Partition Magic - Reverse Boot Drives?

  • Thread starter Thread starter The Toyman
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The Toyman

My new neighbor had a supplemental 160 GB HD installed by his brother - the
original 11 GB drive was full and had related problems. Problem is when he
made the new drive C: (faster & bigger), he moved some of the boot files to
it, but left many, including applications, etc. on the old drive (now D:).
The Registry shows most of key files on the old drive (now D:), and the
machine is hiccupping all over the place - unable to load apps, hanging,
etc. Additionally, when I check the Drive Settings under System Restore,
the old drive (now D:) is referred to as the 'System Drive'.

Norton Utilities (Win Doctor) finds the problems, but I'm not interested in
editing the Registry to correct the 292 problems it found - some are
probably beyond my ability anyhow.

Adding insult to injury, the neighbor recently moved here and lost some
boxes of software (among other things) during the move, including the XP
PRO, O/S disk, so I can't just wipe the drives and reload them. The
neighbor's not interested in buying a new disk from MS.

Question: can I use Partition Magic's (v8.0) Drive Mapper to reverse the
drive's names - i.e. change D: to C:, and C: to D:? I guess the real
question is, even if Drive Mapper will make the change, will that change
result in the Registry becoming discombobulated to the point the machine
won't boot? Or is the only to find out to try it?

Is another option to uninstall the new drive to (hopefully) put the beast
back to its original condition, test it to see if it will run, and then
re-install the new drive as a slave to the original drive. This PC isn't
going to be used for much beyond web stuff, a little word processing, and
iTunes downloads.

As I look at the BIOS setup, the new (160 GB) drive is set as the Primary
Master (Type: User), the CDROM is set as Primary Slave, and the old (11 GB)
drive is set as Secondary Master (Type: User). The person who installed the
new drive said he had some problems getting the machine to recognize it. He
also couldn't get the beast to recognize more than 127 GB of the 160, but I
found that XP SP 1 hasn't been installed either. I also believe the system
must have a 48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS installed. Not sure where to find
that information.

Anyone have any thoughts about the best way to proceed?

Toyman
 
so basically you want the biger hard drive as the sytem drive? if so,
why not duplicate the old hard drive to the new hard drive? that' way,
the new hard drive will have everything from the old drive
 
48 bit LBA is not required until 132GB is surpassed in hard drive capacity.
SP1 and SP2 offer this, but not for the bios.

You bios is immaterial if SP1 or SP2 is not installed on your XP.
 
.. . . and the way to do that is . . . ???

Toyman
_________________________

:
: so basically you want the biger hard drive as the sytem drive? if so,
: why not duplicate the old hard drive to the new hard drive? that' way,
: the new hard drive will have everything from the old drive
:
:
: --
: cuoctinhtay3
 
Once I get the thing to boot from C: and otherwise cleaned up, I'll install
SP1/SP2. Since he paid for 160 GB drive, I suppose he'd probably like to be
able to use it all. I seem to recall hearing about some folks having
trouble installing SP1. I installed SP2 on mine without problems a couple
of years ago, but don't have 1st hand knowledge about installing SP1. But
that sounds like a topic for some web searching on my part. However that
takes me back to the 48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS. Where would I look to see
if it's there?

And thanks for the 'insight' about using PM to make things right (or at
least better).

