After trying to set up dual-boot, can't boot into Vista OR XP!! Help!

The Beef · 02-21-2008, 01:35 AM

Hi all. I'm feeling desperate on the edge of being able to cry right now.

This is the third time I've attempted to install a dual-boot XP on my preinstalled-Vista laptop, and the third time that I've failed due to the lack of a XP sound driver for my laptop (Gateway MT3708). Each time, I have used Vista Boot Pro with mixed success.

However, this time around, I first used Acronis to create my XP partition, instead of Vista's Disk Management. When I got into XP, this is how my drive layout looked:

E: 90 GB (Vista partition)
C: 10 GB (XP partition)
D: 10 GB (Vista's Recovery partition thing)

I used Vista Boot Pro to try and get myself back into Vista after failing again at my XP installation. I installed the Vista bootloader and ran the diagnostic. This is what it looked like to the best of my memory:

Microsoft Home Premium (recovered) - E:
Microsoft Longhorn blah blah blah (recovered) - D:

The second entry was weird, because that was my recovery partition, and XP was not on the list. But at this point I was only concerned about getting back into Vista, so I rebooted.

When I started up, I got a blinking black screen after the Bios much to my horror. No nothing, and no way to get into either Vista or XP. I tried Vista Recovery's Startup Repair to no avail. Now I have no idea what to do, and I am at the point where the panic is seriously rising quickly in my gut and swear words are flying out of my mouth at the rate of five per second. Please help.

(Lesson? Vista is sh*t, and I should never have gotten it.)

**Dunedin** · 02-21-2008, 07:29 AM

The Beef

I have not seen this particular error before, but the black screen at bootup suggests that Vista`s boot files/MBR are trashed. The missing partition also makes me wonder about a problem there too.

Try fixing the boot files first
Go to the link below, and scroll down to
Step 3 - Fix Boot Loader:

Try this method using the command prompt.
Press ENTER between the two commands

http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/showtopic26756.htm

02-21-2008, 01:35 AM	#1 (permalink)
The Beef Registered User Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 11 OS: XP	After trying to set up dual-boot, can't boot into Vista OR XP!! Help! Hi all. I'm feeling desperate on the edge of being able to cry right now. This is the third time I've attempted to install a dual-boot XP on my preinstalled-Vista laptop, and the third time that I've failed due to the lack of a XP sound driver for my laptop (Gateway MT3708). Each time, I have used Vista Boot Pro with mixed success. However, this time around, I first used Acronis to create my XP partition, instead of Vista's Disk Management. When I got into XP, this is how my drive layout looked: E: 90 GB (Vista partition) C: 10 GB (XP partition) D: 10 GB (Vista's Recovery partition thing) I used Vista Boot Pro to try and get myself back into Vista after failing again at my XP installation. I installed the Vista bootloader and ran the diagnostic. This is what it looked like to the best of my memory: Microsoft Home Premium (recovered) - E: Microsoft Longhorn blah blah blah (recovered) - D: The second entry was weird, because that was my recovery partition, and XP was not on the list. But at this point I was only concerned about getting back into Vista, so I rebooted. When I started up, I got a blinking black screen after the Bios much to my horror. No nothing, and no way to get into either Vista or XP. I tried Vista Recovery's Startup Repair to no avail. Now I have no idea what to do, and I am at the point where the panic is seriously rising quickly in my gut and swear words are flying out of my mouth at the rate of five per second. Please help. (Lesson? Vista is sh*t, and I should never have gotten it.) __________________ MSI K7N2 Delta Socket A Mobo AMD 2600+ Thermaltake 430W PSU 80 GB SATA HD 512 MB PC3200 RAM

02-21-2008, 07:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
Dunedin Mentor Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Over the Forth from Edinburgh, Scotland Posts: 3,620 OS: WinXP Pro/Windows7 RTM Ultimate	Re: After trying to set up dual-boot, can't boot into Vista OR XP!! Help! The Beef I have not seen this particular error before, but the black screen at bootup suggests that Vista`s boot files/MBR are trashed. The missing partition also makes me wonder about a problem there too. Try fixing the boot files first Go to the link below, and scroll down to Step 3 - Fix Boot Loader: Try this method using the command prompt. Press ENTER between the two commands http://www.dreamincode.net/forums/showtopic26756.htm __________________