Making a former Slave HD bootable

[Guest aa]

I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

 

The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive" position.

 

Now how do I make this HD bootable?

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

I forgot to mention that when I boot from Partition Magic rescue diskette or

from Boot Magic Rescue diskette, this disk is shown as Active Primary

bootable yet it would not boot saying that its configuration is wrong

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:eW9Nzzh8HHA.5164@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

>

> The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

> while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive"

position.

>

> Now how do I make this HD bootable?

>

>

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

What exactly do you expect to repair? Which particular simple repair

operation would you suggest?

This HD has not been damaged and I still can read drom it.

But I guess to be bootable it needs something like Master boot record which

I guess, never been there as it was a slave drive.

 

Which repair operation will create or restore a Master boot record?

 

"Gary Chanson" <gchanson@No.Spam.mvps.org> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ

ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ: news:OHUkiBj8HHA.1168@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Try doing a simple repair operation. If that doesn't work, do a full

> repair install.

>

> --

>

> - Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

> - Abolish Public Schools

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

Thanks.

What about NTLDR, boot.ini etc ?

As I never booted from this HD as it was slave, then these files are removed

together with the faulty master disk. If so I need to somehow restore them?

 

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:e4AalCk8HHA.5980@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>

> "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:eW9Nzzh8HHA.5164@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> >I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

> >

> > The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

> > while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive"

> > position.

> >

> > Now how do I make this HD bootable?

> >

> >

>

> It depends.

>

> If the partition on the slave disk is a logical drive inside

> an extended partition then you have to use a third-party

> product such as Acronis to convert the logical drive into

> a primary partition.

>

> If it is already a primary partition then you can do this:

> - Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk (http://www.bootdisk.com)

> - Execute this command:

> fdisk /mbr

>

> The command will restore your MBR. If someone

> tells you that this won't work for NTFS partitions,

> ignore them. The MBR is not part of the file system.

>

> Another method requires you to boot the machine

> with your Win2000 boot CD, go into the Recovery

> Console and execute these commands

> fixboot

> fixmbr

>

> Your machine may or may not boot after this. If it

> does not, post again.

>

>

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

fdisk /mbr did not help. Id does no send any messages - just pause for a

second and returns the prompt - is it supposed to be like this?

BTW an attempt to boot says that w2k could not start because of a computer

hardware config problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check

boot path and disk hardware. So it somehow knows that I want to load w2k

which should mean that the boot sector is OK?

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:e4AalCk8HHA.5980@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>

> "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:eW9Nzzh8HHA.5164@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> >I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

> >

> > The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

> > while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive"

> > position.

> >

> > Now how do I make this HD bootable?

> >

> >

>

> It depends.

>

> If the partition on the slave disk is a logical drive inside

> an extended partition then you have to use a third-party

> product such as Acronis to convert the logical drive into

> a primary partition.

>

> If it is already a primary partition then you can do this:

> - Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk (http://www.bootdisk.com)

> - Execute this command:

> fdisk /mbr

>

> The command will restore your MBR. If someone

> tells you that this won't work for NTFS partitions,

> ignore them. The MBR is not part of the file system.

>

> Another method requires you to boot the machine

> with your Win2000 boot CD, go into the Recovery

> Console and execute these commands

> fixboot

> fixmbr

>

> Your machine may or may not boot after this. If it

> does not, post again.

>

>

[Guest Gary Chanson]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

Try doing a simple repair operation. If that doesn't work, do a full

repair install.

 

--

 

- Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

- Abolish Public Schools

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:etI6j7h8HHA.5360@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> I forgot to mention that when I boot from Partition Magic rescue diskette or

> from Boot Magic Rescue diskette, this disk is shown as Active Primary

> bootable yet it would not boot saying that its configuration is wrong

>

> "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> news:eW9Nzzh8HHA.5164@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> > I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

> >

> > The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

> > while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive"

> position.

> >

> > Now how do I make this HD bootable?

> >

> >

>

>

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

fixboot fixmbr did not help either.

My installation appeared to be on letter H drive and fixboot said that it

will write boot sectors on C - I confirmed

fixmbr warned that my existing MBR is unusual and it will rewrite it which

might result in some partitions will become invisible - I confirmed

Re-booted - same message about HD config problem.

 

 

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:e4AalCk8HHA.5980@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>

> "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:eW9Nzzh8HHA.5164@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> >I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

> >

> > The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

> > while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive"

> > position.

> >

> > Now how do I make this HD bootable?

