You can install XP twice on the same hard drive without formatting.
swapping OLD hard drive into NEW computer... can't get it to load windows
- Thread starter camosilver311
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camosilver311
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i am already in the process of installing xp different drive now... will it wipe out everything i have on this drive? this is my most important drive, i cannot afford to lose what i have on this one. should i partition it or not?
nevermind1534
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Unless you reformat (repartitioning included) your drive, you won't lose anything on it.
Atomic Rooster
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What computer are you on now Metalman? Is there any way you could install the borked drive into this computer to retrieve the files you need?
Just a reminder:
Do not install XP on a drive that already has information on it. You will lose all files and data on that drive.
Just a reminder:
Do not install XP on a drive that already has information on it. You will lose all files and data on that drive.
nevermind1534
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I have done that and I don't lose anything unless I reformat, but it's not advisible to install xp on a drive that already has information on it.
dude_56013
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My God...that's like EXACTLY what AR JUST said. You argue you with him and then agree. I don't get it.
nevermind1534
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I was saying that it won't necessarily erase the data unless you tell it to, but it's not the best way to do it. He said that it WILL erase everything.
camosilver311
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i'm on a laptop. i just look the drive up to my office and hooked it up as a slave drive, deleted the vidstub.sys file and took it home. that worked, i was able to finish installing (repairing)windows.
however, 2 of my 4 drives have issues. one has an error saying "s.m.a.r.t. capable and status bad", so i am not going to load that one, i took it out and will try and transfer the info on it later.
the other is the one drive i really didn't want to lose. i had hooked it up and started the windows repair/installation on it, but stopped when it got to the point where it asked if i wanted to partition the drive. that's when i posted here to ask what i should do, and i decided to not chance it on that drive. i clicked the f3 (i think) button to exit like it said and disconnected that drive. now, i hooked it back up since i have windows going and it tells me the drive has not yet been formatted. PLEASE PLEASE tell me i didn't erase everything off this drive... i have 9 years worth of stuff on it!!
nevermind1534
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If you're not seeing any information from it, you can use data recovery software to get it back if you did erase everything, as long as you didn't do a full format.
Atomic Rooster
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Oh crap. . .
You shouldn't have started a repair or installation on a drive that didn't have an OS installed on it. The information is still there, but your attempted install has changed the file structure. I believe the only way you can get your stuff back is by using a file recovery software such as Recover My Files.
You shouldn't have started a repair or installation on a drive that didn't have an OS installed on it. The information is still there, but your attempted install has changed the file structure. I believe the only way you can get your stuff back is by using a file recovery software such as Recover My Files.
