How do I make a drive a "System" drive?

[Ron Yuen]

I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash. I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3) allowing me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I remove my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits there with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but won't get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It will then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent at all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive again? Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used to do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does anyone have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when my C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at least to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash. I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3) allowing me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I remove my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits there with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but won't get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It will then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent at all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive again? Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used to do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does anyone have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when my C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at least to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

Microsoft does not prevent cloning but it does not support it either.
This means that if you are not careful you could end up with an
unbootable machine. The reason is simple: Since you booted your
machine with two identical partitions, Windows got confused and
started looking for some files on one partiton and for some on the
other partition. Your task will be to get tell Windows to look on
your original disk only.

I suggest you try this as a starting point:
- Start WinXP with both disks connected.
- Click Start / Run / diskmgmt.msc {OK}
- Work out which disk is which and label them accordingly
(e.g. "Main", "Backup").
- Report their respective drive letters.
- Click Start / Run / notepad X:\boot.ini {OK} where
X: is the drive letter for your "Main" disk.
- Paste the contents of boot.ini into your reply.

 

[philo]

I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3) allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile.

<snip>

do you mean to say that there are no files on your C: drive other than the
page file?

 

[Jon]

You can often change which disk you boot from, via the bios, which will
effect it, [as well as physically swapping round the 2 disks (master <-->
slave) / cable connections ]

You can also change the positiion of the page file via
Right-click "My Computer" > Properties > Advanced > Settings (under
performance) > Advanced > Change


Jon

 

[Ron Yuen]

Philo,

All my "normal" files (including my Windows folder) are on my C: drive and my
H: drive is a "clone" of my C: drive (also contains a Windows folder). In
Computer Management \ Disk Management my H drive (the clone) is showing up as
my current "system" drive. I would think that my C: should be my system drive
thus allowing it to boot up on it's own without my temporary H: drive being
installed. How do I "force" XP to make my C: drive my system drive? Thanks.

<snip>

do you mean to say that there are no files on your C: drive other than the
page file?

-Ron

 

[Ron Yuen]

Jon,

My C: drive is on a SATA controller and my H: drive which is now marked in
disk management as my "system" drive is on a IDE controller as a Slave as my
DVD-ROM drive is the Master on that cable. In my BIOS, my C: drive is
selected as my first hard drive to boot from. As far as my page file, having
it on C: is not a problem for me. I just want my computer to be able to boot
off my original C: drive WITHOUT having to have both drives (C: and H:
"clone") installed in my PC.

Thanks for your help.

You can often change which disk you boot from, via the bios, which will
effect it, [as well as physically swapping round the 2 disks (master <-->
slave) / cable connections ]

You can also change the positiion of the page file via
Right-click "My Computer" > Properties > Advanced > Settings (under
performance) > Advanced > Change


Jon

I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3) allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I remove
my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits there
with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but won't
get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It will
then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent at
all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive again?
Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used to
do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does anyone
have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when my C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at least
to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

-Ron

 

[Ron Yuen]

Sorry Jon,

I just checked my BIOS again and found that my H: drive was selected as being
the first HD to boot from. The problem is, when I select my C: drive as
the first disk to boot from (which used to be all there was in my PC) I end up
with my problem as if I did not have the H: drive physically installed. It
just won't boot at all. I think it has to do with how XP is designating the
H: drive as the system drive and not the C: drive that is the problem here.
I'm wondering if there is a recovery console command to make my C: drive my
system drive and have my computer boot from that drive alone without having
the other drive installed?

Thanks again for your help!

You can often change which disk you boot from, via the bios, which will
effect it, [as well as physically swapping round the 2 disks (master <-->
slave) / cable connections ]

You can also change the positiion of the page file via
Right-click "My Computer" > Properties > Advanced > Settings (under
performance) > Advanced > Change


Jon

I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3) allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I remove
my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits there
with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but won't
get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It will
then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent at
all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive again?
Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used to
do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does anyone
have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when my C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at least
to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

-Ron

 

[Ron Sommer]

Which partition is Active?
H is probably Active.
Make C Active.

