Windows 2003: Replacing Drive with Boot.ini file. Can I move it toother drive?

[mitchkill]

First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!

Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
with the following hard disk setup

RAID I - 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files - F
IDE - 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini - C
SATA - 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive - E

Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs.
We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
determine where the OS is.

So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
change my drive letters?

In case you need it, I've captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
Console which you can reach here:
http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg

Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Re: Windows 2003: Replacing Drive with Boot.ini file. Can I move it to other drive?

"mitchkill" wrote in message
news:52220100-ed00-4598-9b77-24086cccc0c3@y36g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
> First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
> that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
> Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
> RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
> on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
> like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!
>
> Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
> with the following hard disk setup
>
> RAID I - 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files - F
> IDE - 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini - C
> SATA - 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive - E
>
> Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
> the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
> file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs.
> We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
> drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
> that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
> determine where the OS is.
>
> So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
> the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
> boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
> at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
> things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
> the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
> that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
> change my drive letters?
>
> In case you need it, I've captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
> Console which you can reach here:
> http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg
>
> Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.

Someone appears to have gone out of his way to create a non-standard disk
and partition environment! If this was my own machine then I would play it
safe like so:
1. Format a floppy disk on this machine.
2. Copy the following files to A:\ -
- boot.ini
- ntldr
- ntdetect.com
3. Modify boot.ini so that you can clearly recognise a floppy boot.
4. Set the BIOS so that the server boots from A:.
5. Test the floppy boot.

If this floppy boot works then you can play with your various disks and
partitions without the risk of creating an unbootable system.

 

[mitchkill]

Re: Windows 2003: Replacing Drive with Boot.ini file. Can I move itto other drive?

On Sep 14, 4:27 am, "Pegasus [MVP]" wrote:
> "mitchkill" wrote in message
>
> news:52220100-ed00-4598-9b77-24086cccc0c3@y36g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
> > that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
> > Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
> > RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
> > on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
> > like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!
>
> > Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
> > with the following hard disk setup
>
> > RAID I - 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files - F
> > IDE - 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini - C
> > SATA - 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive - E
>
> > Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
> > the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
> > file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs.
> > We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
> > drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
> > that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
> > determine where the OS is.
>
> > So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
> > the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
> > boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
> > at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
> > things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
> > the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
> > that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
> > change my drive letters?
>
> > In case you need it, I've captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
> > Console which you can reach here:
> >http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg
>
> > Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.
>
> Someone appears to have gone out of his way to create a non-standard disk
> and partition environment! If this was my own machine then I would play it
> safe like so:
> 1. Format a floppy disk on this machine.
> 2. Copy the following files to A: -
>     - boot.ini
>     - ntldr
>     - ntdetect.com
> 3. Modify boot.ini so that you can clearly recognise a floppy boot.
> 4. Set the BIOS so that the server boots from A:.
> 5. Test the floppy boot.
>
> If this floppy boot works then you can play with your various disks and
> partitions without the risk of creating an unbootable system.

Thanks for getting back to me. However, as I said, the server is
located at a data center and so unfortunately I can't play with it.
The techs there are most familiar with *nix systems so they don't know
a great deal about Windows.

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Re: Windows 2003: Replacing Drive with Boot.ini file. Can I move it to other drive?

"mitchkill" wrote in message
news:6b33b77c-73e8-42ad-8687-9e79bb5dcb91@s6g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 14, 4:27 am, "Pegasus [MVP]" wrote:
> "mitchkill" wrote in message
>
> news:52220100-ed00-4598-9b77-24086cccc0c3@y36g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> > First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
> > that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
> > Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
> > RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
> > on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
> > like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!
>
> > Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
> > with the following hard disk setup
>
> > RAID I - 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files - F
> > IDE - 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini - C
> > SATA - 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive - E
>
> > Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
> > the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
> > file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs.
> > We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
> > drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
> > that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
> > determine where the OS is.
>
> > So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
> > the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
> > boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
> > at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
> > things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
> > the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
> > that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
> > change my drive letters?
>
> > In case you need it, I've captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
> > Console which you can reach here:
> >http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg
>
> > Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.
>
> Someone appears to have gone out of his way to create a non-standard disk
> and partition environment! If this was my own machine then I would play it
> safe like so:
> 1. Format a floppy disk on this machine.
> 2. Copy the following files to A: -
> - boot.ini
> - ntldr
> - ntdetect.com
> 3. Modify boot.ini so that you can clearly recognise a floppy boot.
> 4. Set the BIOS so that the server boots from A:.
> 5. Test the floppy boot.
>
> If this floppy boot works then you can play with your various disks and
> partitions without the risk of creating an unbootable system.