> >

> >

>

> It depends.

>

> If the partition on the slave disk is a logical drive inside

> an extended partition then you have to use a third-party

> product such as Acronis to convert the logical drive into

> a primary partition.

>

> If it is already a primary partition then you can do this:

> - Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk (http://www.bootdisk.com)

> - Execute this command:

> fdisk /mbr

>

> The command will restore your MBR. If someone

> tells you that this won't work for NTFS partitions,

> ignore them. The MBR is not part of the file system.

>

> Another method requires you to boot the machine

> with your Win2000 boot CD, go into the Recovery

> Console and execute these commands

> fixboot

> fixmbr

>

> Your machine may or may not boot after this. If it

> does not, post again.

>

>

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:##NYepk8HHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> I was under the impression that your second disk had a fully

> operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive C:.

> If this is not the case then your best bet is a complete

> reload of Windows 2000, followed by a reload of all

> applications. Remember to back up your important data

> files first.

>

>

 

I do not remember exactly. It might be both ways.

By reload you mean format and unstall anew?

So if it was not a fully o perating version of Win2000, which used to run

off drive C, then you suggest scap it and reinstall

If it is a fully operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive

C - when what can be done?

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

Just to exclude some stupid errors. To make sure that the HD is correctly

connected. I have two sockets on the motherboard, next to one another for

those flat ribbon cables. One socket is blue, the other one is black.

How shall I tell which one is for the master HD?

Also each ribbon has one connector at the end and another connector in the

middle - does it matter whether the master HD is connected to the center of

the ribbon or to its end?

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:uohdUvk8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> If you don't remember which drive letter you had for

> Windows 2000 and if you used the inbuilt Windows

> boot loader then you can bet that your drive letter was

> NOT the letter C:. You now have two options:

> - Ask an expert in such matters to physically assist you.

> This is too complex to be resolved in a newsgroup.

> - Scrap the lot and start afresh.

>

>

Just as a last hope before I scrap it - suppose it IS letter C. What would

be the options?

[Guest Gary Chanson]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:u3f88Ij8HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> What exactly do you expect to repair? Which particular simple repair

> operation would you suggest?

> This HD has not been damaged and I still can read drom it.

> But I guess to be bootable it needs something like Master boot record which

> I guess, never been there as it was a slave drive.

>

> Which repair operation will create or restore a Master boot record?

 

I don't have enough information to know what is missing.

 

A simple repair operation will check to make sure that all of the system

files are intact and will check various things like boot parameters. This

operation is one of the first things that the Win2K setup program offers. I'm

not sure where (if at all) it appears in the XP setup.

 

A full repair install will fix almost anything including the master boot

record. This operation is offered near the end of setup, when it detects a

previous installation.

 

If all you need to fix is the master boot record and/or the boot

configuration files, run the setup CD and launch the repair console. In the

repair console, execute FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.

 

--

 

- Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

- Abolish Public Schools

[Guest Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:eW9Nzzh8HHA.5164@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

>

> The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

> while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive"

> position.

>

> Now how do I make this HD bootable?

>

>

 

It depends.

 

If the partition on the slave disk is a logical drive inside

an extended partition then you have to use a third-party

product such as Acronis to convert the logical drive into

a primary partition.

 

If it is already a primary partition then you can do this:

- Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk (http://www.bootdisk.com)

- Execute this command:

fdisk /mbr

 

The command will restore your MBR. If someone

tells you that this won't work for NTFS partitions,

ignore them. The MBR is not part of the file system.

 

Another method requires you to boot the machine

with your Win2000 boot CD, go into the Recovery

Console and execute these commands

fixboot

fixmbr

 

Your machine may or may not boot after this. If it

does not, post again.

[Guest Paul Randall]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

What kind of a repair install operation will fix the drive letter in all the

paths stored in the registry? Originally this drive had a different drive

letter, didn't it?

 

-Paul Randall

 

"Gary Chanson" <gchanson@No.Spam.mvps.org> wrote in message

news:%23hQtZ4j8HHA.5316@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>

> "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:u3f88Ij8HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>> What exactly do you expect to repair? Which particular simple repair

>> operation would you suggest?

>> This HD has not been damaged and I still can read drom it.

>> But I guess to be bootable it needs something like Master boot record

>> which

>> I guess, never been there as it was a slave drive.

>>

>> Which repair operation will create or restore a Master boot record?

>

> I don't have enough information to know what is missing.

