Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
task:
Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....

Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
consuming. I guess you would agree on that.

Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but I
am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
time reading the rest of the post)
Remarks:
[ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE drive,
a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume containing
the OS]
[Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently) succeed
in the described task:
P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is extended/
most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]


Now the procedure:

1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which would
become the Template.
2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from another
independent XP system where I
4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future target
partition to match the template's drive letter.

Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system (logical
drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
"systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
prompt.)
So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
"boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger is
to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes (the
template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
Then :
5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able to
boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just used
(it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the Template XP
system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then it
does not boot.)
9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2 systems
even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to another
letter X:
11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system. How
did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why 30%
of paths are affected?
12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template XP
system.
13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not possible
if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said, because
the swap file would be now on U
14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
----------------------------------
For details see KB223188:
How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
-----------------------------------
15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
paths show U:\
16)enable a swap file
If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I boot
my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
(set command) letter X:

Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
Mick

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed), says...

> Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
> task:
> Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
> course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
> customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
> Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....

You're walking in to a mine field......period! Cloning a primary
installed OS to logicals will not ever work properly(IMHO)....Unless
someone else knows a successful fix manipulating and changing the
boot.ini file, I'd be happy to hear it........

>
> Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
> consuming. I guess you would agree on that.

Yes I do, but it is the best way..........Why? I have 4 OS's on 1
Primary IDE drive, all Primary partitions......and will not have any of
the complicated scenarios you are describing.....The order: Win2K,
WinXP, WinXP, Win2k........
In this scenario though I do have other physical drives to store data as
only 4 primary pt's are allowed on one drive at a time.
Install clean on all 4 and image and save each one......The important
part is to use a 3rd party boot manager to hide each independent OS
installed and all your drive letter assignments will all be C and will
successfully hide each OS that is not booted to at the time..........If
you are not interested in this way than that's fine I'm expressing my
opinion from my own experience...........If you have PartitionMagic and
am interested I can tell you how I setup my system......If not, good
luck..........

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
> task:
> Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
> course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
> customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
> Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....
>
> Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
> consuming. I guess you would agree on that.
>
> Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but I
> am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
> method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
> time reading the rest of the post)
> Remarks:
> [ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
> management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE drive,
> a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
> boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
> partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
> partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume containing
> the OS]
> [Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently) succeed
> in the described task:
> P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is extended/
> most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]
>
>
> Now the procedure:
>
> 1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which would
> become the Template.
> 2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
> 3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from another
> independent XP system where I
> 4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future target
> partition to match the template's drive letter.
>
> Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system (logical
> drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
> Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
> "systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
> prompt.)
> So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
> "boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger is
> to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes (the
> template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
> Then :
> 5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able to
> boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
> 6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just used
> (it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
> 7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
> Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
> 8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the Template XP
> system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then it
> does not boot.)
> 9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2 systems
> even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
> 10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
> command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to another
> letter X:
> 11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
> management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system. How
> did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why 30%
> of paths are affected?
> 12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template XP
> system.
> 13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not possible
> if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said, because
> the swap file would be now on U
> 14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
> Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
> Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
> ----------------------------------
> For details see KB223188:
> How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
> Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
> -----------------------------------
> 15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
> paths show U:\
> 16)enable a swap file
> If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
> please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
> letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I boot
> my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
> paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
> (set command) letter X:
>
> Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
> Mick
>

What you want to do can easily be done but your method is
far too complicated and thus likely to fail. Here is a simpler
and completely modular way:

1. Install your primary WinXP OS. Make sure it is exactly
the way you want it.

2. Create an 8 GByte FAT partition at the far end of any
of your disk. It can be a primary or logical partition. Name
it "XOSL".

3. Install XOSL in this partition. It's free. When you do,
make absolutely sure that it does NOT go somewhere else.
If you let it go elswhere then you lose that partition.

4. Add WinXP to the XOSL menu. Test it.

5. Create suitable partitions for the other copies of WinXP.
They can be primary or logical partitions. Give them suitable
names.

6. Use a cloning tool (e.g. Ghost) to copy WinXP to those
other partitions.

7. Add those other OSs to the XOSL menu. Give them
suitable names.

8. Test those other OSs.

That's it, your'e done!

