How can I copy a bootable Win2K partition to another HD?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Robbie Hatley
  • Start date Start date
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Robbie Hatley

I'm having problems trying to copy a bootable Windows 2000
partition from an 80GB hard disk to a 160GB hard disk.

I wrote some posts here about this a week ago, asking some
questions about this, but surprisingly, no one here knew how
to copy a partition. (Or if they did, they remained silent.)
One person did post some links, one of which seemed applicable,
but it turned out to actually be NOT applicable, just like all
his other links.

SO... I'll ask again:

How does one copy a bootable Windows 2000 partition from
an 80GB HD to an 160GB HD?

When I try to do this, I get "Windows cannot boot due to
a hardware error (hard disk misconfiguration)". (Or words
to that effect; that's as close as I can remember the
error message.)

I thought it was a "BIOS doesn't support 48-bit LBA" problem,
but I was mistaken; it does.

Then I thought it was a "Windows isn't set up for 48-bit LBA"
problem, but I was mistaken; the EnableBigLba thingy is set
to "1" in both the source and destination copies of the
registry.

Then I thougth it was a bootloader problem, but I was mistaken;
it's not. My bootloader (PowerQuest BootMagic 7) finds the
Windows installation just fine, and boots it. The Windows
installation finds and loads its own kernel. Then it crashes
with that "hard disk misconfiguration" error.

As I asked in an earlier post here (but no one here knew):
Does the windows registry record detailed partition information?
And if so, does that information need to be correct for the OS
to boot? And will copying a partition to a new size and
location without updating that information cause it to become
unbootable? I'm beginning to strongly suspect the answers are
"Yes", "Yes", and "Yes".

Martin said:
How can I [copy a bootable partition to a new hard disk]?
I tried a simple copy from the Explorer and scopy (keeps
ntfs attributes) but when I boot, on the new drive, it
tells me that lsass.exe is missing...
Click to expand...

"Pegasus" replied:
1. Temporarily connect the disks to the secondary IDE controller
of some other Win2000/XP PC.
2. Make the target partition active.
3. Use xcopy.exe with the appropriate switches to copy the source
disk to the target disk. Make sure to include hidden and system files.
4. Put the target disk into the server.
5. Boot the server with the Win2000 Server installation CD.
6. Select Repair / Recovery Console.
7. Type these commands:
fixboot
fixmbr
Click to expand...

I already tried doing a "repair" using my Windows 2000 CD,
but I get:

Enter Administrator Password:

But no matter what password I type, I get:

Password incorrect.

So much for that idea.

SOOOOOOOOOOO.............

My original problem remains:

How do I copy a bootable Windows 2000 partition from an 80GB
hard disk to a 160GB hard disk? Does anyone here have any
clues whatsoever? This should NOT be that hard! Thanks in
advance to whosoever can provide useful information.

--
Cheers,
Robbie Hatley
Tustin, CA, USA
email: lonewolfintj at pacbell dot net
web: home dot pacbell dot net slant earnur slant
 
I think you have two separate questions:

a) How to copy an existing Win2000 installation to some other
disk. I provided a recipe to another poster, which you
quote in your own post, but you don't seem to be prepared
to try it for yourself. It works!

b) Is a 160 GByte partition bootable? I don't know because I have
never tried. You could find out for yourself within half an
hour, by installing a basic throw-away copy of Win2000
on your 160 GByte partition.

Personally I do not think that a 160 GByte system partition
for Win2000 is a good idea. It seems to have lots of drawbacks
and only a few advantages when compared to having a 20/140
GByte split. But then it's your machine!



Robbie Hatley said:
I'm having problems trying to copy a bootable Windows 2000
partition from an 80GB hard disk to a 160GB hard disk.

I wrote some posts here about this a week ago, asking some
questions about this, but surprisingly, no one here knew how
to copy a partition. (Or if they did, they remained silent.)
One person did post some links, one of which seemed applicable,
but it turned out to actually be NOT applicable, just like all
his other links.

SO... I'll ask again:

How does one copy a bootable Windows 2000 partition from
an 80GB HD to an 160GB HD?

When I try to do this, I get "Windows cannot boot due to
a hardware error (hard disk misconfiguration)". (Or words
to that effect; that's as close as I can remember the
error message.)

I thought it was a "BIOS doesn't support 48-bit LBA" problem,
but I was mistaken; it does.