Toyman
___________________________

: 48 bit LBA is not required until 132GB is surpassed in hard drive
capacity.
: SP1 and SP2 offer this, but not for the bios.
:
: You bios is immaterial if SP1 or SP2 is not installed on your XP.
:
: --
: Jonny
: : > My new neighbor had a supplemental 160 GB HD installed by his brother -
: the
: > original 11 GB drive was full and had related problems. Problem is when
: he
: > made the new drive C: (faster & bigger), he moved some of the boot files
: to
: > it, but left many, including applications, etc. on the old drive (now
D:).
: > The Registry shows most of key files on the old drive (now D:), and the
: > machine is hiccupping all over the place - unable to load apps, hanging,
: > etc. Additionally, when I check the Drive Settings under System
Restore,
: > the old drive (now D:) is referred to as the 'System Drive'.
: >
: > Norton Utilities (Win Doctor) finds the problems, but I'm not interested
: in
: > editing the Registry to correct the 292 problems it found - some are
: > probably beyond my ability anyhow.
: >
: > Adding insult to injury, the neighbor recently moved here and lost some
: > boxes of software (among other things) during the move, including the XP
: > PRO, O/S disk, so I can't just wipe the drives and reload them. The
: > neighbor's not interested in buying a new disk from MS.
: >
: > Question: can I use Partition Magic's (v8.0) Drive Mapper to reverse the
: > drive's names - i.e. change D: to C:, and C: to D:? I guess the real
: > question is, even if Drive Mapper will make the change, will that change
: > result in the Registry becoming discombobulated to the point the machine
: > won't boot? Or is the only to find out to try it?
: >
: > Is another option to uninstall the new drive to (hopefully) put the
beast
: > back to its original condition, test it to see if it will run, and then
: > re-install the new drive as a slave to the original drive. This PC
isn't
: > going to be used for much beyond web stuff, a little word processing,
and
: > iTunes downloads.
: >
: > As I look at the BIOS setup, the new (160 GB) drive is set as the
Primary
: > Master (Type: User), the CDROM is set as Primary Slave, and the old (11
: GB)
: > drive is set as Secondary Master (Type: User). The person who installed
: the
: > new drive said he had some problems getting the machine to recognize it.
: He
: > also couldn't get the beast to recognize more than 127 GB of the 160,
but
: I
: > found that XP SP 1 hasn't been installed either. I also believe the
: system
: > must have a 48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS installed. Not sure where to
find
: > that information.
: >
: > Anyone have any thoughts about the best way to proceed?
: >
: > Toyman
: >
: >
:
:
 
Partiion Magic can COPY a bootable mirror image on any unallocate space in
your hard drive.

Boot up with the emergency disks you created when you installed PM
Delete the new second hard drive to create an unallocated space, and copy
the operating system from the !st hard drive.

Then change the jumpers from slave to master on the new drive.
and master to slave on the old drive.
 
Once I get the thing to boot from C: and otherwise cleaned up, I'll install
SP1/SP2. Since he paid for 160 GB drive, I suppose he'd probably like to be
able to use it all. I seem to recall hearing about some folks having
trouble installing SP1. I installed SP2 on mine without problems a couple
of years ago, but don't have 1st hand knowledge about installing SP1. But
that sounds like a topic for some web searching on my part. However that
takes me back to the 48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS. Where would I look to see
if it's there?
Click to expand...

Contrary to popular opinion, 48-bit LBA BIOS capability is not an
absolute requirement. It's only necessary if, during the boot-up
process, the BIOS has to access past the 137GB (GB = 10^9) point on
the hard drive. For a 160GB drive, that can only happen if the
partition you're booting into begins at about 114GB and continues to
the end of the drive.
Once Windows XP has been booted and is running, the BIOS is no longer
used to access the hard drive, so its LBA capability becomes
irrelevant.
 
Let me check my understanding of what you said (not arguing, just want to
make sure I understand):

- Currently the new (160GB) drive is set as the primary master, so I
shouldn't have to change the jumpers there.
- Boot from the P/M floppies, and delete the new (160 GB) drive (C:\) - i.e.
remove everything from it.
- Using a 'COPY' function within the bootable P/M, copy the old (11 GB)
drive (now drive d:\) and paste it onto the new (160 GB) drive C:\.
That will make the new (160 GB) drive identical to the old (11 GB)
drive.
- Change the jumper settings on the old (11 GB) drive from (secondary)
Master to Primary Slave.

- Where does the CD-ROM plug into this sequence?

Hmmmmm. Looks like I'm going to have some other work to do first. Just
tried to boot the P/M floppies, and got a nastygram:
"Error #91
Disk Manager has been detected on drive 0, but Disk Manager is not
running. If you are booting from a floppy, remove the floppy disk and
reboot. Press and hold the <SPACE BAR> key as you computer restarts. When
prompted insert your boot floppy and continue booting." That's followed by
"Error #87 - Unable to initialize the engine", followed by a return to the
A:\ prompt.

I see on the BIOS, that "S.M.A.R.T. for Hard Disks" is Disabled. Does
that have something to do with the 'nastygram'?

It appears that when the bigger drive was installed, the software to run the
thing wasn't activated, or installed incorrectly (or there's another
problem). Looks like a re-install is needed. And since my neighbor is
out-of-state until next week, I can't get the documentation until then.

Before I reinstall the drive, I'll install SP2, and then set up the new
drive with a bootable partition, make the correct Master/Slave settings,
figure out what to do with the CD-ROM, and cross my fingers. If all works
at that point, then I'll use the (floppy P/M) mirror function to get the old
drive data to the new drive.