 

[Guest]

I just have to laugh whenever I see a person blame Microsoft for their own
"short comings".

Quote: Did Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore?

Yeah! Right! The millions of people who habitually clone a drive during
drive replacement (I just did it three times in the last two days) are
hallucinating and only "think" that the drive has been successfully cloned.

Best that you go back to the program that you used to copy the drive. Best
that you really read the instruction sheet that comes with every new retail
hard drive, even though you know how to do such a simple task without reading
the booklet/instruction sheet. Best you learn which jumpers to change on the
drive to make the new drive bootable.

But if you want to blame Microsoft for your ineptitude - go for it!

 

[Jon]

Ensure that your 'c: drive' is the "active partition" on that particular
disk ie right-click it in disk management and choose "Mark Partition as
active", if it's not greyed out. Otherwise it may be looking for an
operating system on some other partition on that disk, and switching to your
second disk when it can't find one.

Jon

Sorry Jon,

I just checked my BIOS again and found that my H: drive was selected as
being
the first HD to boot from. The problem is, when I select my C: drive as
the first disk to boot from (which used to be all there was in my PC) I
end up
with my problem as if I did not have the H: drive physically installed.
It
just won't boot at all. I think it has to do with how XP is designating
the
H: drive as the system drive and not the C: drive that is the problem
here.
I'm wondering if there is a recovery console command to make my C: drive
my
system drive and have my computer boot from that drive alone without
having
the other drive installed?

Thanks again for your help!

You can often change which disk you boot from, via the bios, which will
effect it, [as well as physically swapping round the 2 disks (master <-->
slave) / cable connections ]

You can also change the positiion of the page file via
Right-click "My Computer" > Properties > Advanced > Settings (under
performance) > Advanced > Change


Jon

I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3)
allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I
remove
my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits
there
with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but won't
get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It
will
then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot
my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent at
all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive again?
Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used
to
do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does
anyone
have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when my
C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at
least
to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

-Ron

 

[Jon]

NB Each disk has its own "active partition"

Jon

Ensure that your 'c: drive' is the "active partition" on that particular
disk ie right-click it in disk management and choose "Mark Partition as
active", if it's not greyed out. Otherwise it may be looking for an
operating system on some other partition on that disk, and switching to
your second disk when it can't find one.

Jon

Sorry Jon,

I just checked my BIOS again and found that my H: drive was selected as
being
the first HD to boot from. The problem is, when I select my C: drive as
the first disk to boot from (which used to be all there was in my PC) I
end up
with my problem as if I did not have the H: drive physically installed.
It
just won't boot at all. I think it has to do with how XP is designating
the
H: drive as the system drive and not the C: drive that is the problem
here.
I'm wondering if there is a recovery console command to make my C: drive
my
system drive and have my computer boot from that drive alone without
having
the other drive installed?

Thanks again for your help!

You can often change which disk you boot from, via the bios, which will
effect it, [as well as physically swapping round the 2 disks (master <-->
slave) / cable connections ]

You can also change the positiion of the page file via
Right-click "My Computer" > Properties > Advanced > Settings (under
performance) > Advanced > Change


Jon


I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk
crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3)
allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I
remove
my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits
there
with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but
won't
get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It
will
then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot
my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent
at
all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive
again?
Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used
to
do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does
anyone
have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when
my C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at
least
to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

-Ron

 

[Kerry Brown]

The problem occured because you had both identical drives installed at the
same time. You must remove one of the drives before rebooting after the
cloning process. See Pegasus' post. Gather the information he requested and
post back with that info.

 

[Ron Yuen]

Per Pegasus suggestions (Thank you Pegasus!):

Here is the contents of my boot.ini file for my C:\ drive (which is my main
drive). My cloned drive is drive letter H:\

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1"

Microsoft does not prevent cloning but it does not support it either.
This means that if you are not careful you could end up with an
unbootable machine. The reason is simple: Since you booted your
machine with two identical partitions, Windows got confused and
started looking for some files on one partiton and for some on the
other partition. Your task will be to get tell Windows to look on
your original disk only.