If any of your OSs are on a logical partition or on a drive
other than your primary master drive then you need to do
a little tweaking. Post again if this is the case.

In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed),
Pegasus (MVP) says...
>
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
> > task:
> > Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
> > course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
> > customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
> > Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....
> >
> > Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
> > consuming. I guess you would agree on that.
> >
> > Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but I
> > am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
> > method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
> > time reading the rest of the post)
> > Remarks:
> > [ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
> > management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE drive,
> > a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
> > boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
> > partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
> > partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume containing
> > the OS]
> > [Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently) succeed
> > in the described task:
> > P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is extended/
> > most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]
> >
> >
> > Now the procedure:
> >
> > 1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which would
> > become the Template.
> > 2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
> > 3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from another
> > independent XP system where I
> > 4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future target
> > partition to match the template's drive letter.
> >
> > Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system (logical
> > drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
> > Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
> > "systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
> > prompt.)
> > So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
> > "boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger is
> > to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes (the
> > template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
> > Then :
> > 5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able to
> > boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
> > 6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just used
> > (it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
> > 7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
> > Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
> > 8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the Template XP
> > system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then it
> > does not boot.)
> > 9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2 systems
> > even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
> > 10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
> > command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to another
> > letter X:
> > 11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
> > management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system. How
> > did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why 30%
> > of paths are affected?
> > 12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template XP
> > system.
> > 13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not possible
> > if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said, because
> > the swap file would be now on U
> > 14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
> > Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
> > Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
> > ----------------------------------
> > For details see KB223188:
> > How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
> > Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
> > -----------------------------------
> > 15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
> > paths show U:\
> > 16)enable a swap file
> > If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
> > please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
> > letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I boot
> > my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
> > paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
> > (set command) letter X:
> >
> > Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
> > Mick
> >
>
> What you want to do can easily be done but your method is
> far too complicated and thus likely to fail. Here is a simpler
> and completely modular way:
>
> 1. Install your primary WinXP OS. Make sure it is exactly
> the way you want it.
>
> 2. Create an 8 GByte FAT partition at the far end of any
> of your disk. It can be a primary or logical partition. Name
> it "XOSL".
>
> 3. Install XOSL in this partition. It's free. When you do,
> make absolutely sure that it does NOT go somewhere else.
> If you let it go elswhere then you lose that partition.
>
> 4. Add WinXP to the XOSL menu. Test it.
>
> 5. Create suitable partitions for the other copies of WinXP.
> They can be primary or logical partitions. Give them suitable
> names.
>
> 6. Use a cloning tool (e.g. Ghost) to copy WinXP to those
> other partitions.
>
> 7. Add those other OSs to the XOSL menu. Give them
> suitable names.
>
> 8. Test those other OSs.
>
> That's it, your'e done!
>
> If any of your OSs are on a logical partition or on a drive
> other than your primary master drive then you need to do
> a little tweaking. Post again if this is the case.
>
>
>

Does XOSL actually modify the original installed OS's ini once it's
cloned to a different position to the new correct "partition" position??
I have never had success cloning an OS(except win98) from any position
and try to move it around........
Example: 4 primary PT's on one drive.....Position order: 1,2,3,4.....
If I tried to restore an image of position 4 to 1 it never works......Or
not even restoring an image, just trying to move OS from 4 to 2 etc,
etc......I'm not challenging you, I **would** be curious as to how this
is done.........I have tried to change boot.ini's for the correct
positions and it never worked, always got NTLDR missing???? It will save
me the trouble of seperate installs myself......... ;0)

Hi, I know 8GB isn't much these days, after all the first HDD bought was
5MB, but last I knew XOSL needed less that 8MB?

