Need some help with startup

[Seum]

Hello again Experts,

I am assembling a new components in an effort to startup Win2K. I have
the Win2K Pro CD and I was ready to go but it won't start because of my
shortage of bits and pieces. Usually it reported failure to start. The
partition I want to install on is NTFS. I made an effort to startup
yesterday and was given the info that NTLDR is missing. I had no way of
knowing how to extract that from the Win2K CD. A computer search of the
CD went nowhere.

I know that the least of what I can do is to get my hands on the
following: ntldr, boot.ini, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos, ntbootdd.sys.
Does anyone know whether there is a location from which I might download
them or how I might extract them from the Win2K CD? I had many boot
discs but cannot find them at present, apart from one that two floppy
drives were not able to read. I have a new floppy drive on order and not
with 17 pins - it will be USB.

Comments would be appreciated.

 

[Paul]

Hello again Experts,

I am assembling a new components in an effort to startup Win2K. I have
the Win2K Pro CD and I was ready to go but it won't start because of my
shortage of bits and pieces. Usually it reported failure to start. The
partition I want to install on is NTFS. I made an effort to startup
yesterday and was given the info that NTLDR is missing. I had no way of
knowing how to extract that from the Win2K CD. A computer search of the
CD went nowhere.

I know that the least of what I can do is to get my hands on the
following: ntldr, boot.ini, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos, ntbootdd.sys.
Does anyone know whether there is a location from which I might download
them or how I might extract them from the Win2K CD? I had many boot
discs but cannot find them at present, apart from one that two floppy
drives were not able to read. I have a new floppy drive on order and not
with 17 pins - it will be USB.

Comments would be appreciated.

I'm puzzled by your need to search for the primitive elements of the OS.

First of all, clear things up for us.

1) Are you doing a brand new install on your hard drive ?

2) Are you trying to get an old Win2K install to run on the new computer ?
(Driver mismatch...)

3) Does the hard drive already have something on it, in terms
of files or filesystems ? Sometimes the Windows installer doesn't
like the MBR left by a previous Linux install.

The Win2K CD, boots without help from hard drives. All the
necessary files, for whatever "mini-OS" is used by the
installer, are all there.

Other elements that may be necessary, are things like RAID
drivers or other exotic drivers. Since we've discussed
running the Southbridge SATA ports in "IDE" mode, and you're
using a relatively modern (Win2K SP4 slipstreamed install CD),
you should be ready for just about anything in the way of a
standard IDE mode SATA port. If you were setting up a RAID
with the OS on it, a floppy and some F6 drivers would be
needed.

I've had an older computer here, refuse to boot from anything,
when a "completely empty" hard drive was connected. I needed to
prep the hard drive on another computer, and put a bogus FAT32
partition on it, just to ensure the MBR was non-zero and valid.
And then I could boot from the CD. Without doing that, the BIOS got
upset when it poked the hard drive and found no MBR flag in
the last two bytes of the MBR.

If you have an existing Win2K installation, you can attempt
a repair install using the CD. The CD should be the same
Service Pack level as the existing install. Here, my Win2K
installs have either been at SP2 or SP4 level, and I have
installer CDs set up for both situations. The original
installer is Win2K SP2, and I also have a slipstreamed
Win2K SP4 CD I made. I can use that to repair install
the OS, if it's at the SP4 level (or SP4 plus Rollup).

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic8356.html

If the hard drive with the Win2K OS on it, is your only
copy, I would immediately back up that copy to another hard
drive. I use a sector by sector copy to a spare drive for that.
If an attempted Repair Install goes south, or something gets
damaged, the backup is there to allow you to start over again.

You can use a Linux LiveCD, a spare hard drive, a copy of
"dd" on the LiveCD, to back up a disk. This is a basic,
incomplete command for the process.

sudo dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb # copy entire disk

*******

In the sequence here, you can see "NTLDR is missing" could come
from an issue with the partition boot sector. Another possible
reason, is the NTLDR is actually missing, but that isn't likely
if the disk was previously booting on the old system.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT_startup_process

If you simply "copy" the files from C: on one drive, to
another drive (i.e. from an active partition to an ordinary
partition which was previously used for data), there would be
no partition boot sector in the area just before the file system
begins in that partition. I regularly do just that, copy files
back and forth, and frequently trash the partition boot sector.
It can be repaired from the Recovery Console, using "fixboot"
(from the recovery console msdos-like prompt). I do this
as part of "defragmenting" my C: partition (wash, rinse, repeat).
I've had defragmentation runs that took the better part of a day,
and it's just faster to copy the files all off the partition,
then copy them back after doing some monkey business. And the fixboot,
so it boots again later.

