Guest Jethro Posted July 16, 2007 Posted July 16, 2007 I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME or XP, and both seem to work fine. I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. Can anyone help here? Thanks Jethro
Guest Rich Barry Posted July 16, 2007 Posted July 16, 2007 Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? You are right about deleting the C: partition. You will lose the ntloader which resides on C: since you have a dual boot. See if this helps http://www.kayodeok.co.uk/weblog/200401/25/remove_windows_me_from_dual_boot.html "Jethro" <Wilson@somewhere.org> wrote in message news:i1mn93p8ok42b6vaptpcmsphjphd1dkovi@4ax.com... >I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the > machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was > installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps > in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is > the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME > or XP, and both seem to work fine. > > I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. > PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new > active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed > because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is > active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but > with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM > to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. > > Can anyone help here? > > Thanks > > Jethro >
Guest Jethro Posted July 16, 2007 Posted July 16, 2007 Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:17:35 -0700, "Rich Barry" <rbarry@socal.rr.com> wrote: > You are right about deleting the C: partition. You will lose the >ntloader which resides on C: since you have a dual boot. > See if this helps > http://www.kayodeok.co.uk/weblog/200401/25/remove_windows_me_from_dual_boot.html > looks interesting. Thanks\\Jethro > > > >"Jethro" <Wilson@somewhere.org> wrote in message >news:i1mn93p8ok42b6vaptpcmsphjphd1dkovi@4ax.com... >>I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >> machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >> installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >> in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >> the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >> or XP, and both seem to work fine. >> >> I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >> PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >> active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >> because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >> active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >> with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >> to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. >> >> Can anyone help here? >> >> Thanks >> >> Jethro >> >
Guest John John Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Jethro wrote: > I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the > machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was > installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps > in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is > the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME > or XP, and both seem to work fine. > > I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. > PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new > active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed > because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is > active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but > with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM > to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. If you are worried about this the easiest thing to do is to get rid of all the files on the C: partition *except* the following: boot.ini ntldr NTDETECT.COM NTBOOTDD.SYS NTBOOTDD.SYS may or may not be present, it is most likely not present. Now you should be able to shrink the C: partition to a minimal size while keeping it active and keeping the above files on it at the same time. You should have no problems booting in to your Windows installation. If you absolutely want to get rid of the partition then you will have to copy the above files to the D: partition and, if PM can do it, tell it to make the new partition active. You can also use a Windows 98 boot disk and use fdisk to mark the partition active, that will work even if the partition is NTFS. Before you do the changes you will also have to edit the boot.ini file so that it points to the Windows XP partition. As it is now the ARC path in the boot.ini file probably points to: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2) When merged partition 2 will become partition 1 so the right path would be: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1) Before you do the partition changes you can make a boot diskette an have several ARC paths in it, will serve to boot the computer if you have problems. http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/ Windows XP will (should) retain its D: drive assignment, *do* *not* attempt to change this! Windows must keep its drive assignment for this to work properly. As with all disk and partitioning work, you would be well advised to have a known working backup of your important files before you proceed. Glitches and errors during disk and partitioning work are not common but when they do happen they often lead to catastrophic data loss. John
Guest cattanack@yahoo.com Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Jethro wrote: > I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the > machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was > installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps > in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is > the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME > or XP, and both seem to work fine. > > I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. > PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new > active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed > because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is > active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but > with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM > to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. > > Can anyone help here? Do you have the WindowsXP install disk? Why don't you use the C: drive for a storage and or install drive? At any rate I think you need to first defrag the drive you have windows on that you intend to change it's size. Anyway go> recovery console and go> fixmbr to restore your winxp MRB If you don't have the install CD the question is will a XP boot disk from boodisk.com allow you to use fdisk /mbr or fixmbr?