>

> A simple repair operation will check to make sure that all of the

> system

> files are intact and will check various things like boot parameters. This

> operation is one of the first things that the Win2K setup program offers.

> I'm

> not sure where (if at all) it appears in the XP setup.

>

> A full repair install will fix almost anything including the master

> boot

> record. This operation is offered near the end of setup, when it detects

> a

> previous installation.

>

> If all you need to fix is the master boot record and/or the boot

> configuration files, run the setup CD and launch the repair console. In

> the

> repair console, execute FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.

>

> --

>

> - Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

> - Abolish Public Schools

>

>

>

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

That is probably true, but before seeking remedies I would like to see what

exactly the problem is.

Is it faulty boot sector or MBR or letter mapping or else?

BTW fixmbr seem not to change the MBR becase dispite a message that it

successfully changed the MBR, when I run it again it again says that the

existong MBR is a nonstandard one

 

 

"Gary Chanson" <gchanson@No.Spam.mvps.org> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ

ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ: news:urqSVVl8HHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>

> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> wrote in message

> news:##NYepk8HHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> >

> > I was under the impression that your second disk had a fully

> > operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive C:.

> > If this is not the case then your best bet is a complete

> > reload of Windows 2000, followed by a reload of all

> > applications. Remember to back up your important data

> > files first.

>

> I think you're right. It sounds like this system is too much of a

mess

> for him to clean up himself, even with all of the help we can give. Even

for

> an expert, it could be more effort to fix then to rebuild from scratch.

>

> --

>

> - Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

> - Abolish Public Schools

>

>

>

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

thanks, will try tomorrow

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:ulY6SVl8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>

> "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:%2301h7zk8HHA.5360@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> >

> > "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> > news:uohdUvk8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> >> If you don't remember which drive letter you had for

> >> Windows 2000 and if you used the inbuilt Windows

> >> boot loader then you can bet that your drive letter was

> >> NOT the letter C:. You now have two options:

> >> - Ask an expert in such matters to physically assist you.

> >> This is too complex to be resolved in a newsgroup.

> >> - Scrap the lot and start afresh.

> >>

> >>

> > Just as a last hope before I scrap it - suppose it IS letter C. What

would

> > be the options?

> >

>

> Rather than mucking around with boot sectors etc, boot

> the machine with a WinXP boot diskette and see what

> you get.

> - Format a floppy disk on some other WinXP/2000 PC.

> Don't do it on a Win9x PC - it won't work.

> - Copy these files from the \i386 folder of your WinXP CD to A:\

> ntldr

> ntdetect.com

> - Create a file a:\boot.ini with these lines

> [boot loader]

> timeout=10

> default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

> [operating systems]

> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1 Microsoft Windows XP

> Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Microsoft Windows XP

> Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="3 Microsoft Windows XP

> Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

>

> Note that the last three lines each start with the word "multi".

> If your newsreader wraps them around then you must

> unwrap them.

>

> Now boot your machine with this floppy disk and try

> each of the three boot options. Remember to instruct

> your BIOS to boot off the floppy disk drive!

>

>

[Guest Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:uTOLahk8HHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> fdisk /mbr did not help. Id does no send any messages - just pause for a

> second and returns the prompt - is it supposed to be like this?

> BTW an attempt to boot says that w2k could not start because of a computer

> hardware config problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check

> boot path and disk hardware. So it somehow knows that I want to load w2k

> which should mean that the boot sector is OK?

> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> news:e4AalCk8HHA.5980@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

>>

>> "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

>> news:eW9Nzzh8HHA.5164@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

>> >I have two harddrives on my PC, teh Primary has XP and the Slave has w2k

>> >

>> > The Primary HD crushed, I took it out and moved the Slave in its place,

>> > while seting the jamper on the Slave into "Master or single drive"

>> > position.

>> >

>> > Now how do I make this HD bootable?

>> >

>> >

>>

>> It depends.

>>

>> If the partition on the slave disk is a logical drive inside

>> an extended partition then you have to use a third-party

>> product such as Acronis to convert the logical drive into

>> a primary partition.

>>

>> If it is already a primary partition then you can do this:

>> - Boot the machine with a Win98 boot disk (http://www.bootdisk.com)

>> - Execute this command:

>> fdisk /mbr

>>

>> The command will restore your MBR. If someone

>> tells you that this won't work for NTFS partitions,

>> ignore them. The MBR is not part of the file system.