HTH,
Paul

 

[philo]

Hello again Experts,

I am assembling a new components in an effort to startup Win2K. I have the
Win2K Pro CD and I was ready to go but it won't start because of my
shortage of bits and pieces. Usually it reported failure to start. The
partition I want to install on is NTFS. I made an effort to startup
yesterday and was given the info that NTLDR is missing. I had no way of
knowing how to extract that from the Win2K CD. A computer search of the CD
went nowhere.

I know that the least of what I can do is to get my hands on the
following: ntldr, boot.ini, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos, ntbootdd.sys.
Does anyone know whether there is a location from which I might download
them or how I might extract them from the Win2K CD? I had many boot discs
but cannot find them at present, apart from one that two floppy drives
were not able to read. I have a new floppy drive on order and not with 17
pins - it will be USB.

Comments would be appreciated.

To install win2k all you need to do is set your bios to boot first from cd
rom

then boot from your win2k cd and install

the cd is bootable and you will not need floppies


Note: if your hardware is recent, as you state,
there is a good chance you will not be able to obtain Win2k drivers for your
chipset and the machine may have limited usability

but I guess you can give it a try and see


Personally I'd go with a newer OS

 

[Mike Easter]

I am assembling a new components in an effort to startup Win2K. I have
the Win2K Pro CD and I was ready to go but it won't start because of my
shortage of bits and pieces. Usually it reported failure to start. The
partition I want to install on is NTFS.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304868 How To Install Windows 2000
Professional - When the Windows 2000 Professional Setup screen appears,
either press ENTER to set up Windows 2000 Professional on the selected
partition, or press C to create a partition in the unpartitioned space.

Vid

How to Install Windows 2000

The (first vid on that page) is best viewed in fullscreen mode with the
background sound turned down. If you don't like that vid, there are
others on the same page.

Then you can say/describe here what you are having a problem with, since
the MS kb and the vid/s don't describe your having to do anything
'personally' with those install pieces and parts.

 

[Seum]

Thanks again Paul. You're always there to help

I'm puzzled by your need to search for the primitive elements of the OS.

First of all, clear things up for us.

1) Are you doing a brand new install on your hard drive ?

The SATA drive had no OS on it and I am now trying to install Win2K on it.

2) Are you trying to get an old Win2K install to run on the new computer ?

(Driver mismatch...)
Ouch!, it seems that way.

3) Does the hard drive already have something on it, in terms
of files or filesystems ? Sometimes the Windows installer doesn't
like the MBR left by a previous Linux install.

Yes, it has 2 partitions with files. This 750GB Seagate never had an OS
on it before. I was trying to put the usual OS files on the 3rd
partition because several attempts to load Win2K onto a blank NTFS
partition failed.

The Win2K CD, boots without help from hard drives. All the
necessary files, for whatever "mini-OS" is used by the
installer, are all there.

I'll have another try today.

Other elements that may be necessary, are things like RAID
drivers or other exotic drivers. Since we've discussed
running the Southbridge SATA ports in "IDE" mode, and you're
using a relatively modern (Win2K SP4 slipstreamed install CD),
you should be ready for just about anything in the way of a
standard IDE mode SATA port. If you were setting up a RAID
with the OS on it, a floppy and some F6 drivers would be
needed.

I have no interest in RAID. I used the BIOS to switch the 1st SATA
port to IDE and that is the port that the Segate is attached to now.

I've had an older computer here, refuse to boot from anything,
when a "completely empty" hard drive was connected. I needed to
prep the hard drive on another computer, and put a bogus FAT32
partition on it, just to ensure the MBR was non-zero and valid.
And then I could boot from the CD. Without doing that, the BIOS got
upset when it poked the hard drive and found no MBR flag in
the last two bytes of the MBR.

When the partition I want to use was completely empty I always got a
Failure message. After I put a few small files on it, the message was
changed to Missing NTLDR. Would I have to remove the NTFS and install
FAT32, or is there a game to play first? How and when to apply FAT32?

