How do I install the Recovery Consold

[mm]

How do I install the XP Recovery Console?

OR how do I fix the boot sector of my C: partition, when I'm in winXP
on the D: partition, but I have MS dual boot from the C:, win98
partition?

Right now I'd be happy just to fix the boot sector, but the only way I
know to do that is from the XP Recovery Console, with " fixboot C: "

(Background: I used Easeus Parition Master 6 to make the C: partition
smaller and now, I still have my dual boot menu and can boot to winxp
with no problem, and I can boot to the win98SE menu, but whichever
option I choose, it doesn't get very far before it stops with some bad
message or other.)


So, How do I install XP Recovery Console:

I' sorry the rest of this post is so long.

I took my XP installation CD and found winnt32.exe and ran it
y:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcon but I'm up to SP3 and my CD is SP0,
and it said it was older than the current version.

So I found SP3 on a CD, but it was just one .exe file.
Then I remembered I had expanded the .exe file and had all the files
in my external backup drive.

So I found the one for SP3 and ran it:
I:\win2000basement\xpsp3\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcon and I got the
message "The installation source path specified in Setup is invalid.
Contact your System Administrator."

So I googled this message, and

1) some urls said it couldn't run from a flat file, which I think
means it has to be on a CD, is that right? So I copied the file and
2 winnt32 dll's and 2 winnt dll's to a CD and ran it from the CD and
got the same message.

2) Other urls said iiuc one had to slipstream sp3 to XP and then run
that (they all said sp2, because sp2 was the highest then, but
shouldn't it be enough to take winnt32.exe and maybe its .dll files
out of SP3 and run them?

3) One or two other places said that the problem could be solved in
the registry: http://forum.sysinternals.com/topic7290.html
"Temporarily change setup source path in the registry under:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
"SourcePath" value should point to c:\
(Re-create slipstreamed "i386" in c:\)
Backup previous key/data and reverse the process when done."

In keeping with this one, I went to that location in the registry and
my SourcePath was E:\, which until yesterday was the name of my second
CD drive. First I changed it to the address of my external drive,
where the files for SP3 were, all of the address that precedes i386\ .

That didn't work, so I copied the file to a C:\i386 folder, changed
the registry entry to C:\ and ran it. There it complained that it
didn't have winnt32u.dll, so I copied all four dll files whose name
started winnt to the same C: folder. Then it went back to the
previous message about Source Path.

Then I figured that I should use D:, since that is the WinXP
partition, so I moved the folder to D: changed the registry to say D:\
and ran it from there. Same error message.

Then I burned a CD and ran it from the CD in the second CD drive.
Didn't work so I went into the registry and changed the entry to Z:\ .
Didn't work so I moved the CD to the Y: drive and changed the entry to
Y:\ . That was almost the last thing I tried, and it gave the same
message "The installation source path specified in Setup is invalid.
Contact your System Administrator."

4) And one guy said all that was necessary was to copy winnt32.exe to
the C: partition:
http://askbobrankin.com/comments_000400.php
"The Recovery Console CAN be installed after Windows XP Service Pack 2
[That would also include sp3.] has been installed. Basically, you must
temporarily replace the XPSP1 c:\i386\WINNT32.EXE file with the XPSP2
WINNT32.EXE file, then you run the "c:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons"
command. No other changes or Registry edits should be necessary.
[So this guy definitely disagrees with 3 above.]
There are step-by-step instructions on the following page:
Microsoft Windows XP FAQ - (21) Recovery Console SP2 Revision -
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#021 "
This url says "You will need to do one of the following.
1. If SP2 was applied as an update and the option to save the
uninstall files was enabled, Uninstall SP2 from Add/Remove.
2. If Windows XP SP2 was preinstalled or installed from XP media
with SP2 included, uninstall will not be an option. You will need to
clean install with an older XP version or use one of the options in 3
and 4 or 5. [I don't like options 1 and 2. There is no 5 below, but
maybe he means the "work around
fix".]
3. Use a slipstreamed XP CD with SP2.
4. Use a retail/OEM XP SP2 CD when available."