I suggest you try this as a starting point:
- Start WinXP with both disks connected.
- Click Start / Run / diskmgmt.msc {OK}
- Work out which disk is which and label them accordingly
(e.g. "Main", "Backup").
- Report their respective drive letters.
- Click Start / Run / notepad X:\boot.ini {OK} where
X: is the drive letter for your "Main" disk.
- Paste the contents of boot.ini into your reply.

-Ron

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Fine. I now need to know your System Drive.
1. Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
2. Type this command:
set systemdrive

What drive letter do you get?

Per Pegasus suggestions (Thank you Pegasus!):

Here is the contents of my boot.ini file for my C:\ drive (which is my main
drive). My cloned drive is drive letter H:\

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1"

crash.
I allowing
me remove
my there
with won't
get will
then at
all. again?
Did to
do anyone
have least
to

Microsoft does not prevent cloning but it does not support it either.
This means that if you are not careful you could end up with an
unbootable machine. The reason is simple: Since you booted your
machine with two identical partitions, Windows got confused and
started looking for some files on one partiton and for some on the
other partition. Your task will be to get tell Windows to look on
your original disk only.

I suggest you try this as a starting point:
- Start WinXP with both disks connected.
- Click Start / Run / diskmgmt.msc {OK}
- Work out which disk is which and label them accordingly
(e.g. "Main", "Backup").
- Report their respective drive letters.
- Click Start / Run / notepad X:\boot.ini {OK} where
X: is the drive letter for your "Main" disk.
- Paste the contents of boot.ini into your reply.

-Ron

 

[Ron Yuen]

Pegasus: I got SystemDrive= H:

Fine. I now need to know your System Drive.
1. Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
2. Type this command:
set systemdrive

What drive letter do you get?

Per Pegasus suggestions (Thank you Pegasus!):

Here is the contents of my boot.ini file for my C:\ drive (which is my main
drive). My cloned drive is drive letter H:\

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1"

I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3) allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I remove
my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits there
with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but won't
get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It will
then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent at
all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive again?
Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used to
do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does anyone
have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when my C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at least
to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

Microsoft does not prevent cloning but it does not support it either.
This means that if you are not careful you could end up with an
unbootable machine. The reason is simple: Since you booted your
machine with two identical partitions, Windows got confused and
started looking for some files on one partiton and for some on the
other partition. Your task will be to get tell Windows to look on
your original disk only.

I suggest you try this as a starting point:
- Start WinXP with both disks connected.
- Click Start / Run / diskmgmt.msc {OK}
- Work out which disk is which and label them accordingly
(e.g. "Main", "Backup").
- Report their respective drive letters.
- Click Start / Run / notepad X:\boot.ini {OK} where
X: is the drive letter for your "Main" disk.
- Paste the contents of boot.ini into your reply.

-Ron

-Ron

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

This is what I suspected. Now do this:
1. Launch Windows with both disks connected.
2. Run regedit.exe via Start / Run.
3. Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
4. Delete the key DosDevices=C:\
5. Rename the key DosDevices=H: to DosDevices=C:
6. Shut down the machine.
7. Disconnect the cloned disk.

Your machine should now boot normally. To complete
the exercise, you should swap the two disks to see if
the cloned disk can boot on its own. If not then some
further adjustments may be required.

Pegasus: I got SystemDrive= H:

Fine. I now need to know your System Drive.
1. Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
2. Type this command:
set systemdrive

What drive letter do you get?

Per Pegasus suggestions (Thank you Pegasus!):

Here is the contents of my boot.ini file for my C:\ drive (which is my main
drive). My cloned drive is drive letter H:\

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1"




I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3) allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I remove
my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits there
with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but won't
get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It will
then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to

boot
my

computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my

intent
at

all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive again?
Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I

used
to

do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does anyone
have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so

when
my C

drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at least
to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

Microsoft does not prevent cloning but it does not support it either.
This means that if you are not careful you could end up with an
unbootable machine. The reason is simple: Since you booted your
machine with two identical partitions, Windows got confused and
started looking for some files on one partiton and for some on the
other partition. Your task will be to get tell Windows to look on
your original disk only.

