Radified Community Forums - After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS

KDawg44

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After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Feb 26^th, 2007 at 12:22pm

Hi,

I took an image of a PC. After the image completed, the computer
rebooted and now it boots PC-DOS everytime and just sends requests andacknowledgements to the server continuously. This computer has very specialized software on it and cannot be down (which was why I took animage of it) and now it will not boot into windows XP at all. Using GSS 2.0.

Please help!

Thanks.

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NightOwl

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	Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS Reply #1 - Feb 26^th, 2007 at 1:43pm KDawg44 Sounds like you are trapped in the Ghost virtual partition--see here for discussion: http://radified.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=general;action=display;num=11719...
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KDawg44

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #2 - Feb 26^th, 2007 at 2:44pm

Thanks for the advice.

I am using Ghost Solution Suite and GHREBOOT was not on the CD. I downloaded it from the links you provided and put it onto a bootable CD made by Nero.

When I try to run GHReboot I get the following Error:

Warning! This disk does not contain any active, non-hidden, primary partitions. The computer will not restart correctly if the Virtual Partition is removed. Please enter the number of hte action you wish to take:
[1] Exit to DOS.
[2] Remove Virtual partition.
[3] Activate the first, non-hidden, primary partition
Double Fault at eip=2e190; flags=3246
eax=00000000 ebx=001043a0 ecx=0000041c edx=0000001e esi=001043f0 edi=00104360
edp=00104278 esp=00104274 cs=af ds=b7 es=b7 fs=a7 gs=bf ss=b7 error=0000

and so GHReboot will not run.

There is a program called SRFIXMBR.exe on the GSS2.0 CD. Do you know if this is for a similar purpose?

Thanks for all your help.

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NightOwl

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	Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS Reply #3 - Feb 27^th, 2007 at 1:06am KDawg44 Do you have a DOS partition tool like PartitionMagic? What partition(s) are on that disk. Or, could us Ghost's gdisk to see what partitions are listed. Or, MBRWizard - The MBR utility you've been looking for! has a DOS based program to list the partitions.
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KDawg44

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	Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS Reply #4 - Feb 27^th, 2007 at 8:12am I would love to use GDisk but it is not on the GSS 2.0 CD. Is there a place I can download it from. I cannot find it on the Symantec website. Thanks a lot.
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NightOwl

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #5 - Feb 27^th, 2007 at 8:55am

KDawg44

I have never used Ghost Solution Suite v2.x (GSS v2.x)--so I have no personal knowledge of what's on the CD, or where files are stored on the HDD where GSS v2.x has been installed--but the GSS v2.x Implementation Guide has a whole chapter on using *GDisk.exe* for DOS and *GDisk32.exe* for Windows--see Section 8, Chapter 24!

Symantec Ghost Solution Suite 2.0 Product Manuals

This is where the Implementation Guide says the files are located:

Quote:

2

At the DOS prompt, type progra~1\symantec \ghost\GDisk
followed by the
required disk and switches.

To run GDisk32 in Microsoft Vista, you must run the command prompt as an
administrator.

To run the command prompt as an administrator

1. On the taskbar, click Start > All Programs > Accessories, right-click
Command Prompt and click Run as administrator.

2. In the User Account Control dialog box, type the administrator credentials.

3. Click OK.

To run GDisk32.exe

1. On the Windows taskbar, open a DOS window.

2. At the DOS prompt, type progra~1\symantec \ghost\GDisk32
followed by
the required disk and switches.

Of course, you will not have access to files in DOS to a directory on a NTFS partition unless you have a DOS based NTFS reading utility loaded.

But, I'm sure *GDisk* has to be on the GSS v2.x installation CD somewhere!

Also found this in the Implementation Guide:

Quote:

Getting out of the virtual partition

If your client computer is stuck in the virtual partition, you can use the executable
Ngctdos.exe
to restart your computer back into Windows.

To restart your client computer back into Windows:

1. At the command line, type ngctdos -hide
2. Press Enter.

GSS v2.x must be using a different recovery program than *ghreboot.exe*!

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KDawg44

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #6 - Feb 27^th, 2007 at 9:00am

Thank you so much for all your help! I will do just that. I took an image of a computer that needs to go into production as our shipping PC by tomorrow. I took the image because it is so vital that this computer be recoverable ASAP if a problem occurs. I started sweating when an error occurred after this and I needed it into production.

I will follow up with this once I have tried it.

Thanks!

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KDawg44

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	Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS Reply #7 - Feb 27^th, 2007 at 9:49am Thanks for all your help. MBRWIZ did the trick to get back the main partition. Now, it says that hal.dll is missing. That's not good. All because I took an image of a stable system. I hesitate to continue using Ghost when this kind of stuff occurs. THanks.
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NightOwl

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #8 - Feb 27^th, 2007 at 10:15am

KDawg44

That error occurs most commonly when your Master Partition Table does not have the partitions in sequential order to match the physical layout of the partitions!

