jaclaz

On unrelated news, the rage is mounting about the "hypothetical" EULA of the "hypothetical" google glasses: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/04/google-glass-resales/ http://hothardware.com/News/By-Prescription-Only--Google-Will-Brick-Glasses-If-You-Loan-Them-Out/ jaclaz

Yep. Yes, but you need some background. Drive letter is a "residual" of DOS, NT based systems do not really-really use drive letters (though 99.99% of programs running in them do use them). I know it sounds "crazy" apparently, but that is how it works. Boot.ini uses ARC paths (and knows nothing about drive letters), this is why a typical entry in it is like: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS i.e. a partition/volume is accessed by it's address, in the above first partition (1) on first disk (0). Then NT boots and the same volume is seen (in disk management or diskpart) in a similar way, the actual NT name will be \Device\Harddisk0\Partition1 or \Device\HarddiskVolume1 or \Device\Harddisk0\DR0 or , you can use the nice Sysinternals program Winobj: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896657.aspx and also an GUID is assigned to it (try running the MOUNTVOL command), like \??\Volume{83092730-6bfc-11df-b90c-806d6172696f}. then a drive letter is assigned to it (i.e. the Volume is mounted to a drive letter). If there are no related settings in the Registry (namely in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices ) the letter assignment is automatic (following a given set of Rules, first non-hidden primary on first disk is given C:, etc.) OR you can choose to NOT assign a drive letter (i.e. the Volume is NOT mounted) OR you can use INSTEAD of a drive letter (on NTFS only) a mountpoint see: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc938934.aspx So, the idea is not to "hide" the partition(s) but simply to NOT mount the "other" volume on each of the two installs. The easiest is to use migrate.inf during setup to have it mount to a "different from C:" drive letter, let's say U:, and later, once install is complete, de-assign the drive letter from the volume. The reference I made was about the impossibility of accessing the BOOT.INI (as the only item that may need to be edited) on the non-mounted volume, but it is only a matter of temporarily mounting it in order to do the editing. Yes, but actually in the worse case you will have re-installed to the "same, wrong" drive letter, nothing catastrophical. I gave you the "complex" way in order to see what you thought about it. The key question here is if you have a working PE of some kind and you are familiar with it in order to do the editing of the migrate.inf. Booting a grub4dos (from say a USB stick) and simply hiding the first partition (second in your case) before installing the XP 64 is far easier. The only issue with this approach might be if the second partition (third in your case) is not a primary one but a volume inside extended. Well, as a matter of fact what most people fail to realize is that a menu.lst is correspondent to a batch file, i.e. it is a way to repeat a set of commands at will, in this case you need not a menu.lst, you simply want to run a few grub4dos commands on the command line. Think at grub4dos like you would think at DOS: it is a (minimal) Operating System with a set of commands available. Think at menu.lst like you would think at DOS' Autoexec.bat and Config.sys, a set of commands (and choices) that will execute when booting the OS. The grub4dos guide by diddy: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/Grub4dos.htm details enough most of the basic usage of the tool (though since the time it was written a number of new features were added to grub4dos). You need to read just these pages: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/basics.htm http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/cli.htm and something about disk swapping: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/map.htm#swap and learn about three commands: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/commands.htm#hide http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/commands.htm#unhide http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/commands.htm#makeactive You are welcome. If I were you I would boot from a USB stick with grub4dos on it (an easy way to create one is using RMPREPUSB: http://www.rmprepusb.com/ ), then issue these commands: first three lines "restore" the disk order as if you hadn't booted from USB, the ls should show the contents of your current XP 32 partitions, it is just a check to make sure that device/partition numbers are correct. Then: this should list the contents of the partition on which you are going to install the XP 64. You should (from the XP 32) delete the contents of this partition and make on it a "tag file", deleting the contents is needed because otherwise the XP install will probably use the current "wrong" drive letters from the XP 64 Registry and making on it a file like "thisis_64_bit_part.txt" is just a way to make sure that partition is the "right" one. Then: i.e. make active the third partition and hide the second one. Then reboot and install the XP 64 "normally". Once done that simply unhide the second partition, either booting to grub4dos and: or by using *any* Windows tool oriented to managing partition tables/MBR, the mentioned PTEDIT32 would do, but also any disk editor will do as well or any other tool you are more familiar with. When you reboot you will still have the XP64 only actually booting, this time the XP32 partition (since it is non-hidden) will get a drive letter, up to you if you want to change it or remove it alltogether in Disk Management. Now you need to edit the BOOT.INI (on the XP64 partition) to add an entry for the XP32 partition. This way the "main" bootmanager will be the one on the third partition. If you want to use instead the one on the second partition you need to make that active instead (and add to the BOOT.INI on the second partition an entry for the XP64 install). This is IMHO the less risky because you have handy a tool (the USB stick with grub4dos) with which one can fix any and all issues that may arise. BEFORE doing any of the above, obviously, it is strongly recommended that you make a backup of the MBR "as is" (which BTW, since you have a partition that is - incorrectly - identiifed as EISA by disk management and that is a Recovery partition of some kind, is VITAL since besides the DATA also likely contains a non-standard MBR CODE allowing the access to the recovery parittion). jaclaz

