Dual-booting between PATA and SATA then deleting PATA

I'm not looking just for access to the files, I'm looking for the ability to dual-boot between both operating systems while having full access to files that are contained on the old drive until I wipe it and make it a permanent data/backup drive. While I've been planning on picking up an external enclosure for a while (although I've had trouble with Delayed Write Errors with them in the past), that would serve no benefit in my current situation.

 

I took a second look at the page and realized the distinction. An impressive item, and a great repair/diagnostic tool that I should probably pick up to add to my kit... especially for that 2.5" adapter. Again, not useful for the specific scenario I'm in right now, but I've bookmarked it for the future.

Thanks!

One more question: If I change the drive letters in a dual-boot, are those letters only in effect for THAT particular instance of the OS? In other words, if I let my current installation see my new partitions as whatever darn letters it feels like, but in the new installation I specifically set each one the way I want them, when I boot back to my old OS will everything be haywire? As far as I recall the OS, itself, makes up its own mind on drive letters, but it just dawned on me not to assume.

 

Yes, with the exception of the boot partitions, can't change C or the new boot partition letter.

Regards - Charles

 

Hi Mr. B,

To answer your question, did the obvious http://www.directron.com/patasata.html

PATA/SATA drives connect differently.

Regards - Charles

 

Charles,

I understand the drives have different physical connections, I have both types in my computer. I thought you meant he wouldn't be able to switch them as 'boot' drives. Sorry for the confusion (not enuff coffee).

B

 

Yes, but doesn't each new installation "see" itself as being the C drive, or am I crazy? At least when I installed Vista I could have sworn it considered the drive it was on to be C, even though it was D from XP.

 

When you install, if there is another installation on C, it'll ask whether to override C, you saying no, and then install to one of the partitions XP detects.

One of my D installation shortcuts: "D:\Program Files\Microsoft AntiSpyware\GIANTAntiSpywareMain.exe "

Below is a picture of the XP D OS only partition (2nd internal drive).

I'm in the D installation now and trust me, it knows it's on D

Regards - Charles

 

Hi Mr. B,

Same here Looking back thru this thread, I should have used the word "swap" instead of "switch ".

Regards - Charles

 

Yeah, you're right, charles. Apparently there IS a way around this issue (http://www.mcse.ms/archive65-2004-11-1233340.html), but simple doesn't begin to describe it.

I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I should unhook the old PATA hard drive while installing XP on the new SATA hard drive, then shut the new installation down, plug it back in, set the SATA drive as the first boot drive in my BIOS, and then either use the BIOS to switch back and forth after all (last resort), or use bootcfg and hope it rebuilds the boot menu on the new drive instead of the old one.

Any reason why my logic would NOT work?

 

Hi Turbofool,

Its your call. The poster in that thread wants to force the 2nd installation to be a C installation. IMO there is no need for that. If you feel that is importent, then yes, you are going to have to proceed the way Whiskyman did in that thread I referenced (being about Win98/XP is irrelevent other than the fact that 9X OS's must be on C) or in this thread the way Mr. B or Tony outlined.

I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I should unhook the old PATA hard drive while installing XP on the new SATA hard drive, then shut the new installation down, plug it back in, set the SATA drive as the first boot drive in my BIOS, and then either use the BIOS to switch back and forth after all (last resort), or use bootcfg and hope it rebuilds the boot menu on the new drive instead of the old one.
No reason for it not to work this way. You wouldn't need to use bootcfg to rebuild the boot.ini. If you installed the 2nd XP "independently" (1st drive unhooked) the boot.ini will be on the 2nd drive. However, that creates problems of its own when it comes time to dispense with the original installation.

Whenever I get into one of these threads, I always find myself thinking that its a lot easier to actually do than to describe

Going the dual boot, the install itself handles most everything, all you have to do is to tell XP where to install and it knows that there is another installation on C and will create the dual boot menu for you.

Regards - Charles

 

Yeah, I know how incredibly simple it would be if I wanted to keep the old installation, but I do want to get rid of that eventually.

It is kind of important to me to keep Windows on C, due partially to the fact that my brain's just used to it (silly, I know), and due partially to the fact that some poorly-programmed applications default to C without giving you a choice.

So what I'm thinking, and follow my logic here, is the following:

Unhook PATA drive with old installation on it.

