So, I tried installing kubuntu linux distribution. Once I hit the part where I needed to partition the drive, it just sat there for a good half hour. I was impatient and aborted it. Since then, windows won't boot up anymore, and I can't install linux because it says the partition isn't large enough to install it. I've been trying to use Knoppix to recover files, however the hard drives it shows don't include any of my files from windows. Any ideas how to get my files out of windows before I go ahead and reformat the whole thing?

ALSO, there are 2 hdas that show up on my desktop after I boot Knoppix. hda1, hda2. hda2, I believe, has all my files, however this message comes up with I try and open it: Could not mount device. The reported error was: Failed to laod $MFTMirr: Input/output error Failed to startup volume: Input/output error Couldn't mount device '/dev/hda2': Input/output error Mount failed HELP! Keep in mind, I'm a newb.

Boot the windows cd, get to the recovery console & run fixmbr I THINK you need to get rid of grub/lilo Before posting try google. Backup. Use anti virus software.

http://www.novell.com/coolsolutions... Either way you may still have some issues depending on setup. I read it wrong and answer it wrong too. So get off my case you peanut.

even though most of the live linux cd's offer you the opportunity to partition during the setup, I always prefer to do this before beginning the setup, with something like g-parted. That way you don't need to stop in the middle of a set-up to partition and, risk something going wrong. Also if there is an operating system already on the drive, I prefer to partition,reboot and see if I can still boot into that system. Then reboot and begin the setup. larry

Boot using MS DOS cd and run fdisk/mbr Maclot