Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics (
More info?)
Al, this string is getting long, but if I cut a
bunch, people will say I'm not letting other groupies
see the whole story. Now, after a weekend away, I
refer to your suggesting way down below, that I change
Drive Letters. That's an intriguing idea, but let me
set forth exactly what my system looks like right now:
If I boot to HDD-0, My Computer lists the following drives:
A Floppy
C Master 80GB (SP1)
D D-I 91604
E CD-RW Drive
F DVD drive
G My Spare, with SP-2 (Slave position)
H D-I 0713
I D-I 091504
If I boot to HDD-1, My Computer lists the following drives:
A Floppy
C Spare drive, with SP-2
D Master 80GB (SP1)
E CD-RW Drive
F DVD Drive
G D-I 91604
H D-I 0713
J D-I 091504
I am able to boot to HDD-0 and run my Master 80GB SP1.....and
I am able to boot to HDD-1 and run my Spare Drive, with SP2.
But if I put the SP2 drive into Master position on the cable,
jumper it as Master, and try to boot to it as HDD-0, I get to
the blue Windows logo screen but not the Loading your personal
settings....and it hangs there.
Now back to the interesting advice you gave, which was:
>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
>>>However, there is still the issue of which drive letter has Windows
given that drive, and if it is changeable or "permanent"; Windows
recognizes all drives which have ever been connected in that PC, such
that one can remove a drive which one had given drive letter X, bring it
back some time later, and it gets set again as drive X unless there is
some other occupying that letter. When you boot with HDD-1 as HDD-0,
you should have a drive C in Windows Explorer. Drives which are set as
Active/System drives usually get stuck with the drive letter, thus I had
asked you to right-click on My Computer, Manage, Disk Management, then
on the upper half of the right pane, right-click on HDD-1 and Change
Drive Letter, choose not to attribute a drive letter.
>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Having seen my description and definition of the two modes
of operation of my system, can you tell me specifically what
you want me to do, when the system is running in which mode, to
get it so that it will boot all the way under the condition
that I described above as "hanging". I feel strongly about not
changing any drive letters on the Master SP1 system....as my firm
goal in all this is to create a runnable clone while guaranteeing
100% absolutely that the Master SP1 will not be harmed.
Bill Lurie 10/26/04
Alphonse wrote:
> Hi Bill,
> Here is something that I found that might help you... I can't see why it'd
> be necessary, but even as a work-around it might be a solution.
>
> 1) Boot the new system from the Win CD or XP boot floppies. (If the hard
> drive is accessible, you can run Winnt32.exe from the \I386 directory on the
> hard drive, or Setup.exe on the CD). Have your CDKEY ready.
>
> 2) Setup will find the existing Win installation (usually C:\Windows, else
> C:\Winnt) and ask if you wish to install over it or repair it. At this
> second prompt, select Repair.
>
> Note: If the Setup program does not detect a previous installation but just
> continues to the partitioning screen, there is a problem. An in-place
> upgrade may not be possible.
>
> 3) Setup will run the upgrade code that will re-enumerate the hardware and
> set itself to boot from the new controller. The upgrade will retain all
> settings but will update drivers for the current motherboard and hardware.
> (You can reinstall windows over windows with no problems. It basically just
> skims over your existing installation and fixes bad files and fills in the
> blanks if something is missing. Everything will be the same after your
> reinstall.)
>
> 4) All programs, settings, and configurations will still exist after this
> upgrade, however, all drivers might be reset to Windows basic, and Microsoft
> updates will need to be reapplied. Run Microsoft Windows Upgrade (on
> Windows Start menu) to reapply updates as needed. Reports state that IE
> will be back to IE5.0 and will need to be updated. Any Service Packs will
> need to be reinstalled. All security updates that have been installed need
> to be reinstalled. It is best to install the security updates based on the
> time order.
> =================================
>
> Something that you could try as well, being that you are not in dire need of
> this second drive at this moment, is to install HD2 by itself, boot from a
> Win diskette and at the DOS prompt type
> fdisk /mbr
> Reboot after you remove the diskette. I know that this used to work with Win
> NT, so it just might with XP. Anyway, at worse you get to re-copy your HD1
> to HD2 again, with my apollogies.
>
> Hope one of these works... let us know?