I suggest you try this as a starting point:
- Start WinXP with both disks connected.
- Click Start / Run / diskmgmt.msc {OK}
- Work out which disk is which and label them accordingly
(e.g. "Main", "Backup").
- Report their respective drive letters.
- Click Start / Run / notepad X:\boot.ini {OK} where
X: is the drive letter for your "Main" disk.
- Paste the contents of boot.ini into your reply.





-Ron

-Ron

 

[Ron Yuen]

Pegasus,

My computer now boots fine off the cloned disk by itself but still will not
boot off my original C:\ drive by itself. It shows me the XP splash screen
but will not advance to the next screen (starting to load your settings etc).
It will sit there with a blank screen for about a minute and then reboots and
starts all over again. I get no error messages like ntldr missing or OS
missing or anything at all; just a blank screen. If I reattach my clone drive
it will boot up okay.

The procedure that was outlined last changed the drive letter of my H: drive
to C: and changed my old C: to H: I think allowing the successful booting of
my "cloned drive" which used to be H: and was marked "system". Now, how do I
make my old C: drive into a system drive without having to reattach my clone
drive to boot up the computer? Thanks!

This is what I suspected. Now do this:
1. Launch Windows with both disks connected.
2. Run regedit.exe via Start / Run.
3. Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
4. Delete the key DosDevices=C:\
5. Rename the key DosDevices=H: to DosDevices=C:
6. Shut down the machine.
7. Disconnect the cloned disk.

Your machine should now boot normally. To complete
the exercise, you should swap the two disks to see if
the cloned disk can boot on its own. If not then some
further adjustments may be required.

Pegasus: I got SystemDrive= H:

Fine. I now need to know your System Drive.
1. Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
2. Type this command:
set systemdrive

What drive letter do you get?


Per Pegasus suggestions (Thank you Pegasus!):

Here is the contents of my boot.ini file for my C:\ drive (which is my
main
drive). My cloned drive is drive letter H:\

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1"




I've installed a new hard drive in my computer in an attempt to make a
clone
of my WIN XP Pro drive and all of my files in case of a hard disk
crash.
I
used an application that came with my Maxtor drive (Max Blast 3)
allowing
me
to make a disk to disk transfer of all my files including OS. I still
have
the "new" drive installed and when I check them in Disk Management it
shows my
cloned drive as the System and my C drive as my Pagefile. Now if I
remove
my
cloned drive my system won't boot; I get no errors but it just sits
there
with
a blank screen after going through the first XP startup screen but
won't
get
to the "starting Windows XP" and "Loading your settings" screen. It
will
then
after a minute or two reboot and start all over. The only way to boot
my
computer now is to have both drives installed which was not my intent
at
all.

How do I tell Windows to make my original C drive my System drive
again?
Did
Microsoft make it impossible to clone my system drive anymore? I used
to
do
this when I had WIN2K as my OS with no problems whatsoever. Does
anyone
have
any suggestions on how I can make a backup of my system drive so when
my C
drive crashes, I can just throw the clone in and be back up again at
least
to
the point of my last cloning?

Thank you very much in advance!!



-Ron

Microsoft does not prevent cloning but it does not support it either.
This means that if you are not careful you could end up with an
unbootable machine. The reason is simple: Since you booted your
machine with two identical partitions, Windows got confused and
started looking for some files on one partiton and for some on the
other partition. Your task will be to get tell Windows to look on
your original disk only.

I suggest you try this as a starting point:
- Start WinXP with both disks connected.
- Click Start / Run / diskmgmt.msc {OK}
- Work out which disk is which and label them accordingly
(e.g. "Main", "Backup").
- Report their respective drive letters.
- Click Start / Run / notepad X:\boot.ini {OK} where
X: is the drive letter for your "Main" disk.
- Paste the contents of boot.ini into your reply.





