Dual boot of 98SE (HDD1 partition 1, C drive)& XP(HDD2 partition 1, D drive) was working fine. But now, choosing XP (i.e. any option from XP loadup menu) leads to XP splash screen with it's progress bar which almost instantly fails with a momentary error screen that disappears - followed by a reboot. When I choose 98SE, CHKDSK is started on drive D (XP) and this instantly hangs then fails. After which 98SE continues to load OK. When I then use Windows Explorer to look at drive D, all folders/files are visible. In 98se, I have been able to Virus check drive D completely & it is found to be clean. Also, I've been able to copy my document files away from drive D (disk 2) for backup. I've ventured along the repair XP path using the XP cd, but this said that the drive was not formatted. Ideas would be very welcome please.

Hi MikkeyD, Hi all Mikkey did you scanned the disk for errors, fine the chkdsk is not running within XP but it is posssible to run scandisk from win98. Try this: run the scandisk & scan drive d: for errors (if u can do it both from the Window & dos mode it would be better). If the problem solves then it might be possible that there were some errors. If it does not we will try some thing else. Bye the way did you added a new hardware to your system or new software which your MB is not compatible with. If you did try uninstalling the software & remove the hardware. Also set the bios to their defaults ie their minimum level. It may also be possible that while working there may be some jerk on your cpu & some of the hardware is loosened or got corrupted. Secondly, it may also be possible that due to the power fluctuation while u were working on XP they might have resulted in some bad sectors It may also be possible that due to some fluctuations your xp partitions got disturbed. Try this way, it may help, there is no harm in running the scandisk Regards Naman Jandial WebMaster of: www.newjandial.com If there is any problem we should start with a basic step, rather than an advanced one. Mistakes can be ignored just by saying "SORRY"

Thanks for the response Naman. But ScanDisk via W98se produced this response: "ScanDisk cannot check this drive now because the disk is not properly formatted, or a program such as a disk utility has locked it. Format the disk or wait for the utility to finish, and then restart ScanDisk." But the strange thing is that the drive is readable (using 98se Windows Explorer)and the other partition on the disk (drive H) is fine and can be ScanDisk'ed. The ScanDisk of drive H did produce this response: "This drive's boot area contains important information that is damaged or invalid. This can cause Windows to report the drive's free space incorrectly or slowly. ScanDisk repairs the boot area by recording the correct values in this area." and it's error(s) were able to be fixed. Although drive D is still unaccessible by ScanDisk and unbootable to Windows XP. More ideas please?

Hi Mikkey Also check if the the disk drive D: is accessible from DOS. Please choose the "Command Prompt Only" option during bootup. To reach there tap the "F8" key before the window is loaded, or press & hold the left "CTRL" key before the window is loaded. there will be five menus out of which one will read "Coomad Prompt Only" Choose that: 1.) From there try to Access Disk Drive D: Simply type "D:"<Enter> 2.) If it reads from there then return to Disk drive C: type "C:" <Enter> 3.) On reaching the C: drive run the Scandisk command & prompt to scan for Drive D: 4.) To do this type "Scandisk D:"<Enter> Note: 1. Scandisk through DOS mode generally takes 1 Hr 45 Mins. 2. Ignore the inverted commas while typing any command. 3. There is a space between the scandisk & d: You have to put a space between them. 4. When do the step one ie: try to access the Drive D: & if you fail to do so ie: an error appears still you try to run the scandisk command for D: It may be possible that due to certain bad sectors scandisk when in window mode is not able to read it. But DOS mode is powerful & should read it. If still no luck ie. even after scanning drive d: for errors or if an error is returned while reading the drive then do this: 1. Select the first boot device as "CD ROM" from the CMOS setup utility. 2. Insert your bootable Winxp CD. 3. Go to that menu where it shows you the previously installed versions of Winxp. 4. There press the "R" button to repair your OS. Note repair may take a long time depending on your hardware resouces Note: Before doing this return to win98 & backup all your important data of Drive D: to any removable drive such as a cd or to any other partition of your hard disk. Because if there are some errors on your Drive then the Repair option may corrupt your data. Wish you success Regards. Naman Jandial WebMaster of: www.newjandial.com

i think this is the best solution... format your hard drive but before you do that back up all your importants documents.... first install winxp after that try to used the partion magic read carefully all the instructions that appear in your monitor after you used it install the win98 and restart you pc and enjoy... thanks for sharing