Ooops!!! I had tried to do an install of Win XP Pro on a freshly formatted hard drive, but I couldn't get the setup to start, nor could I get it to reboot from CD-ROM. So, after I learned about making 6 XP setup floppys, I was finally able to do it, ...HOWEVER, for some reason it was not being installed onto my "C:\ drive", it was installing onto my "E:\ drive", which is the hard drive that I keep all of my important stuff stored on, and was definitely not the drive that I'd wanted to install XP Pro onto. Anyway, when I'd finally figured out that it was installing to the wrong drive, I went into panic mode and shut the PC off, then I restarted it using another drive that was already loaded from another PC, ...my main concern was gaining access to the "important stuff" hard drive so that I could find and delete all the XP Pro files that were accidently installing. NOW, after deleting all the WIN XP stuff off of it, I can't access the drive anymore because it is now converted from FAT 32 to NTFS and I have no idea how to convert it back. The drive is a Quantum IDE 40GB, and Partition Magic tells me that it cannot convert it because it is dismounted. ANY HELP WOULD BE VERY MUCH APPRECIATED!!!!! Thanks!!! Robin

I wonder if Partition Magic will convert it?

Partition Magic will convert NTFS to FAT! I guess it will preserve the contained data. Delpart is another software but I doubt it can save the data.

Sounds like you are gonna need this to get your data off of that screwed up drive. Once you get what you need off of it. You will have to use fdisk to delete and create the partitions and then reformat the drive. Good Luck. Ontrack's 'Easy Recovery Pro' (http://www.ontrack.com) PowerQuest's 'Lost and Found' (http://www.powerquest.com) Free http://home.arcor.de/christian_grau/rescue/

You seem to have a '98 system around (your posted OS specs above)? Presuming so then you could use sysinternals freebie util (http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/ntfswin98.shtml) that allows '9x read-only access to ntfs areas. This util would/should allow you access the data area on the affected drive. Install the affected drive as Slave to a '98 Master and install/run the add-in util (for '98). Copy all data over to '98 drive (or save data somewhere safe... (CDR-RW?); then reformat the drive (fat32) and restore data. System Commander is alleged to allow ntfs back to fat32 - and some folks prefer that product to the PM equivalent. Haven't used either for some time so can't comment further. I'd still be inclinded to pursue other avenues first - in case data access goes belly-up in the process of reconversion to fat32... As regards your initial problem in installing XP; do you still have the intended XP drive around (and is it a separate physical drive to the now ntfs data drive)? Do you still wish to install XP that intended drive? If so post back and probably that can be resolved too - afterwhich, with a working XP drive you should be able to access the now ntfs data drive (a separate physical drive?)... without recourse to the sysinternals util.

Well, after doing a lot of research and reading, I started carefully tinkering around with a small program called "testdisk_4.4", which allowed me to arrange a previously used MBR, ...finally I was then able to access the drive, but only by using "Easy Recovery Pro" which allowed me to back up to another drive. Yes, I still have the other hard drive that I originally wanted to install XP Pro onto. I was also having problems with getting SMARTdrv setup prior to the install. It keeps telling me that since Smartdrv is not being used, I should option to "F3 - Quit Setup" ...any help would be much appreciated. Thanks a million!!! Robin

Do you need smartdrive to install XP??? Just run a standard XP setup (CD boot or the floppies) and follow on-screen prompts. Either set the intended drive as stand-alone Master (no Slave) and install XP; or set it as Master with Slave (data drive = Slave); or as Slave to a drive that already has an OS installed - i.e. '98? If you use the last option then you will get a dual-boot; and you will have to leave the '98 drive in as Master in order to use the dual-boot arrangement - and thus access to XP. Probably simpler/safer... to set drive as Master (with/without Slave attached) and install XP. If you're unsure about getting XP to correct drive - then definitely set it as stand-alone Mster (no Slave). Then install XP (CD boot/floppies - not from within any OS, nor using a '98 boot-disk). Once XP is installed OK, re-install/reconnect data drive as Slave to XP Master - and all should be well. Install XP as fat32 - unless you really want/need ntfs.