Bad vista install, can't recover, help please =(

mysacrement · 10-27-2008, 04:51 PM

new HP Laptop
Intel Cor 2 Duo 2.0Ghz,
4GB Ram
Vista Home Premium x64

Hey guys - I am stuck after having installed a bad version of windows vista ultimate. x64. (yes, i learned the hard way) The bad install left a strange partition labeled "X:boot" that has what looks like setup files and the boot files in it. It is seperate from drive C: and also from the D: Recover Partition.

It seems this recovery partition can no longer be found from the Vista Home Premium setup disc that I have. It will not boot from the recovery partition and it won't run the recovery setup.

I have also tried to manually go in and delete or format drive X: (volume label "boot") but it fails as it claims drive X: is Write Protected so I can't clean it.

Now here lies the problem, I tried installing a fresh Home Premium on drive C: I can see the D: recovery partition during the custom options before installation. however i do not see the X:boot drive so I cannot format from here either.

After attempting to install Home Premium to my C: it stops during the final installation process and does not reboot to windows.

What is my next step? I am at a loss and would appreciate some help. If I could get the recovery partition to work i'd be happy with that.

Thanks guys!

BP

Mak213 · 10-27-2008, 05:09 PM

You will need something like GParted or ERDCommander. From there delete the partitions. Both the Vista drive and the boot drive. Then make 1 partition for the reinstall of Vista.

mysacrement · 10-27-2008, 05:12 PM

Thanks for your help!

I found "Active@" and was able to manage the partitions from here. We'll see what happens! Thanks

eyeCpc · 10-27-2008, 05:28 PM

If you still don't see results GParted will take care of the X boot partition easy enough. Follow Mak213's advice there.

mysacrement · 10-27-2008, 05:38 PM

Okay, yes it seems that Active@ still won't delete the x boot. It says files are in use. It sees the x boot folder while exploring "My Computer" via Active@, however it doesn't see any partition of x boot. I'm downoading Gparted right now...

I Downloaded Gparted however I see no instructions on how to use the software or files within the downloaded... any advice?

eyeCpc · 10-27-2008, 06:10 PM

Once you have a successful burn of the iso image o a cd-r you simply boot from that and follow the general instructions found at GPARTED DOCUMENTATION - GENERALITIES

It's a simple press enter at each prompt to avoid getting lost from the default 24bit and 1024x768 screen resolution in order to reach the main gui. Some additional screenshots of how that looks are seen at GParted -- Screenshots

The release I continue to use here is the 0.3.3.0 "platform independent" release that is able to create MS Fat and NTFS primary and extended type partitions. Once you reach the main gui at 1024x768 since higher resolutions tend to force items off of the screen you will see the first drive detected displayed.

If you have a mix of ide along with sata hard drives the first ide will be seen. The dropdown menu for selecting other drives is seen at the right on the main toolbar at the top. Once you have the X boot and Vista partitions in view simply highlight each one at a time and click on the delete button followed by the apply to see GParted go to work.

Remember you are now going to be booting up without seeing any Windows involvement since GParted runs independently. There won't be any access denied type errors coming up on you.

mysacrement · 10-27-2008, 07:44 PM

I haven't been able to find an ISO of Gparted or ERDCommander. Any chance you have a working link ? I used Active@ to try and format the drive to no avail, X:boot still resides...

Mak213 · 10-27-2008, 09:26 PM

SourceForge.net: Files

There is a link to all hte GParted ISO downloads.

eyeCpc · 10-27-2008, 09:49 PM

Do you have a burning program that will work with ISO type disk images? The reason for mentioning the older .0.3.3.0 now renamed to 0.3.3 version is clearly seen in the image here.

I'm still surprized in not seeing any new releases with that capacity. But for a free program that works for seeing iso images burned to disk BurnOn, DeepBurner both see popup ads for the full retail version after each burn while Starburn is an updated program good to replace those found at :: RocketDivision :: CD/DVD/Blu-Ray/HD-DVD recording and mastering

They still have their own full version while providing an ad free freeware.

mysacrement · 10-27-2008, 09:56 PM

I have found Power ISO and used it to burn Gparted. I ran GParted and unforunately even after formatting Drive C, and Also Deleteing and formatting partition D:Recovery, and then trying to reinstalling with Vista Disc, it fails. Within vista's install I go to Repair Vista and enter Command prompt , and it brings me immediately to the directory X:sources

I am still unable to get rid of these files and this x: directory which seems to contain about 128 files and about 70 mb in size. I can't understand this confusion, it simply will not go away. There must be a way to clear this off drive C as drive C is the only drive in the computer and seems to be the only partition.

Drive C: should be 250gb. partition size shows to be 233gb roughly. Any ideas on what to do next?

Running Vista install disc does not format and clear off the x: directory. Weird!!!

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