"SP2 work around fix

Work around compliments of "Jon" from the msnews newsgroups.
You can install Recovery Console, AFTER SP2 installation, via the
following workaround.....

For this you need the full network version of SP2.

Downloadable from HERE. [This is the SP2 installer. I have SP3
already, and I did all the stuff below already.]

1. Open a command prompt in the folder containing the SP2 installer
and type
WindowsXP-KB835935-SP2-ENU.exe -x
Choose a folder to extract the files to e.g. file:///c:/SP2files
2. Make a backup of the file winnt32.exe in c:\windows\i386
3. Replace the winnt32.exe file in c:\windows\i386 with the
identically named file in C:\sp2files\i386 (or in the i386 folder in
the folder where you extracted the files)
4. Open a command prompt at c:\windows\i386
Type winnt32.exe /cmdcons
Recovery Console should install

****I did this almost, I put the exe and 3 dlls that weren't already
there into D:\windows\system32 and I changed the registry entry to
match, but it didn't work. Surely it couldn't make a difference if
it
were in C;\windows\i386 .

(Ignore the first error message, if any)
5. Replace the winnt32.exe in c:\windows\i386 with its original
version (created in step 2) Hope this works for you. Jon


So I have tried pretty much all of these (except making a slipstreamed
version**, but I think I got the same files from SP3) and none work.
What am I doing wrong?

**Last year, I spent hours trying to make a slipstreamed XPSP3, using
every method suggested, and I couldn't get it to work. But here I only
need one file to work.

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[mm]

Never mind. At least I think, Never mind. I'll let you know.

 

[mm]

Never mind. At least I think, Never mind. I'll let you know.

Well, I was able to *run* the Recovery Console by booting from the XP
installation disk, it doesn't matter if it is sp0 or sp3, and I was
able to run fixboot on the other partition, so that's good. but I
wasn't able to *install* the Recovery Console, not using either
version of winnt32.exe (version sp0 or sp3).

It said it wasn't a valid program and I should look in the list of
valid programs by typing Help. Those were just the special Recovery
Console commands.

So how do I install Recovery Console, by booting from a CD or from
inside XP?

Thanks.

 

[Daave]

How do I install the XP Recovery Console?

OR how do I fix the boot sector of my C: partition, when I'm in winXP
on the D: partition, but I have MS dual boot from the C:, win98
partition?

Right now I'd be happy just to fix the boot sector, but the only way I
know to do that is from the XP Recovery Console, with " fixboot C: "

(Background: I used Easeus Parition Master 6 to make the C: partition
smaller and now, I still have my dual boot menu and can boot to winxp
with no problem, and I can boot to the win98SE menu, but whichever
option I choose, it doesn't get very far before it stops with some bad
message or other.)


So, How do I install XP Recovery Console:

I' sorry the rest of this post is so long.

<snip>

(It sure was!)

You install the XP Recovery Console by using the method listed here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654

But the CD's SP level needs to match the OS's SP level on the PC.

Since installing the Recovery Console is not necessary (you can always
run it off the CD), I would recommend against it.

 

[mm]

<snip>

(It sure was!)

You install the XP Recovery Console by using the method listed here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654
Thanks.

But the CD's SP level needs to match the OS's SP level on the PC.

Since installing the Recovery Console is not necessary (you can always
run it off the CD), I would recommend against it.

Not directed at you personally, of course:

I wasted a lot of time last night. It would have been okay if it
hadn't been a waste, but most of it was.

Maybe it's not necesary, but I think if Microsoft is going to write
about it installing it and write about using it when it's been
installed, they should warn people when they first get Windows that
now is the time to install it. I don't dump on MS that often, but I
think they deserve it here.

They do say here (though not everywhere, I'll bet) that the CD has to
be as old as the OS, but it should be in bolder, red print at the
start, to make it clear that it's a major obstacle. Instead it's in
thin letter print with a reference to another page. On the other page
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/898594 re three methods, the first
two of which are not feasible for most users, and the third I tried
over and over (an sp3 version of it), slipstreaming SP2, then sp3 into
the sp0 versionxe file and it wouldn't work.

