Re-installing Vista on Toshiba Laptop

janmay · 11-05-2009, 05:59 AM

I have a Toshiba Satellite Pro A200 laptop. The hard drive is partitioned and I keep all my data in one partition and programs in the other. As I have had a total failure of Vista and been unable to automatically repair or restore the system I need to reinstall, but the supplied recovery disk says that the hard disk will be erased. Does this mean both partitions will be erased and all my data lost? I have an external hard drive that I could copy my data to, but can I do that from the command prompt as that is the only access to my laptop that I currently have.

Many thanks in anticipation.

**pat mcgroin** · 11-05-2009, 08:03 AM

Im pretty sure that it will only format the c: partition but I would highly recommend
backing up an data that you have on the other.

To do the backing up from a command prompt you will likely need to use the xcopy command to accomplish what you want.
Here is a link to better understand it to get you started.
http://commandwindows.com/

Could you explain a bit more about how you can get to a command prompt and not safe mode?
Possibly we can find a way to at least get you there to make it easier for you.
I say this because I dont have the knowledge to say if you will have difficulty in doing the backup from the command prompt due to file permissions and NTFS restrictions etc.

I will have some time later today and will try to reproduce your situation and see what I run into concernig the backup.

Hopefully someone with more knowledge of OEM disks will read this and can help to get you into a repair install.
I know with the full disk you can tell it to install and then it will give you a repair option, but I am not certain of it with a OEM disk.

janmay · 11-07-2009, 03:24 AM

Thanks a lot for your reply. I knew about xcopy but wasn't sure about file permissions either!

Anyway, I tried and it worked fine copying data over to my external HD. I reinstalled Vista and it did in fact format the whole HD!

Cheers!

11-05-2009, 05:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
janmay Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2 OS: vista	Re-installing Vista on Toshiba Laptop I have a Toshiba Satellite Pro A200 laptop. The hard drive is partitioned and I keep all my data in one partition and programs in the other. As I have had a total failure of Vista and been unable to automatically repair or restore the system I need to reinstall, but the supplied recovery disk says that the hard disk will be erased. Does this mean both partitions will be erased and all my data lost? I have an external hard drive that I could copy my data to, but can I do that from the command prompt as that is the only access to my laptop that I currently have. Many thanks in anticipation.

11-05-2009, 08:03 AM	#2 (permalink)
pat mcgroin TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2009 Location: Toledo Oh. Posts: 590 OS: XP Professional SP2 Vista Ultimate SP2	Re: Re-installing Vista on Toshiba Laptop Im pretty sure that it will only format the c: partition but I would highly recommend backing up an data that you have on the other. To do the backing up from a command prompt you will likely need to use the xcopy command to accomplish what you want. Here is a link to better understand it to get you started. http://commandwindows.com/ Could you explain a bit more about how you can get to a command prompt and not safe mode? Possibly we can find a way to at least get you there to make it easier for you. I say this because I dont have the knowledge to say if you will have difficulty in doing the backup from the command prompt due to file permissions and NTFS restrictions etc. I will have some time later today and will try to reproduce your situation and see what I run into concernig the backup. Hopefully someone with more knowledge of OEM disks will read this and can help to get you into a repair install. I know with the full disk you can tell it to install and then it will give you a repair option, but I am not certain of it with a OEM disk.

11-07-2009, 03:24 AM	#3 (permalink)
janmay Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2 OS: vista	Re: Re-installing Vista on Toshiba Laptop Thanks a lot for your reply. I knew about xcopy but wasn't sure about file permissions either! Anyway, I tried and it worked fine copying data over to my external HD. I reinstalled Vista and it did in fact format the whole HD! Cheers!