> Cheers
>
> "William B. Lurie" <billurie@nospam.org> wrote in message
> news:%23O5hnoVtEHA.272@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
>
>>See interspersed comments, Al:
>>
>>Alphonse wrote:
>>
>>
>>>If you have a cable that actually says Master on the end and Slave on the
>>>middle, then you should respect them... otherwise it doesn't matter, due
>>>to the jumper. When you use Cable Select, then Master has to be on the
>>>end and Slave, of course, in the middle.
>>
>>*** (Note that I tried all possibilities, just in case........)
>>
>>
>>>However, there is still the issue of which drive letter has Windows given
>>>that drive, and if it is changeable or "permanent"; Windows recognizes
>>>all drives which have ever been connected in that PC, such that one can
>>>remove a drive which one had given drive letter X, bring it back some
>>>time later, and it gets set again as drive X unless there is some other
>>>occupying that letter. When you boot with HDD-1 as HDD-0, you should
>>>have a drive C in Windows Explorer. Drives which are set as Active/System
>>>drives usually get stuck with the drive letter, thus I had asked you to
>>>right-click on My Computer, Manage, Disk Management, then on the upper
>>>half of the right pane, right-click on HDD-1 and Change Drive Letter,
>>>choose not to attribute a drive letter.
>>
>> ***Well, Al, I will have to go in and experiment with Drive Letters,
>>which I have simply accepted as the system assigned them. When the copy
>>boots up in HDD-1, it definitely becomes "G" or "H" depending on how
>>many other partitions Windows finds. Remember that that drive refuses
>>to boot up to Desktop, in HDD-0 position, so it has never shown up as
>>the "C: drive. Are you telling me that you want me to force it to be
>>known as "C" somehow? I can't when it's the Slave, because the Master
>>is "C"....... Maybe you have something there, but what sequence of
>>operations would you suggest?
>>
>>
>>
>>>Last thing that I have up my sleeve is to ask you to make sure that the
>>>Copy you make is a Full system copy, not an update of a prior.
>>>
>>
>>The Copy I've made is a brand new copy on a blank formatted drive,
>>from my full Master, system, applications, files, just using Drive Image's
>>"Copy Drive" methodology.
>>
>>Scratch your head some more, I like your thinking. Jump back in
>>any time. Notice that if anybody who is a part of Symantec ever
>>reads these conversations, they never step in.................
>>
>>
>>>This being said, after this I will be at a loss of words, I think, so my
>>>apologies beforehand and I hope that someone else reading this has better
>>>suggestions or a solution.
>>
>>***************************************************************************
>>***************************************************************************
>>
>>>"William B. Lurie" <billurie@nospam.org> wrote in message
>>>news:uvdJpmUtEHA.2536@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>>
>>>>Not stupid at all. Important to make sure we understand each other.
>>>>Yes, I make copy of HDD-0 onto HDD-1. Yes, turn off PC. Yes,
>>>>remove the HD from the HDD-0 position on the ribbon cable and
>>>>set it aside. Yes, change jumper on the drive that was in HDD-1
>>>>position from "Slave" to "Master or Single", but I have been
>>>>under the impression that I then am obliged to put the hard
>>>>drive onto the ribbon cable in "Master" position. You are, I
>>>>believe suggesting that I leave it in "Slave" position although
>>>>it has been re-jimpered as "Master", and that I have not tried.
>>>>Nothing to lose, of course. nd then there is also the "Cable
>>>>Select" jumpering which I haven't tried.
>>>>W B L
>>>>
>>>>Alphonse wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>Stupid question:
>>>>>Have you tried making a copy of HDD-0 onto HDD-1, turn PC off at end,
>>>>>remove HDD-0, change jumper of HDD-1 to Master, and turn PC on?
>>>>>Basically, to boot using HDD-1 without having used it to boot while
>>>>>HDD-0 is still connected.
>>>>>
>>>>>You must understand that if you use HDD-1 to boot and Windows gives it
>>>>>letter D:, let's say, that the registry in that drive will get modified
>>>>>accordingly. Since your HDD-0 is C:, when you boot using HDD-1 you have
>>>>>to force it to being C: by removing HDD-0. If you run into Windows being
>>>>>stubborn, and maybe you can do this beforehand, you can right-click on
>>>>>My Computer, Manage, Disk Management, then on the upper half of the
>>>>>right pane, right-click on HDD-1 and Change Drive Letter, choose not to
>>>>>attribute a drive letter... then turn PC off, remove HDD-0, ..., ...
>>>>>
>>>>>If you were to modify your boot.ini file so as to have a dual boot
>>>>>system, you wouldn't have to mess in the BIOS, and Windows would be the
>>>>>one taking charge of the changes in drives and therefore drive letters.