They could for example have an option to install Rec. Console using
the wrong version of the winnt32. It's windows, not God, which is
preventing me from using the sp3 version because ist's not straight
out of an XP SP3 CD, or whatever. I may be a failure at
slipsteaming, but most users don't know a thing about it.

And they are probably causing the same problems with Vista and 7 users
and everyone after that.

 

[Daave]

Not directed at you personally, of course:

I wasted a lot of time last night. It would have been okay if it
hadn't been a waste, but most of it was.

Maybe it's not necesary, but I think if Microsoft is going to write
about it installing it and write about using it when it's been
installed, they should warn people when they first get Windows that
now is the time to install it. I don't dump on MS that often, but I
think they deserve it here.

They do say here (though not everywhere, I'll bet) that the CD has to
be as old as the OS, but it should be in bolder, red print at the
start, to make it clear that it's a major obstacle. Instead it's in
thin letter print with a reference to another page. On the other page
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/898594 re three methods, the first
two of which are not feasible for most users, and the third I tried
over and over (an sp3 version of it), slipstreaming SP2, then sp3 into
the sp0 versionxe file and it wouldn't work.

They could for example have an option to install Rec. Console using
the wrong version of the winnt32. It's windows, not God, which is
preventing me from using the sp3 version because ist's not straight
out of an XP SP3 CD, or whatever. I may be a failure at
slipsteaming, but most users don't know a thing about it.

And they are probably causing the same problems with Vista and 7 users
and everyone after that.

And that's the exact reason I recommend against installing the RC. ;-)

It's potentially tricky and it's totally unnecessary. Just boot off the
CD and run it from there the few times you would ever need it.

That's also the reason I recommend that one's drive should be regularly
imaged. That way RC is never needed. Or System Restore for that matter.
Or, most important, reinstalling the OS.

 

[mm]

The Windows 98 boot sector (hidden file \bootsect.dos when dual
booting with Widows XP) contains information about the size of the
partition. So when you resized the partition, the Windows 98 boot
sector is no longer valid.

Thanks. I did run "fixboot c:" from the recovery console, but there
are still 3 problems in the win98 boot. I'm making progress there,
with the help of the win98 ng. Trying to decide whether to reinstall
win98SE (can't remember how), or fix each of the problems. One of the
problems isn't windows however, it's in autoexec.bat. Gosh it may be
screwed up bad. I made my first actual image a week ago and I may
already need it.

I can still access every file I've tried to look at, so afaik the
files are good.

Even if you are not dual booting, I believe
Easeus Partition Master does not support resizing Windows 98
partitions.

You may well be right. It would have been nice if it had said that.

No it doesn't say anything about that in the online help for Resize,
which is the only help there is.

But if I search on windows 98, it gives 9 hits, one of which is in the
FAQ and it says:

"6. Both Windows XP and Windows 98 are installed, after resize/move
the partition of Windows 98 under Windows XP, and restarting the
computer, I cannot enter Windows 98 normally. Why?
Cause:
Moving or resizing the partition of the system cannot be allowed by
leading ways of Windows 9X.
Advice:
1. Please do not move or resize the partitions of Windows 9X, ME.
2. Please do not create or delete the partition in front of the system
partition of Windows 9X , ME."

Now they tell me! In not so good English.

That's question 6. Question 7 is word-for-word the same thing, start
to finish.

No suggestion of what to do next, (or what the problem is, which I
might not know if you or someone else hadn't told me.)

EAseus has an option called Rebuild MBR, but who can trust it now?

Here's a strange article for the Easeus site:
http://www.partition-tool.com/partition-magic/Partition-Magic-bootable.htm
How to make a Partition Magic bootable CD with Partition Magic
bootable floppy?

And below it is a link "Free download the trial version of magic
partition software". It says "magic partition" but the link is
actually to some version of partition magic.
http://www.partition-tool.com/partition-magic/partition-magic-free-trial-download.htm
But it turns out to be Easus Partition Master. What kind of
bait-and-switch crap is this. I'm getting quite annoyed at them.



