jaclaz

What was different before when it wasn't "a HDD" but did boot on a laptop? When did it happen? Even if it wasn't seen as "Fixed" it was PARTITIONED (by using the HP utility) and had a MBR. Quick reminder: if first sector on the device is a MBR, BIOS sees it as "HD-like" if first sector on the device is a MBR, Windows sees it as "HD-like", BUT it won't let you re-partition it, unless ADDITIONALLY the "bit is flipped" and the device is seen as "Fixed" if first sector on the device is a bootsector, BIOS sees it as "superfloppy" if first sector on the device is a bootsector, Windows sees it as "superfloppy" Let's go to "plan D": jaclaz

I guess that the one with the blinking Red Light on it (and shown in SCSI BIOS as FAILED) should give me a hint. The question was a bit different, I have found reports on the net about different suggested procedures: hot-swapping the drive and let the **** thingy do it's business (through the Windows software) adding the spare drive in another tray with Server ON, set it as hot-spare (through the Windows software) and let the **** thingy do it's business (through the Windows software) hot-swapping the drive and start a manual rebuild (through the Windows software) adding the spare drive in another tray with Server ON, set it as hot-spare (through the Windows software) start a manual rebuild (through the Windows software) cold-swapping the drive and let the and let the **** thingy do it's business (through RAID BIOS extension) adding the spare drive in another tray with Server OFF, set it as hot-spare (through RAID BIOS extension) and let the **** thingy do it's business (through RAID BIOS extension) cold-swapping the drive and start a manual rebuild (through RAID BIOS extension) adding the spare drive in another tray with Server OFF, set it as hot-spare (through RAID BIOS extension) start a manual rebuild (through RAID BIOS extension) Since I trust very, very little the Windows Software, not even knowing if anything in the (at the moment booting) system is gone beserk, I would instinctively go for #6 or #8, as they appear to me as the least "invasive" approach. Or would it be better to go for #5 or #7? Or the above does not make sense at all? .w00t: jaclaz

Let's start from the beginning all right? WHERE is that BOOT.INI? (I mean are you talking about the BOOT.INI on the USB device or on your internal hard disk)? And if the latter, on WHICH partition is it? (i.e. on First, Primary, Active partition)? Are you using a bootmanager of some sort? (I mean before NTLDR) A BOOT.INI with this content: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect is a "perfectly normal" one, and, since it has ONLY 1 entry, it WON'T allow you to see any choice (as there is actually NO choice). To make sure you are looking at/editing the same BOOT.INI that is actually loaded during the boot process, add a "fake" entry to it, i.e. change it as follows: [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect c:\somefile="Fake menu entry" Can you choose now between "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" and "Fake menu entry" ? If not, you are editing ANOTHER BOOT.INI, that is not loaded during booting. Report what happens. jaclaz

OHH... I thought it was BOB.... http://toastytech.com/guis/bob.html jaclaz

Check the GROUND connections: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...807&st=1685 jaclaz

Yep. Evidently the utility did not "flip the bit". Quick check: Open Regedit. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices Find the key that identifies your USB stick Drive Letter, say "L:", i.e. \DosDevices\L:, does it's values look something like: 1C AE 1C AE 00 7E 00 00 00 00 00 00 or something like: 5C 00 3F 00 3F 00 5C 00 53 00 54 00 4F 00 52 00 41 00 47 00 45 00 23 00 52 00 65 00 6D 00 6F 00 76 00 61 00 62 00 6C 00 65 00 4D 00 65 00 64 00 69 00 61 00 23 00 37 00 26 00 32 00 63 00 34 00 30 00 63 00 38 00 32 00 34 00 26 00 30 00 26 00 52 00 4D 00 23 00 7B 00 35 00 33 00 66 00 35 00 36 00 33 00 30 00 64 00 2D 00 62 00 36 00 62 00 66 00 2D 00 31 00 31 00 64 00 30 00 2D 00 39 00 34 00 66 00 32 00 2D 00 30 00 30 00 61 00 30 00 63 00 39 00 31 00 65 00 66 00 62 00 38 00 62 00 7D 00 If the first, the device is seen as "Fixed", if the second, the device is seen as "Removable". This: is another hint, if the device is seen as Fixed, you should have NTFS as an option too. If the device is seen as "Fixed" in disk management you should be able to create a new partition: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309000/en-us BEFORE formatting it. jaclaz

