Hardy Heron recovery...

I've been having this oddball X failure problem. I posted about it a couple of months ago, with no joy. After weeks of moderate dinking (the machine would work, but I could only use it remotely... not really a problem as it was a file server). It turns out the entire problem was a failing graphics card. I've replaced the card, and when rebooting, selected an older kernel... just to see what would happen with the new graphics card. This apparently was a problem as now I'm getting some error when I use the normal kernels, as they say the files don't exist.

Here's my question:

Isn't there a recovery option on the live CD? I've booted from the ISO I used to originally install, and I don't see that as an option. I boot into the live CD, and I don't see that as an option either. I've tried installing, and it never seems to recognize that there exists an existing partition...

Is it a question of editing grub?

I'm really lost. I really, really don't want to go for a complete reinstall...