Re: XP reinstallation woes on Multiboot system

"Hawkeye23" <me@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6d8q329jag0343ld9kjhm1pb1mopqdoplk@xxxxxxxxxx
On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:54:01 GMT,
"pmj" <post@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hawkeye23 Posted...
<snip>
I will provide details of the other files and folders littered
about as a result of the various attempts to reinstall XP.
You are right there's quite a lot.Then you can tell me what
to delete.
I'll do that after I get back.

That will dpend on how you want to proceed.
If you want to Start from Fresh, then you can get shot of
almost all of them.
Post back with a Directory Listing of the Root of all the
Partitions on all the Hard Disk(s) - remember, we haven't
actually seen your System, so we are working "blind".

Do you want to have a Session in the "BikeSheds"? - Using
M$ Netmeeting (or VNC), so we can see what's what?
<snip>

The suggestion/offer about using M$ NetMeeting to have a look still
stands.
:-)

I wanted in this post to list out the various bits of XP laying
about on the various partitions as a result of these various failed
installations.This is just to check with you before I go deleting
everything.

Firstly I'll deal with C:\ the root of the single active partition
of the old HDD which contains the original W98SE and all programs
and data etc.

& which is what is known (by M$/windoze) as the "System Drive"...
& it thus contains the various Files that windoze needs to have when
it *first* starts to Boot up, even if the actual Operating System
itself is Installed on a different Drive/Partition.

Confusingly, that's what other Operating Systems would call the
"Boot" Drive, but in windoze the "Boot" Drive is the Drive containg
the windoze Folder.

First there are 4 files in C:\ with the XP date/time
(4/08/04 12:00).

From that Date & Time, that sounds like it is WinXP SP2?

$ldr$ 255KB

That File is what would normally be the File called NTLDR, but for
the Install Setup Routine it used $LDR$

Ntdetect.com 47KB

That's needed for wWinXP (on a normal, successful Installation)

Ntldr 245KB

& so is that.

txtsetup.sif 441KB

That's only there while the Installation is being done, once the
Installation is complete, that's Deleted.

Then there are 2 dir in C:\
$win_nt$.~bt with various files/subdir incl Bootsect.dat.

That's a Temporary Folder, containing the Boot Files, for the Setup.

$win_nt$.~ls withvarious files/subdir incl \i386.

& that's (another, Temporary) Folder that contains a load of Files
which Setup Copies from the CD (or i386 Folder on the Hard Disk,
that you Run it from, then it Copies them into the windoze Folder
on the Drive you specify during Setup.

Then in C:\Windows which is otherwise W98SE there is one subdir
\WINNT32 with 2 subdir \drw and \win9xupg and 10 files including
WinNT32.exe and various WinNT32.xyz.

Yep, when you Run the WinXP Setup from within windoze, it does Create
Folders like that (& Copies various Files into them).

Then in E:\ the second partition/first logical partition on the new
HDD which used to house XP till we reformatted the partition there
is E:\Windows which has 22 subdir mostly but not all empty plus 10
files incl Twunk16 and 32.exe.

That's what will (or would have) become the windoze Folder on your
Drive.

When it Reboots & (if!) you choose to continue the Setup/Install,
it will then Copy a load more stuff, from the Temporary $win_nt$.~ls
Folder

For completeness there is a second dir E:\Window94 when on one
installn I renamed the folder to which XP would install to see what
happened when.
It contains the same subdir and files as E:\Windows.

OK.
It's all this sort of thing that we need to know about, so as to be
able to make any sensible suggestions about what can be Deletyed
& what is needed..

For abslute completenes there are several other dirs called
E:\Found.000 .001 .002 etc each containing lots of files called
File0000.chk File0001.chk etc.These arise I think from the BSOD
crashes and the subsequent disk checking on restart which sometimes
finds nothing and sometimes finds so much it scrolls past toofast
to see what it is.

Yep, those .CHK Files, in the Found.xxx Folders are Created by CHKDSK.

These Found.00x folders now litter all the partitions on my system
like confetti - even the empty partitions.I have so far assumed
they are a product of our problems and not the cause.

Yep, definitely.
You can happily (& safely Delete all those Found.xxx Folders (along
with the *.CHK Files in them.

Very few people are capable of ever retrieving anything useful from
those Files.
(If the original Files were just Text Files, then you can, but any
Binary data, such as Programs, Pictures & Music etc, isn't going to
be retrievable from them.

... I mention them now so you can tell me if I'm wrong.

Nope! - You are completely right!
:-)

Then finally on H:\ the fourth and last logical partition of the
2nd HDD there is H:\i386 which we copied from the XP CD (plus a
H:\Found.000).

You can delete all the "Found.xxx" Folder(s) - on all the Drives.

But it might be an idea to now also Delete that i386 Folder & Copy
the i386 folder across again?
Just in case any of the Files in it got Corrupted during the Crashes.

So there you are.All the bits and pieces of XP that I have sprayed
about in my unsuccessful attempts to reinstall XP.I don't know
whether it helps or not.You will hopefully tell me.
I am relieved to hear that you find this mass of detail
interesting.

LOL!!!
:-)

Many thanks

Now, you may be thinking that I've Commented on & Annotated what the
various stuff you have found is?...
But I haven't yet suggested which stuff is OK to Delete? - Apart from
the CHKDSK stuff, that is.

Well, that's cos it's actually quite difficult to be certain, cos
*some* of the stuff may actually be needed, if you wanted to continue
with the Setup...
But other bits (which aren't needed *after* the Setup has Finished)
are actually Essential to the Boot Process at the mo, so that you can
choose to Boot into your Win98SE Installation!

OK...
I would suggest, for the mo, just Deleting all the Found.xxx Folders,
along with all the *.CHK Files in them.
Also, delete all the (XP-related) Folders (& Contents of them) that
you said were in the windoze Folder on the Win98SE Installation.

& you can Delete everything on the Drive that you intend to Install
WinXP on.

& you can Delete the txtsetup.sif File from the Root of the C: Drive
& the Temporary Folder $win_nt$.~ls & all its Contents

Now...
As to the other stuff (the Temporary Boot Files & the Temporary
$win_nt$.~bt Folder etc,)...

I need to check properly, before I suggest Deleting them, cos if
you Delete stuff that's actually needed, then you may not be able
to Boot up at all, until you ReRun the Setup Routine, or unless you
Boot into the Recovery Console, from the Install CD.

It's one thing me Deleting stuff on my own System (or on someone's
System that I'm sorting out), cos I know I can make it all Fixted OK,
one way or another...

But it's a (completely) 'nother thing suggesting to someone else,
miles away, that they should Delete stuff like that.

I'll Post back again with more Info about what's actually needed
& what isn't, when I've had a look at some Installation stuff here...

HTH

--
pmj


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