Ok, let's start again from scratch. The grub4dos is NOT anymore on sourceforge (since YEARS). The current release is here: http://code.google.com/p/grub4dos-chenall/downloads/list ALWAYS use, unless specifically told to use a specific version, LAST one marked as "Featured", right now: grub4dos-0.4.5c-2013-03-03 http://code.google.com/p/grub4dos-chenall/downloads/detail?name=grub4dos-0.4.5c-2013-03-03.7z&can=2&q= There is NO NEED to rename anything to anything else , on the contrary it is STRONGLY ADVISED to NEVER do that. grub4dos is MORE flexible than GRUB (legacy) and GRUB (GRUB2) because it has been designed with features that both the original GRUB and the unneededly made complex GRUB2 completely miss. But to simply dual boot two XP's there is NO need for using any third party bootloader/bootmanager, the NTDLR is enough. The real issue here is: The quick answer is NO. The long answer being, YES, it is possible but the procedure is so long, complex and prone to errors that it is NOT a smart approach. Reinstalling from scratch is highly advised, really. Yes, it is possible. Ideally you should have three partitions, (one for the boot files NTLDR/BOOT:INI/NTDETECT.COM) and two one for each XP, but it is doable even with your current setup. You need to re-install the second instance of XP, however AND have a "separate" booting media (ideally a PE). The key is the file migrate.inf, that you will find in \$WIN_NT$.~BT\ after running the first part of the setup, see: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=19663 the file is used to "migrate" the current drive lettering (from the first XP install) to the second (new) one. You need to edit it so that in the "new" install the first partition (the one with the XP 32 bit install) is NOT assigned to C: and INSTEAD the second partition (the one to which you are going to install the XP64) will get it. (in practice you will simply need to invert the drive letters, your migrate.inf will have two entries). This way the C: letter will be assigned in the XP64 install to the second partition where the XP64 is installed to and the "other" letter will be assigned to the first one. Later you can remove the drive letter from the "other" partition from each of the two XP's from Disk Management. The issue here will be that to edit (if needed) BOOT.INI from the XP64 install, you will need to assign a drive letter to the first partition in order to access it. The above is the "difficult way", if we are allowed to use grub4dos - at least for the mere install phase - it would be much simpler, as we can use it to hide the first partition (and thus there will be no need to edit migrate.inf). The approach sketched by submix8c (set aside the renaming of grldr) is valid but it is "permanent", and at every other boot you will be setting/unsetting data in the MBR, something very like it can be used only during the install, and later provide a "normal" NTLDR choice between the two XP's. Let me know which way you prefer, ask for directions BEFORE doing things. jaclaz

And the answer is "Yes and No". Yes, depending on the actual OS you are using it is possible using no third party tool (but the key is F8) to access a WinRE (one of the least talked about setups/environmants, actually a PE), but No, in most cases a third party tool is used as it is simply much easier to setup (and you can choose another key, though loking for F11 is normally an issue as it is a non-standard key, choosing F10 is advised) AND much more robust (as the "switch" happens in the MBR, which has less probabilities of being corrupted if something happens, or, if correupted won't let the PC boot anyway). If you prefer, using the \boot\BCD mechanism is possible but overly complex, far from "failproof" and all in all not "smart". Anyway, for Vista and later: If you decide to go for third party tools, there are several ones "self contained" in the MBR or - personally prefferred - grub4dos that can do that easily, just ask. jaclaz

Eh? I assume specific to non-US keyboards. Should be Ctrl+Alt+Del on US ones. Yep , my bad , forgot to translate the "Canc" (Italian) to "Del" (English), BUT since I posted an image in which CTRL+ALT+DEL (again) is mentioned , you are given honoris causa the grammar police badge I received just today from submix8c: (It's like a hot potato , pass it on ) jaclaz

Well, the Borowitz Report is a good source for almost anything, another not so much OT recent one: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/borowitzreport/2013/04/facebook-unveils-new-waste-of-time.html And now, in a (swift ) unexptected move, let's talk of CHEAP 7" tablets (and having LOTS of them): http://techland.time.com/2013/03/11/invasion-of-the-low-cost-tablets/ Can these 50 to 70 Euro "no name" ones (example, redo on your local e-bay): http://www.ebay.it/sch/Laptop-Netbook-/177/i.html?LH_BIN=1&_sop=15&_nkw=tablet+android&_pgn=2&_skc=50&rt=nc be "good enough" for doing the ONLY things that you can do on a 7" tablet ? (yes working on it is EXCLUDED ab initio ) jaclaz