FYI: I ran XOSL for a while and was quite impressed with it.

http://www.ranish.com/part/xosl.htm






"Pegasus (MVP)" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
>> task:
>> Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
>> course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
>> customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
>> Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....
>>
>> Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
>> consuming. I guess you would agree on that.
>>
>> Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but I
>> am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
>> method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
>> time reading the rest of the post)
>> Remarks:
>> [ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
>> management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE drive,
>> a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
>> boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
>> partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
>> partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume containing
>> the OS]
>> [Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently) succeed
>> in the described task:
>> P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is extended/
>> most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]
>>
>>
>> Now the procedure:
>>
>> 1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which would
>> become the Template.
>> 2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
>> 3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from another
>> independent XP system where I
>> 4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future target
>> partition to match the template's drive letter.
>>
>> Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system (logical
>> drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
>> Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
>> "systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
>> prompt.)
>> So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
>> "boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger is
>> to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes (the
>> template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
>> Then :
>> 5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able to
>> boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
>> 6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just used
>> (it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
>> 7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
>> Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
>> 8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the Template XP
>> system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then it
>> does not boot.)
>> 9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2 systems
>> even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
>> 10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
>> command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to another
>> letter X:
>> 11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
>> management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system. How
>> did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why 30%
>> of paths are affected?
>> 12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template XP
>> system.
>> 13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not possible
>> if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said, because
>> the swap file would be now on U
>> 14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
>> Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
>> Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
>> ----------------------------------
>> For details see KB223188:
>> How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
>> Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
>> -----------------------------------
>> 15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
>> paths show U:\
>> 16)enable a swap file
>> If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
>> please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
>> letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I boot
>> my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
>> paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
>> (set command) letter X:
>>
>> Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
>> Mick
>>
>
> What you want to do can easily be done but your method is
> far too complicated and thus likely to fail. Here is a simpler
> and completely modular way:
>
> 1. Install your primary WinXP OS. Make sure it is exactly
> the way you want it.
>
> 2. Create an 8 GByte FAT partition at the far end of any
> of your disk. It can be a primary or logical partition. Name
> it "XOSL".
>
> 3. Install XOSL in this partition. It's free. When you do,
> make absolutely sure that it does NOT go somewhere else.
> If you let it go elswhere then you lose that partition.
>
> 4. Add WinXP to the XOSL menu. Test it.
>
> 5. Create suitable partitions for the other copies of WinXP.
> They can be primary or logical partitions. Give them suitable
> names.
>
> 6. Use a cloning tool (e.g. Ghost) to copy WinXP to those
> other partitions.
>
> 7. Add those other OSs to the XOSL menu. Give them
> suitable names.
>
> 8. Test those other OSs.
>
> That's it, your'e done!
>
> If any of your OSs are on a logical partition or on a drive
> other than your primary master drive then you need to do
> a little tweaking. Post again if this is the case.
>
>

In article <d3357u$340$(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed), Mercury says...

> Hi, I know 8GB isn't much these days, after all the first HDD bought was
> 5MB, but last I knew XOSL needed less that 8MB?
>
> FYI: I ran XOSL for a while and was quite impressed with it.
>
> http://www.ranish.com/part/xosl.htm

TechTV had an episode once where a guy installed 37 OS's with
XOSL......Whew! Lotta time on his hands obviously..... ;0)

"ByTor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:qK85e.64746$(E-Mail Removed)...
> In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed),
> Pegasus (MVP) says...
> >
> > <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
> > > task:
> > > Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
> > > course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
> > > customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
> > > Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....
> > >
> > > Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
> > > consuming. I guess you would agree on that.
> > >
> > > Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but I
> > > am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
> > > method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
> > > time reading the rest of the post)
> > > Remarks:
> > > [ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
> > > management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE
drive,
> > > a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
> > > boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
> > > partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
> > > partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume containing
> > > the OS]
> > > [Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently) succeed
> > > in the described task:
> > > P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is
extended/
> > > most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]
> > >
> > >
> > > Now the procedure:
> > >
> > > 1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which would
> > > become the Template.
> > > 2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
> > > 3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from
another
> > > independent XP system where I
> > > 4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future target
> > > partition to match the template's drive letter.
> > >
> > > Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system
(logical
> > > drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
> > > Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
> > > "systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
> > > prompt.)
> > > So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
> > > "boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger is
> > > to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes (the
> > > template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
> > > Then :
> > > 5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able to
> > > boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
> > > 6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just used
> > > (it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
> > > 7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
> > > Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
> > > 8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the Template
XP
> > > system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then it
> > > does not boot.)
> > > 9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2 systems
> > > even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
> > > 10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
> > > command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to another
> > > letter X:
> > > 11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
> > > management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system. How
> > > did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why 30%
> > > of paths are affected?
> > > 12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template XP
> > > system.
> > > 13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not
possible
> > > if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said, because
> > > the swap file would be now on U
> > > 14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
> > > Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
> > > Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
> > > ----------------------------------
> > > For details see KB223188:
> > > How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
> > > Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
> > > -----------------------------------
> > > 15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
> > > paths show U:\
> > > 16)enable a swap file
> > > If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
> > > please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
> > > letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I boot
> > > my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
> > > paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
> > > (set command) letter X:
> > >
> > > Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
> > > Mick
> > >
> >
> > What you want to do can easily be done but your method is
> > far too complicated and thus likely to fail. Here is a simpler
> > and completely modular way:
> >
> > 1. Install your primary WinXP OS. Make sure it is exactly
> > the way you want it.
> >
> > 2. Create an 8 GByte FAT partition at the far end of any
> > of your disk. It can be a primary or logical partition. Name
> > it "XOSL".
> >
> > 3. Install XOSL in this partition. It's free. When you do,
> > make absolutely sure that it does NOT go somewhere else.
> > If you let it go elswhere then you lose that partition.
> >
> > 4. Add WinXP to the XOSL menu. Test it.
> >
> > 5. Create suitable partitions for the other copies of WinXP.
> > They can be primary or logical partitions. Give them suitable
> > names.
> >
> > 6. Use a cloning tool (e.g. Ghost) to copy WinXP to those
> > other partitions.
> >
> > 7. Add those other OSs to the XOSL menu. Give them
> > suitable names.
> >
> > 8. Test those other OSs.
> >
> > That's it, your'e done!
> >
> > If any of your OSs are on a logical partition or on a drive
> > other than your primary master drive then you need to do
> > a little tweaking. Post again if this is the case.
> >
> >
> >
>
> Does XOSL actually modify the original installed OS's ini once it's
> cloned to a different position to the new correct "partition" position??
> I have never had success cloning an OS(except win98) from any position
> and try to move it around........
> Example: 4 primary PT's on one drive.....Position order: 1,2,3,4.....
> If I tried to restore an image of position 4 to 1 it never works......Or
> not even restoring an image, just trying to move OS from 4 to 2 etc,
> etc......I'm not challenging you, I **would** be curious as to how this
> is done.........I have tried to change boot.ini's for the correct
> positions and it never worked, always got NTLDR missing???? It will save
> me the trouble of seperate installs myself......... ;0)
>

XOSL does not modify any of the OSs or their boot environments.
It simply hides all but one of the nominated partition, then passes
control to the single unhidden partition for booting. Each OS
will thus be visible as drive C:. You would usually make a
data partition too. This must be a higher partition that any of
the OS partitions, and it would be visible to all OSs.

I forgot one important item in my first reply: The OP must
adjust boot.ini for each OS so that it reflects the correct
partition number of that OS.

Don't worry about questioning or challenging what I write.
It's all part of the newsgroup peer review process. I'm usually
right but sometimes I get it spectacularly wrong!

Are you perhaps mixing up 8 MBytes with 8 GBytes? XOSL
needs 8 MBytes, as you say, which is a drop in the ocean on
an 8 GByte disk. And if the OP wants three or more OSs
then he would have at least a 40 GByte disk.


