Re: XP reinstallation woes on Multiboot system

"pmj" <post@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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"Hawkeye23" <me@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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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 depend 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".
<snip>
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.
<snip>

I've also "snipped" out my previous Comments/Annotations from this
(following) List of yours, leaving just the original List, so it can
be referred to...

First there are 4 files in C:\ with the XP date/time
(4/08/04 12:00).
$ldr$ 255KB
Ntdetect.com 47KB
Ntldr 245KB
txtsetup.sif 441KB

Then there are 2 dir in C:\
$win_nt$.~bt with various files/subdir incl Bootsect.dat.
$win_nt$.~ls withvarious files/subdir incl \i386.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).
<snip>
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...

OK...
If you are going to be Installing WinXP from scratch, whether by
Booting off the Install CD, or by Booting into w98SE & Running the
Install from there, then it's going to be OK to remove *all* the
(Temporary) Files (& Folders) that the previous WinXP Installation
has Added.

You will (as you have done) be able to Find a lot of them by looking
at the Date Created (&/or the Date Modified)...

BUT - there are a couple of points to bear in mind...

You definitely mustn't Delete the Boot.ini File. (even though it
will have a "Date Modified" of the Time that you did the (failed)
WinXP Install).

That is needed as part of the Boot Process, even if you only want
to Boot into the (previous) W98SE Installation.

It's read by NTLDR (&/or NtDetect.com?), so those 2 Files are
*also* needed, so don't Delete them, either.

So, leave the Files boot.ini, ntdetect.com & ntldr, in the Root
of the "C:" Drive (that's the "System" Drive, the one which is the
"Active" Primary Partition - it *could* actually be, though isn't
on your System, a different Partition, not necessarily what you think
of as the "C:" Drive) - I mention that, in case anybody else is Reading
this Thread & is in a similar situation - on my System, for example,
I have it Set so that the Partition (Drive) that contains the Boot
Files (Boot.ini, ntdetect.com & ntldr) & is Set as the "Active"
Partition, is actually the *3rd* Partition on the Hard Disk!
:-)

The other thing is to make sure that the Boot.ini File contains
a (valid) Entry for the W98SE Installation, cos you will want to make
sure to still be able to Boot into that Installation!

If you leave in any of the other Entries (the one(s) referring to
either the WinXP Installation, or the Setup), you will still get
a Boot Menu - just make sure not to choose one of them, cos then
it will fail to Boot up.

If there's only one Entry in the Boot.ini File, then you won't get
a Boot Menu showing up (but the File Boot.ini is still needed!),
it will just (attempt to) Boot straight up into the Operating System
that is specified in it.

So...
Basically, from that List of Files & Folders that you Posted (& that
I have Quoted above), you can Delete *all* of them, *except* the Files
(in the Root of the Drive that is Set as the "Active" Partition - in
your case the "C:" Drive) called Boot.ini, NTDetect.com & ntldr

So long as you leave them, then your System *should* still Boot up OK,
into the existing W98SE Installation (& assuming that you don't Delete
any Files that relate directly to that).

Also, make sure to leave in place any File called Bootsect.dat,
(or sometimes it's called Bootsect.dos) (in the Root of the Drive,
not if it's in a Folder) cos that is needed to Boot up into the
previous Version of windoze (W98).

If you Delete all the Files mentioned (& leave the others), then,
like I say, it *should* Boot up OK, but (obviously) only into the
W98 Installation.

If you find that it *doesn't* actually Boot up, then don't Panic!...
Post back with what happens, Quoting the *Exact* Error Message that
you get. There are several different points at which the Boot Process
can fail & the particular Error Message that you get will actually
tell us what you need to do to sort it out.

Just make sure that you have a Boot Disk of some kind (either a Boot
Floppy, or the (Bootable) W9x Install CD) & make sure that you *can*
actually Boot up (into MSDOS) from that OK, *before* you Delete the
various Files left over from the WinXP Installation.
Also, make sure that you can Boot up off your WinXP Install CD OK,
into the "Recovery Console"

Cos if it all goes wrong (in case you accidentally Delete the wrong
File(s) for example), you will need to be able to Boot off either
(or both of) those, to be able to Run the various Commands & Utilities
on them to sort the Boot prob out.

HTH

--
pmj


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