MBRWiz will show you the sequence of how your partitions are listed in the Master Partition Table--non-sequential listing occurs usually if you have made multiple changes in the partition structure over time--or it is a system that had *hidden* utility partitions like what comes on Dell systems, etc.

The *list* command shows the physical layout and the Master Partitiion Table sequence order--if they are not matched, you get the above error--depending on how well Ghost handles (or fails to handle) the situation!

The problem can be *easily* fixed--Ghost tries to *adjust* the *boot.ini* file when you perform a Ghost procedure such as *cloning* direct, disk-to-disk, or when you use an image to clone a backup image to a replacement HDD, etc.--but Ghost does not properly sort out the partition table if the sequence is non-linear--physical layout does not match the Master Partition Table sequence!

MBRWiz has a command to re-order the Master Partition Table.

Or, you can edit the *boot.ini* so the correct partition is listed for booting:

TeraByte Unlimited Freeware--See *EditBini*

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KDawg44

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #9 - Feb 27^th, 2007 at 10:41am

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately for me I was playing around in the repair console first and thought a bootcfg /rebuild might accomplish a similar thing.

THis caused it to boot but then say it wanted to install windows.

I then used the fixmbr /sort and rebooted. Then it gave me the hal missing error again. I redid the bootcfg /rebuild and it is again booting and saying it wants to install windows.

Is there a way to fix this or should I just push the image that I took back out to the PC? With the given errors i had, can i be sure that the image was taken correctly? (it said it was at the server console)

Thanks

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NightOwl

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #10 - Feb 28^th, 2007 at 1:12am

KDawg44

Quote:

Is there a way to fix this or should I just push the image that I took back out to the PC? With the given errors i had, can i be sure that the image was taken correctly?

Not knowing more details of how things are set up--I don't have an answer.

What does MBRWiz show as far as the physical layout vs the sequential listing in the Master Partition Table?

And, what does *EditBini* show for the boot.ini listing as to what partition is supposed to boot Windows?

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KDawg44

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #11 - Feb 28^th, 2007 at 8:38am

Quote:

What does MBRWiz show as far as the physical layout vs the sequential listing in the Master Partition Table?

MBRWIZ shows the following listing:

Disk: 0 Size= 76G
Pos MBRndx Type/Name Size Active Hide Start Sector Sector
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 0 07-NTFS 76G Yes No 63 156,280,257
1 1 0E-FAT16X 15M No No 46,299,330 32,130

Before the MBRWiz /sort the MBRndx was switched.

Quote:

And, what does *EditBini* show for the boot.ini listing as to what partition is supposed to boot Windows?

Editbini for the NTFS partition looks like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=0
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=""
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS=""
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional"

When opening the disk with editbini, it lists the above partition as partition 01 and the FAT16 partition as 02:

[hard drive 0]
MBR Entry 0 partition (01) 76309 MB HPFS/NTFS
-VPSGHBOOT--1 partition (02) 16 MB FAT-16

Thanks for any and all help. I am down to crunch time now...

Thanks for your support

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KDawg44

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #12 - Feb 28^th, 2007 at 8:45am

I know everything is there because when i boot in with a bootdisk, I can pull up the C drive and see everything there (old directories, WINDOWS directory, so on) but when I boot up, it takes me to an install windows. It looks like a Windows installer (MSI) screen, not the normal looking windows install.

If I boot into system repair from the Windows CD, can I use something like sfc /scannow to see if some system files were corrupted in all this? grasping at straws now....

thanks.

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #13 - Feb 28^th, 2007 at 9:15am

KDawg44

Everything *looks* okay--perhaps your previous attempts to recovery has *corrupted* one of the boot files!?

Can you create a *emergency boot floppy for WinXP* using this outline:

How to use System files to create a boot disk to guard against being unable to start Windows XP

It's okay to create the floppy on a different system as long as it is WinXP.

Cut and paste this *generic* boot.ini file content--replace whatever is in the boot.ini file with this:

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /SOS

If the above will boot to your OS successfully--then replace your boot files on the HDD with the boot files on the floppy--does that solve the problem? (I'm grasping at straws too!)

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KDawg44

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Re: After taking image of PC, boots into PC-DOS
Reply #14 - Feb 28^th, 2007 at 10:26am

Booting with the floppy unfortunately found the same result. Its the Setup Windows XP Professional Screen. It wants me to agree to terms, input a product code, etc. I of course do not want to reinstall. Any other suggestions before i try pushing the image that i dont even know if it works (since the problems started right after).

THanks.

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