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WINXP Home Edition Help - Double Install?

Discussion in 'Windows XP' started by chrisintrouble, 2006/04/30.

  1. 2006/04/30
    chrisintrouble

    chrisintrouble Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hello everyone, I really need a hand with something.

    I cannot login to my computer that uses WINXP Home.

    I tried the ASR - Automated Service Recovery Option, but I had previously deleted the administrator account when I first got my laptop and created myself as an administrator. So basically, I cannot enter a password that works because I have no admin password.

    I thought about installing a fresh version of WINXP home, but fear that this will over right my entire documents folder which contains some very important information that I need.

    During the installation process it asks if I want to install windows into a different place rather then c:windows so it didn't over right those files. That is perfect, but I need to hear someone say that i will be able to access all my old folders/documents etc.. once I do this.

    I don't care if I have to do a complete format / WIM install after I get all my files, the most important thing is that I get the files.

    Any help or suggestions on what I can do, would be terrific.

    Thanks to everyone for reading and hopefully helping :)

    Chris 'in trouble'
     
    chrisintrouble,
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  2. 2006/05/01
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hello chrisintrouble,
    welcome to WindowsBBS ... :) ... !

    First off, never delete the default XP accounts, not even the guest account. The admin account can be useful in a number of emergency situations. In this particular one, you would probably have been able to log in, using the admin account from Safe Mode.

    If you dropped your computer on my porch, asking for help, I would have taken the hard disk to my own computer, copied the user files that are important to CD/DVD. Next, I would have put it back and started a fresh installation of XP from square one.

    I would also partition the hard disk to separate the OS from user data. This would make the next "incident" less of an headache. A second hard disk for backups of the OS and user data would also have been a suggestion.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  4. 2006/05/01
    chrisintrouble

    chrisintrouble Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hello Christer & thanks for the welcome.

    Yes it seems the best thing I can do now is attach the hard drive to a running computer as a slave drive, extract all the information and then do a clean install on the HD.

    Can you recommend any helpful links on how to do this? The problem HD is a laptop drive from an HP 3350 - Click here for system specs (if you care to).

    I am currently searching for information on how to connect that laptop to my PC, so if you can help me out, please do.

    Sincerely,

    Chris
     
    chrisintrouble,
    #3
  5. 2006/05/01
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I'm on my way out and can't do it right now. I'm sure someone else will pick up where I left.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  6. 2006/05/01
    chrisintrouble

    chrisintrouble Inactive Thread Starter

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    ok thanks Christer, if you happen to notice nobody has been able to give me some guidance when you get back, please feel free. This will be the first thing I check when I get up. 4:30AM here now, been a long long day :(

    In any event, I should be back up in a few hours and will check back here prior to starting my research.

    Take care & thanks.

    Chris
     
    chrisintrouble,
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  7. 2006/05/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Hi Chris
    If you can readily remove the hard drive from the laptop do so - very simple on my HP Omnibook.

    You will then need a 2 1/2" to 3 1/2" IDE adaptor to hitch it up to a desktop computer as slave.

    Don't know where you are - guessing the States, so here are a couple of suppliers - no doubt you have your favourites :) ....

    http://www.topmicrousa.com/250-convert-ide.html

    http://www.nextag.com/Cables-Unlimi...PRICES-html?nxtg=a8b0a1c0514-F8F23AC9D16FEEA0

    Trust all goes well!
     
    PeteC,
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  8. 2006/05/01
    chrisintrouble

    chrisintrouble Inactive Thread Starter

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    Thanks Pete & Christer, you have been great with the help. Hopefully I will be able to help someone out in the future with their computer problem ;)

    I was reading this article, http://www.mikeshardware.com/howtos/laptop_hd_upgrade/

    Although somewhat out of date, can you make a recommendation on software i should be using?

    I noticed partition magic comes with Norton Ghost and a bunch of other features.

    Or do I just basically plug the drive in and boot? Also, Do both operating systems need to be the same? I can load Xp on to my other computer if need be.

    I am in Canada, and have no favorites, so if you do, please make mention of it :confused:

    Thanks again, you're help has really helped and thank you for looking.

    Chris
     
    chrisintrouble,
    #7
  9. 2006/05/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Hi Chris

    The software that article highlights is to make a clone or ghost copy of one drive to load onto another. It can be very useful when changing drives or restoring to a previous installation - Christer is the expert on this :)

    However you cannot get into your computer so cannot clone the drive - if you could get in we wouldn't be having this conversation :D

    Your solution is as Christer posted in post #2
    That depends on the file system of the laptop drive. If it is FAT 32 then Windows 98/Me - which I assume you have on the other computer will see the drive and you will be able to copy your data off it'

    If the laptop is formatted NTFS Windows 98/Me will not see it and a simple install of XP onto the existing computer using FAT 32 file system will not see the drive either (AFAIK). The other computer will need to be formatted NTFS during the install of XP, which will lose everything on the drive and will preclude reinstalling 98 or Me without a further format, which will remove XP.

