jaclaz

The trick is knowing that tomorrow never comes : http://www.msfn.org/board/solution-seagate...-page-2220.html jaclaz

Hmm, on many motherboards you can press F12 till the end of time, but you WON'T be able to change boot order , and on some that have this feature the key is F11 and I am almost sure I had a laptop that used F2 : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boot_disk#Booting_from_a_disk jaclaz

Maybe you could make a .inf: WillyPad http://snoopy81.ifrance.com/pages/willy.htm has a Wizard and a REG importer that usually works very well. jaclaz

May I suggest we start talking "letter neutral" (it may help in understanding which is which). From the screenshot there is a FIRST DISK (Disk 0) with three partitions in it. Can we start calling them: (0,0) Hidden 7 install partition 196 Mb NTFS NO drive letter assigned (0,1) Recovery partition 750 Mb NTFS letter E: assigned when booted "normally" (0,2) Main partition 232 Gb NTFS letter C: assigned when booted "normally" SECOND DISK (USB stick) with one partition (1,0) 1,47 Gb FAT32 letter F: assigned when booted "normally" As said, the problem seems to me ONLY due to the fact that (0,1) is Active. When the PC was setup, surely (0,1) was NOT active, and most probably also hidden, thus on install the scan went: (0,0) Fixed->Hidden -> Ignore (0,1) Fixed->Hidden -> Ignore (0,2) Fixed->First Primary Active -> assign C:\ (1,0) Removable->NOT PRESENT -> Ignore CD/DVD Removable-> D:\ When the Recovery partition was unhidden, it got next letter, E:\ When you insert the stick, it gets F:\. Please note how even if the Recovery partition was NOT hidden (but NOT active), lettering would have been the same: (0,0) Fixed->Hidden->Ignore (0,1) Fixed->Primary NOT Active-> Ignore (0,2) Fixed->First Primary Active -> assign C:\ (1,0) Removable->NOT PRESENT -> Ignore CD/DVD Removable-> D:\ Another OS, a "new kid on the block" assigning letters to the drives, with Recovery partition Active: (0,0) Fixed->Hidden->Ignore (0,1) Fixed->Primary Active -> assign C:\ (0,2) Fixed->Primary NOT Active ->Ignore (1,0) Fixed->NOT PRESENT -> Ignore CD/DVD Removable-> D:\ (0,2) Removable->Primary NOT Active ->assign E:\ But if the stick was inserted (as boot media), lettering should be: (0,0) Fixed->Hidden->Ignore (0,1) Fixed->Primary Active -> assign C:\ (0,2) Fixed->Primary NOT Active ->Ignore (1,0) Removable->Primary Active -> assign D:\ CD/DVD Removable-> E:\ (0,2) Fixed->Primary NOT Active ->assign F:\ jaclaz

Well, we are a bit ahead of geocities . http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showforum=60 http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2325 http://bearwindows.boot-land.net/vbe9x.htm Just for your interest, geocities is dead, long live reocities: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=9943 It is of course very partial, and in the works, but you can already re-find some sites that cannot be completely recovered from the Wayback Machine. jaclaz

Maybe it's this one: http://www.beginningtoseethelight.org/ntsecurity/index.php The behaviour seems similar: http://www.sevenforums.com/general-discuss...der-delete.html Is it this one? http://www.secnewsgroups.net/group/microso.../topic6412.aspx jaclaz

Well, from my understanding, cdob menu.lst is logical and working, whilst your is "queer". This should mean that cdob has "normal" hardware and setup and that you have a "queer" one. Let's see: title Windows XP Pro SP3 x86 Setup root (hd0,0) <- this is not needed, if you booted from (hd0,0) root will already be on (hd0,0) map --mem /XP_INST.IMA (fd0) <- OK map --mem /XP_INST.IMA (fd1) <- OK map --mem /XPSP3.ISO (0xFF) <- OK map (hd0) () <- I simply cannot understand this which should mean map (hd0) to (hd0,0) as () is "current root" map () (hd0) <- I simply cannot understand this which shold mean map (hd0,0) to (hd0) as () is "current root" map --hook chainloader (0xFF)/I386/SETUPLDR.BIN <- OK though I personally would have also set root to (0xff) About the error you were having, you reported once as "file is missing" and another time as "disk is missing", you must make up your mind, and as advised, issue the commands on command line and report WHICH command ouputs the error and the EXACT error, also maybe I missed it, but re-posting a description of your setup (hard disks involved, etc, etc.) may be useful to understand the problem. In other words, the: exchanges first and second drive should be is equivalent to: which seems to me, at the most, completely unneeded. jaclaz

If I were were you I would try to please your granny, it seems like strange things happen when she complains about something/womeone. Seriously, it could well be RAM, or even a bad cable for the hard disk. Can you try the hard disk (as slave) on another machine - possibly with the HD manufacturer testing software? Any strange noises coming from the HD? jaclaz

