Installation went very bad on Lubuntu install - HP ZV5000 - XP

U

URDRWHO

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I've never had anything create such a bad failure, just been lucky I guess?

I decided to install Lubuntu 13.10 along side my Win XP. It is a laptop that isn't use often but still needs Windows for work related items.

Last evening I started an install, had my 500 gig external HD attached and the install wanted to create a partition on my external HD. Nope --- don't want that ...cancel install, I'll continue in the morning.

Started again this morning, I again choose to install along side of windows, installation continues. As the install moves along I start to notice things seem different from the previous night, I am seeing actions appear that I didn't see the night before, I'm wondering when I will see the request to set a partition size. It never, ever asked but what it did was partition over my windows. Errrr!!!! Ugh!!!!!!!!!!! Yikes and expletives I won't say here.

Install gets to the end and says to reboot, so I do. I see the menu to choose Ubuntu but no windows, Grub didn't do its thing.

Now I am wondering if I should reinstall.

I have a feeling I am screwed. I've done things before with plain ole Ubuntu (dual boot) and never had any issues. I have some things backed up to the hard drive but have probably lost years of files.

Instead of choosing to install along side windows I should have hit the radio button for something else. Reading on the internet choosing the something else option is safer and less prone to loosing your windows partition.

Hm? I am sure the government could find my lost files.
 
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Sounds like Ubiquity erased Windows...fun. Might have to do with that external drive though.
 
Unfortunately hindsight is always 20/20. Generally the best thing to do if you already have Windows running is to format the drive using Disk Manager in Windows and then point the install to the new partition. If your Win install was on a HDD with just one partition it most likely got overwritten.

There are forensic tools you can use to try and get some of the info back (at least any data that wasn't overwritten during installation). But I cant give much advice on that as I've never used it. I'm pretty such @DevynCJohnson wrote an article about it somewhere on Linux.org
 
I did use some forensic tools and got back 58,242 windows files out of the partition. I lost 84 files.

SO I did learn from the mistake and before installing windows I made two partitions. Installed Windows, moved the recovered saved files from the external drive and things were ok. I used Hirens disc and test.disk. I had to do some regedit but I am 98% back to where I was before the incident. Took a lot of hours.

This afternoon I'm going to install Lubuntu on the second partition.

Actually it was a bit of a good thing because the old registry was a bit bloated form the many years of installing and uninstalling programs.

Unfortunately hindsight is always 20/20. Generally the best thing to do if you already have Windows running is to format the drive using Disk Manager in Windows and then point the install to the new partition. If your Win install was on a HDD with just one partition it most likely got overwritten.

There are forensic tools you can use to try and get some of the info back (at least any data that wasn't overwritten during installation). But I cant give much advice on that as I've never used it. I'm pretty such
 
Good to hear @URDRWHO . You went through the biggest setback of an installation (apart from hardware explosions I guess) so congrats. It should be an uphill battle from there.
 

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