Then I thought it was a "Windows isn't set up for 48-bit LBA"
problem, but I was mistaken; the EnableBigLba thingy is set
to "1" in both the source and destination copies of the
registry.

Then I thougth it was a bootloader problem, but I was mistaken;
it's not. My bootloader (PowerQuest BootMagic 7) finds the
Windows installation just fine, and boots it. The Windows
installation finds and loads its own kernel. Then it crashes
with that "hard disk misconfiguration" error.

As I asked in an earlier post here (but no one here knew):
Does the windows registry record detailed partition information?
And if so, does that information need to be correct for the OS
to boot? And will copying a partition to a new size and
location without updating that information cause it to become
unbootable? I'm beginning to strongly suspect the answers are
"Yes", "Yes", and "Yes".

Martin said:
How can I [copy a bootable partition to a new hard disk]?
I tried a simple copy from the Explorer and scopy (keeps
ntfs attributes) but when I boot, on the new drive, it
tells me that lsass.exe is missing...
Click to expand...

"Pegasus" replied:
1. Temporarily connect the disks to the secondary IDE controller
of some other Win2000/XP PC.
2. Make the target partition active.
3. Use xcopy.exe with the appropriate switches to copy the source
disk to the target disk. Make sure to include hidden and system files.
4. Put the target disk into the server.
5. Boot the server with the Win2000 Server installation CD.
6. Select Repair / Recovery Console.
7. Type these commands:
fixboot
fixmbr
Click to expand...

I already tried doing a "repair" using my Windows 2000 CD,
but I get:

Enter Administrator Password:

But no matter what password I type, I get:

Password incorrect.

So much for that idea.

SOOOOOOOOOOO.............

My original problem remains:

How do I copy a bootable Windows 2000 partition from an 80GB
hard disk to a 160GB hard disk? Does anyone here have any
clues whatsoever? This should NOT be that hard! Thanks in
advance to whosoever can provide useful information.

--
Cheers,
Robbie Hatley
Tustin, CA, USA
email: lonewolfintj at pacbell dot net
web: home dot pacbell dot net slant earnur slant
Click to expand...
 
I notice mention of PM,
I have seen problems with hd's that are prepared with PM, prior to a win
install - its a problem confined to only some, why dont know?

If your simply adding a new hd why not leave as is and use the 160gb as
slave?
or is this a new sys?

Robbie Hatley said:
I'm having problems trying to copy a bootable Windows 2000
partition from an 80GB hard disk to a 160GB hard disk.

I wrote some posts here about this a week ago, asking some
questions about this, but surprisingly, no one here knew how
to copy a partition. (Or if they did, they remained silent.)
One person did post some links, one of which seemed applicable,
but it turned out to actually be NOT applicable, just like all
his other links.

SO... I'll ask again:

How does one copy a bootable Windows 2000 partition from
an 80GB HD to an 160GB HD?

When I try to do this, I get "Windows cannot boot due to
a hardware error (hard disk misconfiguration)". (Or words
to that effect; that's as close as I can remember the
error message.)

I thought it was a "BIOS doesn't support 48-bit LBA" problem,
but I was mistaken; it does.

Then I thought it was a "Windows isn't set up for 48-bit LBA"
problem, but I was mistaken; the EnableBigLba thingy is set
to "1" in both the source and destination copies of the
registry.

Then I thougth it was a bootloader problem, but I was mistaken;
it's not. My bootloader (PowerQuest BootMagic 7) finds the
Windows installation just fine, and boots it. The Windows
installation finds and loads its own kernel. Then it crashes
with that "hard disk misconfiguration" error.

As I asked in an earlier post here (but no one here knew):
Does the windows registry record detailed partition information?
And if so, does that information need to be correct for the OS
to boot? And will copying a partition to a new size and
location without updating that information cause it to become
unbootable? I'm beginning to strongly suspect the answers are
"Yes", "Yes", and "Yes".

Martin said:
How can I [copy a bootable partition to a new hard disk]?
I tried a simple copy from the Explorer and scopy (keeps
ntfs attributes) but when I boot, on the new drive, it
tells me that lsass.exe is missing...
Click to expand...