And Partition Magic 8 which I installed in XP and ran at least once
with no trouble, maybe more, now freezes the whole computer. The only
time it works is when I say Launch as part of reinstalling. Maybe
that's the only time it worked earlier, but I didn't think so. Now I'm
not positive.


I'm going to try some things, then write to the win98 group again, and
if that doesnt' work, I may be back here begging for help.

 

[Daave]

Thanks. I did run "fixboot c:" from the recovery console, but there
are still 3 problems in the win98 boot. I'm making progress there,
with the help of the win98 ng. Trying to decide whether to reinstall
win98SE (can't remember how), or fix each of the problems. One of the
problems isn't windows however, it's in autoexec.bat. Gosh it may be
screwed up bad. I made my first actual image a week ago and I may
already need it.

Hold up.

When you made your image, was your PC working properly (and was the
image made before you incorrectly resized the partitions)? If so, just
restore it!

 

[mm]

Hold up.

When you made your image, was your PC working properly
Yes.

(and was the
image made before you incorrectly resized the partitions)?
Yes.

If so, just
restore it!

That will take care of MBR, boot sector, etc?

I'd like to understand if I could what the problem is now. I"ve
supposedly fixed the MBR and the boot sector (and it did get further
along in its booting after I did the boot sector repair) and I know
boot.ini is fine now.

The three problems in booting are:
1) I use a shell command, 'shell=C:\PROGRAMS\4DOS\4dos.com /p' in
order to use 4DOS.com, instead of the regular command.com for the
win98-DOS, and it has an option for Time, that will display the time,
and I do that at the end of autoexec.bat, but now it asks what time it
is, instead of displaying it. Once I entered the wrong time, and that
was the time when I got back to winXP

2) I do step-by-step start of windows and the first thing it asks me
is "Load all windows? Y/N", and immediately after I say Yes, it says
"Sector not found reading drive C: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?" but
when I say F, it then asks me about the next line, and accepts the
next 20 Y's without a complaint. Bootlog.txt says that many steps
finish normally before the next problem, number 3.

3) It gives a message when it gets to Ontracks.386. I replaced that
file from a backup (not the image fwiw) but that didn't change things.
The message starts off like the error 2, and says:

Sector not found reading drive C:
Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?

After pressing "F" twice I get the full error message:

A device file specified in system.ini is damaged. It may be needed
to run Windows. You may need to run Windows Setup again.

If the file is included in another software package, you may need to
reinstall the software that uses the file.
C:\Windows\System\Ontracks.386

Then according to bootlog.txt, it continues to do a lot of things, and
stops with no message, or maybe an instruction to reboot.


Any ideas what could be doing this? It would make restoring seem so
much better if I had an idea of the problem.

Isn't there something like chkdsk which would go through and resolve
or at least note which files have bad addresses in the FAT. Then I
could copy in new copies of just those files if there weren't too
many. Am I on the right track?

I think the winXP version of chkdsk barely reports anything, compared
to win98's. Maybe there is an enhanced version. If chkdsk is what I
want, I'll google for an enhanced version.

 

[mm]

You need to fix the boot sector with the files on a Win98 boot floppy, *NOT*
with XP or its recovery console.

1. Boot with floppy

2. sys c: (assuming that the Win98 drive is C

You know, it did sort of bother me that I was using a winXP "solution"
for a 98 partition, but I told myself there were partitions before
there was win98, so it should work. I can well believe that instead,
this will work, but will know for sure later today. I'll let you
know.

 

[Daave]

That will take care of MBR, boot sector, etc?

Absolutely.

This, of course, assumes that you made the image of the *entire* hard
drive (i.e., not just a partition).

 

[mm]

Absolutely.

This, of course, assumes that you made the image of the *entire* hard
drive (i.e., not just a partition).

There are two images, one for each partition. I have been thinking
of them as independent.

FWIW, I used XXCLone to make them. It doesn't have the ability to do
a whole drive automatically if there is more than one partition.

