Migrating Win200 to a new Drive from Dual Boot Setup

[David W. Swager]

I've searched a gazillion posts on copying one drive to another and found
every possible combination except the one I have.

The system has a 30GB IBM Deskstar EIDE hard drive with 3 partitions. C
drive is a 250 MB FAT partition. D Drive is a 8GB FAT32 Partition that has
Win98 on it. E Drive is a 20 GB NTFS partition with Win2000 on it. This
dual boot was nice, but is no longer needed. I would like to install a new
80GB Drive with 2 partitions C (30GB) Win 2000 bootable and a data
partitions D (50GB). I then will add the 30 GB drive as a slave drive E.

The boot.ini file looks like this:
[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional" /fastdetect
C:\ = "Microsoft Windows"

Is there a way to move the Win200 configuration to the new drive (C:, first
partition) as a single OS on the system? How is this done or can you point
me to a web site with this information?

Would you recomend FAT32 or NTFS on the drives? My wife connects to the
current FAT32 and NTFS partitions via her Win98 laptop just fine right now.

The computer has an Asus CUSL2 motherboard and Pentium III 733 processor.

Thanks for any help you may provide!

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I've searched a gazillion posts on copying one drive to another and found
every possible combination except the one I have.

The system has a 30GB IBM Deskstar EIDE hard drive with 3 partitions. C
drive is a 250 MB FAT partition. D Drive is a 8GB FAT32 Partition that has
Win98 on it. E Drive is a 20 GB NTFS partition with Win2000 on it. This
dual boot was nice, but is no longer needed. I would like to install a new
80GB Drive with 2 partitions C (30GB) Win 2000 bootable and a data
partitions D (50GB). I then will add the 30 GB drive as a slave drive E.

The boot.ini file looks like this:
[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional" /fastdetect
C:\ = "Microsoft Windows"

Is there a way to move the Win200 configuration to the new drive (C:, first
partition) as a single OS on the system? How is this done or can you point
me to a web site with this information?

Would you recomend FAT32 or NTFS on the drives? My wife connects to the
current FAT32 and NTFS partitions via her Win98 laptop just fine right now.

The computer has an Asus CUSL2 motherboard and Pentium III 733 processor.

Thanks for any help you may provide!

There is a simple answer to your question: If Windows 2000
saw the light of the day on drive E: then it will have to spend
the rest of its life on drive E:. It's not a question of boot.ini -
this file is only used during the boot process - it's the large
number of references in the registry that all point to E:.
You can try to change them with some registry editor,
and you will most likely cripple your system.

This is why the best and most flexible boot managers
allow you to run ***every*** OS from drive C:, by hiding
the other OSs. XOSL is one of those; the Win2000 boot
manager is not.

FAT32 vs. NTFS - NTFS is the native Win2000 file system.
It offers good security but thends to be slower if you have
you have folders with more than 5000 files. The fact that
your wife makes a connection to your PC from her Win98
PC is irrelevant - her PC is not affected by your choice.

 

[David W. Swager]

Thanks for the help so far!

Decided to partition the new drive into 3 volumes. Used the WD Lifeguard
tools to copy logical drives C: and E: from the old drive to the new drive.
Everything seems to function properly except when I boot Windows 2000 gives
me an error that the swap file is too small. Unfortunately, it does not
give you a way to make it bigger, it just goes back out to the login screen.
This is true in both normal and safe modes.

During the copy, Lifeguard tools indicated that the file ~pst2210.tmp would
not copy. I assume this is the paging file. But when I check both the old
and new drives it appears and is the same size.

Question:

Is there a way to fix this? I was thinking maybe if I just deleted the file
on the new drive it might create a new swap file. I'm at a loss at this
point of how to get what appears to be a good transfer to actually work.
Thought getting it to boot into Wndows 2000 would be the hard part.

