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From: RogerC on 5 Jul 2010 03:19
Hi Daave,

Just a quick update to round this one off. :-)

I could not do anything so cut my losses and reinstalled XP. Had to use my
Win98 to start it off but all is well and my PC is almost back to where it
was. I had to download a lot of microsoft security updates but that was to be
expected.

I installed the Acronis freebie from Seagate and now have a copy on my
external HD and a startup CD. Hopefully I am now armed sufficiently to help
myself should a similar thing happen again.

I have tried to answer your questions within your previous message.

"Daave" wrote:
>
> Please tell me what you have on C:, D:, and E:. I wonder if Windows
> might be on D; or E:!

C: OS
D: Work and programs, photos etc
E: Word

Ext HD: copies of photos, films etc

> Note: I just re-read your post. You have a confusing partition scheme.
> You should not install programs to two different partitions like you
> did! While it is perfectly fine to dedicate a different partition to
> data (such as photos), programs should always be installed to C: to
> avoid confusion with regard to registry entries, etc.

Having my programs on the D: made reinstalling them very straightforward.
They were all still there. I had a download folder on D: with zipped installs
of the programs I had downloaded, along with their Install codes. Where I had
the original CDs I was able to reinstall them as normal. I only lost two
programs and they were on my C:

> So, if you wind up reinstalling Windows, remember that C: is for your OS
> and all the apps!!!

I am no PC expert and it may not be good practice and though I do appreciate
your advice, I have stuck with what I have learnt. OS on C:, programs on D:
;-)

> At what point does your screen deviate from what is shown on that Web
> page?
>
> For instance, after you press R to enter the Recovery Console, you would
> get a screen that looks like this:

It did initially but after I tried chkdsk (sic) it never returned to the
correct prompt and I couldn't find an answer anywhere. This was a question
asked by others on the web.
>
> http://images.ask-leo.com/xp_recovery_choose_installation.png
>
> (Then again, this is assuming Windows XP is on C: and there are no
> installations on the partitions.)
>
> What does your screen look like at that point?
>
> What was the original problem with your PC? Was there malware? A bad
> update? Or did this behavior seem to crop up entirely out of the blue?

Out of the blue. Monitor picture on s/u was compressed so I did a quick
restart. Problem from then on.

> It is also possible that the person you gave this PC to screwed
> something up to prevent you from using the RC. :-( (Stranger things have
> happened.)

No way! The problem happened when I was trying to sort things out. The PC
man helped no end. He even renamed my contacts folder so they were not
overwritten and I could reinstall favourites with no hassle. Not sure how he
did it but he was a godsend.

He also copied my D: and E: partitions into a separate folder on my external
HD. I did not need them as my D: and E: remained untouched throughout, but it
was thoughtful of him.

As I previously mentioned, my PC is almost the same as it was before the
crash. This exercise has in fact got rid of a lot of weight. My PC seems to
running more efficiently and is quicker to start.

Thank you once again for taking the time to help. I was concerned with
losing my work on the two partitions. You put my mind at ease on that matter.
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