Thanks for getting back to me. However, as I said, the server is
located at a data center and so unfortunately I can't play with it.
The techs there are most familiar with *nix systems so they don't know
a great deal about Windows.

==========

If your techs are unable to create a floppy boot disk under your
instructions then they do not deserve this name. Create the boot disk
yourself, test it on one of your own machines, then send it to them by mail.
Since you have Remote Desktop, it should be no problem getting the necessary
files. The question is: Can they be trusted to modify the BIOS boot sequence
and test your floppy disk? If not then you just have to go there yourself.
You have to do this anyway in order to perform the partition and boot file
manipulation. Asking your "techs" to do this would be a recipe for disaster.

 

[Dragon]

Re: Windows 2003: Replacing Drive with Boot.ini file. Can I move it to other drive?

Also, a lot of newer servers have built-in functionality for virtual
floppies, etc as well as pre-boot remote control via hardware (Such as iLO).
this might help you do things you might not be able to do otherwise without
being physically present at the console.

"Pegasus [MVP]" wrote in message
news:u4mx$iVNKHA.3284@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
> "mitchkill" wrote in message
> news:6b33b77c-73e8-42ad-8687-9e79bb5dcb91@s6g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
> On Sep 14, 4:27 am, "Pegasus [MVP]" wrote:
>> "mitchkill" wrote in message
>>
>> news:52220100-ed00-4598-9b77-24086cccc0c3@y36g2000yqh.googlegroups.com...
>>
>>
>>
>> > First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
>> > that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
>> > Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
>> > RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
>> > on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
>> > like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!
>>
>> > Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
>> > with the following hard disk setup
>>
>> > RAID I - 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files - F
>> > IDE - 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini - C
>> > SATA - 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive - E
>>
>> > Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
>> > the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
>> > file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs.
>> > We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
>> > drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
>> > that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
>> > determine where the OS is.
>>
>> > So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
>> > the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
>> > boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
>> > at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
>> > things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
>> > the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
>> > that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
>> > change my drive letters?
>>
>> > In case you need it, I've captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
>> > Console which you can reach here:
>> >http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg
>>
>> > Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.
>>
>> Someone appears to have gone out of his way to create a non-standard disk
>> and partition environment! If this was my own machine then I would play
>> it
>> safe like so:
>> 1. Format a floppy disk on this machine.
>> 2. Copy the following files to A: -
>> - boot.ini
>> - ntldr
>> - ntdetect.com
>> 3. Modify boot.ini so that you can clearly recognise a floppy boot.
>> 4. Set the BIOS so that the server boots from A:.
>> 5. Test the floppy boot.
>>
>> If this floppy boot works then you can play with your various disks and
>> partitions without the risk of creating an unbootable system.
>
> Thanks for getting back to me. However, as I said, the server is
> located at a data center and so unfortunately I can't play with it.
> The techs there are most familiar with *nix systems so they don't know
> a great deal about Windows.
>
> ==========
>
> If your techs are unable to create a floppy boot disk under your
> instructions then they do not deserve this name. Create the boot disk
> yourself, test it on one of your own machines, then send it to them by
> mail. Since you have Remote Desktop, it should be no problem getting the
> necessary files. The question is: Can they be trusted to modify the BIOS
> boot sequence and test your floppy disk? If not then you just have to go
> there yourself. You have to do this anyway in order to perform the
> partition and boot file manipulation. Asking your "techs" to do this would
> be a recipe for disaster.
>

 

[mitchkill]

Re: Windows 2003: Replacing Drive with Boot.ini file. Can I move itto other drive?