Guest cattanack@yahoo.com Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Jethro wrote: > I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the > machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was > installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps > in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is > the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME > or XP, and both seem to work fine. > > I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. > PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new > active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed > because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is > active or not. I remember the old FDISK Did I say fixmbr? To clarify: FIXBOOT fixboot drive name: Use this command to write the new Windows boot sector code on the system partition. In the command syntax, drive name is the drive letter where the boot sector will be written. This command fixes damage in the Windows boot sector. This command overrides the default setting, which writes to the system boot partition. The fixboot command is supported only on x86-based computers. FIXMBR fixmbr device name Use this command to repair the MBR of the boot partition. In the command syntax, device name is an optional device name that specifies the device that requires a new MBR. Use this command if a virus has damaged the MBR and Windows cannot start. So fix boot is the command to use.
Guest Jethro Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 14:17:35 -0700, "Rich Barry" <rbarry@socal.rr.com> wrote: > You are right about deleting the C: partition. You will lose the >ntloader which resides on C: since you have a dual boot. > See if this helps > http://www.kayodeok.co.uk/weblog/200401/25/remove_windows_me_from_dual_boot.html I printed kayoed's pages and studied them over TV last night. All I can say is you gotta be kidding! Jethro > > > > >"Jethro" <Wilson@somewhere.org> wrote in message >news:i1mn93p8ok42b6vaptpcmsphjphd1dkovi@4ax.com... >>I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >> machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >> installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >> in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >> the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >> or XP, and both seem to work fine. >> >> I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >> PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >> active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >> because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >> active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >> with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >> to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. >> >> Can anyone help here? >> >> Thanks >> >> Jethro >> >
Guest Jethro Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 00:08:12 -0700, cattanack@yahoo.com wrote: > >Jethro wrote: >> I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >> machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >> installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >> in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >> the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >> or XP, and both seem to work fine. >> >> I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >> PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >> active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >> because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >> active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >> with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >> to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. >> >> Can anyone help here? > >Do you have the WindowsXP install disk? Yes I do. > >Why don't you use the C: drive for a storage and or install drive? I don't mind that. > >At any rate I think you need to first defrag the drive you have >windows on that you intend to change it's size. > >Anyway go> recovery console and go> fixmbr to restore your winxp MRB > >If you don't have the install CD the question is will a XP boot disk >from boodisk.com allow you to use fdisk /mbr or fixmbr?
Guest Jethro Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:02:11 -0300, John John <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote: >Jethro wrote: >> I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >> machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >> installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >> in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >> the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >> or XP, and both seem to work fine. >> >> I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >> PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >> active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >> because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >> active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >> with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >> to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. > >If you are worried about this the easiest thing to do is to get rid of >all the files on the C: partition *except* the following: > >boot.ini >ntldr >NTDETECT.COM >NTBOOTDD.SYS This still sounds rather 'final' in that if it doesn't work, I am deep doodoo. I wonder if I can do what you suggest, but copy all of C's original files into a backup folder in D partition (XP) FIRST so I can copy them back if a subsequent boot fails, assuming I can do that SOMEHOW if that boot FAILS. Jethro > >NTBOOTDD.SYS may or may not be present, it is most likely not present. > >Now you should be able to shrink the C: partition to a minimal size >while keeping it active and keeping the above files on it at the same >time. You should have no problems booting in to your Windows installation. > >If you absolutely want to get rid of the partition then you will have to > copy the above files to the D: partition and, if PM can do it, tell it >to make the new partition active. You can also use a Windows 98 boot >disk and use fdisk to mark the partition active, that will work even if >the partition is NTFS. > >Before you do the changes you will also have to edit the boot.ini file >so that it points to the Windows XP partition. As it is now the ARC >path in the boot.ini file probably points to: > >multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2) > >When merged partition 2 will become partition 1 so the right path would be: > >multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1) > >Before you do the partition changes you can make a boot diskette an have >several ARC paths in it, will serve to boot the computer if you have >problems. http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/ > >Windows XP will (should) retain its D: drive assignment, *do* *not* >attempt to change this! Windows must keep its drive assignment for this >to work properly. As with all disk and partitioning work, you would be >well advised to have a known working backup of your important files >before you proceed. Glitches and errors during disk and partitioning >work are not common but when they do happen they often lead to >catastrophic data loss. > >John
Guest Jethro Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:02:11 -0300, John John <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> wrote: >Jethro wrote: >> I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >> machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >> installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >> in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >> the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >> or XP, and both seem to work fine. >> >> I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >> PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >> active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >> because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >> active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >> with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >> to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. > >If you are worried about this the easiest thing to do is to get rid of >all the files on the C: partition *except* the following: > >boot.ini >ntldr >NTDETECT.COM >NTBOOTDD.SYS > >NTBOOTDD.SYS may or may not be present, it is most likely not present. > >Now you should be able to shrink the C: partition to a minimal size >while keeping it active and keeping the above files on it at the same >time. You should have no problems booting in to your Windows installation. > >If you absolutely want to get rid of the partition then you will have to > copy the above files to the D: partition and, if PM can do it, tell it >to make the new partition active. That's just it - I could find no way to make PM make the new partition (D) the active partition. The option is grayed out. >You can also use a Windows 98 boot >disk and use fdisk to mark the partition active, that will work even if >the partition is NTFS. Is that right? I thought FDISK would not handle NTFS at all. > >Before you do the changes you will also have to edit the boot.ini file >so that it points to the Windows XP partition. As it is now the ARC >path in the boot.ini file probably points to: I now have: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect C:\="Microsoft Windows" > >multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2) > >When merged partition 2 will become partition 1 so the right path would be: > >multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1) > >Before you do the partition changes you can make a boot diskette an have >several ARC paths in it, will serve to boot the computer if you have >problems. http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/ntboot/ > >Windows XP will (should) retain its D: drive assignment, *do* *not* >attempt to change this! Windows must keep its drive assignment for this >to work properly. As with all disk and partitioning work, you would be >well advised to have a known working backup of your important files >before you proceed. Glitches and errors during disk and partitioning >work are not common but when they do happen they often lead to >catastrophic data loss. > >John
Guest John John Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Jethro wrote: > On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:02:11 -0300, John John <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> > wrote: > > >>Jethro wrote: >> >>>I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >>>machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >>>installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >>>in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >>>the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >>>or XP, and both seem to work fine. >>> >>>I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >>>PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >>>active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >>>because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >>>active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >>>with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >>>to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. >> >>If you are worried about this the easiest thing to do is to get rid of >>all the files on the C: partition *except* the following: >> >>boot.ini >>ntldr >>NTDETECT.COM >>NTBOOTDD.SYS > > > This still sounds rather 'final' in that if it doesn't work, I am deep > doodoo. I wonder if I can do what you suggest, but copy all of C's > original files into a backup folder in D partition (XP) FIRST so I can > copy them back if a subsequent boot fails, assuming I can do that > SOMEHOW if that boot FAILS. Sure, that would be an additional safety measure but the only files needed to boot XP are the above ones. Does your machine have a floppy drive? If yes do this: Use your Windows XP installation to do this, if you use the Windows ME installation the diskette will fail. Start a Command Prompt session and format a floppy diskette: format a: /u Copy the files boot.ini, ntldr and NTDETECT.COM from the root of the C: drive to the diskette, do not change the boot.ini file, copy it to the diskette as it is. Reboot the computer and go in the BIOS and set the boot order to the diskette first and boot with the floppy diskette that you just created. Can you successfully boot the Windows XP installation? If yes then you have just proved to yourself that all other files on the C: drive are not needed to boot Windows XP, you have booted with the diskette only, without using C: at all and the only needed files were on the diskette. This diskette along with a boot.ini file that points to the correct Windows folder is all that you need to start the computer if the boot files go missing. In his post cattanack has given you additional information on how to get the installation to boot should it refuse to do so after you remove the present active partition, after deleting the current active partition you may need to use the FIXBOOT command to write an NT boot sector to the new active partition. Along with that, if needed, the BOOTCFG command can be used to rebuild and add the proper ARC path to the boot.ini file. John
Guest John John Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? See in-line. Jethro wrote: > On Mon, 16 Jul 2007 22:02:11 -0300, John John <audetweld@nbnet.nb.ca> > wrote: > > >>Jethro wrote: >> >>>I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >>>machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >>>installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >>>in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >>>the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >>>or XP, and both seem to work fine. >>> >>>I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >>>PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >>>active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >>>because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >>>active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >>>with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >>>to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. >> >>If you are worried about this the easiest thing to do is to get rid of >>all the files on the C: partition *except* the following: >> >>boot.ini >>ntldr >>NTDETECT.COM >>NTBOOTDD.SYS >> >>NTBOOTDD.SYS may or may not be present, it is most likely not present. >> >>Now you should be able to shrink the C: partition to a minimal size >>while keeping it active and keeping the above files on it at the same >>time. You should have no problems booting in to your Windows installation. >> >>If you absolutely want to get rid of the partition then you will have to >> copy the above files to the D: partition and, if PM can do it, tell it >>to make the new partition active. > > > That's just it - I could find no way to make PM make the new partition > (D) the active partition. The option is grayed out. That doesn't surprise me, I think that if you read through the PM manual you will find that the documentation specifically says that PM cannot remove or combine either or of the System or Boot volumes, or if it can it doesn't recommend that you do so because of the Active partition issue or because of the drive letter issues on legacy operating systems. >>You can also use a Windows 98 boot >>disk and use fdisk to mark the partition active, that will work even if >>the partition is NTFS. > > > Is that right? I thought FDISK would not handle NTFS at all. Yes, that is right. Fdisk cannot recognize NTFS logical drives in extended partitions but it does recognize primary NTFS partitions and can usually change the active flag on primary partitions even if the partition is formatted NTFS. You can read here for additional information: The computer does not start after you change the active partition by using the Disk Management tool http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315261 Cannot View NTFS Logical Drive After Using Fdisk http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310359 Unable to Delete a Partition or Logical DOS Drive Using the Fdisk Utility http://support.microsoft.com/kb/261473 (The issue in KB216473 is easily resolved with delpart.exe) >>Before you do the changes you will also have to edit the boot.ini file >>so that it points to the Windows XP partition. As it is now the ARC >>path in the boot.ini file probably points to: > > > I now have: > > [boot loader] > timeout=30 > default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS > [operating systems] > multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Home Edition" > /noexecute=optin /fastdetect > C:\="Microsoft Windows" Until things are straightened out you can leave the existing line as is and just add a new one, you can edit the file and remove lines once you are sure that things are OK. After the partitions are combined the file could be like so: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Part1 Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Part2 Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect It should boot on partition(1)\WINDOWS. The C:\="Microsoft Windows" line will no longer be needed, it is used to boot Windows ME. As mentioned in other posts in this thread you may need to use the fixboot command after the merge is done. John
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? "Jethro" <Wilson@somewhere.org> wrote in message news:i1mn93p8ok42b6vaptpcmsphjphd1dkovi@4ax.com... >I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the > machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was > installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps > in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is > the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME > or XP, and both seem to work fine. > > I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. > PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new > active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed > because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is > active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but > with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM > to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. > > Can anyone help here? > > Thanks > > Jethro > With the many questions and replies floating about, it is unclear where you currently stand. I suggest you give us a status report. P.S. You can indeed use fdisk on a Win98 boot disk to mark a partition as active. This is because each partition has a number of properties, "active" being one of them, "NTFS" being another. They are set independently from each other.