"Mercury" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:d3357u$340$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi, I know 8GB isn't much these days, after all the first HDD bought was
> 5MB, but last I knew XOSL needed less that 8MB?
>
> FYI: I ran XOSL for a while and was quite impressed with it.
>
> http://www.ranish.com/part/xosl.htm
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "Pegasus (MVP)" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> >
> > <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
> >> task:
> >> Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
> >> course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
> >> customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
> >> Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....
> >>
> >> Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
> >> consuming. I guess you would agree on that.
> >>
> >> Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but I
> >> am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
> >> method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
> >> time reading the rest of the post)
> >> Remarks:
> >> [ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
> >> management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE drive,
> >> a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
> >> boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
> >> partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
> >> partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume containing
> >> the OS]
> >> [Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently) succeed
> >> in the described task:
> >> P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is extended/
> >> most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]
> >>
> >>
> >> Now the procedure:
> >>
> >> 1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which would
> >> become the Template.
> >> 2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
> >> 3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from another
> >> independent XP system where I
> >> 4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future target
> >> partition to match the template's drive letter.
> >>
> >> Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system (logical
> >> drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
> >> Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
> >> "systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
> >> prompt.)
> >> So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
> >> "boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger is
> >> to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes (the
> >> template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
> >> Then :
> >> 5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able to
> >> boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
> >> 6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just used
> >> (it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
> >> 7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
> >> Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
> >> 8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the Template XP
> >> system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then it
> >> does not boot.)
> >> 9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2 systems
> >> even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
> >> 10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
> >> command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to another
> >> letter X:
> >> 11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
> >> management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system. How
> >> did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why 30%
> >> of paths are affected?
> >> 12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template XP
> >> system.
> >> 13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not possible
> >> if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said, because
> >> the swap file would be now on U
> >> 14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
> >> Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
> >> Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
> >> ----------------------------------
> >> For details see KB223188:
> >> How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
> >> Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
> >> -----------------------------------
> >> 15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
> >> paths show U:\
> >> 16)enable a swap file
> >> If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
> >> please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
> >> letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I boot
> >> my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
> >> paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
> >> (set command) letter X:
> >>
> >> Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
> >> Mick
> >>
> >
> > What you want to do can easily be done but your method is
> > far too complicated and thus likely to fail. Here is a simpler
> > and completely modular way:
> >
> > 1. Install your primary WinXP OS. Make sure it is exactly
> > the way you want it.
> >
> > 2. Create an 8 GByte FAT partition at the far end of any
> > of your disk. It can be a primary or logical partition. Name
> > it "XOSL".
> >
> > 3. Install XOSL in this partition. It's free. When you do,
> > make absolutely sure that it does NOT go somewhere else.
> > If you let it go elswhere then you lose that partition.
> >
> > 4. Add WinXP to the XOSL menu. Test it.
> >
> > 5. Create suitable partitions for the other copies of WinXP.
> > They can be primary or logical partitions. Give them suitable
> > names.
> >
> > 6. Use a cloning tool (e.g. Ghost) to copy WinXP to those
> > other partitions.
> >
> > 7. Add those other OSs to the XOSL menu. Give them
> > suitable names.
> >
> > 8. Test those other OSs.
> >
> > That's it, your'e done!
> >
> > If any of your OSs are on a logical partition or on a drive
> > other than your primary master drive then you need to do
> > a little tweaking. Post again if this is the case.
> >
> >
>
>