    My good friend Christer will correct me if this is not accurate :)

    If the laptop drive is formatted NTFS - there is no way of readily determining this without hitching the drive up to another computer - it might be more straightforward to find a good friend with XP installed with the NTFS file system and do a bit of arm twisting :)

    Regard suppliers neither of us are in Canada - I am in UK and Christer in Sweden, so we can't be of much help there.
     
    PeteC,
    #8
  10. 2006/05/01
    chrisintrouble

    chrisintrouble Inactive Thread Starter

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    thanks for the information Pete, I found one in Canada where I am, and will go get it today and give it a whirl.

    Will let you guys know how it goes and hopefully this thread will be of use to someone else.

    Chris
     
    chrisintrouble,
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  11. 2006/05/01
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Good luck - and keep us posted!
     
    PeteC,
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  12. 2006/05/01
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I see that you were taken care of by Pete and his answers are as good as mine. Being a notebook computer makes it a little bit more complicated but the 2.5 ">3.5" adapter has been sorted.

    99% of all XP systems get installed on NTFS. That rules out Win9X systems (which can not read NTFS) for recovering data. The easiest way, if your own desktop is a Win9X, is to go visit a friend who has a desktop with Win2K or WinXP.

    The operating system on the laptop drive won't even be noticed in the desktop. It will be regarded as any other "bunch of files ". You don't need any software to do it, the laptop drive will be read as is.

    From Petes post:

    Interesting, I never thought of that situation but I actually believe WinXP on FAT32 can read NTFS. No matter what, paying a friend a visit is much quicker than installing WinXP and "destroying" a Win9X computer in the process.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #11
  13. 2006/05/03
    chrisintrouble

    chrisintrouble Inactive Thread Starter

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    ok guys, here is where I am at.

    I installed the Laptop drive and got it up and working. I also went and bought an external hard drive to store everything on.

    Although I have been able to save some files, I will intermittently get weird error messages and the transfer process stops.

    I tried fixing the drive a bit with Norton System works and System Mechanic professional. I thought that might help clean it up a bit.

    In any event, just wondering what the "Pro's" use as far as backing up/transferring data under my circumstances?

    I have tried just copy/pasting directories to the new drive, and also tried using the backup and duplicate software that came with my EHD (Dantz Retrospect)

    Error Messages are;

    Cannot Copy - Error Performing inpage Operation

    Error: Input File Read Failure


    Also, my main PC, the one I connected the Laptop HD and External HD to, is using win2000 FAT32, the drive I am trying to save is a WINXP (NTFS). I formatted the external to be a NTFS system. Do you think this is causing the problems?


    Any ideas or suggestions??


    Thanks!

    Chris
     
    Last edited: 2006/05/03
    chrisintrouble,
    #12
  14. 2006/05/03
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Hi Chris!

    A few follow up questions:

    As slave? In which computer, which OS?

    An USB enclosure? What happens if you copy to the master (internal, if your LapTop HDD is connected as slave)?

    I wouldn't know, I don't know any Pro's ... ;) ... ! Personally, I would go about it the way you do, simply copy and paste from one hard disk to the other.

    To me, the error messages indicate sectors gone bad. When the data has been recovered (or at least as much as possible) run the manufacturers diagnostic tool (downloadable from most manufacturers web sites) to check it up. There will probably be some kind of utility to fix errors but they will probably be destructive to the data (the HDD will be wiped).

    Christer
     
    Christer,
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  15. 2006/05/03
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    You answered a few of my follow up questions and no, I don't think that this is the problem. Computers handle different file systems as long as they are programmed to do so. Reading from and writing to CD/DVD introduce other file systems and there are no problems, well, most of the time.

    From my earlier post

    Your Win2K is on FAT32 and can read and write to NTFS and I draw the conclusion that WinXP on FAT32 does too.

    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #14
  16. 2006/05/03
    chrisintrouble

    chrisintrouble Inactive Thread Starter

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    Hi Christer, and thanks for the quick reply.

    Yes the laptop drive is connected as a slave and is running WINXP Home to the main pc which is running WIN2000.

    Same result; Error performing inpage operation.

    :confused:

    Chris
     
    chrisintrouble,
    #15
  17. 2006/05/03
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    I went Google on Error performing inpage operation but didn't read it all. This forum thread indikate that running the command checkdisk /r will cure the problem but I would like to find out if checkdisk can be limited to the actual hard disk and not be run on the system itself.

    In WinXP, if you go to Windows Explorer, in the right hand pane, right click on the drive in question > Properties > Tools > Checkdisk, it can be run from there. What about Win2K?

    Bed time now, I'll check back tomorrow,
    Christer
     
    Christer,
    #16

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