Re: Hard Disc format

In message <MPG.1d349c1558ae14169896d6@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Greg <greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> In article <a4b74c854d.Alan.Adams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> alan.adams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx says...
> > In message <MPG.1d328bd8e5ba3b439896d5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Greg <greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> > > It rather depends on which edition of XP you are using to be able to do
> > > what you want.
> >
> > So is this affected by service pack level?
>
> Nope, more the licensing conditions. It sounds like you're using one of
> the 'retail' editions. These can be tricked by the use of apps like xp-
> AntiSpy though.

It is XP Pro, bulk license. The systems are shipped in an OEM state, so when
you switch on they run Windows Setup and configure themselves, without
asking for a license key. I have found a fix, and a better solution, with
some help. I'll keep it brief, as it's off topic.

I realised eventually that it was freezing partway through displaying the
welcome screen. I changed settings on the original disc, to not use the
welcome screen, ghosted it again, and it got to a login window. Username and
correct password entered, brief display of Saving your settings, and back to
login. So it was logging out as soon as logging in.

Since this suggested broken files in Windows, I did a reinstall of Windows
from CD, selecting repair. This fixed it.

It would appear - either some file in Windows contains different data
depending on the size of the partition, and increasing the size too far
exposes the problem, or Ghost 8 isn't creating the filing system quite
correctly.

Whichever it is I now have a workaround.

The better solution involved using RMRESTOR on the original disc to put it
into factory shipped condition, cloning that before booting it (which
finishes Windows setup), and then allowing Windows setup to run when booting
the new disc.

It is even possible to use RMRESTOR to save this cloned state before running
setup, so that the new disc has a good, factory recovery point. And the
whole process only takes about an hour.

I reckon it's been a valuable learning experience.

>
> > > > The vendor is Research Machines.
> > >
> > > And you believe that it's only 2 years old...
> >
> > It's not as old as a machine which is still within its three-year warranty.
>
> Try running Everest <http://www.lavalys.com/> and see what dates it
> gives for components.
>
> > > > It's not just us.
> > >
> > > It is. The 48bit LBA problem only applies to drives over 137.4 GB.
> >
> > But this drive is 120GB, i.e. it should work with 28bit LBA, and it doesn't.
>
> Sounds like they are jumpered wrongly or just incompatible together.
>
> > It seems that a 10-year old RPC works better than a PC sold two years ago.
>
> In a few aspects I agree but mainly no.
>

--
Alan Adams
alan.adams@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.nckc.org.uk/
.

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