I was going to try creating an Emergency Repair Disk from the old harddrive
and using it on the new, but when I look in help for how to create the ERD I
get the following:

"To create an Emergency Repair Disk
1..
2.. On the Tools menu, click Create an Emergency Repair Disk.
3.. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen. "
There is no "Create an Emergency Repair Disk on any tool menu I can find.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Thanks for the help so far!

Decided to partition the new drive into 3 volumes. Used the WD Lifeguard
tools to copy logical drives C: and E: from the old drive to the new drive.
Everything seems to function properly except when I boot Windows 2000 gives
me an error that the swap file is too small. Unfortunately, it does not
give you a way to make it bigger, it just goes back out to the login screen.
This is true in both normal and safe modes.

During the copy, Lifeguard tools indicated that the file ~pst2210.tmp would
not copy. I assume this is the paging file. But when I check both the old
and new drives it appears and is the same size.

Question:

Is there a way to fix this? I was thinking maybe if I just deleted the file
on the new drive it might create a new swap file. I'm at a loss at this
point of how to get what appears to be a good transfer to actually work.
Thought getting it to boot into Wndows 2000 would be the hard part.

I was going to try creating an Emergency Repair Disk from the old harddrive
and using it on the new, but when I look in help for how to create the ERD I
get the following:

"To create an Emergency Repair Disk
1..
2.. On the Tools menu, click Create an Emergency Repair Disk.
3.. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen. "
There is no "Create an Emergency Repair Disk on any tool menu I can find.

The name of the paging file is pagefile.sys, always located in the
root directory of one of your drives. ~pst2210.tmp is a temporary
file - get rid of it.

 

[David W. Swager]

The name of the paging file is pagefile.sys, always located in the
root directory of one of your drives. ~pst2210.tmp is a temporary
file - get rid of it.

Question remains, how to create the pagefile.sys on the new drive? I tried
installing the new drive as a slave and having the old Windows 2000
installation create a pagefile on the new drive. This created the
pagefile.sys file on the new drive, but the new Windows 2000 installation
could did not recognize it as such.

 

[G.Beat]

Question remains, how to create the pagefile.sys on the new drive? I
tried
installing the new drive as a slave and having the old Windows 2000
installation create a pagefile on the new drive. This created the
pagefile.sys file on the new drive, but the new Windows 2000 installation
could did not recognize it as such.

Dave -

Have you gone to:

Control Panel -> System -> Advanced (far right tab at top) -> Performance
Options -> Virtual memory (lower half) -> Change (button)

Greg
w9gb

 

[David W. Swager]

Dave -

Have you gone to:

Control Panel -> System -> Advanced (far right tab at top) -> Performance
Options -> Virtual memory (lower half) -> Change (button)

Greg
w9gb

NO! I can't get that far. I get to the Login Screen and when I log in it
puts up an error message that says the page file does not exist or is too
small and then kicks me back out to the login screen.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

NO! I can't get that far. I get to the Login Screen and when I log in it
puts up an error message that says the page file does not exist or is too
small and then kicks me back out to the login screen.

This problem is caused by your registry requiring a paging file
on a drive that no longer exists. Here are a couple of ways to
resolve it:
- Temporarily install a formatted slave disk, then reset the location
for the paging file.
- Edit the registry of the problem machine with a networked PC and
change the location of the paging file:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

 

[David W. Swager]

This problem is caused by your registry requiring a paging file
on a drive that no longer exists. Here are a couple of ways to
resolve it:
- Temporarily install a formatted slave disk, then reset the location
for the paging file.

I have the old drive and new drive both in and both with 3 partitions. Both
with Win2000 installed on the 3rd partition. The old works and the new
(copied) does not. How do I reset the location for the paging file on the
new drive (set up as a slave) using windows 2000 booted up from the old
drive. Is there a way to get to the registry on the new drive from regedit
on the old drive. The big problem I've had is that win2000 won't boot to a
dos prompt so I can manually get into things and I have long since forgot
how to set up a dos disk to see al the logical drives and stuff. I am
absolutely frustrated, because I set the new drive up with 3 partitions
instead of 2 specifically so the logical drives would match the original
installation.

