Trouble installing replacement HDD: Please Help!!

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mavis

n00b
Joined
Jul 29, 2002
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45
Ok, this upgrade is turning into a HUGE nightmare.

Below is a screenshot of my current setup. Obviously the system is bootable at this point, but I've had no luck doing what I want to: I want to move the contents of drive C: to drive K:, and then rename drive K: to drive C: (removing the old drive from the system) ... The OS is WinXP Pro SP1, btw ...

click to enlarge


So far I've tried Seagate DiscWizard, it manages to transfer all the data but then when I remove the original drive, I get an "OS can not be found" message when booting. I tried using FDISK /MBR (from a Win98 boot disk) but that didn't help. I also tried using Seagate DiscWizard's MBR repair utility, but that didn't help either.

Apparently I'm running into problems because I've exceeded the 1024 cylinder limit, or something like that. This strikes me as odd though, since my current WinXP install ALSO exceeds the 1024 limit, yet works just fine. ???

I've also tried using DriveImage 2002, but that program fails while loading, with error #91 (Disc Manager detected but not running) ... I went in using FDISK (using the "/CMBR 1" switch) but that didn't help - DriveImage still refuses to load.

So basically, I'm stuck. I've wasted about 12 hours transfering the data from C: to K: (I've tried it twice already, using Seagate's DiscWizard) and so far the only way I can get this damn PC to boot is to leave the old drive in. What gives???

Any suggestions would be appreciated!!!
 
boot into the OS
Start > Run > (type) diskmgmt.msc > which partition is listed as your system partition?

your trying to clone a FAT32 partition onto an NTFS right now
and you DO need to clone the partition over with the master boot record

the solution might be to convert the FAT32 to NTFS
but report which is the system partition first

and you should move all your data off the D:/ before you delete the C:/ partition the D:/ is an extended partition and is dependent on it

the same is true for K, its a primary partition and L, M, and N are logical drives in the extended partition which is dependent on it
 
Thanks for the reply!

TBH, I got tired of fvcking around with it, and ended up reinstalling Windows last night - I have a slipstreamed SP1 + rollup 1 (and drivers, etc) so it wasn't that painful - just need to reinstall all my progs, etc.

BUt I'm concerned about this primary/logical/extended partition thing. Are you saying that if I delete my C: partition now, and reinstall Windows (create a new C: partition, format, etc) that I'll lose all my data on my D:, E: and F: drives??
 
Primary, Extended Partitions and Logical Drives

The extended DOS partition causes most of the confusion on the part of those setting up new DOS/Windows PCs. It really functions as a "container" that holds all DOS partitions except for the first (primary) volume. The reason that this structure was used is that the original design, with its limit of four partitions, was too restrictive. The extended DOS partition system allows you to have up to 24 disk partitions in a single system, without violating compatibility with older hardware and software designed based on the original four-partition limit. Of course, nobody would use that many partitions on a system in most cases, because it would be a data organization nightmare! :^)

Within the extended DOS partition, the logical drives are stored in a linked structure. The extended partition's information is contained in the master partition table (since the extended partition is one of the four partitions stored in the master boot record). It contains a link to an extended partition table that describes the first logical partition for the disk. That table contains information about that first logical partition, and a link to the next extended partition table which describes the second logical partition on the disk, and so on. The extended partition tables are linked in a chain starting from the master partition table.
Click to expand...

thus if the Primary Partition its an extention of is deleted its an orphan with no way to link its extended partition table to the new master boot record (except editing manually something that is beyond most, including me)

you can have a grand total of 4 primary partition or 3 primary partitions aqnd one extended partition with its own subsequent logical drives, so the ideal solution is to make any extended partition a part of a primary that is not an OS partition (or at least not the system partition)

Definition of System and Boot Partition
primarilly important for dual boot, but also important as it regards cloning or deleting system partitions (which could only be done from a parallel install), if its just a matter of restoring one from a backup (a ghost image for example) its a simple overwrite, same with a reinstall, but the difference is that a restoration of the image would include the old master boot record and its entry to the extended partition table, whereas the reinstall Im not sure, I think as long as the partition isnt deleted its still OK
 
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