Boot help request

D

Danthe

Member
Hello there, NeoSmart community.
First of all, I'd like to appologize to make my first post as a call for help. It's just that...I need help, hehe.

Anyway. I'll start with explaining some things.

I have 2 S-ATA drives, and 2 IDE drives. The important thing to note here, is that I want C:\ to be on a S-ATA drive.

If I install Vista by just entering setup, and start the install, the wanted S-ATA drive will become C:\ BUT it will place all boot files on D:\ (IDE drive).

If I disable the IDE controller from the BIOS (which I usually do, when installing XP) Vista will complain over missing boot data when enabling them again.

The thing is, I want to install Vista on C:\ and have the bootmanager, BCD and MBR on C:\ without installing it on one of the IDE drives (This odd demand is due to one of the S-ATA's being a Raptor).


Thanks in advance for any help, I hope I didn't make it sound too complex!

Danthe
 
mqudsi

mqudsi

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Hi Danthe, welcome to NeoSmart Technologies - we're glad to help!

Does your BIOS support changing the order of the drives themselves? Probably you wouldn't be asking if it did, but just to make sure...

Here's what you should do:
Disable the IDE controller, install Vista.
Boot into Vista, and run this command:
Code: 
bcdedit.exe /set {bootmgr} device partition=C:

Then reboot, enable the IDE controller, and boot from the Vista DVD -> Repair Options -> Command Prompt:
Code: 
bootsect.exe /nt60 all

That should take care of it.
 
D

Danthe

Member
Thank you for the reply CG!

The BIOS does "support" changing the order of the devices, yes, but it doesn't seem to have any effect. The IDE channel will still be on channel 0,x.

I will try what you said, probably later tonight, but I'd like to ask something while at it.

"bootsect.exe /nt60 all" what does that command do, exactly? Executes something on all partitions, obviously, but what?
 
mqudsi

mqudsi

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
It adds the Vista bootsector to the IDE drive (and the rest) where it hasn't yet been installed because the IDE was disabled when the SATA setup was done.
 
D

Danthe

Member
Thank you for clearing that up.

It works perfectly well now. BUT.
When/If I want to re-install XP, what would I need to do?
 
D

Danthe

Member
Yes, but I mean if I want to remove Vista again (which I want), I wouldn't want to use Boot-Manager, but NTLDR. Right?

Thanks again!!
 
D

Danthe

Member
Hehe. Should've figured, but, I've had some serious boot issues with Vista earlier, so I wanted to be sure.

Thanks for all your help CG :smile: I most definately appreciate it.
 
mqudsi

mqudsi

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
It's no problem at all.

Just to be clear: make sure that your XP is drive C:\ (and, as such, the boot drive)
If Vista is the boot drive you'll have issues removing it later.
 
D

Danthe

Member
Back in business with Windows XP again. Damn, I won't be giving Vista another shot before I really need to. Behind the interface, it's pretty okay except for some major mistakes like removing EAX API's and re-working the audio system...but the interface is too slow and boring, just can't use it.
And the main reason I had to remove it: The sound SUCKS!!! (Coming from an audiophile)

Thanks! Your knowledge is reliable.
 
D

DarkWater

Member
Can 2008 Server be installed to a computer without a dvd drive over the network? I don't know if there is that option(coping the contents of the dvd don't work)
 
mqudsi

mqudsi

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Danthe said:
Back in business with Windows XP again. Damn, I won't be giving Vista another shot before I really need to. Behind the interface, it's pretty okay except for some major mistakes like removing EAX API's and re-working the audio system...but the interface is too slow and boring, just can't use it.
And the main reason I had to remove it: The sound SUCKS!!! (Coming from an audiophile)

Thanks! Your knowledge is reliable.
Click to expand...

Yeah, bad audio has been a real killer in Vista.
There was the recent controversy on having to pick between good audio or fast network speeds, and our own age-old article on crappy drivers (and decent alternatives) despite the new and "improved" audio stack.

DarkWater said:
Can 2008 Server be installed to a computer without a dvd drive over the network? I don't know if there is that option(coping the contents of the dvd don't work)
Click to expand...

We're working on a solution together with a network provider (EasyBCD plays a huge role there), but for now the best way is to install 2k3 and upgrade.
 
Top