Dumb Windows 2000 Questions....

[EchoWars]

Jord...

Of course, that is what I wanted to do originally, but...a new drive will not even be partitioned, much less formatted for NTFS. I wanted to partition the new drive...format for NTFS...then ghost. I assumed (and we all know what THAT word can mean...) that I would and should do this from a boot disk. But my experiance in partitioning and formatting is limited to FAT16 and FAT32. My current install of W2K was accomplished by simply booting up the W2K CD and letting 'er rip. Adding another partitioned and formatted NTFS drive without going through the whole install is a new animal to me. If you understand what I am trying to accompish, then I would appreciate some guidance


Hunsow..

Ain't got the new drive yet...but if I did, you'd be right

[This message has been edited by EchoWars (edited 20 November 2000).]

[This message has been edited by EchoWars (edited 20 November 2000).]

[Gurm]

It's very easy. Just put the drive in the machine, make sure the BIOS sees it, and go to the "administrative tools" folder in your control panel. In there you should find "computer management". In computer management is a section called "disk management" which will allow you to partition, format, and do other stuff to a drive. Just make sure, IF GIVEN THE OPTION, to make the drive "simple" and not "dynamic". If you aren't given the option, don't worry - ghost should handle it just fine anyway.

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[EchoWars]

Thanks Gurm...I'll find out how it all works in a couple of days...as soon as the drive shows up...

[Jorden]

Shall I try to explain it, EW?
If you use ghost to move the partition from the 2Gb drive over to the unpartitioned 30Gb drive, you're moving the complete partition, as it is right now on the 2Gb (NTFS and all) over to the 30Gb. You don't need to partition and format the 30Gb drive, as when you use ghost, this data will be completely overwritten by the Ghosted partition.

Hmmm, does it still make sense?

What I mean is that you're writing the complete 2Gb data over to the 30Gb drive, including all the boot data, whether it is FAT or NTFS, doesn't matter And the other 28Gb on the drive will stay unpartitioned.

Jord.

[Pace]

EW: What is the 2Gb using for filing? FAT16/32?

If you aren't using NTFS then you'd be better setting the 30Gb up with that via a clean install - doing it this way makes sure that Win2k sets all the default permissions correctly.

Paul.

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[EchoWars]

Jord...
Thanks for the reply...I do understand what you are telling me, but if the remaining 28Gb stays unpartitioned, then when I partition it and format it for NTFS, then seems I would then have a 'D:' drive. Would like to avoid that if I can.

Pace...
The 2Gb is my 'troubleshooting' drive for, well, wherever I need a temporary drive. After the new one is set up...the old one comes out. The documentation for Ghost says that it will copy a NTFS partition, permissions and all, just fine. I hope...

What is so bloody easy with FAT file systems turns into a mess with NTFS (from my point of view anyway). I'm really not as thick-headed as it seems (so I say..), but just haven't had a chance to fool with NTFS and Ghost very much. Drive is scheduled to be here tomorrow, so I guess my ideas and assumptions will be put to the test then.

[Jorden]

Great EW !! We might wait for your answer, but I'm stubborn

If you want to utilize a dual boot Win9x/Win2k drive, you need a first partition that is FAT16 or FAT32.

But as far as I understood your answer from above, you want the full 30Gb to be your Win2k drive? If so, I don't see any other option than to attach the 2Gb drive as secondary drive, install Win2k on the first drive (the 30Gb), using NTFS (dynamic) to set it up, and use the secondary drive for drivers drive only.

You can install every game and program you have on the 2Gb drive again, using the drivers you have stored on that drive.

The documentation for Ghost says that it will copy a NTFS partition, permissions and all, just fine.

That's true... it will copy the <u>partition</u> having you end up with the C:-drive being 2Gb again, and the other 28Gb unallocated.

Ghost <u>will</u> overwrite the partition you're directing it to. Sorry to say so.

I've just quit copying one Ghost image to 20 PCs in the past week, and setting them up for their new users, so I can tell you that you can't do much else
But I might be wrong

Jord.

[Agent31]

having the OS residing on the smaller partition isn't such a bad thing anyway. I'm sure there are technical issues beyond my understanding at work here, but installing the OS onto a small partition makes it run noticably faster...

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CeleronII 667@1017 - ABit BF6(UH) - 192MB PC133 - 3D Blaster GeForce (140/190) - 12 MB Voodoo2 - SBLive! Value - ViewSonic PS775 - 8.4GB Fireball CR - 30.7GB Fireball LCT - Pioneer 10x DVD - Whilster B1/Windows Me - Detonator 7.17

[Gurm]

Agent31:

The technical issues are that on MY machine, the combined size of "winnt" and "program files" (not to mention "documents and settings") exceeds "small", "moderate", and "medium" and zooms straight for "pretty darn big".

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[EchoWars]

Got the new drive...popped in in the system as a slave, and went into W2k disk manager. Had disk manager partition and format NTFS, and rebooted to Ghost. Here's where it got wierd...

Ghost examined the source and the destination, and kindly informed me that the maximum partition on the new drive would be 7.68Gb (or something like close to that), That's not the best part...the kicker is that Ghost told me the new partition WOULD NOT be bootable!

**Sigh**

I reinstalled.........

[Agent31]

sometimes a reinstall isn't such a bad thing anyway. My installs rarely last more than a couple of months, especially my WinME partitions, they just get messy.

[LvR]

EchoWars

Your experience echo what I posted 20/11/2000.



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Lawrence

[EchoWars]

Yeah...but at least you didn't say "I told you so...!!"

[LvR]

Never intended to either.

Would like to know of an explanantion though - it seems daft for such a usefull tool to be limited by such a stupid sentence.

There simply has to be a more elegant way to use this thing under W2K!.

Anybody else with a better recipy to ghost a W2K NTFS partition?

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Lawrence

[Jorden]

What version of Ghost were you using?

From the FAQs of Ghost 5.1d:
Q. When will GHOST support resizable NTFS partitions?
A. Versions 3.1 and greater support NTFS resizing.

Jord.