problem coz if i delete those partitions it wont alter the mbr which needs to be changed.
the second option wont leave my comp in a bootable state as the mbr wont find a linux partition to transfer control to. moreover i am unable to boot with xp cd unlike suse to issue the command to change mbr.
Am i right at that please clarify.
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Uhhhh why are you trying to find a process? I don't understand now.... There isn't a process to change anything like that you type a command I've listed to do it.... And why did you boot from the SUSE CD?
Turn your computer on, and take out any CDs or Floppys, and then you boot into either Windows or SUSE, and do either of what I said to do depending on which OS you booted into.... And where are you getting that the second option won't allow it to boot?
The Linux partitions will be gone, and the MBR fix isn't going to leave grub on there in the first place as I pointed out already.
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i'm in xp fdisk doesnt function. format does but i cant find out any option to use as for "/mbr"
As you know that the partition of linux is hidden from win so it doesnt have a drive letter and cant be formatted.
My suse is working only in cui mode as the X is corrupted. In my previous posts too i have mentioned it. Wasnt still able to figure out how to reconfigure it after the graphics card disaster. Still used linux mostly for shell programming and it was good enough.
leaving the xp soln. if i use suse and delete partitions i think the mbr will remain unaffected as it has to be in the starting of primary active hdd and then it will not boot.
Please see that the issue will be resolved immediately if i reach the system recovery console from the xp cd. I dont know why is the cd not working properly. Please shed some light on this issue and suggest possible measures.
the image will give you a better idea of the situation. i need the space desperately now.
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Ummmm, so X broke... Big deal, run sax2.
Now, this is the THIRD time:
Delete the Linux partitions, and if your XP CD isn't working, call Microsoft for another one. Or even borrow someone's to fix the MBR. Either way should work fine.
I don't understand why anyone has to make something harder than it needs to be. Really, this thing you're trying to do SHOULD be around a 10 minute job tops. Either borrow an XP CD from someone, or call Microsoft and ask them for another because you CD doesn't work.
Which is weird, is it scratched? If it's not scratched up maybe you'r enot doing something right.
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Ok im lost, is XP on the machine but not functioning? if this is the case insert the XP CD and boot to the CD. run a repair and this should fix the issue. sfc.exe will look for errors and fix them also.
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http://www.allbootdisks.com/index.ph...filecatid=1869
Download the win98 rescue iso. Burn to cd. Boot
and do a fdisk/mbr
:cool:
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and don't forget you could also use a winMe boot disk also. ;) well that's what i use when my xpbox's go up the creek without a canoe..
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Quote:
Originally posted here by Ghost_25inf
Ok im lost, is XP on the machine but not functioning? if this is the case insert the XP CD and boot to the CD. run a repair and this should fix the issue. sfc.exe will look for errors and fix them also.
No the CD isn't working.
Anyway I think this has gone on long enough. The problem seems to be this person installed without ever reading anything and now doesn't want to reinstall or did something they don't like and used up all their HD space and instead of reading the manual it comes with which tells you how to take Linux off, they came here.
It would seem they aren't listening though as the reply back said. I'm still not sure why they booted from a CD looking for fdisk.....
Anyway, there is enough here to solve the problem. And even links on how to fix the MBR..
Thread closed.
