I have installed ubuntu in drive C(66gb) with windows xp,giving 13 gb space to ubuntu and rest to xp .now i have deleted the disk partition for ubuntu of 13 gb .when i start computer it shows grub error-17 nd i use windows xp cd for boot but after loading some files it shows error that u may have virus or remove any new hdd....its not showing recovery option

Are you dual booting? Windows and Ubuntu? What version of Windows? You maybe able to reclaim the space by using the Disk Management (right click "My Computer" select Manage then select Disk Management). In there you will see NTFS for your Windows partitions, and something like Unknown for the linux ones, you can then delete the linux partition and possibly extend your NTFS partition to use the free space (depending on version of windows).
If this is a standalone Ubuntu install, you should be able to just use the installer disk for another OS and boot it to reformat the drive.
good luck!

when this happened to me on my Vista machine last year, I freaked out until I accidentally fixed it using by booting with my original Vista boot disc, and choosing 'Repair OS'. Try finding a/your original Windows XP install disc and seeing if it will repair and replace your own Windows boot sector. It would be best to find the one that came with your system, or another like it, but if all else fails, just try a hologrammed Windows XP install CD, but instead of 'install', choose 'repair'.

How to partition and format the hard disk using the Windows XP Setup program loadTOCNode(2, 'moreinformation'); You can use the Windows XP Setup program to partition and format the hard disk. To do this, use the following steps: Step 1: Partition the hard disk loadTOCNode(3, 'moreinformation');

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD or DVD drive, or insert the first Windows XP Setup disk into the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer to start the Windows XP Setup program.
   
   Note If you are using the Windows XP Setup disks, insert each additional disk when you are prompted, and then press ENTER to continue after you insert each disk.
2. If you are prompted, select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD or DVD drive.
3. If your hard disk controller requires a third-party original equipment manufacturer (OEM) driver, press F6 to specify the driver. For more information about how to use F6 to supply a third-party OEM device driver while the Windows Setup program is running, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 314859 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314859/ ) Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 during Windows XP Setup
4. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.
   
   Note If you are using the Setup disks (six bootable disks), the setup prompts you to insert the Windows XP CD.
5. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.
6. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.
7. All existing partitions and non-partitioned spaces are listed for each physical hard disk. Use the ARROW keys to select an existing partition, or create a new partition by selecting the non-partitioned space where you want to create a new partition. You can also press C to create a new partition using non-partitioned space.
   
   Note If you want to create a partition where one or more partitions already exist, you must first delete the existing partition or partitions, and then create the new partition. You can press D to delete an existing partition, and then press L (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System partition) to confirm that you want to delete the partition. Repeat this step for each existing partition that you want to include in the new partition. When all the partitions are deleted, select the remaining non-partitioned space, and then press C to create the new partition.
8. To create the partition with the maximum size, press ENTER. To specify the partition size, type the size in megabytes (MB) for the new partition, and then press ENTER.
9. If you want to create additional partitions, repeat steps g. and h.
10. To format the partition and install Windows XP, go to step 2.
    
    If you do not want to install Windows XP, press F3 two times to exit the Windows Setup program, and then do not follow the remaining steps in this article.
    
    To format the partition without installing Windows XP, use a different utility.

Step 2: Format the hard disk and install Windows XP loadTOCNode(3, 'moreinformation');

1. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition where you want to install Windows XP, and then press ENTER.
2. Select the format option that you want to use to format the partition. You can select from the following options:
   • Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick)
   • Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick)
   • Format the partition by using the NTFS file system
   • Format the partition by using the FAT file system
   • Leave the current file system intact (no changes)
   Notes
   • If the selected partition is a new partition, the option to leave the current file system intact is not available.
   • If the selected partition is larger than 32 gigabytes (GB), the FAT file system option is not available.
   • If the selected partition is larger than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT32 file system (you must press ENTER to confirm).
   • If the partition is smaller than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT16 file system.
   • If you deleted and created a new System partition, but you are installing Windows XP on a different partition, you are prompted to select a file system for both the System and Startup partitions.
3. Press ENTER.
4. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to install Windows XP. After the Windows Setup program is finished and you have restarted the computer, you can use the Disk Management tools in Windows XP to create or format more partitions. For additional information about how to use the Windows XP Disk Management tools to partition and format your hard disk, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 309000 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000/ ) How to use Disk Management to configure basic disks in Windows XP

Tanks. Cheer!