>>

>> Another method requires you to boot the machine

>> with your Win2000 boot CD, go into the Recovery

>> Console and execute these commands

>> fixboot

>> fixmbr

>>

>> Your machine may or may not boot after this. If it

>> does not, post again.

>>

 

I was under the impression that your second disk had a fully

operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive C:.

If this is not the case then your best bet is a complete

reload of Windows 2000, followed by a reload of all

applications. Remember to back up your important data

files first.

[Guest Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:udISesk8HHA.2752@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>

> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> news:##NYepk8HHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>> I was under the impression that your second disk had a fully

>> operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive C:.

>> If this is not the case then your best bet is a complete

>> reload of Windows 2000, followed by a reload of all

>> applications. Remember to back up your important data

>> files first.

>>

>>

>

> I do not remember exactly. It might be both ways.

> By reload you mean format and unstall anew?

> So if it was not a fully o perating version of Win2000, which used to run

> off drive C, then you suggest scap it and reinstall

> If it is a fully operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive

> C - when what can be done?

>

>

 

If you don't remember which drive letter you had for

Windows 2000 and if you used the inbuilt Windows

boot loader then you can bet that your drive letter was

NOT the letter C:. You now have two options:

- Ask an expert in such matters to physically assist you.

This is too complex to be resolved in a newsgroup.

- Scrap the lot and start afresh.

[Guest Gary Chanson]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

A repair install will fix the system paths, but it won't fix all of the

paths associated with installed programs. Some third-party utilities will fix

a lot of these problems, but probably not all of them (and will probably break

some things in the process).

 

--

 

- Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

- Abolish Public Schools

 

 

"Paul Randall" <paulr901@cableone.net> wrote in message

news:OFkPBSk8HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> What kind of a repair install operation will fix the drive letter in all the

> paths stored in the registry? Originally this drive had a different drive

> letter, didn't it?

>

> -Paul Randall

>

> "Gary Chanson" <gchanson@No.Spam.mvps.org> wrote in message

> news:%23hQtZ4j8HHA.5316@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...

> >

> > "aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

> > news:u3f88Ij8HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> >> What exactly do you expect to repair? Which particular simple repair

> >> operation would you suggest?

> >> This HD has not been damaged and I still can read drom it.

> >> But I guess to be bootable it needs something like Master boot record

> >> which

> >> I guess, never been there as it was a slave drive.

> >>

> >> Which repair operation will create or restore a Master boot record?

> >

> > I don't have enough information to know what is missing.

> >

> > A simple repair operation will check to make sure that all of the

> > system

> > files are intact and will check various things like boot parameters. This

> > operation is one of the first things that the Win2K setup program offers.

> > I'm

> > not sure where (if at all) it appears in the XP setup.

> >

> > A full repair install will fix almost anything including the master

> > boot

> > record. This operation is offered near the end of setup, when it detects

> > a

> > previous installation.

> >

> > If all you need to fix is the master boot record and/or the boot

> > configuration files, run the setup CD and launch the repair console. In

> > the

> > repair console, execute FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.

> >

> > --

> >

> > - Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

> > - Abolish Public Schools

> >

> >

> >

>

>

[Guest aa]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

news:ulY6SVl8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> Rather than mucking around with boot sectors etc, boot

> the machine with a WinXP boot diskette and see what

> you get.

> - Format a floppy disk on some other WinXP/2000 PC.

> Don't do it on a Win9x PC - it won't work.

 

Does XP/w2k automatically format a diskette as a bootable one? I recall that

to make a diskette bootable a special command has to be used but do not

remember which particular one

[Guest Gary Chanson]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> wrote in message

news:##NYepk8HHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>

> I was under the impression that your second disk had a fully

> operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive C:.

> If this is not the case then your best bet is a complete

> reload of Windows 2000, followed by a reload of all

> applications. Remember to back up your important data

> files first.

 

I think you're right. It sounds like this system is too much of a mess

for him to clean up himself, even with all of the help we can give. Even for

an expert, it could be more effort to fix then to rebuild from scratch.

 

--

 

- Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

- Abolish Public Schools

[Guest Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:%2301h7zk8HHA.5360@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>

> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> news:uohdUvk8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> If you don't remember which drive letter you had for

>> Windows 2000 and if you used the inbuilt Windows

>> boot loader then you can bet that your drive letter was

>> NOT the letter C:. You now have two options:

>> - Ask an expert in such matters to physically assist you.

>> This is too complex to be resolved in a newsgroup.

>> - Scrap the lot and start afresh.

