"mitchkill" <> wrote in message
news:52220100-ed00-4598-9b77-…
> First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
> that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
> Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
> RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
> on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
> like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!
>
> Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
> with the following hard disk setup
>
> RAID I – 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files – F:)
> IDE – 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini – C:)
> SATA – 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive – E:)
>
> Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
> the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
> file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs.
> We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
> drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
> that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
> determine where the OS is.
>
> So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
> the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
> boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
> at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
> things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
> the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
> that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
> change my drive letters?
>
> In case you need it, I’ve captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
> Console which you can reach here:
> http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg
>
> Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.
news:52220100-ed00-4598-9b77-…
> First of all, let me explain that this situation involves a server
> that is located in a data center a good distance from where I live.
> Thus, the only means that I have of working with the server is through
> RDP or by proxy through my data center tech. If I could get my hands
> on the server, I probably could figure out how to do what I would
> like. As I cannot, I need a little help from you guys!
>
> Here is the situation. I am currently running Windows 2003 Standard
> with the following hard disk setup
>
> RAID I – 500 GB HDDs (OS and data files – F:)
> IDE – 500 GB HDD (Backup drive and boot.ini – C:)
> SATA – 500 GB HDD (Secondary backup drive – E:)
>
> Yes, oddly enough, when the techs installed Windows on this system,
> the OS went on the mirrored drives (as I desired), but the boot.ini
> file went onto the IDE drive. Now, the IDE drive is on its last legs.
> We would like to replace the drive, but if we disconnect the IDE
> drive, we are told "The operating system cannot be found." I figure
> that this is due to the inability to locate the boot.ini file to
> determine where the OS is.
>
> So, in theory, I would think that if I can move the boot.ini file to
> the RAID drive and tell the computer to look on the RAID drive for the
> boot.ini file, then I can replace the IDE drive without any problems
> at all. However, I am not very sure how to do this without messing
> things up worse than they are. Is it simply just a matter of copying
> the boot.ini file to the other drive? Are there other files or things
> that I need to consider? If I do move the boot.ini file over, will it
> change my drive letters?
>
> In case you need it, I’ve captured a screenshot of the Disk Management
> Console which you can reach here:
> http://www.integritydc.net/data/Disk-Management.jpg
>
> Thank you for any and all help you can provide in this matter.
Someone appears to have gone out of his way to create a non-standard disk
and partition environment! If this was my own machine then I would play it
safe like so:
1. Format a floppy disk on this machine.
2. Copy the following files to A:\ –
– boot.ini
– ntldr
– ntdetect.com
3. Modify boot.ini so that you can clearly recognise a floppy boot.
4. Set the BIOS so that the server boots from A:.
5. Test the floppy boot.
If this floppy boot works then you can play with your various disks and
partitions without the risk of creating an unbootable system.
