I get a blank screen when I try to start win xp. i tried using the safe modes but still the blank screen continues to appear.

I have a dual boot system - linux and dos. on selecting the dos option the screen turns blank.

in dos, i have 2 partitions - one is ntfs and the other is fat32. the system first boots into the ntfs partition which has my windows files. All the data on the ntfs partition is intact. I've managed to access my ntfs partition through my other Hard disk which has windows xp.

FINALLY, THE PROBLEM : How do I reinstall windows xp on my ntfs partition without having to reinstall my hard drive...if i boot using the problem hard disk....the ntfs partition is not detected(in dos mode - using a boot disk)

Just try booting your comp with the XP disk as if you were going to install. Then you should get a list of all partitions and unused space on your drive. Select the partition you want to format/install XP on and let it go all other partitions will remain intact, so you don't have to redo the whole drive, just that one partition. CAUTION: Make sure you read/follow the prompts carefully so you don't lose any other data.