If you have an existing Win2K installation, you can attempt
a repair install using the CD. The CD should be the same
Service Pack level as the existing install. Here, my Win2K
installs have either been at SP2 or SP4 level, and I have
installer CDs set up for both situations. The original
installer is Win2K SP2, and I also have a slipstreamed
Win2K SP4 CD I made. I can use that to repair install
the OS, if it's at the SP4 level (or SP4 plus Rollup).

I do have two HDs with Win2K installed and both have SP4 installed.
I hadn't thought of keeping a copies but, thanks to you,
I now know. How do you 'slipstream' Win2K SP4?

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic8356.html

That's a excellent article. Thanks!

If the hard drive with the Win2K OS on it, is your only
copy, I would immediately back up that copy to another hard
drive. I use a sector by sector copy to a spare drive for that.
If an attempted Repair Install goes south, or something gets
damaged, the backup is there to allow you to start over again.

I have the original Microsoft CD that I used only once and a backup
copy made after that first installation. That backup I always use.

You can use a Linux LiveCD, a spare hard drive, a copy of
"dd" on the LiveCD, to back up a disk. This is a basic,
incomplete command for the process.

sudo dd if=/dev/hda of=/dev/hdb # copy entire disk

*******

That's a good suggestion but I feel secure with the 2 I have now.
I will be saving this Linux info.

In the sequence here, you can see "NTLDR is missing" could come
from an issue with the partition boot sector. Another possible
reason, is the NTLDR is actually missing, but that isn't likely
if the disk was previously booting on the old system.

The Seagate disk never had an OS on it and, as I mentioned, the last
response I had was NTLDR missing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_NT_startup_process

That is a great article

If you simply "copy" the files from C: on one drive, to
another drive (i.e. from an active partition to an ordinary
partition which was previously used for data), there would be
no partition boot sector in the area just before the file system
begins in that partition. I regularly do just that, copy files
back and forth, and frequently trash the partition boot sector.
It can be repaired from the Recovery Console, using "fixboot"
(from the recovery console msdos-like prompt). I do this
as part of "defragmenting" my C: partition (wash, rinse, repeat).
I've had defragmentation runs that took the better part of a day,
and it's just faster to copy the files all off the partition,
then copy them back after doing some monkey business. And the fixboot,
so it boots again later.

From what I remember, I almost always used the same drive. No moving
files between partitions, unless they are unrelated to the OS.

Paul, how many centuries have you spent learning IT?

HTH,
Paul

That did help Paul, thanks!

 

[Seum]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304868 How To Install Windows 2000
Professional - When the Windows 2000 Professional Setup screen appears,
either press ENTER to set up Windows 2000 Professional on the selected
partition, or press C to create a partition in the unpartitioned space.

Vid

How to Install Windows 2000

The (first vid on that page) is best viewed in fullscreen mode with the
background sound turned down. If you don't like that vid, there are
others on the same page.

Then you can say/describe here what you are having a problem with, since
the MS kb and the vid/s don't describe your having to do anything
'personally' with those install pieces and parts.

Thanks Mike - That's a good suggestion. Will give it a try.
It has been a long time since I installed Win2K, although I have been
using it most of the time since 1999, when I finished my MCSE and was
given the 2000 CDs by Msoft for a very small sum. I can't now remember
how much but I know that it was very much smaller than the prices to the
public.

 

[Paul]

Thanks again Paul. You're always there to help


The SATA drive had no OS on it and I am now trying to install Win2K on it.

(Driver mismatch...)
Ouch!, it seems that way.

Yes, it has 2 partitions with files. This 750GB Seagate never had an OS
on it before. I was trying to put the usual OS files on the 3rd
partition because several attempts to load Win2K onto a blank NTFS
partition failed.


I'll have another try today.


I have no interest in RAID. I used the BIOS to switch the 1st SATA
port to IDE and that is the port that the Segate is attached to now.


When the partition I want to use was completely empty I always got a
Failure message. After I put a few small files on it, the message was
changed to Missing NTLDR. Would I have to remove the NTFS and install
FAT32, or is there a game to play first? How and when to apply FAT32?


I do have two HDs with Win2K installed and both have SP4 installed.
I hadn't thought of keeping a copies but, thanks to you,
I now know. How do you 'slipstream' Win2K SP4?