Here is a link to Microsoft on how to get to and use disk management. I do not know what operating system you are using but disk management has not changed a lot. The link below references XP and if you follow this step by step it will work great.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000

get a winxp installer CD, you can repartition your drive on the first part of the winxp installation process. Prepare your drivers for your machine especially the network and USB drivers which you will need to copy and transfer files firstly.
If u meant of installing an additional OS like winxp to your extra space, you need a boot loader to switch between OSes.hope this helps

Hi,
I would install XP 1st then Open suse or Ubuntu. When you install either of these linux OS's ensure you install to another partition other than the windows one. Both installation routines will allow you to format the drive to the linux ext2 format and automatically install a boot manager (usually GRUB) which will allow you to select the OS you wish to boot.

You need 1.5 GB minimum free disk space. Partition size is not relevant, provided you have one with that much disk space available. Best practice on a drive that size is make a single 10 GB partition.

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

You' want to set aside some space where to create these backups, they are generally 25% of the total drive space.

the assumption is that there is no data on the drive to save. During the install it will ask where you want to install windows, if there are existing partitions delete them all. Then create one partition and specify it to be 75% of the drive (or whatever you prefer). Leave the rest unpartitioned.

Select the partition you created to install windows on.

Once you have installed windows and all the drivers etc, format the rest of the drive in Disk management (part of Computer management in Control Panel). Finally install your favourite software to create backup restore images, and set it to save on the partition you created.

NOTE: you will still need to back up on some external media, if the drive fails all data will be lost.

Hope this helps

Important If you follow these steps on a hard disk that is not empty, all the data on that hard disk is permanently deleted. We recommend that you back up your hard disk before you follow these steps.
To partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive or DVD-ROM drive, or insert the first Windows XP Setup disk into the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer.

Note To start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM (or from the startup disk), your computer must be configured to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive. In some cases, you may have to modify your computer's BIOS settings to set this configuration. For information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive, the DVD-ROM drive, or the floppy disk drive, see the documentation that is included with your computer, or contact the computer manufacturer.

2. If you are starting the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM, select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do this.

Note If your hard disk controller requires a third-party original equipment manufacturer (OEM) driver, press F6 to specify the driver.

For additional information about how to use F6 to supply a third-party OEM device driver while the Windows Setup program is running, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

314859 Limited OEM driver support is available with F6 during Windows XP Setup If you are starting from the Windows XP Setup disks, insert each of the additional disks when you are prompted, and then press ENTER to continue after you insert each disk.

3. At the Welcome to Setup page, press ENTER.

4. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.

5. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.

6. All the existing partitions and the unpartitioned spaces are listed for each physical hard disk. Use the ARROW keys to select the partition or the unpartitioned space where you want to create a new partition. Press D to delete an existing partition, or press C to create a new partition by using unpartitioned space. If you press D to delete an existing partition, you must then press L (or press ENTER, and then press L if it is the System partition) to confirm that you want to delete the partition. Repeat this step for each of the existing partitions that you want to use for the new partition. When all the partitions are deleted, select the remaining unpartitioned space, and then press C to create the new partition.

Note If you want to create a partition where one or more partitions already exist, you must first delete the existing partition or partitions, and then create the new partition.

7. Type the size in megabytes (MB) that you want to use for the new partition, and then press ENTER, or just press ENTER to create the partition with the maximum size.

8. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to create additional partitions if you want them.

9. If you want to install Windows XP, use the ARROW keys to select the partition where you want to install Windows XP, and then press ENTER. If you do not want to format the partition and install Windows XP, press F3 two times to quit the Windows Setup program, and then do not follow the remaining steps. In this case, you must use a different utility to format the partition.

10. Select the format option that you want to use for the partition, and then press ENTER. You have the following options:

Format the partition by using the NTFS file system (Quick) 
Format the partition by using the FAT file system (Quick) 
Format the partition by using the NTFS file system 
Format the partition by using the FAT file system 
Leave the current file system intact (no changes) 


The option to leave the current file system intact is not available if the selected partition is a new partition. The FAT file system option is not available if the selected partition is more than 32 gigabytes (GB). If the partition is larger than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT32 file system (you must press ENTER to confirm). If the partition is smaller than 2 GB, the Windows Setup program uses the FAT16 file system.

Note If you deleted and created a new System partition, but you are installing Windows XP on a different partition, you will be prompted to select a file system for both the System and startup partitions. 11. After the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue. After the Windows Setup program is completed, you can use the Disk Management tools in Windows XP to create or format more partitions.

For additional information about how to use the Windows XP Disk Management tools to partition and format your hard disk, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: