I had successful way to restore a Win98se system using Dos  and Info-zip/unzip I thought I could use it to backup a XP System running NTFS.

This is as far as I got.  It worked for XP but not for Win2000.

This method is based on using two NTFS hard dives, the drive you want to backup (drive-ywtb) is hooked up as a secondary drive d:, the other hard drive C: is boots up WinXP and supplies all the Win support functions needed.  This provides all the NTFS, long file name and XP file attributes support and no file is active on the drive you want to backup.
You need free disk space that is at least 2/3 the size of space used on the drive you want to backup.
Two freeware programs
info-zip NT version        http://www.info-zip.org/pub/infozip/Zip.html
  info-unzip NT version http://www.info-zip.org/pub/infozip/UnZip.html
   split60i  http://drn.digitalriver.com/product.php%5Bid%5D45575%5Bcid%5D111%5BSiteID%5Dregnow

Install the drive you want to backup (drive-ywtb) as secondary drive on a WinXP system
Start up WinXP
Run program command
in the Dos window
zip –S –r -! c:\backup d:\*.*  to compress the D: drive-ywtb
split c:\backup.zip c:\backup f  2  to split the backup.zip file into fragments
write the fragments to CD, I used Nero Express

to restore to a blank drive
I recommend you use the drive manufacturer’s setup program to create a NTFS drive.
I found the WinXP routines to initialize and format NTFS drives unrealiable.
Install the NTFS formated drive as the secondary drive on a WinXP NTFS system
To restore, copy the fragments on CD Roms to the C: drive
Run program command
Split /u c:\backup    to merge the fragments to reconstruct the backup.zip file.
unzip –X –dd:\ c:\backup
Turn off computer and install the d: drive as the c: drive.
Start up the computer, WinXP will add drivers for the new motherboard and hardware.
After several  boot re-starts you are home.

This is where Win2000 didn’t work.  It is so configuation sensitve that it can’t operate in a different environment.  This is where I learned about
inaccessible_boot_device.
Apparently this message can occur in WinXP.  
I have’t tried this but one site recommends to delete all ide device managers before doing a backup so when Win2000 starts up it will only have generic drivers configured.

Right now I have a Win2000 system whirling on a C:\ drive.  Can anyone tell me how to install generic ide drivers over the manufacture specific drives now in place?

Now my adventures.
I started out wanting to backup in Dos.
First obstacle was Dos couldn’t see NTFS drives.
NTFSDOS can read NTFS drives, NTFS4DOS can read write to NTFS drives.
Program doslfn doesn’t behave the way I though it would, and I can’t make sense of the documentation.  I have no way to deal with long file names.
I couldn’t find a Micosoft NTFS DOS.
I tried using the operating system used with the WinXP setup disks but they won’t let you format a: drives or copy files.  

Tried Diskimage (crippled trial version).  It is a Dos program that can read a NTFS drive and make and full sized copy.  I thought it was so stupid to copy empty file sectors.  Their commercial version compresses.  Obviously they have addressed the long file name issue, but no idea if they handle the 80 character limit for directory paths.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

wmbrae


Quote:

Right now I have a Win2000 system whirling on a C:\ drive.  Can anyone tell me how to install generic ide drivers over the manufacture specific drives now in place?

The issue may not be *ide drivers*--it could be that drive letter assignment is getting messed up while you are trying to copy the *active* drive OS system to the slave drive.  Maybe you need to make Win2000 *forget* drive letters before the copying:

Fixing Windows 2000/XP Drive Letters

Otherwise, you may be able to go into *Device Manager* and use the *Properties* of your IDE controller--*Driver* tab to do an *Update* driver to see if it offers a *generic* driver vs the maker of the IDE controller driver.

After hundreds of trials finally solved the Win2000 mystery.
Before doing the zip, modify the Win2k IDE driver.

From the Device Manager, open up the "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers"
Double-click on the entry for the controller, and change the driver to the generic default Microsoft "Standard Dual-Channel PCI IDE Controller".

found the answer at
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/install/other/motherboard/problems.htm

Clone Win2K system onto dual boot Win2K and XP using only freeware system install CD’s

A friend had an XP box but had to keep his old Win2K box because there were applications on it where he threw out the install Cd’s, so they couldn’t be copied.
The Win2K box was making strange noises so we looked into what could be done.
The plan would be to create a dual boot hard drive on his XP box where his Win2K system would also be installed. Saving him to have to change, keyboard, mouse and monitor cables when he switched boxes.

1) Got a 40 GB hard drive.

2) Booted Win2K install CD and created 3 Partitions, 12 GB, 4GB, 24GB
Installed Win2K in partition 1 C:\ 12 GB.  This is to make sure MBR and Bootsector expect a Win2K load.

3) Booted WinXP install CD and installed WinXP into partition 3 E:\ 24GB

4) Install freeware program XXCopy in WinXP

http://www.xxcopy.com/xcpydnld.htm

5) Power off, replaced CD drive with hard drive from Win2K box.

6) Booted up WinXP, ran XXCopy using as source the Win2K hard drive and destination of  partition 1 C:\ on current hard drive. Actually clobbering the fresh Win2K install I had done.  I used this command line

XXCOPY F:\*.*  C:\  /Ks/h/e/R/q/y

7) Power off, unplug Win2K hard drive, hook up CD drive.

8) Power up with WinXP install CD
    XXCOPY clobbered the boot.ini created by XP install (with 2 systems) with the original boot up of Win2K from the hard drive.  Not knowing what to do, I did a WinXP in place install (re-installed XP) just to get the dual boot boot.ini.
Then powered off and powered on again and select Win2K.

9) Success, Win2K starts up.  Now test those precious programs.  Yes they run.
Shut down, Power up and run WinXP, everything OK.

I installed Win2K on C:\ to keep the programs on the old box happy, since they would be looking for C:\
The WinXP box was from the same company as the Win2K box, so finding the new MB and hardware wasn’t hard at all for the first Win2K boot up on a different machine.

Question 1
I was wondering if there would be a way to skip the first Win2K install and XP re-install
If I could just copy the old Win2K into C:\ and then add a line in boot.ini

multi(0)disk(0)rddisk(0)partition(3)WINDOWS=”Windows XP”/noexecute=option/fastdetect

Question 2
My first attempt was to copy the registry from the old Win2K system and install it on the freshly installed Win2K system (I can easily copy over the Program Files stuff).

I used the Backup tool in Win2K, it created a backup file just fine, but also recorded the time tag of the Backup.
When I tried the Restore tool on the other hard drive, it had no record of the backup so I was unable to put the registry of the Win2K box on this new hard drive.

Ok, it’s not such a good idea for the hardware specific things in the registry but is there a way to do it for the software programs?