"Pegasus" replied:
1. Temporarily connect the disks to the secondary IDE controller
of some other Win2000/XP PC.
2. Make the target partition active.
3. Use xcopy.exe with the appropriate switches to copy the source
disk to the target disk. Make sure to include hidden and system files.
4. Put the target disk into the server.
5. Boot the server with the Win2000 Server installation CD.
6. Select Repair / Recovery Console.
7. Type these commands:
fixboot
fixmbr
Click to expand...

I already tried doing a "repair" using my Windows 2000 CD,
but I get:

Enter Administrator Password:

But no matter what password I type, I get:

Password incorrect.

So much for that idea.

SOOOOOOOOOOO.............

My original problem remains:

How do I copy a bootable Windows 2000 partition from an 80GB
hard disk to a 160GB hard disk? Does anyone here have any
clues whatsoever? This should NOT be that hard! Thanks in
advance to whosoever can provide useful information.

--
Cheers,
Robbie Hatley
Tustin, CA, USA
email: lonewolfintj at pacbell dot net
web: home dot pacbell dot net slant earnur slant
Click to expand...
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
I think you have two separate questions:

a) How to copy an existing Win2000 installation to some other
disk. I provided a recipe to another poster, which you
quote in your own post, but you don't seem to be prepared
to try it for yourself. It works!
Click to expand...

What I actually said was:

I already tried doing a "repair" using my Windows 2000 CD,
but I get:

Enter Administrator Password:

But no matter what password I type, I get:

Password incorrect.

So much for that idea.

What does "administrator password" mean in this context?
Does it mean "the password of any member of the
'administrators' group"? Or does it mean "The password
of the one-and-only 'built-in account for system
administration'"? Until I can resolve that issue, the
repair console is useless to me.

b) Is a 160 GByte partition bootable? I don't know because I have
never tried. You could find out for yourself within half an
hour, by installing a basic throw-away copy of Win2000
on your 160 GByte partition.
Click to expand...


That is (yet another) misquote. I never said anything about
trying to boot a 160GB partition. The Windows 2000 partition
in question is being expanded in size from 6GB to about 20GB,
not 160GB. The total size of the destination hard disk is
160GB. It is partitioned roughly as follows:

Primary Partition #1: 100MB Linux boot
Primary Partition #2: 500MB MS-DOS
Primary Partition #3: 20000MB Windows 2000
Extended Partition : 132000MB
The Extended partition contains:
Logical partition "drive D:": 120000MB
Logical partition "Linux swap": 2000MB
Logical partition "Linux /": 10000MB
Personally I do not think that a 160 GByte system partition
for Win2000 is a good idea.
Click to expand...

I quite agree. Which is one of the reasons I'm not
doing it that way.

Meanwhile, these questions remain:

1. How do I get a Windows 2000 partition copied from an
80GB hard disk to a 160GB hard disk to boot? I get a
"disk misconfiguration error" when trying to boot the
copied partition. Possible causes already eliminated
include:
- No, it's not a BIOS 48-bit LBA issue.
- No, it's not a Windows 48-bit LBA issue.
- No, it's not a bootloader issue.
- No, I'm not attempting to boot a 160GB partition
(see partition table above)

2. Does the windows registry record detailed partition
information? And if so, does that information need
to be correct for the OS to boot? And will copying
a partition to a new size and location without updating
that information cause it to become unbootable?

3. Is the "repair console" the only way to fix a
resized and/or relocated partition so that it can boot
again? Or is there another way?

4. What is the meaning of the phrase "administrator
password" in the context of the repair console? Does
this mean the password of any administrator? Or does
it mean the password of the original, built-in
administration account? Until I can resolve this, the
repair console is useless to me.

Much thanks in advance to whoever can answer these questions!

(And if no one here knows, is there some other, more
appropriate newsgroup I should be asking these
questions in?)

--
Cheers,
Robbie Hatley
Tustin, CA, USA
email: lonewolfintj at pacbell dot net
web: home dot pacbell dot net slant earnur slant
 
Robbie Hatley said:
What I actually said was:

I already tried doing a "repair" using my Windows 2000 CD,
but I get:

Enter Administrator Password:

But no matter what password I type, I get:

Password incorrect.

So much for that idea.

What does "administrator password" mean in this context?
Does it mean "the password of any member of the
'administrators' group"? Or does it mean "The password
of the one-and-only 'built-in account for system
administration'"? Until I can resolve that issue, the
repair console is useless to me.




