Sorting Partition/Formatting To Get XP Back

[JamboUK]

Hi people,

Made a grave error whilst tinkering and dual booting with different Linux Distro. Gone and plonked FC4 on what was my XP hard drive (and I assume getting rid of the partitions - duh!). Plus side is FC4 works fine.... downside is.... not on the drive I want it on.

I have to face the facts I now have a hard slog of putting XP Pro back on. Problem is when put the Windows XP install disk in to sort the hard drive out it boots and goes off to detect hardware configuration/setup and then blank screen... nothing.....

What do I have to do to this drive to get things back to normal? Any tips?

[je_fro]

I'd pull the other drives out and just use the one you want as master.

[JamboUK]

I'd pull the other drives out and just use the one you want as master.

Errr...doesn't answer my question.... what was the XP drive is my master.... it now has FC4 on it.... it needs XP back on it..... XP install disk will not run.....

Thanks

[je_fro]

Pull the other drive out, it should work. At least it does for me....it doesn't matter what the master has on it, in my (limited) windows experience, but it can get confused by a slave drive and want to overwrite it. Wierd stuff happens.

[JamboUK]

Nope.... hangs with just the one drive in too.....

Cheers

[je_fro]

well you could always boot with a liveCD and wipe the drive...format it vfat or something....

[JamboUK]

well you could always boot with a liveCD and wipe the drive...format it vfat or something....


LiveCD? Not familiar with it...

[je_fro]

http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=9569

[JamboUK]

No way of formatting Vfat via FC4 setup disk?

[banzaikai]

Je_Fro may have had to skeedaddle...

Thanks a lot, Rita!

There are two things happening, here.

1) GRUB/LILO bootloader is on the MBR, and may be hanging up. This is easily fixed by running "fdisk /mbr" from the WinXP recovery console (or boot disk, available here (http://www.bootdisk.com)). This clears out the bootloader for XP to do it's thing.

2) Linux "native" partitions. When you try to install XP, it sees the drive as having been prepped with "Non-DOS" partitions, and won't overwrite them automatically. You'll need to use the fdisk utility again and delete these partitions. Once there are no partitions defined, then run the XP install, and it'll use the whole drive.

In order, then:
fdisk /mbr
fdisk -> delete ALL non-DOS partitions -> reboot
fdisk -> view partitions (to make sure - do not make/define any, as XP will do that for you)
reboot and install XP

After XP is installed, run the FC4 install (you know how this works already), and GRUB/LILO will be thrown back on the MBR.

banzai "The Partitioner" kai

[JamboUK]

Nice one!! Things are sorted.

Now just gotta figure why Grub Loader isn't working (yet used to).

Config: Fresh XP on one hardrive (boot) fresh FC4 on the other.... no errors during install...... but not Grub loader.... grrrrrrrrrreat.

Arrrrgggghhh

[Parcival]

I suggest you manually reinstall GRUB and put the necessary entries into grub.conf, that should do the job.