Even from a "complex" man point of view, rest assured. See if these fit : http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/clean_after_me.html http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/usb_devices_view.html or the good ol' way: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315539/en-us http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/504/how-to-...s-and-services/ jaclaz

Basically, windows tries to "remember" the drive letter that was assigned to a given stick. To do this, some info is also related to which BUS (not port, unless I am mistaken) of the motherboard it was connected to (typically ports on the back and ports on the front of the case are under two different BUSes or USB controllers). After a lot of inserting and removing sticks, the Registry gets cluttered and should be cleaned. About values in MountedDevices, Fixed disks are identified by MBR signatures+offset to the partition beginning: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=19663 whilst Removable disks are linked through their ParentIdPrefix, and other data that is "pendrive specific". Open the key \\DosDevices\\M in Regedit. Select all the data in it, right click, COPY. Open Tiny Hexer. Create a new file, PASTE. Save the file. File->Export->Plain Text Save the file, open it in Notepad, you will get something similar to this: 0001 0203 0405 0607 0809 0A0B 0C0D 0E0F - 0123456789ABCDEF ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0x00: 5C00 3F00 3F00 5C00 5300 5400 4F00 5200 - \.?.?.\.S.T.O.R. 0x10: 4100 4700 4500 2300 5200 6500 6D00 6F00 - A.G.E.#.R.e.m.o. 0x20: 7600 6100 6200 6C00 6500 4D00 6500 6400 - v.a.b.l.e.M.e.d. 0x30: 6900 6100 2300 3700 2600 3600 3600 3700 - i.a.#.7.&.6.6.7. 0x40: 3400 3000 6400 3000 2600 3000 2600 5200 - 4.0.d.0.&.0.&.R. 0x50: 4D00 2300 7B00 3500 3300 6600 3500 3600 - M.#.{.5.3.f.5.6. 0x60: 3300 3000 6400 2D00 6200 3600 6200 6600 - 3.0.d.-.b.6.b.f. 0x70: 2D00 3100 3100 6400 3000 2D00 3900 3400 - -.1.1.d.0.-.9.4. 0x80: 6600 3200 2D00 3000 3000 6100 3000 6300 - f.2.-.0.0.a.0.c. 0x90: 3900 3100 6500 6600 6200 3800 6200 7D00 - 9.1.e.f.b.8.b.}. Again in Tiny Hexer, Find/Replace 00's with NOTHING. Select all the data. Scripts->Tools->Copy to clipboard as raw text data Paste in a Notepad opened file you will get something like this: \??\STORAGE#RemovableMedia#7&66740d0&0&RM#{53f5630d-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b} Now search in registry (in "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet") for string {53f5630d-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b} (or whatever you got). You will likely land, sooner or later here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceClasses\{53f5630d-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}\##?#STORAGE#RemovableMedia#7&66740d0&0&RM#{53f5630d-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b} with a key DeviceInstance STORAGE\RemovableMedia\7&66740d0&0&RM Now, search in Registry for last part 7&66740d0&0 (minus the "&RM") You'll land (sooner or later) here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\STORAGE\RemovableMedia\7&66740d0&0&RM then, you'll land here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USBSTOR\Disk&Ven_USB&Prod_DISK_2.0&Rev_1219\O29OXXJDI4BOBM6F&0 with key ParentIdPrefix=7&66740d0&0 Search for last part :O29OXXJDI4BOBM6F (minus the "&0"), you will find these: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceClasses\{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b}\##?#USBSTOR#Disk&Ven_USB&Prod_DISK_2.0&Rev_1219#O29OXXJDI4BOBM6F&0#{53f56307-b6bf-11d0-94f2-00a0c91efb8b} HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceClasses\{a5dcbf10-6530-11d2-901f-00c04fb951ed}\##?#USB#Vid_090c&Pid_1000#O29OXXJDI4BOBM6F#{a5dcbf10-6530-11d2-901f-00c04fb951ed} HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\USB\Vid_090c&Pid_1000\O29OXXJDI4BOBM6F You'll also find it here: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Disk\Enum HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\PartMgr\Enum HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\usbstor\Enum Take your time browsing around the given keys/hives, you should be able to get the hang of it, try doing similar actions for a USB device which is seen as "Fixed". Try doing it with the cfadisk.sys or dummydisk.sys installed or uninstalled. jaclaz