Which version of WinPE? Has it WMI/WMIC running? WMIC Path Win32_UTCtime GET hour WMIC Path Win32_Localtime GET hour jaclaz

Good moorning , Mr. de La Palice .... jaclaz

You mean that you don't get the "Start" button? What happens if you press when booted in safe mode Ctrl+Alt+Canc? Do you get Task Manager? As in: http://www.guidebookgallery.org/screenshots/win98se Which tasks do you see running? jaclaz

Well, here you are assuming that togermano will fail in his attempt . jaclaz

sparkles , with all due respect, I have rarely seen so much nonsense as in the forum you linked to, this thread particularly: http://78886.activeboard.com/t7886792/ebay-loves-profits-from-and-supports-crime-worldwide/ So, a lot of crooks use e-bay to re-sell stolen or counterfeited goods, hardly news , but this is a mish-mash of every possible article about criminal behaviour where the words "e-bay" or "paypal" are mentioned. People that formerly worked for e-bay committing crimes like child abuse or homicides? http://78886.activeboard.com/t7886792/ebay-loves-profits-from-and-supports-crime-worldwide/?page=19 What the heck has this to do with whatever evil commercial practices e-bay or paypal or both may do (or do not)? jaclaz

Yep , the point being if OP didn't come back because he/she is ungrateful BUT the proposed solution worked (and thus all subsequent posts are superfluous ) or if he/she didn't come back because by following the given suggestion his/her PC took fire or exploded . jaclaz

Well, IMHO the snippet in #222 should be way faster, as it loops not. There is (and there will always be) debate over using "skip=" or "| FIND "something" if different versions of tools are used. In the case Yzöwl pointed out, probably the best option is to combine them : FOR /F "skip=2 tokens=*" %%A IN ('cabarc L test.cab ^| FIND "/"') do ( jaclaz

Ah, well. jaclaz

Naaah, outdated in the sense that they were old news, the reality (updated) is worse. Of course the real cause of this is the US patent office and related Laws, in Europe things appear much better. jaclaz

AND outdated. Fresh news: Microsoft adds Foxconn parent to list of Android patent deal scalps http://www.zdnet.com/microsoft-adds-foxconn-parent-to-list-of-android-patent-deal-scalps-7000014133/ Microsoft signs Chrome and Android deal with Foxconn parent Hon Hai http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/apr/17/microsoft-chrome-android-deal-foxconn-hon-hai List here: http://www.fosspatents.com/2013/04/foxconn-parent-hon-hai-signs-with.html jaclaz

Which advantage has it when compared to the snippet in post #27 (that needs not cabarc or *any* external program)? The issue is that you need to create a file (in your case TWO of them). jaclaz

You can upgrade it to 29. Try: @ECHO off SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION SET Counter=0 FOR /F "tokens=*" %%A IN ('cabarc L test.cab') do ( SET /A Counter+=1 Echo %%A IF !Counter!==6 ECHO ^<--- There are 29 dashes ---^>&ECHO 01234567890123456789012345678 ) When you will find a cab with a file name+ext longer than 29 characters we'll see how to manage the thingy, this is an idea, but it is overkill IMHO: @ECHO off SETLOCAL ENABLEDELAYEDEXPANSION FOR /F "tokens=1 delims=/" %%A IN ('cabarc L test.cab ^| FIND "/"') do ( ECHO %%A ECHO 01234564789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678 SET Line=%%A CALL :parse_line CALL :rem_trail_spaces !Line! ECHO [!Line!] ) GOTO :EOF :rem_trail_spaces SET Line=%* GOTO :EOF :parse_line SET /a Length=80 SET /a token=3 :loop SET Line=!Line:~0,%Length%! SET Parse=!Line:~-2,2! IF "%Parse%"==" " SET /a Length-=1&GOTO :Loop SET /a Length-=1 SET /a Shorter=%Length%-1 SET Long=!Line:~0,%Length%! SET Short=!Line:~0,%Shorter%! IF "%Short% "=="%Long%" ( ECHO %Length% SET /a token-=1 ECHO Begin token%token% %Length% ) IF %Token% gtr 1 GOTO :Loop SET Line=%Short% GOTO :EOF jaclaz

If I may, those "controllers" are respectively the Prolific and the Ali one, I think there are (separate) drivers for both. And seemingly there was also a Microsoft version of the cable driver compatible with win98: http://download.cnet.com/USB-Easy-Transfer-Cable/3000-18493_4-97865.html This may be of interest: http://prolificusa.com/docs/25A1/um_pl25A1_v1.1.pdf Seemingly the good Prolific guys do have a program (and drive) compatible with Windows 98 (PCLinq3): http://web.archive.org/web/20120510025422/http://www.prolific.com.tw/support/files//IO%20Cable/PL-25A1/Software/PCLinq3_Generic_3103.zip And these should be the Ali drivers : http://www.drivers-download.com/Drv/ALI/M5632/ jaclaz

