I wiped HD now where can i find bootmgr

Hello papa54;

Did you choose to format the HDD prior to install?

If you had stopped by here first - we could have shown you a fairly easy way to setup a dual boot WinXP/Win7 option to let you keep Win7 installed (for a backup option) and still let you install XP.

How to Setup a Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP

This program EasyBCD can do bootloader repairs and make it easy to manage multiple bootloaders.

thanks for the advice but i trudged thru and forgot that i had to change bootup either CD or HD so i changed all that but after starting to install i noticed that the win XP Pro had no idea i had a terra byte HD.. so i ran all thru a couple hundred CD's and found my win 7 recovery disk and decided to just be conmtent with win 7 if i could get it back. so here i am back on win 7 and glad to be somewhere as i had nothing at all.. now everythings working thus far .. my initernet connection etc,, now to test router which i fell will be fine.. thx a million for all yer help and more than likely i will return looking for a way to dig myself outta the hole.. and who knows i may be able to help someone as i have used cpu's in old BB days then internet.. had new had rebuilt a few and then this new age arrives and i am old school... thx again... papa54

yea i formated all of it.. .. my post below thx ya all

Good to know you're back running.
I know the 'pain' of swapping over but after a few years Im really glad I finally did.
And to ease the pain - that dual boot option is really pretty slick. I have Win7, Vista, XP and a Linux boot option for some occasional work on those OS versions.

I think there's got to be a ton of Win7 guides out on the 'Net.
And you're always welcome to hop into the Windows 7 forum here and ask questions.
Those guys have a lot of experience by now.

re: i noticed that the win XP Pro had no idea i had a terra byte HD..

This is usually because XP needs help seeing SATA drives. The necessary drivers are not part of the original XP build. (What service pack was in yourcopy of xp pro?). If you decide to run XP on your setup use google to find instructions. Include the term slipstream in your googling.

Isn't that all fixed with SP3?

Exactly. If the copy of XP install CDROM he's using predates SP3 then his sata is not going to get recognized, and he cannot get the system running to load SP3 from MS. (Was it SP3 that added sata? cool) Slipstreaming maintenance into the XP install lets him build a new install CD that has all the necessary SATA drivers, chipset drivers, etc that he'll need/want. He can build a personalized re-install CD in case his disk ever crashes.

aside: There is no way I'd give up win7 to go back to XP. (liked win98, hated ME, was Ok with win2K, liked xp, had trouble with all the flavors of MCE, liked vista and love win7). Give up the new performance monitor (vista and win7) ? no way.

UPDATE!!!!!! i reinstalled using an recovery disk i found.... thanks to all