I accidently put 2 OS on my PC. I can't find the files on the 1st OS.
My operating system, Windows XP broke. It said to use the restore CD. It
couldn't repair itself. I accidently put 2 operating systems on the same
computer. It put 2 Windows side by side. I can't get to my old files, data or
music. I know they are there because they are taking up 22 GB on my hard
drive. The hard drive did not partition. Does anyone know what to do??
Thanks in advance.
I think you are sunk. You can put more than one OS on a computer as long as it is in separate partitions. Anyone have a suggestion
Linux Mint Debian Edition
You can also do parallel installs within the same partition. Veronica, What directory did the second copy install into?
[EDIT]
To clarify, only 1 install of Windows would be accessible.
Last edited by rik; January 21st, 2004 at 19:37 PM.
I don't know. Where do you find that out??Originally Posted by rik
Thanks for replying.
If you boot the system into DOS or have the ability to boot to a cd and open a DOS session you should be able to explore the root of the c: drive and you may see a C:\windows directory and a c:\winnt or something close to that...
[EDIT]
what might be easier...if you go to START|RUN MSCONFIG click on the BOOT.INI tab, if there are 2 installs of the OS it should show 2 differing lines under the [operating systems] entry.
BTW, if this is a restore cd why do you think it installed a 2nd copy?
Last edited by rik; January 21st, 2004 at 19:35 PM.
Spot on rik,you beat me to it. I was gonna suggest looking at the boot.ini
You can also access the boot.ini file in your C:\ directory if you have the following options set.
In windows explorer > tools > folder options > view tab.
enable "Show hidden files and folders" , and uncheck "Hide protected operating system files (recommended)".
Paste the contents of your boot.ini here
Last edited by Reverend; January 21st, 2004 at 19:48 PM.
2 great minds with but a single thought eh?
Threads Merged.
ok...lets back up a step. If you already used the restore disk then the first installation should be gone. That is if the disk worked correctly. That means all the data, everything would be gone...and that is if it's a true restore disk. I have only seen a "dual boot" situation happen if you used a retail, or different copy of the OS, and only if you put it in while at a Windows desktop and chose the "Setup" option. If not then maybe it just installed but hosed the boot.ini file, and is just listing a 2nd OS that isn't actually there. In either case your data may just be gone, gone. Now as for the cdrom drive...Roxio at times puts registry entries in that will hide the cd drive until they are removed...I'll have to get back to you when I find those to see if that is what happened. Until then just do this and it should cure the booting problem: go to START|RUN MSCONFIG click on the BOOT.INI tab, if there are 2 installs of the OS it should show 2 differing lines under the [operating systems] entry.
there is a button thee that reads "Check All Boot Paths". If you click on that it will diagnose any problems in the boot.ini file and should let you correct them. Plz let us know if this helps.
EDIT:
Here are examples of what you may see. The first shows the boot.ini file as it should look if you only have one copy of Windows installed. The 2nd shows what you would see if there are 2 copies...
This is a sample of a default Boot.ini file from a Windows XP Professional computer.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
This is a sample of the above Boot.ini file after adding another partition running Windows 2000 Professional.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
Last edited by rik; February 23rd, 2004 at 01:14 AM.
When windows comes on, it asks me
which OS do I want to use.
The files where still there, but some of the
software was missing or corrupted.
When I used the restore CD, It asked if I wanted to install in a new partition
or the same partition or a 3rd choice [which I can't remember]. I picked the
3rd choice.
It is the restore CD that came with the computer. Thanks. Any new info will
be greatly appreciated.
It initially told me to put the restore CD in to 'repair it. It couldn't repair it.
Then it put a second OS on my PC. IT left my data, files, etc, intact. I
transfered them to the new OS. The 1st OS would not even boot up. IT said
a file was missing.
I think the computer is getting more hosed... you might be better off, getting a bootdisk, formatting the computer and remove all partitions etc, then use your restore CD to install everything again on a clean HD.
Similar thing happened on a Dell Machine. Removed the HD from it and put in new Comp, then formatted and installed XP, but a loader was there saying 2 OS installed.
--- 0wN3D by 3gG ---
I think I fixed it. I am not sure what I did. I used the
restore CD [again] when I turned it on. I may have used it to repair or write
over old files, I think on the 2nd OS. I can't remember. There were so many
options. It said my old files may be deleted. I think they are intact. I used
the 'Add new hardware wizard' and the 'Drivers' CD to add new drivers. It
brought back my sound and CD-ROM. My 'ROXIO EASY CD CREATOR' CD-RW
software is gone though. I am going to ask Gateway for the restore CD for it.
It was on the computer when I bought it. Thanks for the help everyone.
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