"unmountable boot volume": will reinstall destroy data partition?

I managed to toast a perfectly nice machine and now I'm pretty sure I have
to start over. When I got this machine, it came with WinXP installed and had
an OEM "Restore" disk. Since getting the machine, we've partitioned the HDD
and installed programs off C:. I know I don't want to use the "Restore"
disk, since this will definitely destroy the data partition. I'm going to
pick up a copy of XP Home today. What I would like to know is:

Will reinstalling Windows XP on C: destroy the data partition that shares
the same HDD? Or is there a chance that I can save my data and only have the
hassle of reinstalling a lot of programs?

Thank you.

Eliz.

Elizabeth;
If your issue is "Unmountable Boot Volume", try these first:
Power off, open the case and reseat the hard drive IDE ribbon cable at
both ends.
If that fails:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297185
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315403
Otherwise go to the website of the hard drive manufacturer and
download their hard drive diagnostics.

A Repair Installation normally leaves all data intact:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_install.htm
Back-up important data first just in case.

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
An easier way to read newsgroup messages:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...oups/setup.asp
Please respond to newsgroup only for everyone's benefit.


"Elizabeth Stapel" wrote in message
news:3f1f0110_3@newsfeed...
I managed to toast a perfectly nice machine and now I'm pretty sure
I have
to start over. When I got this machine, it came with WinXP installed
and had
an OEM "Restore" disk. Since getting the machine, we've partitioned
the HDD
and installed programs off C:. I know I don't want to use the
"Restore"
disk, since this will definitely destroy the data partition. I'm
going to
pick up a copy of XP Home today. What I would like to know is:

Will reinstalling Windows XP on C: destroy the data partition that
shares
the same HDD? Or is there a chance that I can save my data and only
have the
hassle of reinstalling a lot of programs?

Thank you.

Eliz.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;297185

Brian



"Elizabeth Stapel" wrote in message
news:3f1f0110_3@newsfeed...
I managed to toast a perfectly nice machine and now I'm pretty sure I have
to start over. When I got this machine, it came with WinXP installed and
had
an OEM "Restore" disk. Since getting the machine, we've partitioned the
HDD
and installed programs off C:. I know I don't want to use the "Restore"
disk, since this will definitely destroy the data partition. I'm going to
pick up a copy of XP Home today. What I would like to know is:

Will reinstalling Windows XP on C: destroy the data partition that shares
the same HDD? Or is there a chance that I can save my data and only have
the
hassle of reinstalling a lot of programs?

Thank you.

Eliz.

If your issue is "Unmountable Boot Volume", try these first:
Power off, open the case and reseat the hard drive IDE ribbon cable at
both ends.

It's not the power cable (this wasn't an upgrade). I did something bad.

If that fails:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297185
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315403

I'd seen these. They give great advice for if you can get to the Recovery
Console; I can't.

A Repair Installation normally leaves all data intact:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_install.htm

I didn't see where the above article said anything about preserving data on
non-C: partitions of the HDD containing C:...?

Back-up important data first just in case.

Since I can't boot the system, I'm not sure how I would go about doing
that...?

Eliz.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;297185

Yes, I've seen this. But since I can't access the Recovery Console, I'm not
sure how to move forward from this. In any case, the question I have now
is:

Will reinstalling Windows XP on C: destroy the data partition that shares
the same HDD? Or is there a chance that I can save my data and only have the
hassle of reinstalling a lot of programs?

Thank you.

Eliz.

No, your Data partition will definitely be safe. Installing WinXP to the C:
drive only effects the C: drive.

Your new copy of WinXP will get you into the Recovery Console and this may
fix the problem.

Brian


"Elizabeth Stapel" wrote in message
news:3f1f30f9$1_4@newsfeed...
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;297185

Yes, I've seen this. But since I can't access the Recovery Console, I'm
not
sure how to move forward from this. In any case, the question I have now
is:

Will reinstalling Windows XP on C: destroy the data partition that shares
the same HDD? Or is there a chance that I can save my data and only have
the
hassle of reinstalling a lot of programs?