That is (yet another) misquote. I never said anything about
trying to boot a 160GB partition. The Windows 2000 partition
in question is being expanded in size from 6GB to about 20GB,
not 160GB. The total size of the destination hard disk is
160GB. It is partitioned roughly as follows:

Primary Partition #1: 100MB Linux boot
Primary Partition #2: 500MB MS-DOS
Primary Partition #3: 20000MB Windows 2000
Extended Partition : 132000MB
The Extended partition contains:
Logical partition "drive D:": 120000MB
Logical partition "Linux swap": 2000MB
Logical partition "Linux /": 10000MB


I quite agree. Which is one of the reasons I'm not
doing it that way.

Meanwhile, these questions remain:

1. How do I get a Windows 2000 partition copied from an
80GB hard disk to a 160GB hard disk to boot? I get a
"disk misconfiguration error" when trying to boot the
copied partition. Possible causes already eliminated
include:
- No, it's not a BIOS 48-bit LBA issue.
- No, it's not a Windows 48-bit LBA issue.
- No, it's not a bootloader issue.
- No, I'm not attempting to boot a 160GB partition
(see partition table above)

2. Does the windows registry record detailed partition
information? And if so, does that information need
to be correct for the OS to boot? And will copying
a partition to a new size and location without updating
that information cause it to become unbootable?

3. Is the "repair console" the only way to fix a
resized and/or relocated partition so that it can boot
again? Or is there another way?

4. What is the meaning of the phrase "administrator
password" in the context of the repair console? Does
this mean the password of any administrator? Or does
it mean the password of the original, built-in
administration account? Until I can resolve this, the
repair console is useless to me.

Much thanks in advance to whoever can answer these questions!

(And if no one here knows, is there some other, more
appropriate newsgroup I should be asking these
questions in?)

--
Cheers,
Robbie Hatley
Tustin, CA, USA
email: lonewolfintj at pacbell dot net
web: home dot pacbell dot net slant earnur slant
Click to expand...

Reset your administrator's password to a blank with this
tool, then make a note of it in a safe place. It's your
master key to your system!
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html

Since you have several partitions on your hard disk,
the hidden file c:\boot.ini needs to point to the correct
Win2000 boot partition. What does it look like on
your machine?

I have never seen a "disk misconfiguration error". Is this
the verbatim message? Have you googled for it?

The registry does keep some information about your
hard disk's signature. However, if your old hard disk
cannot be found then new signatures are generated
for each partition. They are sometimes incorrect but
this is easily fixed. An incorrect signature won't prevent
your system from booting.

I'm not aware of a method of restoring the boot environment
of an NTFS partition other than by the Recovery Console.
 
My apologies for the late reply to this, but I've been
very busy lately.

In regards to my questions on how to copy a Win2K bootable
partition from an 80GB HD to a 160GB HD -- and actually get
the thing to boot -- "Pegasus (MVP) said:
Reset your administrator's password to a blank with this
tool, then make a note of it in a safe place. It's your
master key to your system!
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks for the link. But I think I've solved the
problem. Turns out, the account my mom was using
on a regular basis was AN administrator, but not THE
administrator. Neither mom nor I remembered the original
administrator's password, but due to what I consider a
flaw in Win2K's security, any administrator can reset the
password on any account, including The Administrator.
So I did.

I haven't tried repair console again, but I'm sure it
will work now.
Since you have several partitions on your hard disk,
the hidden file c:\boot.ini needs to point to the correct
Win2000 boot partition. What does it look like on
your machine?
Click to expand...

Dunno. I'll check that out on the machine in question
when I get time to try this partition transplant again.
I have never seen a "disk misconfiguration error". Is this
the verbatim message? Have you googled for it?
Click to expand...

Like I said, "... words to that effect ... as near as I
can remember ...".
The registry does keep some information about your
hard disk's signature. However, if your old hard disk
cannot be found then new signatures are generated
for each partition. They are sometimes incorrect but
this is easily fixed. An incorrect signature won't prevent
your system from booting.
I'm not aware of a method of restoring the boot environment
of an NTFS partition other than by the Recovery Console.
Click to expand...

Ok. Thanks for the info. It gives me a direction to
go in. If this transplant works on mom's machine, I
may do similar to my machine, transplanting my Win2K
partition to a 200GB HD.
 
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