This is getting annoying Help Please! Everything Lost!

[Kentanner11]

Ok wow have not been having good luck with Mint so far. I have tried it on 4 computers (just running from the cd) had it work on one computer and not on 2 others and have it erase all my data on the 4th.
That is my problem Is there anyway I can get it back? I put in the CD had it go to the "select an option" page I selected the top one of the three, then it went to the cache 100% bar then to a black screen where it went crazy for 5 min. after this I tried stopping it so I had to cut the power. I turned it on, with out the CD in, and it goes to the system stat page then say no operating system installed, I previously had XP working perfectly. HOW DO I GET XP BACK? Thanks for your help!!!

[Husse]

If i understand you right you have chosen to use the entire disk when you install
If so, everything on that disk is supposed to disappear......
This assumption is based on that you write

I put in the CD had it go to the "select an option" page I selected the top one

and that you mean the partitioning page
If my memory serves me right the top option is "Use the entire disk" (haven't got the time to boot the live cd and check)

[Kentanner11]

no I wasnt installing it just running it from the cd. I put in the disk, turned on the laptop then booted from CD. Then on the very first page you see with Linux Mint it asks 1) Run Linux Mint 2) Run in safe graphics mode 3) Boot from first Hard Disk.
I selected the first one and the computer just went insane.
I have done the same thing on another computer just to see what Mint was like and there were no adverse affects.

[puba62]

Put your XP cd in, and go through the steps to boot into a "Recovery Console", which is basically an ms-dos prompt.

type:
fixmbr

Windows should reset your master boot record and assuming you didn't partition or format anything, you should be good to go

[Kentanner11]

I am really really 99.99999% sure that I never got disks, it was four years ago, though! hmmmm. I either have to find the disks or just install mint..... I am going to tear the house apart! Does anyone know if you can buy the disks? (legally!)

[Husse]

Supergrub can fix the mbr "the Windows way" It's a very small download from a very crappy home page, but a good product
http://supergrub.forjamari.linex.org/