-Ron

-Ron

-Ron

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I suspect that your original registry acquired a few additional
incorrect drive letter settings when you booted the machine
with both disks in place. To locate them could be quite difficult.

However, since you can now successfully boot with your
cloned disk, you could do this:

1. Boot into WinXP with your cloned disk.
2. Delete all DosDevice values from the registry other than
DosDevice\C:.
3. Clone the clone back to the master.
4. Remember to perform the FIRST boot with just one
disk connected.

Pegasus,

My computer now boots fine off the cloned disk by itself but still will not
boot off my original C:\ drive by itself. It shows me the XP splash screen
but will not advance to the next screen (starting to load your settings etc).
It will sit there with a blank screen for about a minute and then reboots and
starts all over again. I get no error messages like ntldr missing or OS
missing or anything at all; just a blank screen. If I reattach my clone drive
it will boot up okay.

The procedure that was outlined last changed the drive letter of my H: drive
to C: and changed my old C: to H: I think allowing the successful booting of
my "cloned drive" which used to be H: and was marked "system". Now, how do I
make my old C: drive into a system drive without having to reattach my clone
drive to boot up the computer? Thanks!

This is what I suspected. Now do this:
1. Launch Windows with both disks connected.
2. Run regedit.exe via Start / Run.
3. Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
4. Delete the key DosDevices=C:\
5. Rename the key DosDevices=H: to DosDevices=C:
6. Shut down the machine.
7. Disconnect the cloned disk.

Your machine should now boot normally. To complete
the exercise, you should swap the two disks to see if
the cloned disk can boot on its own. If not then some
further adjustments may be required.

Pegasus: I got SystemDrive= H:



Fine. I now need to know your System Drive.
1. Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
2. Type this command:
set systemdrive

What drive letter do you get?


Per Pegasus suggestions (Thank you Pegasus!):

Here is the contents of my boot.ini file for my C:\ drive (which is my
main
drive). My cloned drive is drive letter H:\

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1"

 

[Ron Yuen]

Okay, thanks Pegasus; I will try this and get back to you later (maybe
tomorrow). Thank you again for all your help.

I suspect that your original registry acquired a few additional
incorrect drive letter settings when you booted the machine
with both disks in place. To locate them could be quite difficult.

However, since you can now successfully boot with your
cloned disk, you could do this:

1. Boot into WinXP with your cloned disk.
2. Delete all DosDevice values from the registry other than
DosDevice\C:.
3. Clone the clone back to the master.
4. Remember to perform the FIRST boot with just one
disk connected.

Pegasus,

My computer now boots fine off the cloned disk by itself but still will not
boot off my original C:\ drive by itself. It shows me the XP splash screen
but will not advance to the next screen (starting to load your settings etc).
It will sit there with a blank screen for about a minute and then reboots and
starts all over again. I get no error messages like ntldr missing or OS
missing or anything at all; just a blank screen. If I reattach my clone drive
it will boot up okay.

The procedure that was outlined last changed the drive letter of my H: drive
to C: and changed my old C: to H: I think allowing the successful booting of
my "cloned drive" which used to be H: and was marked "system". Now, how do I
make my old C: drive into a system drive without having to reattach my clone
drive to boot up the computer? Thanks!

This is what I suspected. Now do this:
1. Launch Windows with both disks connected.
2. Run regedit.exe via Start / Run.
3. Navigate to HKLM\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
4. Delete the key DosDevices=C:\
5. Rename the key DosDevices=H: to DosDevices=C:
6. Shut down the machine.
7. Disconnect the cloned disk.

Your machine should now boot normally. To complete
the exercise, you should swap the two disks to see if
the cloned disk can boot on its own. If not then some
further adjustments may be required.



Pegasus: I got SystemDrive= H:



Fine. I now need to know your System Drive.
1. Click Start / Run / cmd {OK}
2. Type this command:
set systemdrive

What drive letter do you get?


Per Pegasus suggestions (Thank you Pegasus!):

Here is the contents of my boot.ini file for my C:\ drive (which is my
main
drive). My cloned drive is drive letter H:\

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="1"

-Ron

-Ron