I know what an issue tracker is. It was just some sarcasm. For future memory: Please also note that if you download the EXECUTABLE from here: http://wudt.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectRe...ReleaseId=37074 you have to agree to it's GPL license before downloading, while if you get it from here: http://store.microsoft.com/microsoft/Windo...-7/category/102 you don't. BOTH executables (actually they are differently named but have same MD5: af911be206423bf440ea9d4df075a632 Windows7-USB-DVD-Download-Tool-Installer-en-US.exe af911be206423bf440ea9d4df075a632 Windows7-USB-DVD-tool.exe If you Run the executable you NEED NOT to agree to the GPL license. (I tried to just start the app - but not have installed the IMAPI 2.0 on this machine, so it is possible that the request comes later) jaclaz

They also put back the page here: http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool And an empty issue tracker: http://wudt.codeplex.com/WorkItem/List.aspx It means that the previous hiccup was not an issue? jaclaz

If I may, if you change the signature in the target, it is not anymore "cloning", it is "duplicating". I.e. if "cloning" you write to the MBR of the "new" drive the Signature of the "old" one. Have you checked the BCD by importing it (as a Registry Hive) with Regedit? It should be possible to automate registry changes with REG.EXE. Have you tried using this tool (beware, UNFINISHED, may or may NOT work/be useful ) to peek (and possibly poke) in the BCD?: RawReg: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/?showtopic=4684 jaclaz

I am not sure to get it. The only thing I cannot see is a drive "d:" From the posted screenshot: Drive F:\ is the Removable USB thingy. Your "main" partition with Drive Letter C:\ and the "Recovery" Partition with Drive Letter E:\. The Recovery partition is "Active". Why? Which device did you boot from? The internal hard disk? jaclaz

Sure , but actually: it seems like the change to optimized defaults was performed manually by Yzöwl. I suspect that change more than the actual BIOS update, but it could well be one, the other or both. jaclaz

Unrelated, but not much , and before this info pops out of my head, I am sure Multibooter will appreciate this (unless it's non-news): CP/M Player for Win32 Windows 9x/NT/2000/XP Console: http://homepage3.nifty.com/takeda-toshiya/ http://homepage3.nifty.com/takeda-toshiya/cpm/index.html jaclaz

Which files? (can you name a few?) Are you sure they are actually files (and not hard links or mount points or some other non-real-file entity)? jaclaz

Right question. Wrong place to ask it. We have a whole Forum for "installing Windows from USB", right here: http://www.msfn.org/board/install-windows-usb-f157.html with a number of different ways (and NO, a "plain" winnt32.exe won't work). Easiest would be this one: http://www.msfn.org/board/33-t120444.html If you want to go your own way, you will have to re-start from the "historical thread": http://www.msfn.org/board/25-t61384.html jaclaz

I would check also the StartType and LoadOrderGroup of USB Mass Storage related services. usbstor usbehci usbohci usbuhci usbhub with command sc qc <driver> LOAD_ORDER_GROUP should be "empty" (not the word "empty", actually empty value) or "Base" START_TYPE should be 3 DEMAND_START jaclaz

Good. See if any of these work in that environment: http://www.technize.com/2008/07/11/four-wa...ray-in-windows/ http://www.alexnolan.net/software/commandline.htm http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Ejec...load-41030.html http://www.techtalkz.com/tips-n-tricks/397...-tool-here.html Rerun it and change the message to : "The system Recovery has finished successfully, please remove the DVD from the OPENED drive TRAY, and press any key to reboot..." We try to please end users, and we do it harder. jaclaz

You missed point #1 . When experimenting with grub4dos DO NOT use pre-made menu.lst entries (until you are sure the one you are working on gives no errors). Go to Command Mode (press "c") and enter lines MANUALLY. http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/cli.htm http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/cli.htm This way you will know WHAT (WHICH) command returns the Error, and will take a lot of guessing out of the process. jaclaz

and, believe me , STILL GOING STRONG! rdummy.sys "should" work on 2K too. jaclaz

No, it won't "fail": it may prompt with an error message and you'll have to click on it to continue. This: set tagfile=OEM for /f "tokens=1 delims=: " %%? in ('mountvol.exe ^|find ":\"') do ( dir %%?:\%tagfile% >nul 2>&1 && set CDDRIVE=%%?: ) if not defined CDDRIVE ( goto EOF ) Sets variable "tagfile" to value "OEM", runs, search for the value of the variable i.e. for the tagfile "OEM" and sets variable "CDDRIVE" to the found drive letter. If no drive is found with the tagfile, it ends the batch. The example previously posted: assumes "DVD.TXT" to be the tagfile, searches for it and sets variable "DVD" to the found drive letter. runs imagex using as source the found drive letter, applying the wim to drive C: you should be able to join the dots.... jaclaz

So, a longer text would cause the production out of nowhere of the pre-existing text "Windows is loading files"? At first sight seems to me more like a conjuring trick than a "programming error". jaclaz

@Yzöwl Probably you "fell" in the "device disabled" hole: http://www.msfn.org/board/hardware-changes...on-t128378.html http://www.msfn.org/board/hardware-changes...378-page-7.html BIOS update in itself shouldn't be the direct cause. jaclaz

Sure, to them you are a liar as your drive is NOT affected by the problem (What problem? ) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072431/quotes jaclaz

You are right , meaning that you are WRONG. You can use a FOR /F allright, check a few posts starting from this one: http://www.msfn.org/board/install-xp-ram-l...4-page-112.html Actually the method depicted there is suggested since it avoids the problem of mapped drives without media (please read as "card readers"). jaclaz