Member Avatar for dwicki.barinof

greeting..

i have notebook compaq 510
yesterday i using windows 7 so the system reserved is created

then today i decide to change back to windows xp sp3(for some reason i have to do this)
but my windows installed as H: not C:
then i can't install graphic drive(require 47MB) because this drive have default installation path to C: where my c: is system reserved and just have 100MB (64 MB used)

so i decide to delete the system reserved partition, because i think if i delete it my windows drive (currently at h: ) can change automaticly to c:

but after i delete it, my system can't load my windows xp from hdd

do i have wipe all data for my HDD and rebuild the partition or any sugestion to solved this?

i just want to remove this system reserved partition, and my windows drive back to C:

i hope someone can help me :D

*sorry my english bad

  • 2 Contributors
  • 2 Replies
  • 325 Views
  • 13 Hours Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by dwicki.barinof

Dani AI

Generated

— deleting the 100MB System Reserved partition removed the machine’s boot files (the small “system” partition created by Windows 7 holds the boot manager/BCD). That’s why XP won’t start. You do NOT need to wipe the whole disk. Try to restore a working boot sector and NTLDR first, then make the XP partition active. If you have important files, make a quick image or copy them out before making changes.

Boot from a Windows XP CD, choose Recovery Console (press R) and run these steps (check drive letters with map first; the CD drive is often D: or E: in RC — replace letters below as needed):

map
fixmbr
fixboot C:
bootcfg /rebuild
copy X:\i386\ntldr C:
copy X:\i386\ntdetect.com C:
chkdsk C: /r
exit

Notes: replace C: with the letter RC shows for your Windows partition; X: is the CD drive letter shown by map. bootcfg /rebuild will scan and recreate boot.ini.

If the XP partition is not marked active you must set the bootable flag. Two safe ways:

  • Boot a GParted Live CD/USB and mark the XP partition “bootable” (right‑click → Manage Flags → boot).
  • Or boot a Windows 7/WinPE repair console and use diskpart:
diskpart
list disk
select disk 0
list partition
select partition N    (choose the XP partition number)
active
exit

After marking active and running the RC commands reboot. If you still get errors or XP stays on H: and programs require C:, the clean/repair install of XP (after backing up data) is the safest way to force the system drive to C:. Avoid destructive commands like dd if=/dev/zero unless you intend to erase the disk completely — that will destroy recoverable data.

Recommended Answers

All 2 Replies

Member Avatar for rubberman

If you have the original XP installation disc, then just have it install over the Win7 partitions, taking over the disc. If necessary, you can easily do that with a live Linux CD and uting the dd command: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda
That will erase the entire disc, including partition table and boot loaders. Then XP will be able to take over the entire disc.

Member Avatar for dwicki.barinof

thank you rubberman for the reply
i installed XP over Win7 partition, but i format it before i install XP (does it take effect?)

but i never try dd command in with Live Linux CD..
i'll try it latter

thank you

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.