Thank you.

Eliz.

You don't need to boot your computer to the C: drive to do a Repair install
or access the Recovery Console. Boot to the CD.

Brian


"Elizabeth Stapel" wrote in message
news:3f1f30f9$1_4@newsfeed...
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;297185

Yes, I've seen this. But since I can't access the Recovery Console, I'm
not
sure how to move forward from this. In any case, the question I have now
is:

Will reinstalling Windows XP on C: destroy the data partition that shares
the same HDD? Or is there a chance that I can save my data and only have
the
hassle of reinstalling a lot of programs?

Thank you.

Eliz.

Elizabeth;
I said the IDE ribbon cable, you can also reseat the hard drive power
cable.
I have seen several of these issues resolved simply by reseating the
ribbon cable.
It is not important if this is an upgrade or not.
The cable may have worked a little loose or not have a real good
connection.

If you perform a Repair or Clean Installation on just C drive, the
data on other driver (D) will be safe.
Just be sure and not delete the partitions with the retail Windows XP.
If you use the OEM Windows XP, there may be no options and all data
may be destroyed.

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
An easier way to read newsgroup messages:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/p...oups/setup.asp
Please respond to newsgroup only for everyone's benefit.


"Elizabeth Stapel" wrote in message
news:3f1f2f20$1_3@newsfeed...
If your issue is "Unmountable Boot Volume", try these first:
Power off, open the case and reseat the hard drive IDE ribbon
cable at
both ends.

It's not the power cable (this wasn't an upgrade). I did something
bad.

If that fails:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=297185
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315403

I'd seen these. They give great advice for if you can get to the
Recovery
Console; I can't.

A Repair Installation normally leaves all data intact:
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_install.htm

I didn't see where the above article said anything about preserving
data on
non-C: partitions of the HDD containing C:...?

Back-up important data first just in case.

Since I can't boot the system, I'm not sure how I would go about
doing
that...?

Eliz.

I said the IDE ribbon cable....

Sorry; that's what I meant. Yes, we have the correct cable, and we did check
that everything was seated properly. Trust me; that's not the problem. As
near as we can figure, the boot sector is bad, because you just can't access
the hard drive's data any which way.

If you perform a Repair or Clean Installation on just C drive, the
data on other driver (D) will be safe.

Thank you; that was what I'd wanted to know. As it happens, however, the
drive is messed up enough that we can't get the install to work. We can't
get to the Recovery Console or into a clean install, because the process
fails at the "examining [insert size here] Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0...." etc,
etc, part. This examination should take only a second or two; I've waited as
long as an hour and a half for anything to happen. So we can't recover or
install. We may need a data-recovery service. *sigh*

If you use the OEM Windows XP, there may be no options and all data
may be destroyed.

This is what my husband discovered when he attempted to fix the ghosted
image of the drive. The computer can now run on what had been the back-up
hard drive, but the ghost of the data partition is gone. (It had been
inaccessible anyway, for some reason. Does XP just not accept ghosting, or
does the ghost have to be on a drive of exactly the same size? My hubbie
wonders....)

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Eliz.

You don't need to boot your computer to the C: drive to do a Repair
install
or access the Recovery Console. Boot to the CD.

We tried. The process (whether recovery or installation) fails at the
"examining [insert size here] Disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0..." etc, etc, part.
This has been very frustrating. But my husband has been able to recover some
of the data, and thinks he may be able to recover much of the rest (through
a ghosting using his NT machine).

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Eliz.

No, your Data partition will definitely be safe. Installing WinXP to the
C:
drive only effects the C: drive.

Thank you; that was what I wanted to know.

Your new copy of WinXP will get you into the Recovery Console and this may
fix the problem.

If we could have gotten that far.... *sigh*

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Eliz.