1) yep, you need just grldr and "a" menu.lst in root of the hard disk. 2) No, the idea is simpler, when you boot from the hard disk you will have the choice to boot either your XP (as is) or to boot grub4dos, when grub4dos (grldr in this setup) will load it will look for a file named menu.lst, the choices available depend from the content of the menu.lst, the sample I provided you will load your Windows 7. If everything works (as it should) you can later decrease (or nullify) the "timeout" in the menu.lst (it makes little sense to have time to make a choice when only one option is available. And later you can "evolve" and remove completely the menu.lst by editing the embedded manu.lst inside grldr 3) No, the idea of this approach is to avoid modifying the \boot\BCD on the Windows 7 install or anyhting on the SSD, this way you can have also revert to connecting one or the other device as you are doing now. To get into deeper detail, with this approach you boot to NTLDR that acts only as the XP OS loader if you choose XP whilst if you choose grub4dos you use this NTLDR as (primary) bootmanager, to load grldr (secondary) bootmanager that calls BOOTMGR (that works only as the OS loader for Windows 7). The alternative would be to set the SSD to first boot device (hence boot to BOOTMGR) and add an entry for NTLDR in the \boot\BCD (wthrough BCDEDIT or similar dedicated program, since the \boot\BCD is not "plain text" but rather a Registry hive) and modify the BOOT.INI to reflect the fact that the hard disk is not anymore "first disk", this would make the hard disk not anymore "self standing" in case you want to go back to have one or the other device connected. Right now your entry in BOOT.INI is: you would have to modify to something like: In order to be able to boot in the two cases (with just the hard disk or with the hard disk + SSD connected) I hope the above is clear enough. jaclaz

Sure it is possible. And no, no damage can happen by simply connecting the two disks at the same time. As a matter of fact connecting/disconnecting SATA (I presume) connectors is MORE likely to create issues http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA There are several way you can have a dual boot setup. Right now you have on hard disk NTLDR that doubles as OS loader for XP and boot manager (using BOOT.INI for "menu") on the Hard disk and BOOTMGR that doubles as OS loader for Windos 7 (using \boot\BCD for "menu"). The simpler (in the sense of the one less susceptible of any error) would be to add grub4dos grldr to the BOOT.INI. Set the hard disk as first boot device. Edit BOOT.INI (which is a plain text file, which you can edit with Notepad - though it may be hidden/read only) adding to it a line like: add to the root of the hard disk the grldr file and a menu.lst, get the package from here: http://code.google.com/p/grub4dos-chenall/downloads/detail?name=grub4dos-0.4.5c-2013-03-03.7z&can=2&q= menu.lst contents: This way you boot normally to NTLDR, then choose grub4dos and from this latter choose BOOTMGR. No binary files (or disk sectors) are modified (only the BOOT.INI text file has an added line/choice). jaclaz

For the benefit of future techno archeologists , it is not that dencorso waked up one morning and decided to double check a statement he made some 4 years earlier. caps_buster re-posted the question here: and *someone* (who wishes to remain anonymmous ) nagged dencorso about re-checking the above information. As well, submix8c is not - as it would seem reading just this thread - (completely) crazy, he is apologizing here for what was written there. Anyway, all is well that ends well we have now a confirmed piece of info, only thing remaining is to check if it works on Czech version. jaclaz

It works from here hxxp://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/16800000/Chandler-Bing-friends-16864199-500-299.jpg A glitch in the Matrix Internet? Here is a smaller one: jaclaz

Owww, come off it. They also stole Vista from Italian (do you have an idea how difficult is since 2006 or so to find a valid web search result for a hotel room in Italy with a panoramic view?) and Windows from English (try finding online someone willing to repair your windows (the thingies made of wood or aluminum and glass) .... ), etc., etc. They stole Surface (besides English) from themselves creating more confusion than anything: http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=9981/start=7/ This is common to each and every company, we have seen car examples earlier, making a fuss about it is futile (like resistance is), mindless marketing jerks will use common words to identify products and awful acronyms (such as MBAM or MDOP or ADK) for the rest., you'll need to learn to live with that.. And Bing, to me, still means : jaclaz

Sure it has been done. Instead of adding dummydisk.sys another disk driver is added on the fly and the install is performed from an UNtouched .iso.. There are at least a couple of variations, start reading here: My guess is that you can anyway install dummydisk.sys at the Shift + F10 command prompt. jaclaz