- Edit the registry of the problem machine with a networked PC and
change the location of the paging file:
HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

Unfortunately, I don't have a win2000 computer on a network for this. I
only have a win98 laptop connected via 802.11g.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I have the old drive and new drive both in and both with 3 partitions. Both
with Win2000 installed on the 3rd partition. The old works and the new
(copied) does not. How do I reset the location for the paging file on the
new drive (set up as a slave) using windows 2000 booted up from the old
drive. Is there a way to get to the registry on the new drive from regedit
on the old drive. The big problem I've had is that win2000 won't boot to a
dos prompt so I can manually get into things and I have long since forgot
how to set up a dos disk to see al the logical drives and stuff. I am
absolutely frustrated, because I set the new drive up with 3 partitions
instead of 2 specifically so the logical drives would match the original
installation.



Unfortunately, I don't have a win2000 computer on a network for this. I
only have a win98 laptop connected via 802.11g.

You can import, modify, then export your flawed registry file -
the functions are under the Registry pull-down menu.

 

[David W. Swager]

You can import, modify, then export your flawed registry file -
the functions are under the Registry pull-down menu.

Got it, I use the regedit application on old drive (working Win2000
installation) to import, modify and export the registry on the new drive
(failed Win2000 installation). When execute the Registry, Import Registry
File... command, What is the name and location of the registry file I'm
looking to import, fix and export?

Thank You for being so patient.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I spoke in haste. Importing a registry file is something completely
different, and totally inappropriate here. What you need is an off-line
registry editor. Do this:
1. Download this boot disk:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html
2. Insert your problem disk. Remove all other disks.
3. Boot from the boot disk.
4. Accept the suggested NT partition.
5. Accept the full path to the registry directory.
6. Type system
7. Type 9 (for Registry Editor)
8. Type ? (to see the available commands)
9. Type ls (to see the current keys)
10. Type cd ControlSet003 (it's case-sensitive!)
11. Type cd Control
12. Type cd Session Manager
13. Type cd Memory Manager
14. Type type PagingFile
You can now see where the system expects your paging file to be.
15. Type edit PagingFiles
16. Type C:\pagefile.sys 192 385
(or whatever is appropriate for you)
17. Type --n
18. Type type PagingFile
You should see your changes.
19. Type q
You will be prompted to save or discard your changes.

Good luck!

 

[David W. Swager]

I spoke in haste. Importing a registry file is something completely
different, and totally inappropriate here. What you need is an off-line
registry editor. Do this:
1. Download this boot disk:
http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/bootdisk.html
2. Insert your problem disk. Remove all other disks.
3. Boot from the boot disk.
4. Accept the suggested NT partition.
5. Accept the full path to the registry directory.
6. Type system
7. Type 9 (for Registry Editor)
8. Type ? (to see the available commands)
9. Type ls (to see the current keys)
10. Type cd ControlSet003 (it's case-sensitive!)
11. Type cd Control
12. Type cd Session Manager
13. Type cd Memory Manager
14. Type type PagingFile
You can now see where the system expects your paging file to be.
15. Type edit PagingFiles
16. Type C:\pagefile.sys 192 385
(or whatever is appropriate for you)
17. Type --n
18. Type type PagingFile
You should see your changes.
19. Type q
You will be prompted to save or discard your changes.

Good luck!

Did as you advised. There was no "ControlSet003", but found "PagingFiles"
in "ControlSet001". When I viewed what it was set at it came out
"E:\pagefile.sys 384 768" which is exacltly what it should be. At this
point I have one Hard Disk in the system (New) with 3 logical drive C:, D: &
E with the Win2000 installation on E: just as the old disk was setup. I
changed the "PagingFiles" entry to "D:\pagefile.sys 384 768" just to see
what happened. When Windows 2000 booted it did the expected integrity scan
on the drive, but listed it as logical drive L:. Now, that was the original
logical drive assigned when the new hard disk was installed as a slave so I
could copy the old disk over, but how in the world disk itself know at one
time it was logical drive L: I mean that is the whole point of logical
drive assignment that it doesn't have to know. IS there a way to tell the
disk it is drive E?

