Hi there,


Ok this is my problem I windows XP fails to load says missing ntfs.sys file so I cannot get into windows,

I have 2 sata hard drives partitioned into around 5 partitions each one. On the second hard drive I have a ghost image of the C drive of the main hard drive that I want to restore. I created the image with ghost 15. Now when I put in a ghost image file  ( from an older version of Ghost probably 2003) on dvd in order to boot into ghost. I can tell it to use the image on the parttion ( not the one on the DVD) I can specify the hard drive thats the main one I want the image to be copied to but the partion on the main drive the C drive is greyed out. Its a primary partition. I cannot tell ghost to copy the ghost image from one partion to the c partion on my main hard drive...


Anybody know why this is. If I specify the image on the DVD it gives me the option of choosing the C partiton but not if I choose the image on the partition of my slave hard drive.


I'm hoping that there is some bootable ghost disc I can create on this computer that will allow me to boot up the not working computer choose the image on the slave parttion and copy that to the C drive of my master hard drive...Is this possible and why is the C partiion greyed out so it cannot be chosen???

many thanks for reading this post and I would be really thankful if anyone can help me out

thank you so much for your reply

What caused my Xp install to fail is that I used system restore to go back a day and then it just wouldn't boot back into windows it came up with that error message.

My PC is dual booted with linux but it still loads grub and gives em the option of either linux or Xp its been like this vor a few years. The system restore has obviously hosed something. I've just burned the iso the the SRC and I'll try that now fingers crossed. Its an old mobo that has worked faultlessly for years.


It was my 77 year old father clicking anything that popped up that caused me to use system restore

Once again thanks for your input

orissacube

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Unexpected!

Translation please:  *SRC* and *SRD* = ?

Are these the Ghost 15 installation disc?  I am not a Ghost 15 user, so I have limited personal experience.  Brian is our Ghost 15 expert--I suspect he'll be along with additional input when he's available.

On an older system, the Ghost 15's Recovery Environment disc is usually able to detect/run most hardware!

*GRUB*--are you able to run the GRUB installer to repair your linux/WinXP dual boot?

If you can boot to WinXP by fixing the GRUB boot manager (maybe in Safe Mode), then you might be able to do an *undo* to the *system restore*--may have to repair GRUB again after that--don't know for sure!

Ok guys thanks for your input.

I managed to get the system recovery disc to work with my keyboard and mouse. I can now interact with the GUI. Now it seems that I musthave made my ghost image of the unbootable windows partition with a previous version of Ghost . There is no facility within the SR interface to select a .gho image and copy to the corrupt partition.

Now what I think I need to do is somehow boot into a previous version of ghost that will allow me to select the image and copy to corrupt partition.

I've actually got images on disc from 2005 (shows how old this PC is !! ) these will let me select the image but not copy it to the corrupt parttion....I have no idea why this is. If I select the image on the dvd it will allow me to copy to the corrupt partition.But not if I select the image on the second hard drive.Its greyed out the other parttions (not primary) are not !!!!

There is no problem with grub that is working perfectly I can choose to boot into Linux and it will boot into that but if I choose the windows install it stalls giving the error message of a missing or corupt ntfs.sys file

thanks for the links to sort the ntfs.sys file I'll check those out now

orissacube

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Apparently you do not recall which version of Ghost you used to create the Ghost image file(s).  A *.gho* image file comes from Ghost versions that were for a long time strictly DOS based--Symantec eventually began to develop Ghost interfaces to run from Windows, and a Corporate *DOS* based version of Ghost that can run under Windows in a command DOS Window.

Retail Ghost v9.x and v10.x did have the ability to access *.gho* files when booted to their *Recovery Environment*, and prior to that retail Ghost 2003, 2002, and 2001 could be used, but only when booted to DOS, to access and restore image files.  There are also Corporate Ghost v1.x thru 8.5, and then 11.xx (v9 and v10 were used by retail Ghost--so, Corp Ghost skipped those version numbers).

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Okay, what *program* are you using to access (select) those image files?

