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hey guys, i got and xp media centre pack to install on my xp home pc, just so i could stream media to my 360.

i began the installation and clicked upgrade to retain my files etc.

it got to installing devices (in the O/S installation part) and said it had 34 mins left, it stayed like that for 4 hours! and then it decided to tell me it needs this nvidia windows driver disc 1, which i dont have and didnt get with my pc.

i locate some of the driver files on the pc itself, and then the installation appears to hang.

so i restart.

then, it get to the same point, but this time doesnt say it needs any drivers, it sloooooowly continues on past devices and has for the last 17hours been 'installing network' with no progress at all, telling me theres 32 mins left. lol.

i then restart the my pc hoping to get around the installation and just go back to my xp home.
i boot from mce disc and push F3 like it says, to quit and install and boot into windows, except it doesnt! it just begins installing again!

i feel like im some twilight zone with this thing!

anyway, i need to get back in to my pc, just to recover my .PST files wich are stored my raid0 striped array.

please help?


thanks guys!

Hi noobie,

have you tried booting the ocmputer without the cd in the drive?
Alternatively you may need to do a repair install of Windows XP Home

hi thanks,
i tried booting without the disc and it says it goes straight to the install screen and says i need to insert service pack 2 cd.

i tried an xp home repair, and it says it cannot continue as it cannot detect my hard drive. this may be due the fact its a raid? im not sure.

thanks for the response. anymore suggestions?

Yes, that is correct.

For windows installs on raid drives- you require the raid drive and need to push "F6" at the start of setup. halfway through copying the files it will ask you to insert the disk with the drivers on it.

ok, but ive decided to forget mce now.
i want to just go back to my version of xphome i had already on the pc.

is there anyway to get back to it? as right now my pc is in limbo and wont boot at all!

all i want is my .pst files back!lol.


is there anyway to do this?
ie, some kind of dos application that will allow me to retreive data to another location as my pc is non-booting.

thanks.

ok im going to follow this guide.
jclark.org - HOWTO Recover Files from a Non-Bootable Windows PC using Ubuntu Live
here goes!

WAHEY!

ok i booted from disc with linux, ubuntu and knoppix and checked my file structure, which was all in tact.

but for some weird reason it wouldnt allow me to copy my files.

anyway, i then installed xp home on a newly created 20gig partition, and ive just booted into my pc for the first time in days!!!!

yay!!!!

heres the problem i have now, which im hoping might be easy to solve?

basically, from my new xp home installation, i cannot access my old files in my documents.
im being told 'access denied' when i click on the folder.
i think this may be because i was administrator of the old installation?
i can access all the other old user accounts fine.

is there anyway to get to my old user account files?


thanks guys.