Booting into copy of XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Aaron P
  • Start date Start date
A

Aaron P

I want to copy my XP partition to another location and then do a full
new reinstal of XP to where that original XP partition had been.

After doing the re-instal I'm sure I'll have some settings or
passwords in the old XP partition which I need to refer to. So I
would like to be able to boot into the XP partition which was copied
over.

What do I need to change to be able to do this?

Of course I will be using Bootit. I think there are probably some
entries in the BPB of the backup XP partition and also in XP's boot
files which will need adjusting. Also will I need to clear XP's
"signature" in the MBR?

Exactly what things would I have to change to make the copy bootable?
 
I never used Bootit, but with PartitionMagic it is as simple as copy the
partition, and add the copy to the BootMagic boot menu. I think with Bootit
it is about the same ...
Click to expand...

I have PM 8.1. Are you saying that if a create a second partition on a HD
and use PM to "copy" the partition to it, that new partitions will also be
bootable? I am running XP Home.

If so, can PM be used to make a clone image of an XP partition to another
HD? I am trying to figure out backup strategies.

Thanks.
 
Aaron P said:
I want to copy my XP partition to another location and then do a full
new reinstal of XP to where that original XP partition had been.

After doing the re-instal I'm sure I'll have some settings or
passwords in the old XP partition which I need to refer to. So I
would like to be able to boot into the XP partition which was copied
over.

What do I need to change to be able to do this?

Of course I will be using Bootit. I think there are probably some
entries in the BPB of the backup XP partition and also in XP's boot
files which will need adjusting. Also will I need to clear XP's
"signature" in the MBR?

Exactly what things would I have to change to make the copy bootable?
Click to expand...

I never used Bootit, but with PartitionMagic it is as simple as copy the
partition, and add the copy to the BootMagic boot menu. I think with Bootit
it is about the same ...
 
Thank you very much.

My primary interest is in backup in case of disaster. I have regular data
backups.

So, if I understand you correctly, using PM 8, I could copy my system
partition to unallocated space on an external USB disk. Then, should
disaster strike and I would need to re-install my system, I could simply
delete the original system partition, render it unallocated into unallocated
space and then copy the backup system partition back to it to restore
things.

Am I correct?
 
Jeff Malka said:
I have PM 8.1. Are you saying that if a create a second partition on a HD
and use PM to "copy" the partition to it, that new partitions will also be
bootable? I am running XP Home.
Click to expand...

Do not copy the source partition onto another partition, instead copy it
into, what PM refers to as 'unallocated space'. So what I mean is:

For example you have a 40 Gb drive, of which 20 Gb is allocated to an
already existing XP installation, and the other 20 Gb is unallocated > now
simply copy you existing partition into unallocated space > install the
BootMagaic bootmanager > add both partitions to the BootMagic boot menu. I
have not read Bootit NG specs in detail, but I think it is also capable of
copying partitions, and also includes a boot manager. So I expect you can do
the same with that.

Also, PM and I also think Bootit NG are capable of resizing partitions. So,
if the partition occupies the entire 40 Gb dis space, you can resize the
partition down to 20 Gb, creating 20 Gb of unallocated disk space where the
partition can be copied to.

I never use the PM wizards, but I suspect that if you use the copy wizard
while all 40 Gb is allocated, it will actually tell you that it will need to
resize existing partitions before it can copy.
If so, can PM be used to make a clone image of an XP partition to another
HD? I am trying to figure out backup strategies.
Click to expand...

PM can copy partitions, NOT image them. A copy is an actual *partition*,
while an image is a *file* holding all info required to restore a partition.
 
Jeff Malka said:
Thank you very much.

My primary interest is in backup in case of disaster. I have regular data
backups.

So, if I understand you correctly, using PM 8, I could copy my system
partition to unallocated space on an external USB disk.
Yes.

Then, should
disaster strike and I would need to re-install my system, I could simply
delete the original system partition, render it unallocated into unallocated
space and then copy the backup system partition back to it to restore
things.
Click to expand...

Ah, now there's a problem. In Windows PartitionMagic works with USB drives.
However, in cases where you may want to restore your backup, you may need to
do this from DOS (Windows may refuse to boot). In DOS, no USB support is
available and PM will not see the USB drive

Again, V2i protector (also PowerQuest) or DriveImage 7 on the other hand
can, AND backup an image to the USB or copy the drive to USB, AND can access
USB devices even when Windows fails to boot (they use the Windows PE
'environment' for that)
 
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