I have Norton (Systemworks) Ghost. Any thoughts about that being any easier
or more effective than P/M to mirror drive contents? I haven't used Ghost
before.

Thanks to all for the help-to-date.

Toyman
_______________________________________

: Partiion Magic can COPY a bootable mirror image on any unallocate space in
: your hard drive.
:
: Boot up with the emergency disks you created when you installed PM
: Delete the new second hard drive to create an unallocated space, and copy
: the operating system from the !st hard drive.
:
: Then change the jumpers from slave to master on the new drive.
: and master to slave on the old drive.
:
: : > My new neighbor had a supplemental 160 GB HD installed by his brother -
: > the
: > original 11 GB drive was full and had related problems. Problem is when
: > he
: > made the new drive C: (faster & bigger), he moved some of the boot files
: > to
: > it, but left many, including applications, etc. on the old drive (now
D:).
: > The Registry shows most of key files on the old drive (now D:), and the
: > machine is hiccupping all over the place - unable to load apps, hanging,
: > etc. Additionally, when I check the Drive Settings under System
Restore,
: > the old drive (now D:) is referred to as the 'System Drive'.
: >
: > Norton Utilities (Win Doctor) finds the problems, but I'm not interested
: > in
: > editing the Registry to correct the 292 problems it found - some are
: > probably beyond my ability anyhow.
: >
: > Adding insult to injury, the neighbor recently moved here and lost some
: > boxes of software (among other things) during the move, including the XP
: > PRO, O/S disk, so I can't just wipe the drives and reload them. The
: > neighbor's not interested in buying a new disk from MS.
: >
: > Question: can I use Partition Magic's (v8.0) Drive Mapper to reverse the
: > drive's names - i.e. change D: to C:, and C: to D:? I guess the real
: > question is, even if Drive Mapper will make the change, will that change
: > result in the Registry becoming discombobulated to the point the machine
: > won't boot? Or is the only to find out to try it?
: >
: > Is another option to uninstall the new drive to (hopefully) put the
beast
: > back to its original condition, test it to see if it will run, and then
: > re-install the new drive as a slave to the original drive. This PC
isn't
: > going to be used for much beyond web stuff, a little word processing,
and
: > iTunes downloads.
: >
: > As I look at the BIOS setup, the new (160 GB) drive is set as the
Primary
: > Master (Type: User), the CDROM is set as Primary Slave, and the old (11
: > GB)
: > drive is set as Secondary Master (Type: User). The person who installed
: > the
: > new drive said he had some problems getting the machine to recognize it.
: > He
: > also couldn't get the beast to recognize more than 127 GB of the 160,
but
: > I
: > found that XP SP 1 hasn't been installed either. I also believe the
: > system
: > must have a 48-bit LBA-compatible BIOS installed. Not sure where to
find
: > that information.
: >
: > Anyone have any thoughts about the best way to proceed?
: >
: > Toyman
: >
: >
:
:
 
Hi, Toyman,

Got back a day late, sorry,
Lets start from the beginning.

1. The XP CD is bootable, you may have to go into your BIOS and set the CD
to boot before the hard drive does.
Use this to install a complete new operating system on a clean drive.
All the tools are there for you to use.

2. Partition Magic can copy a bootable mirror image of your operating system
onto an unallocated space on your hard drive.
Use this if you have programs installed that you want transfered to the
new drive.
Partition Magic should be installed on the 1st hard drive that is
bootable.
Reset the jumpers so the old drive is bootable Master.
The new drive as slave.

Create new emergency floppies after PM is installed.

Boot with the floppies,
Select disk 1 to see that partition or disk 2 to see the new hard drive.
Highlight the new drive by clicking it,
Look in the menu's for delete and click it to delete the partition
making it an unallocated space.
Do not create or format this space.

Select disk 1 and highlight the partition with the operating system,
find copy in the menu's, Select copy,
Follow screen prompts to select the unallocated space to copy the
operating system onto.
Don't worry about having enough space, the new drive has plenty.
This usually takes about 40 minutes to copy.

After you exit and reboot, you will see it has created a dual boot.
Select the new drive and see all programs have been copied.

Shut down and reposition the jumpers and or remove the old drive.

Good luck,
Jerry
 
Once you get the system up and running, you can resize the partitions to
whatever you need.
I usually set my operating system partition to about 10 GB as C: drive,
D: drive for all my other programs.
The older drive can be used for backups or whatever suits you.

Jerry

The Toyman said:
Let me check my understanding of what you said (not arguing, just want to
make sure I understand):
Click to expand...

<Snip>
 
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