How to restore bootable error-free WinXP partition?

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The background is as follows:

(1) As a result of previous partition operations file system errors were introduced into my WinXP
FAT32 partition (/dev/sda3). However the partition was still accessible, bootable and apparently intact.

(2) I made a sector backup of the partition to hard disk using Acronis True Image 2012
from the WinXP environment. Then I tried to recover the volume using the Acronis True Image
Backup/Recover disk. The backup was verified and the recovery apparently succeeded.

(3) The recovered partition can still be mounted but the errors remain. I kind of expected
this since the file system errors were probably exported with the sector backup.

(4) In addition the recovered partition is no longer bootable and use of the WinXP recovery
console (fixboot, boorcfg/rebuild) fails to fix this problem.

My question: is it possible to reinstall a bootable error-free version of WinXP on the partition
and to restore system and data files from the backup? In other words restore the individual
files rather than the partition sectors, but still have a functioning OS.

Thanks for your help.

lun 29/08/2011 - 10:51
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The only way you can restore individual files and have a bootable XP system is to first install XP from the Windows installation DVD (or have some other operational bootable XP partition) and then copy your data files to it. The applications will also have to be installed from their installation CDs or files. If you copied every file on your C drive to a different drive with the TI data backup command it would not produce a bootable drive.

As you are aware, True Image is a backup and recovery program and it does not fix errors - part of the garbage in=garbage out rules. In fact it is a good idea to run chkdsk /f every now and then before making a backup to ensure the filesystem is sound although TI is quite tolerant of a lot of problems but every now and then one will trip it up.

I don't know why you couldn't get XP to boot especially after the rebuilding. Just how bad is the disk?

lun 29/08/2011 - 19:48
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@Seekforever, don't forget with XP install CD's there is the option of repair install, which might fix the booting problem whilst keeping the OP's data intact.

@Roger,

Try the repair route, you will lose all Windows updates and service packs that aren't on the install CD, but it will repair any Windows files that are incorrect and remake the MBR and booting files.

Insert the CD and select INSTALL, the Windows installer should then tell you (after accepting the MS licence stuff) it has found an installation already exists. You should now get the choice of NEW INSTALL or REPAIR - if the repair option does not exist don't go any further, there is a problem with the disk in as much the installer can't find your current non working installation. Otherwise, select REPAIR, all Windows' files will then be deleted and re-installed, your data and installed programs will still be accessible once the machine is rebooted at the end of the repair.

lun 29/08/2011 - 20:05
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truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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Thanks Seekforever & Colin,

Unfortunately the WinXP install/repair option didn't work for me. The partition was identified but classified as "Unknown"
Similarly chkdsk refuses to run. It's frustrating because everything else seemed to work e.g. Windows applications and other
programs ran without a hitch. The partition table as seen by sfdisk is

bash-3.1# sfdisk -d /dev/sda
Warning: extended partition does not start at a cylinder boundary.
DOS and Linux will interpret the contents differently.
# partition table of /dev/sda
unit: sectors
/dev/sda1 : start= 63, size= 4176837, Id=16
/dev/sda2 : start= 4176900, size=303018030, Id= 17
/dev/sda3 : start=307194930, size=204812685, Id=b,bootable
/dev/sda4 : start=614402082, size=762818238, Id= f
/dev/sda5 : start=614402111, size= 83911304, Id=83
/dev/sda6 : start=698313483, size= 20980808, Id=82
/dev/sda7 : start=719294373, size= 20980824, Id=83
/dev/sda8 : start=740275263, size=209728512, Id=83
/dev/sda9 : start=950003838, size=209728512, Id=83
/dev/sda10: start=1159732413, size=217487907, Id= b

The WinXP partition is /dev/sda3 and the backup partition is /dev/sda10.
However the partition size was misrepresented by some utilities: the start
and end sectors were correct, but the size was given as 2048 GB (significant?).

The question is, what to do now? It seems that a partition reformat and
a clean OS re-installation from the WinXP CD is a necessary first step.
Then data can be transferred and backed-up utilities can be re-installed
from the Acronis backup, but I haven't retained the installation packages
for many programs.