Attached. Well, NO. The file you posted contains FAT16 bootsector CODE and DATA, not a MBR. If you got it from first sector of the device (which seems plausible, since the number of hidden sectors in the DATA is 0) it means that you formatted the device as "superfloppy", thus there is NO surprise it doesn't boot as HDD, and that it doesn't boot on the laptop. You must have totally skipped: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...35364&st=58 or I completely failed to explain the difference between a HD-like device and a superfloppy one. We are exactly back to square one. Let's try again, OK? Instead of: DO this: As an alternative: confirm that you are using one particular stick run dsfo on that stick as detailed here: http://www.boot-land.net/forums/index.php?...c=5000&st=1 post the exact number of bytes tranferred And I'll create manually a valid MBR for you. jaclaz

You must be joking, right? jaclaz

Today had started as a really nice day, what is the reason to spoil it? You can try "ch", "cha", "chai", "chainl" and also "load", "run" and "call", they ALL won't work. A program has a sintax, you learn it, you do not guess it by making random attempts! I'll try again: jaclaz

chain is not a valid command. chainloader is. It may or may not work with LOADER.BIN. Read the guide: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/Grub4dos.htm http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/basics.htm http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/cli.htm ALWAYS use command line, NOT a pre-made entry of menu.lst when experimenting. Post feedback grub4dos gives in command line mode. jaclaz

Not easily, NO : I guess that it can be done with the "XP Kansas City Shuffle" trick, though it won't probably be useful in your case, and however I have never seen anyone reporting it, firewire is a less than "common" interface, I guess. About EFI booting, I guess you should read these: http://homepages.tesco.net./J.deBoynePolla...ot-process.html http://homepages.tesco.net./J.deBoynePolla...ot-process.html but I don't think it exists a bootmgfw.efi for 32 bit : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library...040(WS.10).aspx This remained unsolved/unfinalized: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=104629 But you can boot a Linux Kernel allright with the elilo EFI loader.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Firmware_Interface Grub2 may in the feature support EFI architecture AND integrate grub4dos features, but cannot say if that will be enough to boot a Windows on EFI: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=995704 jaclaz

I am about to try re-setting up a HP Net Server after a move of a company office (actually the company was closed and I am supposed to keep the DATA archive). It is an oldish Netserver LH3000 from HP, OS Windows 2K Server. When re-switching it on after the move, one of the three 18.2 GB SCSI disks of the RAID 5 array on the machine had a red light. Sure enough, checking it from the BIOS RAID utlilty gives me that the array is degraded. I managed to talk to the ex IT guy (actually a girl) of the closed company and she said: "Sure, don't worry, it wasn't the move, it has been like that for a couple of years, never found the time to change the faulty HD". I backed up everything attaching another SCSI drive to the "other" controller, an Adaptec which has "normal" 68 pin connectors, just to be on the safe side. Then I got a couple used 80 pin SCA drives from e-bay. Now the question is: Which is the "right" procedure to rebuild such a Raid array? Connecting an additional drive setting it as "hot-spare" and let the machine do everything by itself? Or manually starting a re-build? If the latter is the right thing to do, anyone familiar with the Symbios controller that could spare some advice on how to do it, or any pointer to specific docs/procedures? Thanks in advance for any advice/link. jaclaz