On Sep 15, 6:47 am, "Dragon" wrote:
> Also, a lot of newer servers have built-in functionality for virtual
> floppies, etc as well as pre-boot remote control via hardware (Such as iLO).
> this might help you do things you might not be able to do otherwise without
> being physically present at the console.
>
> "Pegasus [MVP]" wrote in message
>
> news:u4mx$iVNKHA.3284@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
>
>
> > "mitchkill" wrote in message
> >news:6b33b77c-73e8-42ad-8687-9e79bb5dcb91@s6g2000vbp.googlegroups.com...
> > On Sep 14, 4:27 am, "Pegasus [MVP]" wrote:
> >> "mitchkill" wrote in message
>
> >>news:52220100-ed00-4598-9b77-24086cccc0c3@y36g2000yqh.googlegroups.com....
>
> >> > First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
> >> > that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
> >> > Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
> >> > RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
> >> > on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
> >> > like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!
>
> >> > Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
> >> > with the following hard disk setup
>
> >> > RAID I - 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files - F
> >> > IDE - 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini - C
> >> > SATA - 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive - E
>
> >> > Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
> >> > the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
> >> > file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs..
> >> > We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
> >> > drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
> >> > that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
> >> > determine where the OS is.
>
> >> > So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
> >> > the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
> >> > boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
> >> > at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
> >> > things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
> >> > the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
> >> > that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
> >> > change my drive letters?
>
> >> > In case you need it, I've captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
> >> > Console which you can reach here:
> >> >http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg
>
> >> > Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.
>
> >> Someone appears to have gone out of his way to create a non-standard disk
> >> and partition environment! If this was my own machine then I would play
> >> it
> >> safe like so:
> >> 1. Format a floppy disk on this machine.
> >> 2. Copy the following files to A: -
> >> - boot.ini
> >> - ntldr
> >> - ntdetect.com
> >> 3. Modify boot.ini so that you can clearly recognise a floppy boot.
> >> 4. Set the BIOS so that the server boots from A:.
> >> 5. Test the floppy boot.
>
> >> If this floppy boot works then you can play with your various disks and
> >> partitions without the risk of creating an unbootable system.
>
> > Thanks for getting back to me. However, as I said, the server is
> > located at a data center and so unfortunately I can't play with it.
> > The techs there are most familiar with *nix systems so they don't know
> > a great deal about Windows.
>
> > ==========
>
> > If your techs are unable to create a floppy boot disk under your
> > instructions then they do not deserve this name. Create the boot disk
> > yourself, test it on one of your own machines, then send it to them by
> > mail. Since you have Remote Desktop, it should be no problem getting the
> > necessary files. The question is: Can they be trusted to modify the BIOS
> > boot sequence and test your floppy disk? If not then you just have to go
> > there yourself. You have to do this anyway in order to perform the
> > partition and boot file manipulation. Asking your "techs" to do this would
> > be a recipe for disaster.

Thanks for your assistance. In the coming months, I plan on moving off
of this server entirely. I think what I may do is see if I can get the
old IDE drive cloned to a new one. Although this wouldn't be ideal, it
would probably work until I can everything switched to a new server.
Do you foresee any problems with just cloning the old drive?

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Re: Windows 2003: Replacing Drive with Boot.ini file. Can I move it to other drive?

"mitchkill" wrote in message
news:e5bf8acd-0caa-4df7-9af9-782230327425@z34g2000vbl.googlegroups.com...

Thanks for your assistance. In the coming months, I plan on moving off
of this server entirely. I think what I may do is see if I can get the
old IDE drive cloned to a new one. Although this wouldn't be ideal, it
would probably work until I can everything switched to a new server.
Do you foresee any problems with just cloning the old drive?

==============

Cloning a disk is fine, as long as you use the proper tools so that it is a
real clone.