recovering from a nasty situation

  • Thread starter Thread starter DC
  • Start date Start date
D

DC

Hi all,

OK, I am @ my wits' end so this is a 'this is where I am at, and this is
where I want to be post.

OK, so I have a desktop [currently in pieces] that I want to get vista onto.

Where I am:

The machine in question had a nice install of XP SP2 on it, all was good.
Some time ago I installed an early beta of Vista on it and it was dual
booting fine.
I did nothing with the box for some time.
Now I come to it, latest beta on DVD in hand.
Heres the thing; the XP boot now appears somewhat FUBAR'ed, it just does not
work.
The Vista install has expired, it wants a product key, I have tried a few (I
have full MSDN subscriber) and I cannot give it one it likes.
I have been into the BIOS and set the 1st boot device to CD and rebooted
with the DVD in the tray. By selecting the 'Boot into command line' option
into the Vista install I have determined that the CD ROM device isnot
recognised, hence the boot optoin is ignored. I have got the correct drivers
for the device on a CD but have not done anything with it yet.

Here's where I weant to be:

I want to FDISK the MDR removing all instances of previous OS's
I then want to go ahead and install the new beta.

My question is, therefore, how on earth do I recover this situation?

Many thanks in advance,
DC
 
Hi DC--

Here's what I pull out of this.

The DVD in hand is the latest public version and also made available to MSDN
subscribers which would be Beta 2. Your XP boot is hosed; and for some
reason even though you are an MSDN subscriber they don't have an easy way
for you to get a product key (why I have no idea because I suppose MSDN
subscribers don't have the time limit imposed on the CPP).

As to the key for that Vista DVD they mailed you as an MSDN subscriber--I'd
use whatever means MSDN subscribers have to contact MSDN and demand the key.
Didn't the DVD from MSFT come in a white envelope with the usual PK on the
back of that envelope? What confuses me here is you say the Vista install
has expired and it wants a product key. They sent you a Beta 2 DVD via your
MSDN subscription and that product key is now expired about 7 weeks after a
public release? Surely there is a mechanism to contact MSDN on their site
and some kind of MSDN number you can call:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/faq/#keys

I'd first just do a quick repair install on the XP boot if the F8 options
don't work and you have an XP CD with a product key for it--takes 35 minutes
of the world's longest and most one dimensional boring XP setup commercial.

1) Try 3 safe modes and last known good if you can get to them for the XP
install. If this is complicated by the dual boot and the damaged bootloader
then:
You can boot from an XP CD if you have a retail or OEM bootable (rarely
shipped) XP CD by putting the CD first in the bios setup boot order and then
following the simple steps for a repair install of XP.

From MVP Doug Knox:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx

From MSFT:
Method 2: Reinstall Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP
CD
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315341#XSLTH3127121122120121120120

Philosophy behind that is discussed in Chap. 28 of the Win XP Resource Kit
on line @ MSFT site or in

Resources for troubleshooting startup problems in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308041&Product=winxp

Then just type diskmgmt.msc in the run box and right click the drive/volume
where Vista is parked and format the previous build.
--------------------

2) You can follow these steps:

Reboot and Boot to your XP CD-ROM
1. Start the Recovery Console Screen shots are in link below and just sub XP
anytime Win 2K has been printed on that blue screen in the shots.

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/j_helmig/wxprcons.htm
2. Run Fixboot
3. Run fixmbr to reset the master boot record
4. Exit the Recovery Console
5. Reboot
6. To remove the extra entry, edit the boot.ini file to remove the
"Microsoft Windows Longhorn" entry.
7. Format Your Vista Partition

--------------------------

3) You can try to repair using either of these which will probably be
successful and then simply format

Download Easy BCD from this link: (Click Download Link)
http://neosmart.net/forums/index.php?gettopic=81

Download Vista Boot Pro 2.0 from this link:
http://www.pro-networks.org/vistabootpro/intro.php

Goodl luck,

CH




DC said:
Hi all,

OK, I am @ my wits' end so this is a 'this is where I am at, and this is
where I want to be post.

OK, so I have a desktop [currently in pieces] that I want to get vista
onto.

Where I am:

The machine in question had a nice install of XP SP2 on it, all was good.
Some time ago I installed an early beta of Vista on it and it was dual
booting fine.
I did nothing with the box for some time.
Now I come to it, latest beta on DVD in hand.
Heres the thing; the XP boot now appears somewhat FUBAR'ed, it just does
not work.
The Vista install has expired, it wants a product key, I have tried a few
(I have full MSDN subscriber) and I cannot give it one it likes.
I have been into the BIOS and set the 1st boot device to CD and rebooted
with the DVD in the tray. By selecting the 'Boot into command line' option
into the Vista install I have determined that the CD ROM device isnot
recognised, hence the boot optoin is ignored. I have got the correct
drivers for the device on a CD but have not done anything with it yet.

Here's where I weant to be:

I want to FDISK the MDR removing all instances of previous OS's
I then want to go ahead and install the new beta.

My question is, therefore, how on earth do I recover this situation?

Many thanks in advance,
DC
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