How do I fix/remove the bootloader after accidently installing intosecond drive/partition?

[Ant]

Hello.

I think I screwed up my old HDD's bootup setup on an old Dell Optiplex
GX280 test PC. I was trying to install three different 32-bit Windows
onto this machine for testing purposes. It is a single boot setup and
not dual/triple boots as well.

IIRC, this is what happened... I had slipstreamed Windows XP Pro. SP2/3
(forgot which one) installed in C: drive and made a Symantec Ghost image
(use its boot CD-R) of it D: drive. Then, I accidently installed either
Vista or Windows 7 into D: drive (was supposed to be in C: drive!) so my
PC thinks I am dual booting which I did not want to do! I need to
undo/fix this, but I think I made it worse as I tried to fix this!

I tried to restore XP back to C: with my Ghost image backup, but the
dual boot was still there! I tried restoring Vista/W7, but that didn't
help either. I also tried clean reinstalling XP form its setup CD
(booted from PC's bootup) into C: from scratch, but it didn't fix the
problem. I tried booting up XP Pro. SP2 CD's recovery console to use
fixmbr.exe \Device\HardDisk0 on the drive based on
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/bootcons_fixmbr.mspx
instructions and rebooted, but that didn't work either (same problem).
Maybe I did it wrong? I have never used it before, but then I never had
to fix/undo multi-boot setup before.

What am I missing and how do I have PC just boot to pure Windows that is
installed on the current C: drive? I knew I should had been more careful
with installation (C: and not D. Do I have to do a full clean format
on the computer? I don't want to lose Dell recovery partition/drive
(don't have its original recovery discs for it either) too.

Thank you in advance.
--
"I'm not afraid of insects taking over the world, and you know why? It
would take about a million ants just to aim a gun at me, let alone fire
it. And you know what I'm doing while they're aiming it at me? I just
sort of slip off to the side, and then suddenly run up and kick the gun
out of their hands." --Jack Handy from Saturday Night Live
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

 

[a]

Hello.

I think I screwed up my old HDD's bootup setup on an old Dell Optiplex
GX280 test PC. I was trying to install three different 32-bit Windows
onto this machine for testing purposes. It is a single boot setup and
not dual/triple boots as well.

IIRC, this is what happened... I had slipstreamed Windows XP Pro. SP2/3
(forgot which one) installed in C: drive and made a Symantec Ghost image
(use its boot CD-R) of it D: drive. Then, I accidently installed either
Vista or Windows 7 into D: drive (was supposed to be in C: drive!) so my
PC thinks I am dual booting which I did not want to do! I need to
undo/fix this, but I think I made it worse as I tried to fix this!

I tried to restore XP back to C: with my Ghost image backup, but the
dual boot was still there! I tried restoring Vista/W7, but that didn't
help either. I also tried clean reinstalling XP form its setup CD
(booted from PC's bootup) into C: from scratch, but it didn't fix the
problem. I tried booting up XP Pro. SP2 CD's recovery console to use
fixmbr.exe \Device\HardDisk0 on the drive based on
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/bootcons_fixmbr.mspx
instructions and rebooted, but that didn't work either (same problem).
Maybe I did it wrong? I have never used it before, but then I never had
to fix/undo multi-boot setup before.

What am I missing and how do I have PC just boot to pure Windows that is
installed on the current C: drive? I knew I should had been more careful
with installation (C: and not D. Do I have to do a full clean format
on the computer? I don't want to lose Dell recovery partition/drive
(don't have its original recovery discs for it either) too.

Thank you in advance.

You need to use the BOOTSECT.EXE program which you should have in the
BOOT directory of your Wind7 DVD. You do this from a command window:

BOOTSECT /nt52 c:

to restore the XP single boot up sector

 

[Ant]

You need to use the BOOTSECT.EXE program which you should have in the
BOOT directory of your Wind7 DVD. You do this from a command window:

BOOTSECT /nt52 c:

to restore the XP single boot up sector

Thanks. I hope that's all I will have to do on tomorrow (not at the test
machine right now). I assume you mean to try it in its recovery mode
like XP's.
--
"When you need a helpline for breakfast cereals, it's time to start
thinking about tearing down civilization and giving the ants a go."
--Chris King in a.s.r.
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

 

[Ant]

You need to use the BOOTSECT.EXE program which you should have in the

BOOT directory of your Wind7 DVD. You do this from a command window:

BOOTSECT /nt52 c:

to restore the XP single boot up sector

OK, I restored XP Pro. SP2 from its Ghost image to the drive (weird, it
restores to D: [that doesn't seem right]). I rebooted to 32-bit W7 DVD's
repair's cmd.exe and did "BOOTSECT /nt52 c:". I rebooted again and it
worked. Although, the drive letters are wrong. I will have to fix that.
I hope I don't screw it up more again (C: became D:, D: became C. I
have backup of Ghost images just in case. Hopefully, restoring all my
images and booting each one up works correctly.
--
"There are things in the Universe billions of years older than either of our races. They are vast, timeless, and if they are aware of us at all, it is as little more than ants and we have as much chance of communicating with them as an ant has with us. We know. We've tried and we've learned that we can either stay out from underfoot or be stepped on. They are a mystery and I am both terrified and reassured that to know that there are still wonders in the Universe, that we have not explained everything. Whatever they are, Miss Sakai, they walk near Sigma 957 and they must walk there alone." --G'Kar - Mind War
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.

 

[Ant]

You need to use the BOOTSECT.EXE program which you should have in the
BOOT directory of your Wind7 DVD. You do this from a command window:

BOOTSECT /nt52 c:

to restore the XP single boot up sector

OK, I restored XP Pro. SP2 from its Ghost image to the drive (weird, it
restores to D: [that doesn't seem right]). I rebooted to 32-bit W7 DVD's
repair's cmd.exe and did "BOOTSECT /nt52 c:". I rebooted again and it
worked. Although, the drive letters are wrong. I will have to fix that.
I hope I don't screw it up more again (C: became D:, D: became C. I
have backup of Ghost images just in case. Hopefully, restoring all my
images and booting each one up works correctly.

Nope! After flipping/swapping the drive/partition letters and restoring
each Ghost image to the correct C: drive showed missing nt. I tried
32-bit W7 DVD's "BOOTSECT /nt52 c:" and "fixmbr.exe" methods in XP Pro.
SP2's CD text mode cmd.exe, but both failed to fixed that one.

I gave up and just reinstalled all Windows from scratch. Oy!
--
"Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm
fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into wars, use chemical
sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves. The families of
weaver ants engage in child labor, holding their larvae like shuttles to
spin out the thread that sews the leaves together for their fungus
gardens. They exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but
watch television." --Lewis Thomas
/\___/\ Phil./Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
/ /\ /\ \ Ant's Quality Foraged Links: http://aqfl.net
| |o o| |
\ _ / If crediting, then use Ant nickname and AQFL URL/link.
( ) If e-mailing, then axe ANT from its address if needed.
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on this computer.