Here is my system breakdown:
- Laptop Computer with 1 Harddisk (3 Partitions: C, D, E)
- Running Windows XP SP3
- Virus/Malware Scan: Deemed CLEANby Avast
HISTORY:
- Was installed with Windows Vista on C: partition
- Was installed with OSX (via osx86) on D: partition
- E partition is a FAT32 partition to swap files from Vista to OSX
- I got sick of Vista, and bought myself an iMac so I decided to convert the whole laptop back to XP.
- I formatted D drive while in Windows Vista to FAT32 as it wouldn't let me format to NTFS. I assume it has something to do with the fact that OSX was installed on it.
- After backing-up everything, I reinstalled Windows XP (SP2) via the installation disk I got when I first bought the Laptop.
- In the setup, I deleted the C partition, and selected to install XP to the unlocated space. I selected to fully format (not Quick) the new partition in NTFS.
- After install, everything is working fine so I reinstall all my drivers/programs, and have been working on it with no problems.
- That was 4 months ago.
PROBLEMS:
- Few days ago, I remembered that my D and E partitions are both FAT32 and that they should be formatted to NTFS since I'm not installing OSX on it again.
- I move all my files in D drive out to other partitions and try to format it. And i get the error "Windows was unable to complete the format".
- I go into Disk Management and try to delete the partition but the option is greyed out. Also, it states that the D partition is a "Healthy (System)" drive. C drive is listed as "Healthy (Boot)".
- And so I realise that Windows XP had installed some system files to the D drive... and true enough, after unhiding system files, D drive contains "Recycled", "System Volume Information" folder, boot.ini, NTDETECT.COM, ntldr.
- Freck!!
- So thats where I am now... I'm searched the web for solutions but most of my hits are related to other problems... lots of problems have the same error messages apparently.
SO THEN...
- How do I fix it so that all the system files are back in C drive without having to reinstall because I can't do that right now... I'm in the middle of mountains of work.
- The whole system works fine, except for the fact that I have two partitions that are in FAT32 slowing me down.
- How do I prevent it from doing the same thing even if I do have to reinstall.
Regards,
NICK
- Laptop Computer with 1 Harddisk (3 Partitions: C, D, E)
- Running Windows XP SP3
- Virus/Malware Scan: Deemed CLEANby Avast
HISTORY:
- Was installed with Windows Vista on C: partition
- Was installed with OSX (via osx86) on D: partition
- E partition is a FAT32 partition to swap files from Vista to OSX
- I got sick of Vista, and bought myself an iMac so I decided to convert the whole laptop back to XP.
- I formatted D drive while in Windows Vista to FAT32 as it wouldn't let me format to NTFS. I assume it has something to do with the fact that OSX was installed on it.
- After backing-up everything, I reinstalled Windows XP (SP2) via the installation disk I got when I first bought the Laptop.
- In the setup, I deleted the C partition, and selected to install XP to the unlocated space. I selected to fully format (not Quick) the new partition in NTFS.
- After install, everything is working fine so I reinstall all my drivers/programs, and have been working on it with no problems.
- That was 4 months ago.
PROBLEMS:
- Few days ago, I remembered that my D and E partitions are both FAT32 and that they should be formatted to NTFS since I'm not installing OSX on it again.
- I move all my files in D drive out to other partitions and try to format it. And i get the error "Windows was unable to complete the format".
- I go into Disk Management and try to delete the partition but the option is greyed out. Also, it states that the D partition is a "Healthy (System)" drive. C drive is listed as "Healthy (Boot)".
- And so I realise that Windows XP had installed some system files to the D drive... and true enough, after unhiding system files, D drive contains "Recycled", "System Volume Information" folder, boot.ini, NTDETECT.COM, ntldr.
- Freck!!
- So thats where I am now... I'm searched the web for solutions but most of my hits are related to other problems... lots of problems have the same error messages apparently.
SO THEN...
- How do I fix it so that all the system files are back in C drive without having to reinstall because I can't do that right now... I'm in the middle of mountains of work.
- The whole system works fine, except for the fact that I have two partitions that are in FAT32 slowing me down.
- How do I prevent it from doing the same thing even if I do have to reinstall.
Regards,
NICK