That's a excellent article. Thanks!


I have the original Microsoft CD that I used only once and a backup
copy made after that first installation. That backup I always use.


That's a good suggestion but I feel secure with the 2 I have now.
I will be saving this Linux info.


The Seagate disk never had an OS on it and, as I mentioned, the last
response I had was NTLDR missing.


That is a great article


From what I remember, I almost always used the same drive. No moving
files between partitions, unless they are unrelated to the OS.

Paul, how many centuries have you spent learning IT?


That did help Paul, thanks!

At this point, I'd suggest double checking the boot order
in the BIOS. Make sure the CD/DVD drive with the Win2K CD
in it, is "ahead" of the hard drive. This is how I typically
set my boot order in the BIOS.

Floppy
CDROM
Hard drive

Now, my next bit of advice, is to exercise extreme caution.
You may have already trashed the data on the 750GB drive!

"This 750GB Seagate never had an OS on it before. I was
trying to put the usual OS files on the 3rd partition
because several attempts to load Win2K onto a blank NTFS
partition failed."

You should not be using Win2K SP2 for this. You want Win2K SP4,
because of the possible issue with 48 bit LBA. This document
from Seagate (archived copy), addresses support for large
drives. They recommend Win2K SP3 or higher, and Win2K SP4
fits the bill.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070121085230/http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/tp/137gb.pdf

To make a slipstreamed disc, you can use NLite.

"Integrate a Service Pack"
http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

At the time I made my Win2K SP4 disc, I used Autostreamer.
I downloaded and compared the contents of the 847KB download
here, to the one I have on disk, and the components of the EXE
all have the same MD5SUM. So this is version 1.0.33 of
Autostreamer, which can also add a Service Pack to an
installer CD. If you don't have CD burner software, you
can look for a copy of Imgburn.

http://ubcd4win.com/downloads.htm

http://www.ubcd4win.com/downloads/AutoStreamer.exe

*******

If I was on a desert island, and had no autostreamer (stuck
with a Win2K SP2 disc), this is what I'd do.

1) Move the data off the 750GB drive.
2) When adding partitions to the disk, no partition can extend
above 137GB. For the purposes of this exercise, you could
create a small 20GB FAT32 partition if you want, leaving
room for a 100GB or so data partition. Leave the
rest of the disk unallocated. I typically use a 20GB
partition for Win2K, as my 20GB partition still has
plenty of room.

<-- < 137GB -->
20 GB 100GB Unallocated

<----------------- 750GB total ----->

Now, do your install.

The reason this works, is the OS is never tempted to write above
the 137GB mark. If the space above 120GB or so is unallocated,
there is never a reason to go up there. I managed a disk drive,
using that method, for at least a year, and nothing bad happened.
I later installed SP4, in order to extend or add new partitions
above 137GB.

Paul

 

[Seum]

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/304868 How To Install Windows 2000
Professional - When the Windows 2000 Professional Setup screen appears,
either press ENTER to set up Windows 2000 Professional on the selected
partition, or press C to create a partition in the unpartitioned space.

Vid

How to Install Windows 2000

The (first vid on that page) is best viewed in fullscreen mode with the
background sound turned down. If you don't like that vid, there are
others on the same page.

Thanks Mike.

I am very familiar with installing Win2K in a reasonably simple
situation but my present one is more than 10 times more complicated.

Then you can say/describe here what you are having a problem with, since
the MS kb and the vid/s don't describe your having to do anything
'personally' with those install pieces and parts.

Paul has a far better grasp than me when it comes to the complicated
pieces and he suggested that I needed to get the Sony DVD into the 1st
Boot Device place. Second place is also an important and the place for
the SATA drive. I had little trouble getting the Sony into the top place
and I struggled to get the SATA into 2nd and gave up.
More info below where I am continuing this situation.

 

[Seum]

At this point, I'd suggest double checking the boot order
in the BIOS. Make sure the CD/DVD drive with the Win2K CD
in it, is "ahead" of the hard drive. This is how I typically
set my boot order in the BIOS.