Install Windows XP on new SATA partition allowing it to make itself C and ensure it works.

Plug in old PATA drive and make sure BIOS has SATA listed first.

Boot using Windows XP disc and enter the Recovery Console and use bootcfg to "repair" the boot file to find both bootable installations, and force myself not to care which drive it puts the file on (which'll probably be the old PATA drive).

Verify both installations work and that the drive associations on both are as I want them.

When I'm comfortable with my new SATA installation, make a backup image of both partitions, then format the old PATA partition.

Boot up, cross my fingers that the boot.ini was on the SATA drive. If not, reboot with the Windows XP disc and use bootcfg to relocate that installation.

Reformat the entire PATA drive however I want it.

Breath a sigh of relief.


Anything wrong with my plans?

 

For the record - you would get rid of the original installation in a dual boot config by using the XP cd to format the partition and then running bootcfig.

That's a show stopper.

Having cleared that away, you're getting hung up on the boot.ini

Lets follow want you want to do:

Currently the C (PATA) has a boot.ini file. You unhook it and install XP on the SATA, the install will install on a C partition, and not seeing the PATA, create a boot.ini on the SATA.

The RC will see both and in effect want to create a dual boot boot.ini on the PATA drive and eliminate the one on the SATA. In order to avoid that, you would just be re creating the boot.ini which is already there on either drive.

So, according to your thinking, in order to boot onto one or the other, you would have to keep "repairing" the installation, creating a boot.ini on whichever drive you want to boot into and repeat this process everytime you want to boot into one or the other. This is not necessary - you would change the BIOS boot order. Forget the boot.ini, they both exist independently of each other on each drive

You have to do this the way Mr. B outlined or make the BIOS change for whenever you want to boot into a different installation to avoid this mess and forget about using the XP cd to keep booting.

Drive image for both is a very good idea and formating the PATA is of course the way to go when the original installation not wanted anymore.

So to re cap:

Unhook the PATA
Install XP on the SATA

Then with both connected:

To boot into one or the other, change the BIOS boot order or use a 3rd party boot loader.

Each installation will see the other drive as a data drive.

I think that would work, not sure though having never done it.

Regards - Charles

 

THe next trick is figuring out which drive is which in the BIOS. It just labels them as HDD-0, 1, 2, and 3. I have three physical HDDs in there, so there'll be some trial-and-error figuring out the right one. I've also heard some people have problems with a system containing both a PATA and SATA drive, with the system only booting to the PATA drive, so I have to figure that out, too.

Any recommendations on a floppy boot loader, maybe? I might just have to go that route. I'd really rather not have a third-party boot loader installed on my hard drive.

 

drive identification clues...

Turbo,

If you open the 'Management Console' (MMC) and look under 'Drive Management', you may get more clues to which drive is which. It will show the partitions as well as Disk 1 (which is drive 0) and label which partition is the 'System'.
HTH

B

 

I use Disk Management frequently, but I didn't realize its information matched up with my BIOS'. That does help quite a bit, thank you.

Well, it's listing Disk 0 as my SATA drive, so apparently my motherboard is nice enough to give those first priority. It listed four different hard drives, though, so I'm wondering whether that's default, or whether it's confusing my ZIP drive for a hard drive, or what...

 

It will list any removable drives as well as your CD/DVD drives.

B

 

Hi TurboFool,

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ Bart

http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm Look around here.

In that 98/XP dual boot thread - post #6 by Surferdude: "home made" boot floppy. The way I read it, you're going to have to edit it for each boot, or make two, one for rdisk(0) and rdisk(whatever the number is) for the PATA drive.

Regards - Charles

 

And would I be correct in assuming that I can't simply manually edit the boot.ini file on the SATA drive to include the boot information for the other installation?

 

Hi TurboFool,

And would I be correct in assuming that I can't simply manually edit the boot.ini file on the SATA drive to include the boot information for the other installation?
Your assumption is correct No, that would be a "dual boot ".

Once dual boot is off the table, each boot.ini on both the PATA an SATA can't know about the other installation.

My Boot.ini on the C drive (the only one I have because this is a dual boot system):

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS= "XP on D" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS= "Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect=OptIn /NoExecute=OptIn

The blue highlighted part is the D installation portion.

Regards - Charles