Have both XP and Windows 7 installed on computer BUT..

[Barman58]

In addition to the above - as this is a HP system - HP wil normally supply a set of recovery disks for their machines for a nominal shipping charge.

This may be a last option

 

[whs]

Try F11 instead of F10 or F8.

 

[DocBrown]

MS Live Add-on Workspace in Win7

 

[missdeadlocks]

ADD-IN? Never heard of that. I would like to keep windows 7 because I really like it, but since I can't access the editor of MSOfficelive (small businesses) i thought I had no choice.

FURTHER UPDATE: I called HP, they have the recovery disk for purchase but its pricey. I am currently DL'ing the disks from a friend who had the similar problem and has the disks. Problem is he is in arizona and I am in NJ. He uploaded them as a torrent to share with me and others. They are in .iso format two dvd's and a cd. Anyways. Seems thats my only option since Windows 7 like others said above has completely different boot options. Although, I am going to try the option from BARMAN first. Urgh. This is obnoxious I tell ya. I can see the H drive and the F10 option, and its frusterating I cannot access it. I am hoping that the key for my XP since its genuine is still stored in the BIOS for when I do this. Although, the key i believe is printed on a sticker on my tower. I would like to hear more about this add-in for officelive. I was told by a tech support for Microsoft support that I cannot access my editor because it is a OS confliction. Although, strangely enough, it worked fine with windows 7 until they did an update to their site. Thanks for everyone's help. Microsoft better buy me that Gucchi purse for the heartache. lol. For everyone else, if they look this problem up and come across this..you need this disk set to fix the problem.
xp mce sp2 63naemmpa1 + supp 2 recovery kit.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

whs: Ok well, I do see my recovery drive is still there and full. Now i have to figure out how to access it upon start up. The F10 option is no longer there.
Here is what I see. http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n87/missdeadlocks/PC.jpg

Seems my HP recovery is still there...YIPPIE! So, any idea how I can access it from boot up to reformat?

The HP machine I had was F12; from a cold start, start tapping the F12 key to see if you get the "Recovery Option" sometimes it takes more than one try.

Have you tried this?

 

[DocBrown]

I must have got the ADD-On when I downloaded Windows LIVE Essentials from Microsoft.

After installing Office 2007

 

[skygodtj]

Miss Dead.. I'm pretty sure that HP's required you to create a bootable CD using the restore partition contents - before - anything bad happened.. I had to repair(reload) XP on a number of friend's HP's over the last couple years. The manuals and website said a Recovery CD was to be created after unpacking the machine, which they never did, so I used my own copy of XP to re-install the OS, but used their COA. Only difference was all the bloatware and HP-specific programs weren't there, which was fine as they were crap anyway.

If your hubby did a "clean install" of 7, without changing/deleting any partitions, then XP should still be in the Windows.old folder (it's sort of a quasi-upgrade installation). If you have another copy of XP, use that, but installing it into a DIFFERENTLY named Windows folder will -keep- your old files and let you save your data from your original XP install, and any Win7 data you'd want to keep as well..

I hope this helps...

TJ

 

[chuckr]

I've got this 'gut-feeling' that maybe some non-standard techniques might work,
without requiring a format and re-install of XP. Kinda ballsy, tho..

(At least I would do it on my computer if I had that situation,
but my BartPE XP tools would bring lotsa stuff back from the dead, in case I made a mistake.
She doesn't have these and will have to be extra careful.)

a.) Does she have a w7 'Install' DVD to boot from, if/when it 'hits the fan' ?
Does it boot OK, and 'Shift-F10' to Admin Cmd-prompt?
Can she run 'diskpart' from that DVD? i.e, these commands:
list disk
list volume
exit
should show us what's real (physical disks) and what's not (BD-ROM mounts)
and this info should also be posted.

1. Pic_1: We have to know what's in the root of the C: partition, with Sys/Hid files exposed, using Explorer, in 'List' view.
Specifically: ntldr and Ntdetect.com.
We already know for_sure? that Win7 'bootmgr' is there. Right?
Since w7 is fully available by booting HDD,
all prelim pics can be taken and posted using Win7.

2. Pic_2: We have to know what's in the \Windows.Old folder, using Explorer, in 'List' view.
Seems there should be a \Windows and \Windows\System32 in there, directly under \Windows.old...
(I've never worked with a \Windows.old.)

3. Pic_3: Seems that the H:::Recovery partition should be bootable, in 'List' view,
but getting to it might be tricky, what with a w7 mbr/bs.
(But we can change that from DVD, if nec.)

4. So far, nothing's been hurt, and maybe we can evaluate what's there.
We can always 'chicken-out' later.

 

[Lordbob75]

Alright, hello again. Pity I had band practice, would have seen this sooner.
I think I see a solution.

First, a recap of what happened.

So you had Windows XP originally installed on the PC. Your husband decided Seven is cooler (good guy ) and installed it over XP.
Now, this was not an upgrade, but a full install. However, this leaves behind the Windows.old folder. This has (basically) your C: drive with all your programs and info.
Now, this cannot be used to restore from (not the OS anyways, you can restore from the programs and settings, see my tut). Now, the HP recovery partition is there, therefore YOU CAN RESTORE FROM IT!
Here is how:

You will need the Windows XP disk. You need it. You cannot do it without it.

Second, REINSTALL XP OVER SEVEN. Just make sure you keep the recovery partition (and any info you want/need to save needs to be backed up) intact.

Third, you should be able to either have that Fbutton option restored, but I doubt it.
If it is not restored, then again, boot up into your XP cd. Go into "Repair my computer" and choose your XP install. Then select recover or whatnot, and select the recovery partition (or use another backup you made).
This should restore you to the factory defaults (assuming you want them).
If you want to just keep Windows XP and restore from the Seven folders and programs, then see this tutorial: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/16282-windows-old-folder-restore-into-new-installation.html

   Warning

I do not know if that will work backwards, or if it will even create a Windows.old folder. I assume it will, but back it up anyways.

That should help you out and hopefully fix the problem.

~Lordbob

 

[sanssan]

Hi

You can use this link. I think it will help..
Use Bootsect to extract Vista or Windows 7 from a dual-boot configuration | Microsoft Windows | TechRepublic.com

cheers..