Can't restore image created from dual boot WinXP/Win7

T

tpman

Member
Greetings
My first post here. I have a dual boot system, WinXP/Win7 vhd, made this way --

Code: 
http://www.markwilson.co.uk/blog/2009/10/native-boot-from-vhd-on-a-windows-xp-computer.htm

It works great. Now when I image it with drive snapshot to an eSATA drive, then restore it to another eSATA drive, then remove my main C: hard drive to simulate a failure, then reboot with the new image, I can't get into Win7, only WinXP. The error screen says something about GUID.

I know it's some thing to do with the bootstore and GUID's but can't figure out if I have to use the Win7 restore CD to fix the problem, like I read somewhere else here or if my imaging app is doing something wrong.

Anyone else had this problem. I'm simulating an actual C: failure and this procedure doesn't work. I have tried copying the disk signature when restoring the image, still not working. I'm stuck.
 
A clone of a Vista/7 OS will contain a copy of the BCD, which uses UIDs to locate things. Each of those UIDs is pointing to the unique description of the other HDD.
After cloning to a new HDD you'll need to boot the Vista/7 DVD and run "startup repair" (possibly more than once). That will correct the bad references in the BCD.
 
Thanks Terry
Since I created then modified the new Win7 bootstore to hold the WinXP boot info, do you think that the Win7 boot cd will know how to fix the WinXP portion? I will try this but I'm not sure that portion will get restored. I might have to do it manually as before.
 
The XP part of the boot is chained through the W7 part, so it should be fine.
Any problem is easily fixed by deleting the XP BCD entry and re-adding it, letting EasyBCD 2 auto-configure it when W7 is running again.
 
Thanks Terry
So...do all imaging apps like Acronis, Paragon do the same as drive snapshot and do not fix the bcd when imaging...meaning all these apps don't work for Win7?

I guess to fix the bcd they would have to calculate the correct uid then write it to the bcd, but Microsoft would have to release the info about how it is created?
 
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I think there are some that fix the BCD, and some that claim to be "cloning" but also change the disk letter (and every reference to it) in the registry, which isn't a clone by my understanding of the word, but I don't know which version does what.
I do know that my magazine freeby copy of Paragon Drive Copy 9.0 worked fine when I shuffled W7, Vista and XP to different places when I installed a new HDD, needing startup repairs from the respective DVDs for the first two. I couldn't get the cloned Ubuntu working though, so I ended up just reinstalling it to its new location.
 
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