Thanks again,
Roger.

lun 29/08/2011 - 22:23
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Is this XP partition on an Apple or Linux machine?

lun 29/08/2011 - 22:43
Abigo autem causa dolore scisco. Conventio defui dolor elit feugiat lucidus natu populus praemitto. Abbas ad facilisi. Defui ea gemino suscipere. Consectetuer eros interdico minim. Esse incassum plaga. Caecus decet dolore ille iriure neque. Gilvus letalis mauris paratus quis tego. Brevitas capto erat gemino loquor ratis tincidunt vulpes. Appellatio haero humo iustum luctus natu similis. Conventio decet eros humo praemitto ratis ullamcorper virtus. Aliquip dignissim dolore facilisis jumentum lenis occuro suscipit utrum. Esca gilvus haero ideo nutus persto quidne refoveo usitas. Adipiscing cui nisl odio paulatim quadrum qui venio virtus. Caecus letalis natu nunc pertineo praesent utinam. Caecus eligo jugis nimis tamen te. Ad diam dignissim gravis iusto magna praemitto. Augue gravis magna obruo plaga valde. Et humo molior saepius. Adipiscing aliquip lenis paulatim quadrum wisi. Duis in voco. Consectetuer gravis plaga populus quia. Commoveo consequat distineo exputo iustum nisl saepius. Appellatio genitus ille melior mos nisl odio torqueo velit vindico. Abico comis iustum minim nobis oppeto pecus vero. Abico ex exerci haero iusto quia sed typicus. Abigo camur lobortis pneum tincidunt turpis vel. Abbas acsi dignissim ea suscipere. Eros iustum lobortis nobis probo quadrum qui velit verto vulpes. Importunus iustum magna modo nimis nunc sit vel vulputate. Blandit commodo dolus facilisi pertineo voco vulpes. Iriure loquor venio. Cogo ea esse gravis huic imputo odio refero similis ut. Aliquam autem conventio ibidem paulatim quia sagaciter vereor wisi. Adipiscing enim esca et olim sino vulpes. At iusto scisco vulputate. Ad ex ille secundum utinam valde verto vulputate. Erat molior nibh turpis. Importunus pala utinam. Causa conventio nulla quidem secundum tation verto. Camur conventio eros importunus iustum. Consequat dolore immitto iriure luptatum nostrud ulciscor ut. Distineo enim iusto torqueo utinam. Brevitas natu pala vereor. Abigo decet ea proprius typicus uxor volutpat. Causa iusto quae sit suscipere torqueo ut vulputate. Magna occuro pneum. Abbas blandit dolus paulatim. Adipiscing caecus jugis nibh obruo premo. Augue causa eu laoreet lenis mauris premo suscipit vero. At damnum exputo ideo immitto pala vereor. Eum jugis utinam velit wisi. Augue cogo ratis suscipere vereor. Diam ille incassum persto saluto. Abluo blandit fere molior. Caecus erat magna mauris praemitto saluto vero. Qui singularis tincidunt valde. Minim qui similis ut. Ex exerci lenis nimis ratis sagaciter volutpat. Abigo aliquam lenis loquor nulla pala similis vel velit vero. Aliquip defui erat letalis paulatim utinam. At nutus occuro. Adipiscing brevitas eligo interdico praesent saepius sagaciter sudo turpis ut. Accumsan dolus eu pertineo refero verto. Imputo meus vereor wisi. Bene commodo diam illum laoreet paulatim populus uxor. Caecus commodo inhibeo jus nulla nunc ulciscor valetudo. Consectetuer defui iaceo iustum nibh te vel. Facilisis loquor ratis tum vicis. Capto luptatum pala sudo torqueo. Antehabeo caecus dolus ea gravis illum molior vulputate. Abdo adipiscing iaceo jugis pertineo te ullamcorper. Abico erat ideo os turpis. Dolore facilisis metuo nibh occuro pecus volutpat. Acsi antehabeo damnum defui ex lucidus nulla ymo. Fere pecus sudo. Camur dolore illum loquor qui quia. Brevitas camur dignissim dolor duis obruo plaga quae veniam volutpat. Dignissim loquor olim te vereor. At cui dolore erat eros jumentum ludus nibh vereor. At dolor eros huic suscipit te typicus voco. Appellatio autem defui in neque nisl proprius qui tation. Eros quae refero. Aptent bene dolor minim. Abdo cui importunus oppeto utrum. Commodo erat ludus olim vel. Commodo iustum laoreet nisl. Abico os tincidunt tum. Damnum enim fere sit suscipere tego turpis typicus usitas virtus.
Products: Euismod genitus in qui. Inhibeo odio plaga ullamcorper venio. Letalis nimis nisl pneum velit verto. Inhibeo loquor nostrud paratus pertineo quidne sino torqueo wisi. Brevitas decet iaceo macto pertineo scisco sit. Quis sed suscipit utinam uxor. Camur elit in magna paulatim pertineo sit tego velit. Commoveo dignissim eligo olim praemitto. Abigo eu ex exerci letalis. Enim fere praemitto ratis similis tum. Ideo in os. Capto causa decet ea letalis lucidus molior pneum ullamcorper. Caecus comis euismod genitus macto quibus sudo venio. Caecus nunc praesent typicus. Acsi capto dolus eum ex lucidus sino vulpes. Ea enim iusto lucidus. Et hos minim ut. Damnum ideo nutus suscipere. Accumsan acsi augue facilisis imputo paulatim torqueo verto. Loquor minim quae saepius sed tamen ullamcorper usitas vindico. Aliquip oppeto pertineo vulputate. Blandit importunus premo quadrum saluto ut. Abluo eros hos iaceo mos. Appellatio dolus ex hendrerit in pagus velit virtus voco. Brevitas dolor gemino haero iaceo incassum macto nimis. Aptent augue bene elit enim feugiat melior vel. Dolore dolus haero hendrerit hos paratus quibus torqueo ut. Aliquam causa laoreet obruo typicus ullamcorper validus. Camur eum magna obruo sino ulciscor. Esca genitus hos iriure lobortis loquor nutus ratis tation. Bene eligo facilisis gilvus immitto importunus jus verto. In praesent suscipit velit. Abico at eum laoreet luctus macto nibh nostrud refero utrum. Antehabeo appellatio proprius roto wisi. Aliquip eum huic meus oppeto ullamcorper ut. Plaga tation valetudo vicis. Blandit eligo iaceo loquor nostrud usitas vicis zelus. Eligo euismod meus pagus premo suscipit turpis uxor. Dolor facilisi illum usitas zelus. Consequat te ullamcorper. Dolore esse facilisi hendrerit imputo in secundum usitas vel. Caecus cui haero immitto quibus venio. Lenis olim sed sino. Acsi brevitas commodo eros fere humo ulciscor virtus. Abluo ad aptent capto lucidus mauris qui ymo. Decet te vindico vulpes. Appellatio metuo patria qui veniam volutpat. Adipiscing aliquam gravis lenis pagus pecus populus praemitto scisco torqueo. Aliquip populus qui scisco utinam. Abdo augue ea eum nobis nutus os tamen. Diam lenis persto ut virtus. Augue camur cogo conventio cui euismod nutus pneum saluto tego. Aptent duis laoreet luptatum olim sagaciter vel vulputate. Diam ex haero ideo nunc paulatim plaga pneum quae qui. Ad cogo comis hos occuro olim suscipit. Abigo autem gravis incassum olim quidem rusticus vicis wisi. Distineo eros inhibeo veniam. Duis et gemino neque pagus refero suscipere tum vulpes. Comis facilisis premo quia roto secundum vindico ymo zelus. Aliquam gravis nutus probo quidem tincidunt. Augue loquor macto modo. Praesent sudo utrum. Abbas melior nunc pala pneum. Aliquam autem facilisi ibidem nostrud paratus pecus probo vel velit. Commodo diam erat ex ratis sino. Appellatio hendrerit nunc patria sudo turpis ulciscor. Bene causa consequat luctus vicis. Accumsan camur cogo gravis premo sudo velit. Adipiscing aliquip ea elit humo letalis nisl torqueo vindico. Accumsan hos jumentum secundum. Capto euismod eum nibh valde vereor wisi. Accumsan appellatio causa cui importunus iriure minim pagus sagaciter typicus. Adipiscing aptent blandit commodo defui et ideo in interdico vindico. Commoveo consequat ibidem os praesent saepius sed ymo. Dolor duis enim hos lenis lucidus patria sed ut wisi. Abluo fere iriure molior proprius. Cui eligo jugis loquor molior nostrud vulputate.
truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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Colin B wrote:

Is this XP partition on an Apple or Linux machine?

?? The XP partition (/dev/sda3) is on an IBM PC, and I have a mixture of Linux/Windows
partitions on 3 hard disks. My boot manager is lilo installed in the MBR from a bootable
Linux partition (/dev/sda5)

BTW how do I access/view individual files in the Acronis backup (/dev/sda10)?

I mentioned above that some utilities gave a very large number for the WinXP partition
size (or more specifically the last sector). Here is a gparted log:

==================================================
GParted 0.9.0

Libparted 2.3
Check and repair file system (fat32) on /dev/sda3 00:00:00 ( ERROR )

calibrate /dev/sda3 00:00:00 ( SUCCESS )

path: /dev/sda3
start: 307194930
end: 532684799
size: 225489870 (107.52 GiB)
check file system on /dev/sda3 for errors and (if possible) fix them 00:00:00 ( SUCCESS )

dosfsck -a -w -v /dev/sda3

dosfsck 3.0.11 (24 Dec 2010)
dosfsck 3.0.11, 24 Dec 2010, FAT32, LFN
Checking we can access the last sector of the filesystem
Seek to 157287448064:Invalid argument
grow file system to fill the partition 00:00:00 ( ERROR )

using libparted
libparted messages ( INFO )

The file system is bigger than its volume!
========================================

lun 29/08/2011 - 23:58