Floppy
CDROM
Hard drive

My floppy doesn't work - only one IDE socket on my M'board.
I have a PCI floppy on order.
I had real trouble trying to get that Hard Drive on top of the
list of 4 in the Quick Boot Enabled in the BIOS.
It started with
1- Removable Dev.
2 - SATA
3 - ATAPI CD-ROM
4 - IDE Sony DVD RW

I wanted to get 4 (Sony) on top and managed it. I had serious trouble
putting 2 (SATA) for the 2nd and I left it. Having the SATA down lower
seemed not to make a difference.

Now, my next bit of advice, is to exercise extreme caution.
You may have already trashed the data on the 750GB drive!

Oddly, after far more thrashing that I have done before, it seems still
to be intact

"This 750GB Seagate never had an OS on it before. I was
trying to put the usual OS files on the 3rd partition
because several attempts to load Win2K onto a blank NTFS
partition failed."

You should not be using Win2K SP2 for this. You want Win2K SP4,
because of the possible issue with 48 bit LBA. This document
from Seagate (archived copy), addresses support for large
drives. They recommend Win2K SP3 or higher, and Win2K SP4
fits the bill.

I was trying to install Win2K from its original, with the intention
of adding SP4 immediately afterwards. I have no Win2K SP4 on a disk.
Let's also remember that the contents of my Seagate was due to Win2K and
was partitioned by the same Win2K (most probably with SP4) several years
back. Before I had the access to the Seagate in my "new" computer I
decided to connect it externally to my Win 7 box. I managed to set up an
NTFS partition with around 114GB and afterwards I remembered that it was
a bad idea - it was Win 7's NTFS. Ouch!

Soon afterwards I decided to delete the Win 7 NTFS of the 114 GB
partition and let the "new" computer do it. I put my Seagate back into
the 'new' computer and managed to get my Win2K CD in place and it
started up. Hurrah! First time I saw that blue in my present endeavours!
The BIOS started up and showed:
C: unformatted or damaged 204 GB
unformatted space 256 GB
Unpartitioned or damaged 120 GB
It would take only the NTFS formatted space 256 GB and it had to be FAT.
I decided to let it go and it continued for well over an hour and then
it gave up.

Interestingly, the work on the "unformatted space 256 GB" made no impact
on what was in that partition when it finished. It probably had plenty
of space on that drive and it deleted what it had accumulated.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070121085230/http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/tp/137gb.pdf


To make a slipstreamed disc, you can use NLite.

"Integrate a Service Pack"
http://www.nliteos.com/guide/part1.html

At the time I made my Win2K SP4 disc, I used Autostreamer.
I downloaded and compared the contents of the 847KB download
here, to the one I have on disk, and the components of the EXE
all have the same MD5SUM. So this is version 1.0.33 of
Autostreamer, which can also add a Service Pack to an
installer CD. If you don't have CD burner software, you
can look for a copy of Imgburn.

http://ubcd4win.com/downloads.htm

http://www.ubcd4win.com/downloads/AutoStreamer.exe

*******

Thanks for that info. I will copy and save it.

If I was on a desert island, and had no autostreamer (stuck
with a Win2K SP2 disc), this is what I'd do.

1) Move the data off the 750GB drive.
2) When adding partitions to the disk, no partition can extend
above 137GB. For the purposes of this exercise, you could
create a small 20GB FAT32 partition if you want, leaving
room for a 100GB or so data partition. Leave the
rest of the disk unallocated. I typically use a 20GB
partition for Win2K, as my 20GB partition still has
plenty of room.

<-- < 137GB -->
20 GB 100GB Unallocated

<----------------- 750GB total ----->

Good advice. I wish my brain could soak it all up. Sigh!

Now, do your install.

The reason this works, is the OS is never tempted to write above
the 137GB mark. If the space above 120GB or so is unallocated,
there is never a reason to go up there. I managed a disk drive,
using that method, for at least a year, and nothing bad happened.
I later installed SP4, in order to extend or add new partitions
above 137GB.

Paul

Thanks again Paul. I feel about 10% closer to where I am going .

 

[Paul]

My floppy doesn't work - only one IDE socket on my M'board.
I have a PCI floppy on order.
I had real trouble trying to get that Hard Drive on top of the
list of 4 in the Quick Boot Enabled in the BIOS.
It started with
1- Removable Dev.
2 - SATA
3 - ATAPI CD-ROM
4 - IDE Sony DVD RW

I wanted to get 4 (Sony) on top and managed it. I had serious trouble
putting 2 (SATA) for the 2nd and I left it. Having the SATA down lower
seemed not to make a difference.

