windows wont start after disk copy

[Guest]

Hi
I used Norton Ghost 10.0 to copy my old hard drive to my new one. When I
take out my old hard drive and put in the new one it almost starts. It gets
past the black windows screen and to a screen that has a dark blue border and
a light blue background. It just stops there. I have it set up to dual boot
win 98 and the win 98 will start. I had to use recovery console to get it
that far. It was telling me "missing files". It does not tell me missing
files anymore it just gets so far then stops.

 

[RJK]

http://www.theeldergeek.com/dual_and_multibooting_xp.htm

regards, Richard

 

[Guest]

Thanks RJK,
I had looked at the konwledgebase before I came to this forum. I have read
and tried the solutions in those articles already, but it didn't help.

 

[RJK]

After imaging one disk to another, you didn't let Windows try to start did
you ? Because that'll really upset things. Windows must never be allowed
to see 2 active partitions, so after doing the copy - don't select the very
last option in Norton Ghost (can't remember what it's called), switch off
and disconnect the original hd.

And there's an option along the way, or setting to make, to set the
Windows/boot partition on the newly copied drive to "active" or inactive.
(haven't done this for ages - but, recently restored my C:\ drive from an
image on my 2nd hd.)

It sounds a little like the freshly copied drive doesn't have a partition
set as active, or it was knackered just before you adjusted the way drives
are connected and booted up with the new drive, because you allowed Windows
to see both active partitions. BTDT - ages ago I "Norton Ghost copied a
drive" and right at the very end of the procedure, (using Ghost 9 I think it
was - could have been older version), whilst sitting at a plain blue Norton
Ghost DOS screen there's an option to "finish" or "disconnect drives", or
something like that and if you select it, Windows will see both active
partitions - BANG !! ...goes your new drive !

regards, Richard

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

After imaging one disk to another, you didn't let Windows try to start did
you ? Because that'll really upset things. Windows must never be allowed
to see 2 active partitions

<snip>

Your basic observation is correct but the conclusion is not.
After cloning, it is important to have just one of the two clone
partitions visible to Windows for the FIRST boot. On subsequent
boots both partitions may be visible. And, of course, Windows
has no objection to seeing two active partitions. Why should it?

 

[RJK]

oooh! little nit-picker !

Well, as you gathered, - that's what I meant - I covered, in as many words,
one mustn't have 2 partitions set active at the same time, after cloning a
disk and then rebooting ...was going to mention PQBOOT*.exe to him
but, though had better not !
....I suspect that you've tried to read something into my post that wasn't
there, in a rather vain attempt to display superior knowledge ?

regards, Richard

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

You wrote "Windows must never be allowed to see 2 active
partitions". This statement is patently wrong and therefore
likely to mislead posters. The purpose of this forum is to
ask questions, to provide answers and to review the answers.
I call it "peer review". If you prefer to call it "nit picking"
or "displaying superior knowledge" then so be it.

If you shold find an error in one of my own replies then
I invite you to correct it. I will even thank you for your
correction!