ok heres my situation, i recently installed MS XP pro, and instead of just updating windows xp home i just did a complete install. now when the option came up to do this i dont remember what i put for the file system. i do know that i accidently deleted one of the partitions(i think it had all my drivers in it and other important stuff because i had to re-install everything) now i have 2 partitions one for professional one for home but the home wont load only the pro will load. the problem im having now is that every one of my CDR's i put in say that its blank media when i know for sure that it has all my files i backed up on them, it does this with my thumb drive as well. the current OS is running a NTFS, and im pretty sure that home was running the same to, but i dont know if its because the old one was FAT or FAT 32. or if any of that is relevant since CD's have there own files system like CDFS. please help me i need to get my stuff back and i know that a file recovery system wont work because i use file shredding softward when i delete.

XP is capable of reading all of the above mentioned file systems.

Your CD drive's drivers should have been loaded with XP. One option here is to uninstall your CD drive in the Device Manager and then reboot. XP will then reload the proper drivers.

Did you install SP2?

Another issue might be if you used a third party burner to burn the CD's. If so you may need to reinstall that software.

Does the CD drive read anything? Audio CD's? Do you recieve any errors?

HOW TO: Troubleshoot Issues That Occur When You Write Data to a CD-R or
CD-RW Optical Disc in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=324129

CD-R Drive or CD-RW Drive Is Not Recognized As a Recordable Device
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=316529


How to Troubleshoot Issues with Reading CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD Discs
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=321641


CD-ROM Drive or DVD-ROM Drive Missing After You Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=320553


"Incorrect Function" Error Message When You Access the CD-ROM Drive,
DVD-ROM Drive, or CD-RW Drive
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=315350

As to the thumb drive it also raises the question of how the data was created as well as USB drivers which again should load with XP. Again you can uninstall your USB controllers from the Device Manager and reboot. XP will then load the neccessary drivers.

A successful install should give you the option to boot either XP.

To repair the Home boot sector from the Recovery Console (using the XP Home CD):

http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...kb;EN-US;314058

To try to fix the boot:

Assuming that your XP Home is on C: then:

Type:

FIXMBR C:

then enter. After that completes type:

FIXBOOT C:

then enter. After that completes type:

BOOTCFG /rebuild

then enter. After that completes type:

EXIT

then reboot.

If in the process you are asked to run chkdsk say YES.

Also after the BOOTCFG /rebuild you will be prompted to:

C:\Windows
1. Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All):
2. Enter Load Identifier: (Custom description for an operating system loading from the Boot menu)
3. Enter Operating System Load Options: (that is: /fastdetect)

Reply:
1. Yes
2. XP Home
3. /fastdetect

well i un installed the dvd rw drive, restarted, then windows found new hardware. i tried my disk and still nothing. i even tried a freinds disk that read files on his laptop but when it went into mine it still acted like it was blank media. ive been trying everything, it sucks. but im bringing my cpu into my professor and everyone is going to take a look at it. he said it might have something to do with a deleted partition, and hes going to run software he has to fix the problem, ill keep you guys updated with the results.