>>>>>However, even in this manner, I believe that no drive letter can be
>>>>>manually attributed to the second booting drive.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>"William B. Lurie" <billurie@nospam.org> wrote in message
>>>>>news:OB4ji1RtEHA.4040@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>Alphonse wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>By mirroring program I meant exactly what you are using. I'm sorry
>>>>>>>that I understood your initial statement for what so many people try
>>>>>>>to do, which is to manually copy one drive to the other. By the way, I
>>>>>>>would copy the drive, not the partition, unless you have two identical
>>>>>>>drives--meaning size and brand--or the second larger than the first.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Please note that all of the programs I referenced will only
>>>>>>copy one partition...which is fine with me.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>I suppose you have only one partition on each drive. When your HDD-1
>>>>>>>does boot being stand-alone, what letter does Win give it? Do you
>>>>>>>still have a C drive or has it kept the letter attributed to it from
>>>>>>>when it was a Slave?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Maybe I wasn't extra clear on that. When it boots to HDD-1, it is
>>>>>>given the next available letter....after the Master, which stays C,
>>>>>>and remembering that A is the floppy, and I have a CD-writable drive
>>>>>>and a CD/DVD reader drive.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>The 'copy' boots in Slave position, HDD-1.....my goal is to find a way
>>>>>>to get it to boot all the way when it is jumpered as Master, is in
>>>>>>Master position on the ribbon cable, and there is no other hard
>>>>>>drive around (simulating the condition where the real Master has died).
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>If you get it to boot, check your Event Viewer for the failed times.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I wouldn't know where to look...it fails when it is alone on
>>>>>>the system and hasn't yet made it past that light blue Windows
>>>>>>logo screen where it 'hangs'.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>"William B. Lurie" <billurie@nospam.org> wrote in message
>>>>>>>news:%23c6nlURtEHA.2300@TK2MSFTNGP09.phx.gbl...
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Thank you, Alphonse. I'm making the copy any one of three
>>>>>>>>ways....Symantec (Power Quest) Drive Image 7 in "Copy a Drive"
>>>>>>>>mode.......or that Drive Image 7 in "Make a Drive Image and
>>>>>>>>then Restore" mode.......or Symantec (Power Quest) Partition
>>>>>>>>Magic in "Copy a Partition" mode.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>I don't know what you mean by a "mirroring program". And if and
>>>>>>>>when emergency strikes I am quite satisfied to have as exact a
>>>>>>>>copy as I can make, because the I'll be able to put everything
>>>>>>>>back in operation as of the date I made the copy. The stuff
>>>>>>>>that will be "out of date" I update daily by copying a few
>>>>>>>>data files to a CD.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>Alphonse wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>How are you making the copy of one to the other?
>>>>>>>>>My suggestion is that you get a mirroring program and make an image
>>>>>>>>>of your Master onto the Slave, just to make sure that in fact they
>>>>>>>>>are identical, not "as exact copy as I can make"... if and when
>>>>>>>>>emergency strikes you do not want only the latter to be true.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>"William B. Lurie" <billurie@nospam.org> wrote in message
>>>>>>>>>news:%23p0n8bJsEHA.1232@TK2MSFTNGP11.phx.gbl...
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>With a Master Drive and as exact a copy of it as I
>>>>>>>>>>can make operating in Slave position, jumpered as
>>>>>>>>>>Slave, I change only HDD-0 to HDD-1 in BIOS to boot
>>>>>>>>>>to the Slave. The XP on the Slave operates just fine.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>But I want to plug that "Slave" drive in as the single
>>>>>>>>>>drive, alone on the system, jumpered as "Single or
>>>>>>>>>>"master", boot to it as HDD-0 and run. This is my way
>>>>>>>>>>of having foolproof backup----an exact duplicate,
>>>>>>>>>>runnable drive, to swap in, in place of the Master,
>>>>>>>>>>at any time.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>What do I have to do? I can change boot.ini or anything
>>>>>>>>>>else on the "Slave" before switching over, but exactly
>>>>>>>>>>what? Sometimes it boots, sometimes it hangs in the
>>>>>>>>>>blue Windows logo screen (with the "loading personal
>>>>>>>>>>settings" message missing).
>>>>>>>>>>--
>>>>>>
>>>>>> William B. Lurie
>>>>>
>
>
--
William B. Lurie