At this point, I'm ready to give up. I mean this (copying an installation
of Windows 2000 to a new hard disk) must have been done millions of times
before. There has to be a simple way to do this or a web site explaining
this.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Did as you advised. There was no "ControlSet003", but found "PagingFiles"
in "ControlSet001". When I viewed what it was set at it came out
"E:\pagefile.sys 384 768" which is exacltly what it should be. At this
point I have one Hard Disk in the system (New) with 3 logical drive C:, D: &
E with the Win2000 installation on E: just as the old disk was setup. I
changed the "PagingFiles" entry to "D:\pagefile.sys 384 768" just to see
what happened. When Windows 2000 booted it did the expected integrity scan
on the drive, but listed it as logical drive L:. Now, that was the original
logical drive assigned when the new hard disk was installed as a slave so I
could copy the old disk over, but how in the world disk itself know at one
time it was logical drive L: I mean that is the whole point of logical
drive assignment that it doesn't have to know. IS there a way to tell the
disk it is drive E?

At this point, I'm ready to give up. I mean this (copying an installation
of Windows 2000 to a new hard disk) must have been done millions of times
before. There has to be a simple way to do this or a web site explaining
this.

Every one of the few thousand machines I have seen in my life
had three Control Sets: ControlSet001, ControlSet002, ControlSet003.
001 is the oldest, 003 the newest. When Windows starts then it
creates a copy of 003 and calls it "CurrentControlSet". Changes to 001
have no effect.

If your machine lacks ControlSet003 then there is something drastically
wrong with it.

As a last resort you can boot into the Command Console to do this:
- Rename system to system.bad
- Rename system.alt to system
- Repeat the treatment with the Nordahl disk.

 

[anonymous]

Hi David,

Have you thought about trying one of the disk cloning softwares like
Partition Magic? Seems to me you could clone your E drive to the first
partition on the new disk, then clone your old C stuff to a second
partition on the new disk.

After swapping your drives cables and jumpers, Partition Magic can be a
big help in fixing the wrong entries in your registry.

I'll paste a bit here from PMs help.


About DriveMapper

When you create, delete, hide, and unhide partitions, your drive letters
can change, causing applications not to run because application
shortcuts, initialization files, and registry entries refer to incorrect
drives. DriveMapper is a wizard that lets you easily update drive letter
references.
Important: DriveMapper does not change drive letter assignments; it only
changes references to the drive letters, which are assigned by your
operating system.

You can run DriveMapper from the PartitionMagic main window. DriveMapper
also runs automatically if the following conditions are all met:

· You apply changes to your system that affect drive letter assignments

· You are running Windows 95 or Windows 98

· Your hard disk contains only FAT or FAT32 partitions

· You have no more than one CD-ROM drive and no more than one removable
drive.

If you are using Windows NT or Windows 2000/XP Professional as your only
operating system, we recommend using the Change Drive Letter operation
(Operation > Advanced > Change Drive Letter) rather than DriveMapper.
Change Drive Letter lets you permanently set the drive letters for your
partitions so that adding and removing partitions does not affect drive
letters. Note that if you merge or split partitions, drive letters will
change even if you are using Windows NT and the Change Drive Letter
operation.

If you have installed an alternative desktop on Windows 3.11 or Windows
95 with the desktop files residing on a different drive than the Windows
system files, DriveMapper may not be able to adjust your paths. Because
DriveMapper is a Windows program, it must have Windows loaded to run. If
the drive letter has been changed for the drive that holds your desktop
files, you may not be able to start Windows.

Using DriveMapper with Multiple Operating Systems

If you run multiple operating systems, you should reinstall applications
rather than use DriveMapper. The following issues make using DriveMapper
in a multiple operating system environment difficult and error-prone:

· Drive letter assignments are based on the file systems supported by an
operating system. If you do not put all FAT32, and NTFS partitions after
all FAT partitions, drive letters will change depending on the operating
system currently running, and DriveMapper may be unable to correctly
identify which changes should be made.