 

[mm]

BTW instead of trying to boot to win98SE like I have been, I used the
win98 menu to stop at DOS, and I looked around. DIR works fine, but
whenever I tried to edit config.sys or bootsect.dos or any of four
other files chosen at random from the C:\ directory, I got the same
message, "Sector not found while accessing config.sys" and none of it
displaye, or with another method, "Sector not found for config.sys".

OTOH, DIR works fine and "attrib config.sys" shows the file's
attributes.

NOT ONLY THAT, when I'm in WinXP in the other partition, I can display
all these files with no trouble!!!!

How can this be? And is it a clue?

 

[Daave]

There are two images, one for each partition. I have been thinking
of them as independent.

FWIW, I used XXCLone to make them. It doesn't have the ability to do
a whole drive automatically if there is more than one partition.

I'm not familiar with that program, so I don't know from experience.

Had you used a program like DriveImageXML and imaged the entire hard
drive, I'd be much more confident.

As long as you made sure to copy all your data, it won't hurt to use
XXClone to restore both partitions to see what happens. For good
measure, you could use DriveImageXML or Acronis True Image to image the
entire hard drive before you attempt the XXClone restoration.

 

[mm]

I'm not familiar with that program, so I don't know from experience.

Most people aren't. The guy first wrote XXCOPY, which is like XCOPY
but with far far more options, and free to individual users. XXClone
is free for the simple version. The 40 dollar version will do
incremental backups, because even though it is an image program that
makes a bootable "image" it is a file by file copy. .... I'll start
another thread about this soon.

Had you used a program like DriveImageXML and imaged the entire hard
drive, I'd be much more confident.

As long as you made sure to copy all your data, it won't hurt to use
XXClone to restore both partitions to see what happens. For good
measure, you could use DriveImageXML or Acronis True Image to image the
entire hard drive before you attempt the XXClone restoration.

Well, maybe. I have dl'd Acronis True Image Home already.

Thanks.

 

[John John]

You know, it did sort of bother me that I was using a winXP "solution"
for a 98 partition, but I told myself there were partitions before
there was win98, so it should work. I can well believe that instead,
this will work, but will know for sure later today. I'll let you
know.

The Sys command will restore the Windows 98 boot sector and you will be
able to boot to Windows 98 but you will no longer be able to boot to
Windows XP, that is no big deal, the Fixboot command will restore the NT
boot sector and allow you to boot Windows XP again. After you boot to
the Windows 98 installation you can use the ancient debug command to
recreate the BOOTSECT.DOS file then you can use the Fixboot command to
rewrite the NT boot sector and return the boot process to ntldr.

To use the DEBUG command to create the bootsect.dos file, from Windows
98 start an MS-DOS Prompt and navigate to the root of the System drive.
To start the Debug console type debug and press <Enter> then enter
the following commands, (pressing <Enter> after each):

L 100 2 0 1
N C:\BOOTSECT.DOS
R BX
0
R CX
200
W
Q

If you want you can copy and paste the above commands to a Notepad file
then save the file as READ.SCR in the root folder, then once in the
debug console you can just type READ.SCR and press <Enter> to run the
commands automatically. Remember to navigate to the root folder (cd\)
before you launch Debug.

Note that the second number in the in the L line (L 100 # 0 1) indicates
the drive letter of the Windows 98 partition (2 = C, 3 = D, 4 = E, and
so on).

L 100 2 0 1

assumes that Windows 98 is on C:.

After you create the Bootsect.DOS file use the Recovery Console's
Fixboot command to rewrite the NT boot sector to the partition and
return the boot to the NT boot manager (ntldr), you should then be able
to boot both operating systems. The boot.ini file contains the entries
for both operating systems, typically:

[boot loader]
timeout=15
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP" /fastdetect
C:\="Microsoft Windows 98"

John

 

[mm]

And that's the exact reason I recommend against installing the RC. ;-)

Okay, you've convinced me. ;-)

It's potentially tricky and it's totally unnecessary. Just boot off the
CD and run it from there the few times you would ever need it.

