system restoration

I am new in Mac OS .... I was trying to install windows xp on beside to Mac system on MacBookPro, I used BootCamp to repartition the HD , I sow two partitions equally ... then it rebooted and took me to Windows installation wizard, I chose partition f: to install windows .. it shows me the yellow bar continued ... when it finished i found a message :

Error reading disk
press any key to restart

but you can't do anything ... i lost Mac and windows ... only when you press option while you bootstrap you will get only windows but not working ... goes back to show you the same error message.

Can any one help in

Thanks

Please tell me you made a backup before you went ahead with making major changes to your hard disk, without bothering to read the instructions for Boot Camp.

system recovery

No indeed I didn't do any back up but I don't care about the data on it , what I wanted to do is to install windows xp beside mac ... do you thing now I have to reinstall mac and bootcamp then windows ?

Thanks

gsam said:

No indeed I didn't do any back up but I don't care about the data on it , what I wanted to do is to install windows xp beside mac ... do you thing now I have to reinstall mac and bootcamp then windows ?

Thanks

Click to expand...

It certainly sounds like you damaged or removed the OS X partition during the Windows install. It also sounds like your installation disc may be inappropriate or damaged.

If you can't see 'Macintosh HD' as a boot option while holding down the Option key at startup, then yes, you'll have to reinstall OS X from your original media - and be sure to use Disk Utility from the Utilities menu to restore to a single partition during the process. Once that's done, you'll have to run through Boot Camp Assistant again - but before you do that, be sure you have the right disc for the job.

If it's a newer Mac, it may not support Windows XP. And if you do intend to use XP, the disc must have SP2 integrated at a minimum. It also has to be a retail disc and not an upgrade. And finally, it can not be a restore disc that originally shipped with another machine.

system recovery

Yes that's right I can't see 'Macintosh HD' as a boot option while holding down the Option key at startup

you said:
be sure to use Disk Utility from the Utilities menu to restore to a single partition during the process.

Does that mean I would have only one partition for Mac system when I finish its installation ? do you have any procedure to do that

You said:
you'll have to run through Boot Camp Assistant again - but before you do that, be sure you have the right disc for the job.

I have OEM windows XP Professional disk with code , could it be work or not ?

Thanks very much for your assistance

gsam said:

Yes that's right I can't see 'Macintosh HD' as a boot option while holding down the Option key at startup

you said:
be sure to use Disk Utility from the Utilities menu to restore to a single partition during the process.

Does that mean I would have only one partition for Mac system when I finish its installation ? do you have any procedure to do that

Click to expand...

That's correct. Basically, you'll boot off your System Disc 1. When the installer starts, click through the first couple of prompts until you see the Menu bar at the top of the screen. Click the Utilities menu and choose "Disk Utility". Select your hard disk from the choices in the left window pane. Choose the partition tab. Remove the existing partition(s). Create a new (single) partition and go into the advanced options and make sure it's set to "GUID" as the partition type. Apply the change and continue with the installation.

You said:
you'll have to run through Boot Camp Assistant again - but before you do that, be sure you have the right disc for the job.

I have OEM windows XP Professional disk with code , could it be work or not ?

Thanks very much for your assistance

Click to expand...

If it's an OEM disc, it can NOT be one from a PC manufacturer like Dell, HP, Acer, etc. It MUST be a generic OEM disc (also known as "OEM for System Builders"). If it was previously used on another system, it probably will not activate, since this type of OEM disc is tied to the machine it was originally installed on. Additionally, it MUST have SP2 integrated at a minimum (SP3 is also OK). If it doesn't, or isn't labeled that way, you'll need to "slipstream" SP2 or SP3 into the disc using these instructions:

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/product-review/slipstreaming-windows-xp-with-service-pack-3-sp3

...or you could just save yourself a lot of trouble and go for a retail copy of Windows 7.