I gave you the steps to start Win7 if XP steals the boot which it does when installed. Did you even read them?
I would try again to install XP.
If you knew you needed a Win7 installer or Repair disk to run Startup Repair, why didn't you make one first - or did you even read the steps I gave you before jumping in? You can find an installer to download and burn to DVD or write to flash stick now in Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot
i have a windows 7 disc but whenever i put it in there is no option for startup repair, i figured since it was on a different hard drive it wouldnt mess anything up but i was wrong. when i have the usb hdd plugged in, it starts to load windows xp and bsod's right away. if i dont have it plugged in it says it cant read the boot disk.
if i install another copy of windows 7 on the 50gb partition i made, will it fix the mbr?
installed windows 7 on the 50gb partition i made the other day, got it to fix the mbr and im back on my regular 7.
im thinking i can install the windows 8 beta onto a partition. do they use the same mbr? so i wont have any problems with that this time
Why would you install a second Win7 just because you can't get find how to Startup Repair from the booted DVD or Repair CD? It's here: Startup Repair
Since you have Win7 installed, post back a screenshot of your Disk mgmt drive map with listings - using the Snipping Tool in Start Menu - and we will tell you how to undo the mess you've made, start Win7 using the simple instructions you were given, then install EasyBCD to add XP.
i had to install another windows 7 because when i was putting my 7 cd in i was getting no option for startup repair. Also before Windows XP finished installing i was getting a BSOD, i dont think my drivers were compatible, so i couldnt even get to XP to use EasyBCD. i looked at everything it just asked me where i wanted to install 7, nothing about startup repair.
C: is my normal Windows 7
E: is the logical drive i installed new Windows 7 to
J: is where i had XP installed, i formatted it and now it has all my saved stuff on it
If you weren't getting the Repair My Computer choice on second screen then you weren't booting the Win7 installer. The solution to not being able to run Startup Repair is not to install a new Win7 alongside your old one. You should have asked back and we could have showed you how to boot the disk.
Which one do you want to keep?
You also have a factory Recovery partition on the HD. Do you want to keep that so you have the option to restore your computer to factory condition in the future, if it will still run?
I would like to keep my C: with windows 7.
i had dvd's my computer told me to make when i first got it that were recovery cd's, and they're the same as whats on the partition, i tried them both when i couldnt get windows 7 or xp to boot and they were the same. ill keep it just in case i ever lose the cd's.
i downloaded the 32 bit version of windows 8 beta and will burn that to a disc if i can dualboot that easily with no problems with the mbr. do they use the same?
now that i have the 2 windows 7's, i want to delete the newly made one on E: and keep my original C:, would i just format the partition, delete the option on EasyBCD or do i have to do something different to uninstall it?
You couldn't boot into Startup Repair because you were using the Recovery Disks which are only to restore the PC to factory condition, not repair Win7.
If you're not ready to do that then you need to make create a Repair CD so you can run three Startup Repairs with reboots in between each. When you boot into the CD it will show two Win7 installations so you need to pick the correct one judging by size since drive letters may differ in boot mode. System Repair Disc - Create
I would leave the System Reserved partition marked Active.
Go through the steps in Mark Partition Active to make sure it is still marked Active before doing the repairs
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