Guest Jethro Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:27:26 +0200, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I.can@fly.com> wrote: > >"Jethro" <Wilson@somewhere.org> wrote in message >news:i1mn93p8ok42b6vaptpcmsphjphd1dkovi@4ax.com... >>I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >> machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >> installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >> in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >> the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >> or XP, and both seem to work fine. >> >> I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >> PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >> active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >> because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >> active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >> with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >> to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. >> >> Can anyone help here? >> >> Thanks >> >> Jethro >> > >With the many questions and replies floating about, it is >unclear where you currently stand. I suggest you give us >a status report. > >P.S. You can indeed use fdisk on a Win98 boot disk to >mark a partition as active. This is because each partition >has a number of properties, "active" being one of them, >"NTFS" being another. They are set independently from >each other. > I have changed nothing yet in the areas discussed. I want to be sure I am doing what I should do before doing anything. I haven't used FDISK for more than a year mainly because I am working with XP (and its NTFS now) exclusively. Somebody before I got involved had changed the ME partition © from FAT32 to NTFS. I had forgotten some things about FDISK. I didn't remember that you could deal just with an NTFS's partition's active-inactive property. Sorry. BTW, the ME partition © still boots to ME just fine, if I select it at boot-up. Thanks Jethro
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted July 17, 2007 Posted July 17, 2007 Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? Re: Re: Active-Inactive Partitions? "Jethro" <Wilson@somewhere.org> wrote in message news:60op939jcelhlmdscinn88v5llj2rev98q@4ax.com... > On Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:27:26 +0200, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I.can@fly.com> > wrote: > >> >>"Jethro" <Wilson@somewhere.org> wrote in message >>news:i1mn93p8ok42b6vaptpcmsphjphd1dkovi@4ax.com... >>>I have a system someone else set up that now has two partitions on the >>> machine's single drive. The original OS was ME and XP HOME was >>> installed on it. He ended up with the old ME portion and all its apps >>> in partition C, and the new XP portion in partition D. Partition C is >>> the active partition. At boot-up you get the option of selecting ME >>> or XP, and both seem to work fine. >>> >>> I want to delete partition C and then add it's space to partition D. >>> PQMagic warns me to be sure to make the remaining partition the new >>> active partition after partition C is deleted. I am afraid to proceed >>> because I can find no way to specify (set) whether a partition is >>> active or not. I remember the old FDISK enabled you to do that, but >>> with NTFS, that is out of the question. I worry that if I allow PQM >>> to delete the partition, my machine will no longer boot up. >>> >>> Can anyone help here? >>> >>> Thanks >>> >>> Jethro >>> >> >>With the many questions and replies floating about, it is >>unclear where you currently stand. I suggest you give us >>a status report. >> >>P.S. You can indeed use fdisk on a Win98 boot disk to >>mark a partition as active. This is because each partition >>has a number of properties, "active" being one of them, >>"NTFS" being another. They are set independently from >>each other. >> > > > I have changed nothing yet in the areas discussed. I want to be sure > I am doing what I should do before doing anything. > > I haven't used FDISK for more than a year mainly because I am working > with XP (and its NTFS now) exclusively. Somebody before I got > involved had changed the ME partition © from FAT32 to NTFS. I had > forgotten some things about FDISK. I didn't remember that you could > deal just with an NTFS's partition's active-inactive property. Sorry. > > BTW, the ME partition © still boots to ME just fine, if I select it > at boot-up. > > Thanks > > Jethro Fine. Here is a safe way of performing the transition, provided that you are careful and make notes at every step of the way. The method assumes that WinXP is installed on a primary partition, not on a logical drive. It also assumes that you have saved your important data and EMail files. 1. Copy these hidden files from C:\ to D:\ - ntldr ntdetect.com boot.ini 2. Add a few lines to d:\boot.ini likes so: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1 Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="3 Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect The trick is to give yourself several choices. When things work, you delete the lines you do not need. 3. Label each of your partitions clearly, e.g. "WinME" and "WinXP". 4. Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk from http://www.bootdisk.com, then run ptedit from ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/tools/pq/utilities/. Now change the partition type of the WinME partition to a number that means nothing to Windows, i.e. neither FAT nor NTFS. This change is fully reversible as long as you remember WHAT you changed and what the OLD VALUE was. 5. Reboot the machine with your Win98 boot disk, then set the WinXP partition active. 6. Reboot the machine normally. Select options 1, 2 or 3 from the boot selector menu until you know which one works. 7. Remove the unwanted lines from C:\boot.ini. 8. If things fail, reverse Steps 4 and 5. 9. If things work, delete the WinME partition, then use a partition manager (e.g. Acronis) to increase the size of the WinXP partition. If you have a spare disk or if you're willing to buy a second-hand 20 GByte disk then there are totally safe ways of performing this transition.
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