That's what I did and it went okay. You're right, I won't need it
much.

That's also the reason I recommend that one's drive should be regularly
imaged. That way RC is never needed. Or System Restore for that matter.
Or, most important, reinstalling the OS.

Okay

 

[mm]

I didn't actually try it that day.

I decided to be slow and thorough, and I'm glad I waited because of
what you've written below. I've read it twice already, and read one
version of the debug help in Take Command, TCC LE 10, the successor to
4DOS. Now I'm going to read some debug tutorials on the web.

The Sys command will restore the Windows 98 boot sector and you will be
able to boot to Windows 98 but you will no longer be able to boot to
Windows XP, that is no big deal, the Fixboot command will restore the NT
boot sector and allow you to boot Windows XP again. After you boot to
the Windows 98 installation you can use the ancient debug command to

I've never used debug, but I think every grown man should. It will be
good for me.

recreate the BOOTSECT.DOS file then you can use the Fixboot command to
rewrite the NT boot sector and return the boot process to ntldr.
To use the DEBUG command to create the bootsect.dos file, from Windows
98 start an MS-DOS Prompt and navigate to the root of the System drive.
To start the Debug console type debug and press <Enter> then enter
the following commands, (pressing <Enter> after each):

Have I mentioned that when I tried to run the FixMBR comamnd from the
Recovery Console, it said I had an a non-standard or invalid MBR and I
might lose my partition tables if I ran FixMBR? So I didn't run it.
Do you think that's NOT the problem, that's it's for sure what you
have below?

L 100 2 0 1
N C:\BOOTSECT.DOS

IIUC, you are loading the first sector of drive C and you are planning
to save it as bootsect.dos. That's why the N command doesn't have to
come before the L command?

R BX
0

You are setting BX as zero

R CX
200

And CX as 200.

W

And you write the boot sector of drive C to the address 0000:0200,
which you have named bootsect.dos.

Q

And you Quit

If you want you can copy and paste the above commands to a Notepad file
then save the file as READ.SCR in the root folder, then once in the
debug console you can just type READ.SCR and press <Enter> to run the
commands automatically. Remember to navigate to the root folder (cd\)
before you launch Debug.

Note that the second number in the in the L line (L 100 # 0 1) indicates
the drive letter of the Windows 98 partition (2 = C, 3 = D, 4 = E, and
so on).

L 100 2 0 1

assumes that Windows 98 is on C:.

After you create the Bootsect.DOS file use the Recovery Console's
Fixboot command to rewrite the NT boot sector to the partition and
return the boot to the NT boot manager (ntldr), you should then be able
to boot both operating systems.

On the third reading, I followed all this. I hope you're right.
Thanks a lot.

The boot.ini file contains the entries
for both operating systems, typically:

[boot loader]
timeout=15
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP" /fastdetect
C:\="Microsoft Windows 98"

Yes, that's just what my boot.ini looks like.

Is the reason the the last line can be so short, no multi(0) etc.
becaue its default is to go to the bootsect.dos? Or do I have things
backwards.

 

[mm]

IIUC, you are loading the first sector of drive C and you are planning
to save it as bootsect.dos. That's why the N command doesn't have to
come before the L command?


You are setting BX as zero


And CX as 200.


And you write the boot sector of drive C to the address 0000:0200,
which you have named bootsect.dos.

No, 200H is the number of bytes to be written, 200H = 512, one sector.

 

[mm]

The Sys command will restore the Windows 98 boot sector and you will be
able to boot to Windows 98 but you will no longer be able to boot to
Windows XP, that is no big deal, the Fixboot command will restore the NT
boot sector and allow you to boot Windows XP again. After you boot to
the Windows 98 installation you can use the ancient debug command to
recreate the BOOTSECT.DOS file then you can use the Fixboot command to
rewrite the NT boot sector and return the boot process to ntldr.

BTW, why can't I just copy my backup copy of bootsect.dos back to the
C:\ folder?

I can't. I tried it, and they had the same date, etc. from a year ago
for some reason, and replacing it with the backup didn't help.