· Registry settings are changed for the current operating system only.
If you manually run DriveMapper from another operating system,
references in files will already be changed in the current operating
system and further changes will introduce errors in the other operating
systems.

· When DriveMapper is running, files contained in hidden partitions are
not updated. If you are using multiple primary partitions for different
operating systems, only the active primary partition may be visible.
Thus, only files in that primary partition will be updated.

Changing Drive Letters in the Correct Order

You must change drive letter in the correct order to avoid destroying
original references before they are used to make changes for other drive
letters.
For example, assume you have two partitions on your hard disk (a primary
partition assigned the drive letter C: and a logical partition assigned
D and a CD-ROM drive assigned E:. Suppose you create a logical
partition between C: and D:. The drive letter of D: changes to E:, and
the drive letter of E: changes to F:; however, references in certain
files continue to reflect the old drive letter assignments. Using
DriveMapper, you must first change the drive E: references to F: and
then change the drive D: references to E:.

When you make a change to your hard disk that adds drive letters, always
change the highest affected drive letter first (drive E: in the previous
example). Likewise, when you make a change to your hard disk that
decreases the number of drive letters, always change the lowest affected
drive letter first. Changing them in a different order changes source
references needed to modify other drive mappings.


Copyright © 1994-2002 PowerQuest Corporation. All rights reserved.


---==X={}=X==---


Jim Self
AVIATION ANIMATION, the internet's largest depository.
http://avanimation.avsupport.com

Your only internet source for spiral staircase plans.
http://jself.com/stair/Stair.htm

 

[Gary Smith]

Every one of the few thousand machines I have seen in my life
had three Control Sets: ControlSet001, ControlSet002, ControlSet003.
001 is the oldest, 003 the newest. When Windows starts then it
creates a copy of 003 and calls it "CurrentControlSet". Changes to 001
have no effect.

If your machine lacks ControlSet003 then there is something drastically
wrong with it.

My machine has ControlSet001 and ControlSet002 -- no ControlSet003. I
don't think there's anything drastically wrong with it. Perhaps 003 is
only created under certain circumstances? When I look at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select, I see

(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)
Current REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
Default REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
Failed REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (0)
LastKnownGood REG_DWORD 0x00000002 (2)

What does a system with ControlSet003 look like?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

My machine has ControlSet001 and ControlSet002 -- no ControlSet003. I
don't think there's anything drastically wrong with it. Perhaps 003 is
only created under certain circumstances? When I look at
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Select, I see

(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)
Current REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
Default REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (1)
Failed REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (0)
LastKnownGood REG_DWORD 0x00000002 (2)

What does a system with ControlSet003 look like?

It looks like so:

(Default) REG_SZ (value not set)
Current REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (2)
Default REG_DWORD 0x00000001 (2)
Failed REG_DWORD 0x00000000 (1)
LastKnownGood REG_DWORD 0x00000002 (3)

What does a system with ControlSet003 look like?

I learnt something new today . . .

 

[David W. Swager]

If your machine lacks ControlSet003 then there is something drastically
wrong with it.

As a last resort you can boot into the Command Console to do this:
- Rename system to system.bad
- Rename system.alt to system
- Repeat the treatment with the Nordahl disk.

Both the old and new drives have ControlSet001, ControlSet002 and
ControlSet004, but no ControlSet003. The original (Old Disk) works fine
while the copied installation of the new disk does not. I assume from the
discussion that the "ControlSetXXX" are all identical and newer ones created
have higher numbers. Is this true?

I will look into ControlSet004 and see if I find an Entry for the
PagingFiles and change it. I still am wondering how Windows 2000 copied to
a disk knows that the logical drive it was assigned when the files were
copied over. That just blows my mind. I copied from E: to L: (one disk to
another) and now with only the new disk installed windows 2000 ran the
integrity scan on L: which in the current configuration is in fact E:.