I was using Windows XP Pro on a 250GB Samsung HDD. I decided to upgrade to Vista & thought it was ok, despite a few peoblems. I then went onto create 2 more partitions on the drive so i could have a full install of Vista & then install a full version of XP. I installed Vista on the partition without any problems. But when i tried to install XP it copied some of the files, then said error loading operating system. I booted from disk again & deleted the 2 partitions i made so i could just use the upgraded Vista. But it justr refused to boot up. I tried to formatr the disk but dont think that worked. Now i cant use boot up from disk when the drive is in the PC. I put my backup drive which is full of games & stuff in, & disconnected the other one & it installed no problem. Is my 250GB HDD broken beyond repair? It shows up in BIOS & at the post screen it says its ok.. Thanks for any help on this as im now limited in space for storage, & lost a hell of a lot of music, games, films etc..
Best I can suggest at the moment is to plug it into a PC with a working operating system and see what shows up in the device / disk manager.
Ok, i installed Windows XP on my other drive alongside my games etc. Can i connect the dodgy hard drive, & boot up with the hard drive im using just now? That way i can format the HDD in windows & hopefully have XP or Vista installed on it & keep this drive for games etc..
Yes, you should be able to. If your PC tries to boot from the drive you add, go into the BIOS to change the boot priority back.
Ok, i re-connected the drive & it shows up in windows. But ive noticed transfering files etc takes much longer. Any ideas? Cheers
Get all of your important files off of the bad drive. Then, you can reformat it, and try to install Windows on it, again. If it is a no go, trash the drive, unless it is still under warranty.