Total hard drive loss

[DMACM]

I just lost my entire harddrive because of a problem with windows that I was unable to fix. I tried to use my windows xp cd to repair it but it started installing again from scratch. I have lost tons of vital information and havent been able to play or use my computer all night. Now I am in need of finding another cd key for windows xp and I dont think they exist. What am I supposed to do buy another copy? Sorry if this is rambling but it has been a very frustrating night.

[TheTROLL]

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this is rambling

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Take a deep breath. What exactly do you want to know?

That sucks man. Sorry. I have 2 backups of my entire C drive because of the possibility of something like that.

[DMACM]

Ya, I wish I had done that. I lost a lot of stuff I wont be able to ever get back. Im up in running now all I need to do is find a driver for my onboard audio which is proving to be a huge pain in the ass.

[MyMindIsGoing]

Didn't you even try to recover it? Did you learn from your mistake and separated data and operating system now?

[DMACM]

What happened was I intended to install a new copy of windows over itself but I installed professional instead of corporate so it started from scratch. The problem I had was pretty serious and I was fairly convinced it was a hardware problem at the time. In any case now I am having a hell of a time getting my onboard sound up and running /images/graemlins/mad.gif Ya, Ill back things up in the future and I have the operating system on a seperate partition.

[MyMindIsGoing]

What soundchip is it?

*edit: saw the other thread now*