The GOOD news are that the contents of your pockets do look extremely GEEKish. The BAD news are that the contents of my pockets are extremely similar The even SADder news are that I ADDITIONALLY found in them, beside a small torch: - 2 steel washers - different sizes, Ø8 and Ø10 mm - 1 inox nut, M6 - - 1 brass screw, M5 - 1 bent wood screw All items that I either picked up from the street or that were "not-needed-anymore" when re-assempling something I had disassembled to fix it. jaclaz

No, that happens for ANY "Mass Storage Device" connected to the USB bus, no matter if "Removable" or "Fixed". See here: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=34987 http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...34987&st=53 Check also: http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbstick_e.html http://www.uwe-sieber.de/drivetools_e.html http://www.uwe-sieber.de/usbdlm_e.html AND: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=127729 http://mysite.verizon.net/kaakoon/hotswap/index_enu.htm jaclaz

Happy to know we "saved" yet another HD! Come on , are you trying to prove this: to be wrong? http://tinyurl.com/nf3k2m http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/__USB-TTL_W0Q...QQ_sopZ2QQ_scZ1 I really don't understand why people are so obsessed with the Nokia adapter, which gives, approximately, a 50% chance of getting the "good" type. http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...807&st=1679 I mean, if you already have an old one lying around trying it has no cost, but actually buying one? However: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/_W0QQ_sopZ2?_...2&_osacat=0 jaclaz

Most likely you have incorrect speed of the connection or, more probably, GROUNDing problems, check here: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...807&st=1547 http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...807&st=1661 Do loopaback tests BEFORE coonecting the disk drive. jaclaz

That's quite typical of a problem in the Registry. (Connecting the device to a USB connector on another BUS making the USB device seen differently) About you havig been banned, I guess it was because of the reference to what in your first post has been edited as <removed>. Try PMing either cluberti or xper: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?act=St...mp;CODE=leaders jaclaz

Hey, wait a minute, you were very kind to re-register only to thank me , but you seem like wanting to give up. Giving up is NOT an option! jaclaz

Yes, if there is no entry for it in BOOT.INI. Open BOOT.INI in Notepad and add an entry like this: C:\grldr="Grub4dos" READ this: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/Grub4dos.htm http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/...all_windows.htm From what you report you are currently in situation #1: http://diddy.boot-land.net/grub4dos/files/...ws.htm#windows1 (but without an appropriate entry in BOOT.INI) MBR->bootsector->NTLDR->BOOT.INI->grldr After all it seems we managed to have the ASUS booting (but somehow losing compatibility on the laptop , we'll see why and hopefully fix it later , please post a copy of your current MBR) jaclaz

No prob. So, the stick is alive and well (almost). the "No grldr" is a message meaning that the grldr.mbr can not find in ANY partition on the stick (hidden or non-hidden) the file grldr in either: ROOT /boot/ /boot/grub/ try adding to the root of the stick the file grldr from grub4dos latest: http://nufans.net/grub4dos/ http://download.gna.org/grub4dos/ Yep, that would be interesting. What I would do at this point, if copying grldr does not change situation: wipe first 200 sectors of the stick: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...35364&st=56 re-partition/format the stick using at first the fuwi's utiliies, link here: http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showto...87993&st=17 Check again it working (or failing to) on both PC's. jaclaz

NO , it doesn't. If the device is seen as a "Removable" one, one, and ONLY one, partition is accessible/mountable. If the device is seen as a "Fixed" one, all partitions are accessible/mountable. If the device IS "Removable", you can trick Windows in seeing it as "Fixed" using a Filter driver. (cfadisk.sys or dummydisk.sys) If the device IS "Fixed", you can trick Windows in seeing it as "Removable" using the "reversed" filter driver rdummy.sys Or have you somehow managed to install the device as either "Fixable" or "Removed"..... jaclaz

Isn't this slowly drifting away from elementary usage of available commands in batch files to A.I. algorithms in BATCH? jaclaz

Next time, use a migrate.inf file to assign the "right" letter to the XP drive : http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=19663 http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?sho...c=21682&hl= http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=131770 http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=125945 (or a modified setupreg.hiv) jaclaz