Problems with Boot IT NG - and Windows XP

[John]

I could use some input from the experts out there who use BootIT NG.
I downloaded the most recent trial version, and created a boot floppy.
I can start up BootIT from the floppy, view partitions and so forth
without any problems.

I currently have a 14 GB hard disk with my Win XP installation (NTFS)
and applications on it. This disk is the primary IDE master device,
C:.

I have a new 120 GB drive, formatted NTFS (fully format, not fast
format) with one giant 120 GB primary partition. It attached as the
slave device on the save IDE cable as the C: drive.

All I want to do it use BootIT to copy my primary partition from the
smaller drive to the larger drive. So, I boot up into BootIT, and
select the existing WinXP partition and click Copy.

BootIT then shows something to the effect of *Copy pending* at the
bottom of the screen.

Then, I switch to the second drive (using the selection button in the
left-hand pane), and select the new 120 GB partition.

But, the Paste button will not activate. It's still greyed out. So,
I just can't get this program to copy the partition. If I select
Image instead, then it will allow me to Paste to the new drive.

How do I get BootIT to make a copy?

 

[I'm Dan]

I could use some input from the experts out there who use BootIT NG.
I downloaded the most recent trial version, and created a boot floppy.
I can start up BootIT from the floppy, view partitions and so forth
without any problems.

I currently have a 14 GB hard disk with my Win XP installation (NTFS)
and applications on it. This disk is the primary IDE master device,
C:.

I have a new 120 GB drive, formatted NTFS (fully format, not fast
format) with one giant 120 GB primary partition. It attached as the
slave device on the save IDE cable as the C: drive.

All I want to do it use BootIT to copy my primary partition from the
smaller drive to the larger drive. So, I boot up into BootIT, and
select the existing WinXP partition and click Copy.

BootIT then shows something to the effect of *Copy pending* at the
bottom of the screen.

Then, I switch to the second drive (using the selection button in the
left-hand pane), and select the new 120 GB partition.

But, the Paste button will not activate. It's still greyed out. So,
I just can't get this program to copy the partition. If I select
Image instead, then it will allow me to Paste to the new drive.

How do I get BootIT to make a copy?

If you'll read the user manual, I think you'll find it says you have to
paste the copy into *free space*. It makes sense of you think about it --
you're copying a partition, not files, and you can't put a partition inside
another NTFS partition. (To avoid ambiguity, I think they should call it
*unallocated* space, because free space typically refers to space within an
existing partition available for storing files.) You don't have any free
(unallocated) space because you created a partition on the new HD. Try
deleting the empty partition on the new HD and then do your copying.

 

[John]

I could use some input from the experts out there who use BootIT NG.
I downloaded the most recent trial version, and created a boot floppy.
I can start up BootIT from the floppy, view partitions and so forth
without any problems.

I currently have a 14 GB hard disk with my Win XP installation (NTFS)
and applications on it. This disk is the primary IDE master device,
C:.

I have a new 120 GB drive, formatted NTFS (fully format, not fast
format) with one giant 120 GB primary partition. It attached as the
slave device on the save IDE cable as the C: drive.

All I want to do it use BootIT to copy my primary partition from the
smaller drive to the larger drive. So, I boot up into BootIT, and
select the existing WinXP partition and click Copy.

BootIT then shows something to the effect of *Copy pending* at the
bottom of the screen.

Then, I switch to the second drive (using the selection button in the
left-hand pane), and select the new 120 GB partition.

But, the Paste button will not activate. It's still greyed out. So,
I just can't get this program to copy the partition. If I select
Image instead, then it will allow me to Paste to the new drive.

How do I get BootIT to make a copy?

I also noticed that the "Create" and "Format" buttons, under partition
management, are Greyed out, and so those functions in BootIT don't
work either. Is the advertised "full featured 30 day trial" version
not really fully featured?

 

[Kelly]

Hi John,

Have been using BING for years. Try their Support and Newsgroups:
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/support.html

/xp_tweaks.htm

Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/top10faqs.htm

 

[GSV Three Minds in a Can]

Bitstring <[email protected]>, from the

I also noticed that the "Create" and "Format" buttons, under partition
management, are Greyed out, and so those functions in BootIT don't
work either. Is the advertised "full featured 30 day trial" version
not really fully featured?

You can't create/format a partition on a drive where you have already
filled the space with an NTFS partition .. those features you are
complaining about 'not working' are designed to work on an
un-partitioned (or not fully allocated) and unformatted, drive. I think
you better read all the help files a couple more times before you shoot
yourself in the foot (these sort of utilities are =dangerous=).

 

[John]

If you'll read the user manual, I think you'll find it says you have to
paste the copy into *free space*. It makes sense of you think about it --
you're copying a partition, not files, and you can't put a partition inside
another NTFS partition. (To avoid ambiguity, I think they should call it
*unallocated* space, because free space typically refers to space within an
existing partition available for storing files.) You don't have any free
(unallocated) space because you created a partition on the new HD. Try
deleting the empty partition on the new HD and then do your copying.

Thanks for the tip - that turned out to be the issue.

Not everyone who comes here does so without reading the manual,
checking the website faqs, newsgroups and so forth. You wont find the
answer to this question anywhere (but here, now). By the way, reading
the user manual was part of the problem - it refers to selecting free
space in the *partitions* list to copy to. It makes sense to actually
have a partition created and formatted to provide free space, in order
that you can select that partition from the partitions list.
Partitions belong in a partitions list, right?

In reality, you are supposed to *not* have a partition defined, then
select the un-partition from the "partitions list". It doesn't make
sense that the partitions list would store things that are not
partitions. Maybe there needs to be a separate screen area for "free
space", and a separate screen area for "partitions". And maybe one
line of helpful text for when the Paste button is disabled in a copy
operation: "cannot copy to this drive, partitions extend across the
whole volume; no free space is available".

 

[Alex Nichol]

BootIT then shows something to the effect of *Copy pending* at the
bottom of the screen.

Then, I switch to the second drive (using the selection button in the
left-hand pane), and select the new 120 GB partition.

But, the Paste button will not activate. It's still greyed out. So,
I just can't get this program to copy the partition. If I select
Image instead, then it will allow me to Paste to the new drive.

How do I get BootIT to make a copy?

You need to click in the Free space line in the center pane of the
display after selecting the drive. Then Paste should be available -
until then it does not know where you want to Paste to

If it is then still greyed out. the only thought is that either the 120
GB is not correctly registered as an LBA configured drive in the BIOS -
or that there is something already on it, so there is no space to paste
into