(We need to clarify terminology:  *copy* a file simply means creating another file of the original at another location--so creating a *doc* file and the creating a copy of the same file elsewhere.  In *imaging* software, we say *restore* an image file if we are using a backup image of a partition or whole HDD to *overwrite* the destination partition or whole HDD with the data within the image file.)

So, above, are you talking about *copying*, or are you talking about *restoring* an image file.

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So, you can't have it both ways!  Above you say *these will let me select the image but not copy it to the corrupt partition*--in this phrase, *these* refers back to the *images on disc* (given the current sentence structure), and you can not *copy* these files to the corrupt partition.

Then you say *If I select the image on the dvd it will allow me to copy to the corrupt partition*--so now you have said if you select the image files on the DVD, you can *copy* the image files!

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Are you saying you have old image files dating back to 2005 on DVD disc, and newer image files on the second HDD?  If so, how *new* are the image files on the second HDD?

Or, have you copied the 2005 files from the DVD to the second HDD?

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If your last Ghost backup is 2005, are you sure you want to over-write your 2010 current OS back to the way it was in 2005--are you saying you have not made any changes since 2005?

It still might be possible that the *real* problem is an incorrect setting in the *boot.ini* file.  There may be a simple way to check, and correct the problem--well, simple if you have a floppy drive and disks to work with.

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It doesn't matter how *cutting edge* a system is, if you have a system with SATA HDD controllers, and the OS you are using does not have those drivers available natively, and that OS only allows for adding drivers via floppy disk--well, that system needs a permanent floppy drive installed, and floppy disks handy (or possibly a USB floppy drive available--if supported)!

Do you have access to a system with a floppy drive that has an operational OS that will allow you to create bootable floppy disks?

Ok I thought this might work using the command prompt in the Ghost gui.

What I want to do is rename the ntfs,sys file on my C drive as old and replace with the clean ntfs,sys file off my XP install disc instead of going dwon the route of loading windows XP with floppys etc etc.


It seems that I cannot get out of the X:\ system32\drivers that ghost uses.

I've tried cd F:\system32\drivers where F is my xp install partition but it won't allow
but it just comes back to X

my knowledge of command prompt is zero

Does anyone know if from the command prompt within the ghost GUI that I can get the ntfs.sys file from my XP install disc onto the partition

Its just the naming that the Ghost recovery GUI gives my C drive

Within windows its C within the bootable Ghost recovery disc its named as F


do you think that using the command line in the Ghost GUI that I should use the letter C as it is under windows or the letter F as its called within Ghost.

I will try using C

Unfortunately the image file I have for this PC used an old version of Ghost so its a .gho file

orissacube

From your initial post:

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Okay, I think it is now becoming clear--you do not know which HDD is which in the DOS Ghost interface (GUI), and you do not know which partition is which!

The *destination* partition that you are trying to specify is actually the *source* partition where the image file is being read from by Ghost--so Ghost is *protecting* you from attempting to overwrite the partition it needs to read that backup file from by *greying it out* and not letting you select it!

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Being as you do not appear to know how your system is setup, we need you to tell us what you think you do know!

1.  How big are the two SATA HDDs?  Are they both the same size--or different?

2.  Approx. how big is each partition?  You need to list the five (5) partitions for each drive.  So drive #1,  partitions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.  And then the same for drive #2, partitions 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

3.  What file system is on each partition--again specify which drive and which partition?

4.  In Windows, what drive letter is assigned to each partition?

From you reply #2:

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5.  Which of the partition(s) on which of the two drives are dedicated to linux?

6.  In Windows, are those linux partition(s) seen?

7.  Which of the partitions is dedicated to WinXP on which of the two drives?

8.  Have you *Labeled* any of the partitions with unique names to identify them--such as *WinXP* for the WinXP OS partition, *Linux* for the Linux OS partition, *Data* for a data partition, *Games* for a games partition, *Programs* for a programs partition, *Backup* for a backup partition, etc.?

If you do not know the answers to any or all the above--just say so!

But, we need to find out from which drive you are booting, and on which drive and partition your boot files are located.  Randomly restoring partitions to the wrong destination will only create more and probably undo-able damage to the system!

9.  How recent is the most recent Ghost image file that you have found on your *second* HDD--what's the file creation date seen when you load it in Ghost?