Please HELP!!
I know it looks long but please help me!

I have a computer with a 250GB SATA 2 HDD and another 320GB IDE HDD. i was running windows xp pro on the sata HDD partitioned into approx a 110GB and a 140GB space. the other drive had backed up stuff on it which i really need took me ages to set up.

Anyway i created another partition on the Sata drive about 10GB in size with Linux ext 3 file system using partition magic v12. I then booted using Linux red hat 7.2 complete CD. went through a few setup options thinking this was only dabbeling in my RAM. I couldnt get the setup to install Linux on the 10G partition, I exited and rebooted (took the CD out)attempting to go back to windows when I got a boot error. After a heap of hair pulling and nail biting i attempted to Repair windows using the XP CD.

No luck there so i acted like i wanted to reinstall windows so i could see the HDD partitions. turns out what ever i did in the Linux setup unpartitioned both the HDDs. it just came up with two unpartitioned disks 320gb and 250gb. WTF?

Also to add insult to injury i have an assignment due on monday and its on the windows partition.

Please help!!!

From your description, I have no idea at all what you have done to your system. However we can find out.

Go to this thread:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...57#post2826657

and review it.

I particularly want you to duplicate the instructions in Post 42 on that thread, for both hard drives in your system, and post the results here.

You will need a Linux Live CD to do this, such as Knoppix.

When you have posted the information here, I'll be able to get you sorted out at least to the point where we can find out if you've destroyed your system or not.

It is getting late here, and I will be going to bed in a bit more than an hour; if you are able to respond before then I'll look at it tonight, otherwise it will be sometime tomorrow before I look at it.

If you really did write over the Windows partition, a distinct possibilty when newbies start messing around with Partition Magic and a Linux distribution as old as RH 7.2, you are probably SOL.

I would try inserting the Windows installation disk and getting to the repair console. From the prompt there, if you type HELP, it will give you a list of available commands. One of them should be FIXMBR. Try that.

If that doesn't work, I would try booting a Linux LiveCD to see if it can read the partitions and directories. If it can, I would start backing up like crazy.

I dont think i get the option to type in any commands (HELP) in the XP repair console but i could be wrong. i will check. also would creating a partition wipe my master boot record or my file allocation table? I assume it would.

Closing the original since the dupe has more responses ... follow-ups please to



http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=575527