Sounded like a good idea at the time, but I previously had a dual boot set-up with XP loaded first and Vista second. (x64) for both

My Vista partition became full so I was ready to get rid of XP and try to combine both partitions so I would have more space for Vista. I thought the best way to do this would be to remove both OS's and reload Vista and make the partition bigger at that time....

I deleted both partitions thinking it would let me format/ recreate a bigger single partition for Vista. It won't do that. I now have 2 unallocated drives and no primary drive, only a logical. I tried then to just reload Vista onto the same partition it just came off of and it starts to load and then I get an error.

My system is set up in a RAID 0 config and the array shows up in the BIOS.

I additionally have a swap partition and a data partition that I can see when I am trying to load Vista so I believe those are okay.

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on what I might try to get Vista back on and or how I can combine these to "unallocated" drives as one.

Is it something to do with a RAID driver needed for the OS to continue?

Thanks much for your help!!

It would help if you mentioned what the error was that caused you to fail...and also how is it that you are trying to install vista?

Sorry....the error said that it failed to install with what looked like a generic error code when I googled it.

I am trying to install it via DVD.

I can try it again to get the exact wording of the error.

Since you are using a RAID array you need to refer to youe computer manual for the proper set up procedures for the RAID array that you are wanting to use...Each is different.

If the Raid is set by BIOS setting then you may still need to install the driver files for the RAID/SATA controller:
go to manufacturer's website and download the driver and prepare it for installation as per instructions (make disc ??)

Set the BIOS to boot to CD as first boot order and install the installation disc and follow the prompts. Pay attention to adding the drivers per the F6 method after the first boot to CD prompt. once the drivers are installed use the set-up program to remove all the partitions and create one partition to install to and let it run.

One side note....if you are using a DVD installation disc...your computer has to have the BIOS capability to read the DVD or you will not be able to use it. You might have to slipstream the installation to a CD instead of the DVD.

Good luck!

Thank you kindly for the help.

The system is set to boot from cd. I get as far as choosing the partition to place Vista on and the when the screen comes up saying "that is al the info we need for now" it looks like it wants to start and then the error comes up.

I had a hunch that it might need the RAID driver on the s/w side so I might have to do a vlite install. I'm just hoping I don't have to wipe off my data partition for some weird reason, unless you think that the whole disc structure right now is gone.

The RAID is set in the BIOS as it reports it as a healthy array.

I will play around more when I get home from work.

In the future, how would you have handled this before deleting the partitions? Is there a better way to recover the space taken by the XP partition?

This is the most common mistakes that are made constantly...
Failure to read the manual...
trying to always speed the processes....

I don't care what computer it is that I am working on...I always download the manual from PDF format. This gives me all the vital information that is needed in determining what progression is needed to work on that computer.
All RAID arrays and SATA/PATA controllers are installed differently with different BIOS and preinstalled hardware configurations... In some cases there is embedded BIOS that will not allow you to install any operating systems different than what is pre-installed nor use any other media to install with than what is sent with the unit.

This type of information is vital to repairing computer issues.

Something I always tell my students...speed does not always get you to the finish the fastest...like the turtle and the rabbit story.... In most cases it will make you lose....especially with computers.

This is my procedures when I look at restoring or re-installing an operating system...

Verify what the hardware is.....seeing that it is or knowing that it is SATA or RAID or IEDE (PATA) is imperative as each has it's own way of being able to work properly and how to be installed....as well as knowing what the operating system is going to be used to install to.. The make sure that I have all the necessary drivers files on hand for the hardware that is installed.
examples
SATA.....always needs to have drivers installed when using XP as XP does not recognize the controller as native....SATA was not around when XP was designed.

IEDE (PATA) is recognised as native and most windows operating system will install generic drivers to access he hardware for installation... this is not a problem

RAID....there are over 100 different RAID arrays but only about 5 are used in personal computers and is dependent upon the hard drives that are installed.
Also RAID can be installed in different means dependent upon the motherboard and support fuctions built into the BIOS....Then there is RAID 300 which is a software installation of the RAID array. RAID can be installed with either SATA or IEDE controllers or even both...

All of this is vital to know before one starts any re-installation process. The built in restore partitions (hidden) usually have these specifics taken care of so as to not be a bother...

If I have to do it from scratch I make it a practice to remove any unneeded hardware as this actually helps in the long run as conflicts and driver issues are non existent during installations.

If I have the CD installation disc then I use it to boot and install the operating system. It is capable of deleting and formatting all partitions if needed or setting up additional partitions if needed. If there is an issue then I check it out as to what may have caused it and then and only then will I start using other applications to perform work or diagnostics....
If I believe there may be a hard drive error then I use the manufacturer's utility for performing this actions and to then set up the drive to make it ready for installation....(what you should do now to remove the partitions that you need to work on). Usually that is all it takes as once the drive is set up by the utility it normally removes any more installation problems and also failed driver installs and HAL errors. A

After the install I then install all the other hardware and needed drivers and then activate windows at the same time. I then install all the updates and support packs and prepare to install any other software and applications.

This might seem to take longer and sometimes does by just a few minutes. But the installs are cleaner and less likely to have issues later on.

You mentioned using nLite as a source for slipstreaming the installation. That is one of the best that is available and the easiest to use. In working on your own computer it would be the best to build your own installation discs and have them around... but I have converted to imaging and it is the best so long as you have the backups stored on a different drive. They are also the fastest for being back up and running. You might look into that.

Thanks for all of that valuable information. You raise many true points.

I am back in business now and the solution for me was actually unexplained. What I did was repeat what I had been trying when I first started this project. I tried running the repair feature on the Vista disc again and when you first launch it, obviously it didn't see any OS since I had deleted those so I went on to the next step where it will try to repair the necessary boot files. At the end it says to reboot and if all is well you will be back up and running and if not *repeat* this procedure another time. I had missed that the first time trying this.

I ended up running through this 3 times in a row and then all of a sudden I saw my initial (XP) partition show up again as the primary partition..it still was listed as unallocated space, but it had primary after it, which I had not had previously had. I then chose to try loading Vista onto that partition thinking it wouldn't take it and low and behold it did. I am up and running again.

Now I need to search for some decent partitioning software for Vista because I still need to reclaim that old Vista partition and using the built in doesn't let me reclaim all of that one, only a chunk of it. The partition that Vista is on is already telling me I have very low disc space, which I figured since it is only 20GB.

Thanks again for the help, I do appreciate it. I will hop over to some other threads to see what works the best for Vista.

since that you are up and running have you tried disc management to see what it can to to reallocate the old partition.?

right clk my computer > chose manage > then chose disc management

yes I did and as of now it won't let me do anything with the 30gb of free space I have. I will have to mess around and find a way to get that space back. I tried the built in diskpart to no avail. When I tired creating a simple volume through disc management I get this error message "There is not enough available space to complete this operation". It shows up as 30gb of free space, yet I can't move forward with this.

I may have to try gparted or Acronis. I even read that someone was able to put in an XP setup disc to create the partitions and then they put the Vista disc back in to reload the OS.

I'll admit this is a little frustrating, but I have read tons of threads from others with similar issues.