Your manual mentions the ability to press "F8" function
key early in boot.

That will cause a popup boot menu to appear. You use the cursor keys
to navigate and highlight the boot device you want to boot from.
There is an example here, of what that BIOS level screen looks like.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/Von_klumpen/boot_pop.jpg

All of your optical drives should be listed. Even a drive which
currently lacks a disc in the tray will be presented. Simply open
the tray (while the F8 menu is still on screen) and insert a
boot or installer disc, and when the optical drive has settled
down again, you can hit <Enter> and it should start booting from
the optical drive you selected.

I use the regular boot sequence (the one you've been trying to
program), when my machine is "stable" and I'm using the same
disk every day. I use the "F8" option at startup, when temporarily
using other OSes, add/removing disks, and so on. F8 saves time on
re-programming the boot menu every time.

This is something the earlier BIOS lacked, and with those, you're
stuck editing the boot menu every time.

To recognize F8, there is only a small window of opportunity. When
the main BIOS progress screen starts printing, you may see a
prompt to press <Delete> to enter the BIOS, or press <F8> for the
boot menu. That's when F8 will be recognized. If the main BIOS screen
disappears, and secondary BIOS progress screens appear (like trying to
find an IDE device on the ribbon cable), it may be too late to have
F8 detected. In which case, you'll need to control-alt-delete
or press the RESET hardware button and try again.

Paul

 

[Seum]

Your manual mentions the ability to press "F8" function
key early in boot.

Thanks, I'll try that next time.

That will cause a popup boot menu to appear. You use the cursor keys
to navigate and highlight the boot device you want to boot from.
There is an example here, of what that BIOS level screen looks like.

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa279/Von_klumpen/boot_pop.jpg

I have seen those when I was playing around with the BIOS but what I
experienced seems much messier that the nice organized "Please select
boot device.".

All of your optical drives should be listed. Even a drive which
currently lacks a disc in the tray will be presented. Simply open
the tray (while the F8 menu is still on screen) and insert a
boot or installer disc, and when the optical drive has settled
down again, you can hit <Enter> and it should start booting from
the optical drive you selected.

As far as I know I have no optical drives. I don't remember ever buying
one but that F8 and the paragraph above look very interesting.

I use the regular boot sequence (the one you've been trying to
program), when my machine is "stable" and I'm using the same
disk every day. I use the "F8" option at startup, when temporarily
using other OSes, add/removing disks, and so on. F8 saves time on
re-programming the boot menu every time.

That's new to me, a raw beginner

This is something the earlier BIOS lacked, and with those, you're
stuck editing the boot menu every time.
Good news!

To recognize F8, there is only a small window of opportunity. When
the main BIOS progress screen starts printing, you may see a
prompt to press <Delete> to enter the BIOS, or press <F8> for the
boot menu. That's when F8 will be recognized. If the main BIOS screen
disappears, and secondary BIOS progress screens appear (like trying to
find an IDE device on the ribbon cable), it may be too late to have
F8 detected. In which case, you'll need to control-alt-delete
or press the RESET hardware button and try again.

Paul

In my case too the Delete button gets right into the BIOS. I suspect the
rest of that paragraph will take me some time.

Thanks again Paul

 

[Nobody > (Revisited)]

Hello again Experts,

I am assembling a new components in an effort to startup Win2K. I have
the Win2K Pro CD and I was ready to go but it won't start because of my
shortage of bits and pieces. Usually it reported failure to start. The
partition I want to install on is NTFS. I made an effort to startup
yesterday and was given the info that NTLDR is missing. I had no way of
knowing how to extract that from the Win2K CD. A computer search of the
CD went nowhere.

I know that the least of what I can do is to get my hands on the
following: ntldr, boot.ini, ntdetect.com, bootsect.dos, ntbootdd.sys.
Does anyone know whether there is a location from which I might download
them or how I might extract them from the Win2K CD? I had many boot
discs but cannot find them at present, apart from one that two floppy
drives were not able to read. I have a new floppy drive on order and not
with 17 pins - it will be USB.

Comments would be appreciated.

There comes a time when you need to throw in the towel and quit.

Is there any particular reason (hardware, software, etc) why you *have*
to have Win2K?