In article <#(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed),
Pegasus (MVP) says...
>
> "ByTor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:qK85e.64746$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed),
> > Pegasus (MVP) says...
> > >
> > > <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > > news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > > Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this interesting
> > > > task:
> > > > Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
> > > > course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation once;
> > > > customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask, Spybot,
> > > > Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....
> > > >
> > > > Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
> > > > consuming. I guess you would agree on that.
> > > >
> > > > Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but I
> > > > am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
> > > > method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
> > > > time reading the rest of the post)
> > > > Remarks:
> > > > [ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
> > > > management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE
> drive,
> > > > a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
> > > > boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
> > > > partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
> > > > partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume containing
> > > > the OS]
> > > > [Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently) succeed
> > > > in the described task:
> > > > P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is
> extended/
> > > > most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Now the procedure:
> > > >
> > > > 1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which would
> > > > become the Template.
> > > > 2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
> > > > 3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from
> another
> > > > independent XP system where I
> > > > 4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future target
> > > > partition to match the template's drive letter.
> > > >
> > > > Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system
> (logical
> > > > drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
> > > > Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
> > > > "systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
> > > > prompt.)
> > > > So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
> > > > "boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger is
> > > > to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes (the
> > > > template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
> > > > Then :
> > > > 5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able to
> > > > boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
> > > > 6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just used
> > > > (it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
> > > > 7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
> > > > Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
> > > > 8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the Template
> XP
> > > > system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then it
> > > > does not boot.)
> > > > 9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2 systems
> > > > even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
> > > > 10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
> > > > command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to another
> > > > letter X:
> > > > 11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
> > > > management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system. How
> > > > did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why 30%
> > > > of paths are affected?
> > > > 12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template XP
> > > > system.
> > > > 13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not
> possible
> > > > if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said, because
> > > > the swap file would be now on U
> > > > 14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
> > > > Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
> > > > Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
> > > > ----------------------------------
> > > > For details see KB223188:
> > > > How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
> > > > Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
> > > > -----------------------------------
> > > > 15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
> > > > paths show U:\
> > > > 16)enable a swap file
> > > > If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
> > > > please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
> > > > letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I boot
> > > > my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
> > > > paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
> > > > (set command) letter X:
> > > >
> > > > Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
> > > > Mick
> > > >
> > >
> > > What you want to do can easily be done but your method is
> > > far too complicated and thus likely to fail. Here is a simpler
> > > and completely modular way:
> > >
> > > 1. Install your primary WinXP OS. Make sure it is exactly
> > > the way you want it.
> > >
> > > 2. Create an 8 GByte FAT partition at the far end of any
> > > of your disk. It can be a primary or logical partition. Name
> > > it "XOSL".
> > >
> > > 3. Install XOSL in this partition. It's free. When you do,
> > > make absolutely sure that it does NOT go somewhere else.
> > > If you let it go elswhere then you lose that partition.
> > >
> > > 4. Add WinXP to the XOSL menu. Test it.
> > >
> > > 5. Create suitable partitions for the other copies of WinXP.
> > > They can be primary or logical partitions. Give them suitable
> > > names.
> > >
> > > 6. Use a cloning tool (e.g. Ghost) to copy WinXP to those
> > > other partitions.
> > >
> > > 7. Add those other OSs to the XOSL menu. Give them
> > > suitable names.
> > >
> > > 8. Test those other OSs.
> > >
> > > That's it, your'e done!
> > >
> > > If any of your OSs are on a logical partition or on a drive
> > > other than your primary master drive then you need to do
> > > a little tweaking. Post again if this is the case.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Does XOSL actually modify the original installed OS's ini once it's
> > cloned to a different position to the new correct "partition" position??
> > I have never had success cloning an OS(except win98) from any position
> > and try to move it around........
> > Example: 4 primary PT's on one drive.....Position order: 1,2,3,4.....
> > If I tried to restore an image of position 4 to 1 it never works......Or
> > not even restoring an image, just trying to move OS from 4 to 2 etc,
> > etc......I'm not challenging you, I **would** be curious as to how this
> > is done.........I have tried to change boot.ini's for the correct
> > positions and it never worked, always got NTLDR missing???? It will save
> > me the trouble of seperate installs myself......... ;0)
> >
>
> XOSL does not modify any of the OSs or their boot environments.
> It simply hides all but one of the nominated partition, then passes
> control to the single unhidden partition for booting. Each OS
> will thus be visible as drive C:. You would usually make a
> data partition too. This must be a higher partition that any of
> the OS partitions, and it would be visible to all OSs.

I've used XOSL & understand it's capability but thought I may have
missed something......But at the time I found BootMagic to suit my needs
better.....I'm just still in awe that I have never been succesfull at
modifying the boot.ini......must have missed something, it obviously
appears easy to do.....Oh well, than again that was a few years back,
sorta gave up after a few ill attempts and just decided to do it my
way....Been successfully multi-booting since.........

>
> I forgot one important item in my first reply: The OP must
> adjust boot.ini for each OS so that it reflects the correct
> partition number of that OS.

Yeah, I don't think the OP woulda been a happy camper.... ;0)

>
> Don't worry about questioning or challenging what I write.
> It's all part of the newsgroup peer review process. I'm usually
> right but sometimes I get it spectacularly wrong!
>
>
>

Usually right?? Okay.....Ego check at the door maybe?.... <;0>

Just kidding, thanks for your input...........