>>

>>

> Just as a last hope before I scrap it - suppose it IS letter C. What would

> be the options?

>

 

Rather than mucking around with boot sectors etc, boot

the machine with a WinXP boot diskette and see what

you get.

- Format a floppy disk on some other WinXP/2000 PC.

Don't do it on a Win9x PC - it won't work.

- Copy these files from the \i386 folder of your WinXP CD to A:\

ntldr

ntdetect.com

- Create a file a:\boot.ini with these lines

[boot loader]

timeout=10

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1 Microsoft Windows XP

Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Microsoft Windows XP

Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="3 Microsoft Windows XP

Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

 

Note that the last three lines each start with the word "multi".

If your newsreader wraps them around then you must

unwrap them.

 

Now boot your machine with this floppy disk and try

each of the three boot options. Remember to instruct

your BIOS to boot off the floppy disk drive!

[Guest Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:%2301h7zk8HHA.5360@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>

> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> news:uohdUvk8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> If you don't remember which drive letter you had for

>> Windows 2000 and if you used the inbuilt Windows

>> boot loader then you can bet that your drive letter was

>> NOT the letter C:. You now have two options:

>> - Ask an expert in such matters to physically assist you.

>> This is too complex to be resolved in a newsgroup.

>> - Scrap the lot and start afresh.

>>

>>

> Just as a last hope before I scrap it - suppose it IS letter C. What would

> be the options?

>

>

 

By the way, either your clock or your time zone is wrong.

You're posting in the past.

[Guest Gary Chanson]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

You probably have numerous problems. If you're still getting an MBR error

on booting, there is probably a problem with which drive the BIOS is labeling

as the boot device.

 

--

 

- Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

- Abolish Public Schools

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:#xkQE8l8HHA.484@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> That is probably true, but before seeking remedies I would like to see what

> exactly the problem is.

> Is it faulty boot sector or MBR or letter mapping or else?

> BTW fixmbr seem not to change the MBR becase dispite a message that it

> successfully changed the MBR, when I run it again it again says that the

> existong MBR is a nonstandard one

>

>

> "Gary Chanson" <gchanson@No.Spam.mvps.org> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ

> ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ: news:urqSVVl8HHA.1212@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...

> >

> > "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> wrote in message

> > news:##NYepk8HHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

> > >

> > > I was under the impression that your second disk had a fully

> > > operating version of Win2000, which used to run off drive C:.

> > > If this is not the case then your best bet is a complete

> > > reload of Windows 2000, followed by a reload of all

> > > applications. Remember to back up your important data

> > > files first.

> >

> > I think you're right. It sounds like this system is too much of a

> mess

> > for him to clean up himself, even with all of the help we can give. Even

> for

> > an expert, it could be more effort to fix then to rebuild from scratch.

> >

> > --

> >

> > - Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

> > - Abolish Public Schools

> >

> >

> >

>

>

[Guest Gary Chanson]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:uS1hi4m8HHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>

> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> news:ulY6SVl8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> > Rather than mucking around with boot sectors etc, boot

> > the machine with a WinXP boot diskette and see what

> > you get.

> > - Format a floppy disk on some other WinXP/2000 PC.

> > Don't do it on a Win9x PC - it won't work.

>

> Does XP/w2k automatically format a diskette as a bootable one? I recall that

> to make a diskette bootable a special command has to be used but do not

> remember which particular one

 

Yes, it does make it bootable.

 

--

 

- Gary Chanson (Windows SDK MVP)

- Abolish Public Schools

[Guest Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Re: Making a former Slave HD bootable

 

 

"aa" <aa@microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:uS1hi4m8HHA.2208@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...

>

> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com> ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌ/ÓÏÏÂÝÉÌÁ × ÎÏ×ÏÓÔÑÈ ÓÌÅÄÕÀÝÅÅ:

> news:ulY6SVl8HHA.4436@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

>> Rather than mucking around with boot sectors etc, boot

>> the machine with a WinXP boot diskette and see what

>> you get.

>> - Format a floppy disk on some other WinXP/2000 PC.

>> Don't do it on a Win9x PC - it won't work.

>

> Does XP/w2k automatically format a diskette as a bootable one? I recall

> that

> to make a diskette bootable a special command has to be used but do not

> remember which particular one

>

>

 

I note that you're still posting with an incorrect time

stamp. While this is irrelevant with respect to your

attempts at making your disk bootable, I hope that

it is not a reflection of a casual attitude towards

repairing your PC. Unless you carry out my instructions

carefully, you will fail.