If you are strapped for cash, I have an extra copy of XP Home (legit)
that I'm willing to give you. It's the "Upgrade" version, but I'll throw
in a Win 98 disk to make it fly. (and a XP SP3 disk as well, this one is
SP1 at best). The reply-to is valid.






--
"Shit this is it, all the pieces do fit.
We're like that crazy old man jumping
out of the alleyway with a baseball bat,
saying, "Remember me motherfucker?"
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum

 

[RayLopez99]

On 7/3/2011 1:37 PM, Seum wrote:




There comes a time when you need to throw in the towel and quit.

Is there any particular reason (hardware, software, etc) why you *have*
to have Win2K?

If you are strapped for cash, I have an extra copy of XP Home (legit)
that I'm willing to give you. It's the "Upgrade" version, but I'll throw
in a Win 98 disk to make it fly. (and a XP SP3 disk as well, this one is
SP1 at best). The reply-to is valid.

--

If "Seum" the putative Third Worlder does not take you up on your
generous offer then "Seum" confirms they are a troll wasting the
board's time with frivolous shiite.

RL

 

[Seum]

There comes a time when you need to throw in the towel and quit.

Is there any particular reason (hardware, software, etc) why you *have*
to have Win2K?

If you are strapped for cash, I have an extra copy of XP Home (legit)
that I'm willing to give you. It's the "Upgrade" version, but I'll throw
in a Win 98 disk to make it fly. (and a XP SP3 disk as well, this one is
SP1 at best). The reply-to is valid.

Thank you Mr Somebody with Xps to throw away. That is most generous. I
have done some work on the Xp for friends and family in the past and am
convinced that I would like it better.

Do you have two original Xp CDs? If so I would certainly take one. Where
do you hang out?

Thank you for the offer

 

[GMAN]

Thank you Mr Somebody with Xps to throw away. That is most generous. I
have done some work on the Xp for friends and family in the past and am
convinced that I would like it better.

Do you have two original Xp CDs? If so I would certainly take one. Where
do you hang out?

Thank you for the offer

If you still like the look of 2000 but want XP. With a few mouse clicks, XP
can be made to have the look of 2000.

 

[Nobody > (Revisited)]

Thank you Mr Somebody with Xps to throw away. That is most generous. I
have done some work on the Xp for friends and family in the past and am
convinced that I would like it better.

Do you have two original Xp CDs? If so I would certainly take one. Where
do you hang out?

Thank you for the offer

I'm in the USA. My reply-to in the headers is valid (and read). Contact
me there via email.


--
"Shit this is it, all the pieces do fit.
We're like that crazy old man jumping
out of the alleyway with a baseball bat,
saying, "Remember me motherfucker?"
Jim “Dandy” Mangrum

 

[Paul]

Now, my next bit of advice, is to exercise extreme caution.
You may have already trashed the data on the 750GB drive!

"This 750GB Seagate never had an OS on it before. I was
trying to put the usual OS files on the 3rd partition
because several attempts to load Win2K onto a blank NTFS
partition failed."

You should not be using Win2K SP2 for this. You want Win2K SP4,
because of the possible issue with 48 bit LBA. This document
from Seagate (archived copy), addresses support for large
drives. They recommend Win2K SP3 or higher, and Win2K SP4
fits the bill.

http://web.archive.org/web/20070121085230/http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/disc/tp/137gb.pdf

I did some testing on this.

I installed Win2K SP2 on a 250GB hard drive. I placed partitions
in various places, to see what would happen.

0GB 137GB 250GB
+------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Installed | Partition | Partition |
| Win2K here |straddles 137GB | fully above 137GB |
+------------+----------------+-------------------+

The first thing you notice, is when the installer CD is working
with the disk, it claims it's a 137Gb disk, rather than a 250GB
disk. So it simply refuses to accept it is a large disk. (I've
noticed in the past, that my SP4 disc, sees the whole drive and
reports it is a 250GB drive.)

And that tells me, if you wanted to make a boot partition
above 137GB or position it up there, that's not going to
work. So your idea of placing Win2K in the third partition
of the 750GB disk, is likely to be pushing Win2K too high
for the installer to even start.

If you install Win2K SP2 down low, as I did in that diagram,
then the next issue is what happens when you boot into
Windows after the install is complete.

