T41 XP recovery with Linux on disk already

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toad · #1 Post by **toad** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:19 pm

Hi,

I've got a trusty old T41 which came with a 40GB drive.

I have upgraded to a 160GB drive and run a variety of different Linuxes on it.

With the festive season coming up I am actually looking forward to having some time to play a game or two - hence my desire to put the old XP on, for which I have 5 install CDs from IBM.

Questions:

- the install CDs do not install with any other drive than the original 40GB disc. How can this be and is there a way to circumvent it?

- I have three primary partitions on my 160GB drive, the first two have Linux on them, the third is empty. If I can convince XP to install to the new drive, is it possible to install into the third primary?

I am not worried about messing up my mbr as it is a doddle to reinstall grub.

Any help/pointers/links are most welcome!

#2 Post by **GomJabbar** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:58 pm

The "Product Recovery Discs" (5 install CD's) from IBM will overwrite all partitions. All existing data will be lost. If you want to save anything, make a backup or image of that partition or data.

toad · #3 Post by **toad** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:34 pm

Aargh,

thanks, GomJabbar. I didn't think they'd be THAT user friendly

Okay, I can jump through a couple of hoops if IBM and MS want me to, backing up the other partitions is easy.

But how can I get the install CDs to boot on the new drive?

Sorry if I come across like a right idiot, but I have no experience whatsoever with windows

#4 Post by **carbon_unit** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:39 pm

The restore discs should not care what hard drive they install on. They are not tied to the drive. They shoud work fine on your hard drive. You might have to delete all the partitions on the disc to make them work properly.

toad · #5 Post by **toad** » Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:13 pm

Thank you. I trust you more than me on this one - but I remember trying to convince it to install on a different drive ages ago and it refused.

Well, there is only one way to find out...

spurson · #6 Post by **spurson** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:42 am

I can suggest you Stellar Phoenix Linux Recovery Software which is quite user friendly and economic. This software perform thorough scan of the drive through effective algorithms having capability to recover all sorts of files. You can try the demo version of the software which is absolutely free of cost.

T41 XP recovery with Linux on disk already

T41 XP recovery with Linux on disk already

Re: T41 XP recovery with Linux on disk already

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