"ByTor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:wB95e.38845$(E-Mail Removed)...
> In article <#(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed),
> Pegasus (MVP) says...
> >
> > "ByTor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:qK85e.64746$(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > In article <(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed),
> > > Pegasus (MVP) says...
> > > >
> > > > <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > > > news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > > > Please help if you can as no thread seems to address this
interesting
> > > > > task:
> > > > > Let's say I want 3 different windows XP (on 3 different volumes of
> > > > > course) on my pc. But I just want to make ONE full installation
once;
> > > > > customize it, add basic applications (Winrar, Kerio, Wintask,
Spybot,
> > > > > Geforce drivers, Soundblaster drivers, etc....
> > > > >
> > > > > Installing all 3 XP systems one by one is easy BUT really time
> > > > > consuming. I guess you would agree on that.
> > > > >
> > > > > Here is my amateur's way of doing it (It seems to be bug free but
I
> > > > > am not 100% positive on that yet): If you already have a bug free
> > > > > method for doing that then just let me know (and don't waste your
> > > > > time reading the rest of the post)
> > > > > Remarks:
> > > > > [ I am not confronted to "System" partition problems (XP's Disk
> > > > > management terminology) because I always create on the first IDE
> > drive,
> > > > > a small and unique Primary partition holding only the boot sector,
> > > > > boot.ini etc... All other partitions are created inside Extended
> > > > > partitions. So drive letter problems would concern only "Boot
> > > > > partition" (XP's Disk management terminology) the volume
containing
> > > > > the OS]
> > > > > [Some non-critical details about the PC I used to (apparently)
succeed
> > > > > in the described task:
> > > > > P4 (intel chipset)/ 2x Ide HDD/ 1x Scsi/ one primary/ rest is
> > extended/
> > > > > most 20 volumes are Fat32. One XP system is already installed ]
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Now the procedure:
> > > > >
> > > > > 1) Installing and customizing a nice Windows XP SP2 system which
would
> > > > > become the Template.
> > > > > 2) disabling the swap file of this Template XP system, before I
> > > > > 3) clone it with Ghost (one could use another application) from
> > another
> > > > > independent XP system where I
> > > > > 4) use Disk Management to change the drive letter of the future
target
> > > > > partition to match the template's drive letter.
> > > > >
> > > > > Summary part 1: I want to clone my perfect template XP system
> > (logical
> > > > > drive or volume) to another empty logical drive. When I boot my
> > > > > Template XP sys, my "boot" drive letter is U: (It is also called
> > > > > "systemdrive" terminology of the command "set" under command
> > > > > prompt.)
> > > > > So I need all my future target cloned XP systems to get U: as a
> > > > > "boot" drive letter to avoid BIG PROBLEMS. Of course, the danger
is
> > > > > to work on a system which reads and writes on 2 different volumes
(the
> > > > > template and the clone) depending on registry inconsistencies.
> > > > > Then :
> > > > > 5) Check my boot.ini file and add the necessary lines to be able
to
> > > > > boot the future system on the different volume I have chosen.
> > > > > 6) Then I reboot and get out of the independent XP system I just
used
> > > > > (it is not the template, and it is not a future cloned system)
> > > > > 7) I press F8, select safe mode, and then select my new
> > > > > Frankenstein's cloned XP system to boot.
> > > > > 8) It will manage to boot because it is reading data on the
Template
> > XP
> > > > > system (U (if I hide the Template's volume (or partition) then
it
> > > > > does not boot.)
> > > > > 9) Because I am in safe mode, I am not damaging any of the 2
systems
> > > > > even if it is a bastard system at this stage.
> > > > > 10) Now here is the most mysterious question: If I run "set" on
> > > > > command prompt, I see that 70% of paths refer to U: and 30% to
another
> > > > > letter X:
> > > > > 11) Problem 1: X: drive letter is the "Boot partition" (XP's Disk
> > > > > management terminology) the volume containing my cloned XP system.
How
> > > > > did windows decide to use X: rather then another free letter? Why
30%
> > > > > of paths are affected?
> > > > > 12) Problem 2: U: drive letter is still assigned to the Template
XP
> > > > > system.
> > > > > 13) With Disk management, reassign U: with another letter (not
> > possible
> > > > > if you did not disable the swap file previously like I said,
because
> > > > > the swap file would be now on U
> > > > > 14) To reassign X: to U: use regedit:
> > > > > Locate: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
> > > > > Right-click \DosDevices\X, and then click Rename to DosDevices\U:
> > > > > ----------------------------------
> > > > > For details see KB223188:
> > > > > How To Restore the System/Boot Drive Letter in Windows
> > > > > Article ID:223188Last Review:July 15, 2004Revision:4.1
> > > > > -----------------------------------
> > > > > 15) Reboot, check with the "set" command if everything is ok, all
> > > > > paths show U:\
> > > > > 16)enable a swap file
> > > > > If you know a better way or can answer questions on point 11, then
> > > > > please share it with me... I am wondering how does XP manage drive
> > > > > letter assignment priorities, because something is happening as I
boot
> > > > > my clone in safe mode for the first time and tells XP to keep most
> > > > > paths as U: but assign to "program files" and "systemdirectory"
> > > > > (set command) letter X:
> > > > >
> > > > > Thank you for your patience and cheers from Switzerland
> > > > > Mick
> > > > >
> > > >
> > > > What you want to do can easily be done but your method is
> > > > far too complicated and thus likely to fail. Here is a simpler
> > > > and completely modular way:
> > > >
> > > > 1. Install your primary WinXP OS. Make sure it is exactly
> > > > the way you want it.
> > > >
> > > > 2. Create an 8 GByte FAT partition at the far end of any
> > > > of your disk. It can be a primary or logical partition. Name
> > > > it "XOSL".
> > > >
> > > > 3. Install XOSL in this partition. It's free. When you do,
> > > > make absolutely sure that it does NOT go somewhere else.
> > > > If you let it go elswhere then you lose that partition.
> > > >
> > > > 4. Add WinXP to the XOSL menu. Test it.
> > > >
> > > > 5. Create suitable partitions for the other copies of WinXP.
> > > > They can be primary or logical partitions. Give them suitable
> > > > names.
> > > >
> > > > 6. Use a cloning tool (e.g. Ghost) to copy WinXP to those
> > > > other partitions.
> > > >
> > > > 7. Add those other OSs to the XOSL menu. Give them
> > > > suitable names.
> > > >
> > > > 8. Test those other OSs.
> > > >
> > > > That's it, your'e done!
> > > >
> > > > If any of your OSs are on a logical partition or on a drive
> > > > other than your primary master drive then you need to do
> > > > a little tweaking. Post again if this is the case.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > > Does XOSL actually modify the original installed OS's ini once it's
> > > cloned to a different position to the new correct "partition"
position??
> > > I have never had success cloning an OS(except win98) from any position
> > > and try to move it around........
> > > Example: 4 primary PT's on one drive.....Position order: 1,2,3,4.....
> > > If I tried to restore an image of position 4 to 1 it never
works......Or
> > > not even restoring an image, just trying to move OS from 4 to 2 etc,
> > > etc......I'm not challenging you, I **would** be curious as to how
this
> > > is done.........I have tried to change boot.ini's for the correct
> > > positions and it never worked, always got NTLDR missing???? It will
save
> > > me the trouble of seperate installs myself......... ;0)
> > >
> >
> > XOSL does not modify any of the OSs or their boot environments.
> > It simply hides all but one of the nominated partition, then passes
> > control to the single unhidden partition for booting. Each OS
> > will thus be visible as drive C:. You would usually make a
> > data partition too. This must be a higher partition that any of
> > the OS partitions, and it would be visible to all OSs.
>
> I've used XOSL & understand it's capability but thought I may have
> missed something......But at the time I found BootMagic to suit my needs
> better.....I'm just still in awe that I have never been succesfull at
> modifying the boot.ini......must have missed something, it obviously
> appears easy to do.....Oh well, than again that was a few years back,
> sorta gave up after a few ill attempts and just decided to do it my
> way....Been successfully multi-booting since.........
>
> >
> > I forgot one important item in my first reply: The OP must
> > adjust boot.ini for each OS so that it reflects the correct
> > partition number of that OS.
>
> Yeah, I don't think the OP woulda been a happy camper.... ;0)
>
> >
> > Don't worry about questioning or challenging what I write.
> > It's all part of the newsgroup peer review process. I'm usually
> > right but sometimes I get it spectacularly wrong!
> >
> >
> >
>
> Usually right?? Okay.....Ego check at the door maybe?.... <;0>
>
> Just kidding, thanks for your input...........

It's got nothing to do with my ego but far more with my
tendency to keep my big mouth shut unless I know what
I'm talking about. In other words: I have tried and used
all of the above.