HD Problem with WinXP Installation

werty316 · 9th Sep 2006, 12:50 PM

Here is the situation, I have a system that was upgraded so the motherboard was chnaged and when I went to boot to WinXP setup/installation the HD was listed as "[unknown]" and not NTFS. It was originally formatted to "FAT32" but then was converted to "NTFS". Could converting it from "FAT32" to "NTFS" without formating the HD have caused this problem? Weird thing is I can view the files but WinXP setup shows the HD as an "[unknown]" partition.

Is there an app that can fix this so WinXP setup recongnizes the HD as "NTFS "and not "[Unknown]"? Formatting would be a last resort as there are files that are needed.

I have "Ultimate BootCD" and "Hiren's BootCD v8.4" but couldn't find an app that can fix this issue.

Dashken · 11th Sep 2006, 10:16 PM

Is this the main OS harddrive from your old system? Why not boot it with your new system? It should boot into Windows and ask you for drivers for your new mobo. If this is successful, then copy everything to somewhere (backup partition or another hdd) before you format/install a fresh OS onto the hdd, if you want to.

Or if it's possible, get another pc to detect this drive and copy everything out before you format this drive and install a fresh WinXP.

Converting FAT32 to NTFS with data in the HDD should not pose any problem. I did it almost everyday, except that it's an automated task. But it's still the same.

Just my 2cents.

zy · 11th Sep 2006, 10:41 PM

if different chipset you cant really boot up ..

what hard disk are you using ? .. SATA ? ..

werty316 · 12th Sep 2006, 06:27 AM

The board uses a different chipset.

The HD is PATA.

It seem the MFT is messed up so I have to transfer every onto another HD and format the messed up HD boohoo

zy · 12th Sep 2006, 11:03 AM

well .. you can use chkdsk to scan the hard disk

werty316 · 12th Sep 2006, 11:12 AM

I did these steps:

Boot from Windows XP CD-ROM
Press "R" at prompt to enter recovery console
type chkdsk /r (will take several minutes to complete)
type chkdsk /p (will take a few minutes)
type fixboot c:
type exit, restart system.

but at "chkdsk /r" I am not sure but it seemed to have stopped at 50% and I was too impatient so I pressed the reset button which I shouldn't have done.

9th Sep 2006, 12:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
werty316 Active Join Date: 3 Mar 2005 Posts: 642 Reputation: 138 Rep Power: 5	HD Problem with WinXP Installation Here is the situation, I have a system that was upgraded so the motherboard was chnaged and when I went to boot to WinXP setup/installation the HD was listed as "[unknown]" and not NTFS. It was originally formatted to "FAT32" but then was converted to "NTFS". Could converting it from "FAT32" to "NTFS" without formating the HD have caused this problem? Weird thing is I can view the files but WinXP setup shows the HD as an "[unknown]" partition. Is there an app that can fix this so WinXP setup recongnizes the HD as "NTFS "and not "[Unknown]"? Formatting would be a last resort as there are files that are needed. I have "Ultimate BootCD" and "Hiren's BootCD v8.4" but couldn't find an app that can fix this issue. __________________ Guns don't kill people, Chuck Norris kills people!

11th Sep 2006, 10:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Dashken Administrator! Join Date: 21 Apr 2003 Location: Penang Posts: 29,725 Reputation: 2162 Rep Power: 56	Is this the main OS harddrive from your old system? Why not boot it with your new system? It should boot into Windows and ask you for drivers for your new mobo. If this is successful, then copy everything to somewhere (backup partition or another hdd) before you format/install a fresh OS onto the hdd, if you want to. Or if it's possible, get another pc to detect this drive and copy everything out before you format this drive and install a fresh WinXP. Converting FAT32 to NTFS with data in the HDD should not pose any problem. I did it almost everyday, except that it's an automated task. But it's still the same. Just my 2cents. __________________ \| Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 @ 3.2Ghz \| ASUS P5B-E Plus \| G.SKILL 2x1GB DDR2 800 \| 6 HDDs (2TB+ only ) \| NVIDIA GeForce 7600GT \| Dell E248WFP 24" Widescreen \| Blog : Dashken's I-Blog Gallery : Dashken's I-Paintings

11th Sep 2006, 10:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
zy Dead Join Date: 16 Dec 2002 Location: Penang,Malaysia - Buffalo,New York Posts: 12,835 Reputation: 1998 Rep Power: 37	if different chipset you cant really boot up .. what hard disk are you using ? .. SATA ? .. __________________ current: P4-3.2\|P4P800-Deluxe\|512x4-DDR\|NV6600 WD2500KS\|WD5000AAKS\|AD-7191A\|1860NX\|Z2300\|MP470 home (malaysia): P4C-2.6@3.1-StockHSF\|AI7\|256x2-BT-D43\|512x2-DT-D43\|A9600XT-VIVO WD1200JB\|2xWD2500KS\|DRU-800A\|DVD-E616P\|LTR-52327S\|152x\|V.S.4121\|iP1500 laptop: M1210\|T7200\|2GBDDR667\|160GB5K160\|GO7400

12th Sep 2006, 06:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
werty316 Active Join Date: 3 Mar 2005 Posts: 642 Reputation: 138 Rep Power: 5	The board uses a different chipset. The HD is PATA. It seem the MFT is messed up so I have to transfer every onto another HD and format the messed up HD boohoo __________________ Guns don't kill people, Chuck Norris kills people!

12th Sep 2006, 11:03 AM	#5 (permalink)
zy Dead Join Date: 16 Dec 2002 Location: Penang,Malaysia - Buffalo,New York Posts: 12,835 Reputation: 1998 Rep Power: 37	well .. you can use chkdsk to scan the hard disk __________________ current: P4-3.2\|P4P800-Deluxe\|512x4-DDR\|NV6600 WD2500KS\|WD5000AAKS\|AD-7191A\|1860NX\|Z2300\|MP470 home (malaysia): P4C-2.6@3.1-StockHSF\|AI7\|256x2-BT-D43\|512x2-DT-D43\|A9600XT-VIVO WD1200JB\|2xWD2500KS\|DRU-800A\|DVD-E616P\|LTR-52327S\|152x\|V.S.4121\|iP1500 laptop: M1210\|T7200\|2GBDDR667\|160GB5K160\|GO7400

12th Sep 2006, 11:12 AM	#6 (permalink)
werty316 Active Join Date: 3 Mar 2005 Posts: 642 Reputation: 138 Rep Power: 5	I did these steps: Boot from Windows XP CD-ROM Press "R" at prompt to enter recovery console type chkdsk /r (will take several minutes to complete) type chkdsk /p (will take a few minutes) type fixboot c: type exit, restart system. but at "chkdsk /r" I am not sure but it seemed to have stopped at 50% and I was too impatient so I pressed the reset button which I shouldn't have done. __________________ Guns don't kill people, Chuck Norris kills people!

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