For the partition fully above 137GB, Windows knows there
is a partition there (based on the MBR entry), but it
tries and tries to determine the file system and gives
up. It might even prompt you to format it, since it
doesn't appear to have a file system. Nothing bad
happened to that partition, so that was fine. I
just couldn't access the partition up near the end.
Accessing that partition with another OS later, that
partition was fine.

The one straddling 137GB was a different matter. The front
part of the partition is accessible, and Windows decides
there is a partition there.

Since the upper half of the partition can't be accessed,
CHKDSK was triggered during the first boot. Windows
claimed to be fixing stuff.

I'd placed a single test file in the 137GB partition,
and when opening it, the wrong info was inside the file.
That counts as a kind of corruption.

After booting back into Win2K SP4, it appeared there
was no permanent damage. If I'd spent more time
on it, I might have cooked up a better test file
pattern.

So there is an element of "scary" there, especially
if the 750GB disk contains the only copy of some data.
And the partition most in danger, is the one straddling
the 137GB mark.

Paul

 

[Seum]

I did some testing on this.

I installed Win2K SP2 on a 250GB hard drive. I placed partitions
in various places, to see what would happen.

0GB 137GB 250GB
+------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Installed | Partition | Partition |
| Win2K here |straddles 137GB | fully above 137GB |
+------------+----------------+-------------------+

The first thing you notice, is when the installer CD is working
with the disk, it claims it's a 137Gb disk, rather than a 250GB
disk. So it simply refuses to accept it is a large disk. (I've
noticed in the past, that my SP4 disc, sees the whole drive and
reports it is a 250GB drive.)

And that tells me, if you wanted to make a boot partition
above 137GB or position it up there, that's not going to
work. So your idea of placing Win2K in the third partition
of the 750GB disk, is likely to be pushing Win2K too high
for the installer to even start.

If you install Win2K SP2 down low, as I did in that diagram,
then the next issue is what happens when you boot into
Windows after the install is complete.

For the partition fully above 137GB, Windows knows there
is a partition there (based on the MBR entry), but it
tries and tries to determine the file system and gives
up. It might even prompt you to format it, since it
doesn't appear to have a file system. Nothing bad
happened to that partition, so that was fine. I
just couldn't access the partition up near the end.
Accessing that partition with another OS later, that
partition was fine.

The one straddling 137GB was a different matter. The front
part of the partition is accessible, and Windows decides
there is a partition there.

Since the upper half of the partition can't be accessed,
CHKDSK was triggered during the first boot. Windows
claimed to be fixing stuff.

I'd placed a single test file in the 137GB partition,
and when opening it, the wrong info was inside the file.
That counts as a kind of corruption.

After booting back into Win2K SP4, it appeared there
was no permanent damage. If I'd spent more time
on it, I might have cooked up a better test file
pattern.

So there is an element of "scary" there, especially
if the 750GB disk contains the only copy of some data.
And the partition most in danger, is the one straddling
the 137GB mark.

I made two attempts to get the ASUS to install Win2K. It refused to
use the partition of about 110GB and went straight to the partition with
about 260GB and, at about the 3/4 point of the installation, it gave up.
I repeated that and the second time it started down the same road.

Paul

Thanks again Paul

I too have been doing my little studies.
First, I have opened up my Advent computer and found some new info.
The motherboard is a Foxconn A74ML-K and here are two extracts I had
from the manual:
"The chipset driver of this motherboard does not support Windows 2000."
and Page 46 (53 of 105) indicates: "Supporting Operating Systems:
Windows 2000"
How is that for accuracy? It also has very few connections available.
But it has provided me with some help. Fortunately, the Corsair TX750
PSU has connections with plugs that can stretch out almost a yard, so
now I have the Seagate 750GB (SATA) and a Western Digital 320GB (IDE) -
both connected to the Advent. My "new" computer is providing the juice
to keep those two drives running. I believe I will be able to move all
of the data from the Seagate to the WD 320GB.

Next, I hope to setup a bunch of partitions on the Seagate and put it
back into the "new" computer. I would like to get 2 OSs on that Seagate
and am pondering about the sizes of these partitions. I have been
thinking of making them as small as about 10GB. Why should they need any
more space?

I have been wondering if the Advent could recognize the two attached
drives without having to reboot. I feel that there should be a shortcut.

Now back to moving data.