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October 13th, 2005 07:00

Installing second copy from preinstall?

I have an Inspiron 700m, preinstalled with XP Pro.
 
I need to install a second bootable partition of this on my machine but I'm not sure how I can do so using the preinstall.  I have a separate copy of the XP Pro install disk but I can't install directly from this because of MS's authorization mechanism :(
 
Is there any way I can use the preinstall, my disk, or some combination of the two to install a second copy on the 700m?
 
Thanks,
 
Ian
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Message Edited by IanWorthington on 10-13-2005 03:39 AM

12K Posts

October 13th, 2005 09:00

Okay, I'll ask the obvious question.  Why do you need two copies of XP Pro on the same machine?

October 13th, 2005 12:00

Same reason I have two copies on my desktop: so I can install different application sets on them, in this case a beta development environment which has the reputation of leaving the os messed up. You have one for production use, one for development.

I've done the same in the past to have a video capture and editing environment free of other applications.  Its pretty standard practice.

So the only question is can I do it using what I've got?

Ian
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409 Posts

October 13th, 2005 13:00

For what it's worth, I have 2 copies of the same XP  Home from the Dell provided CD on separate partitions  on the same pc.  No calls to authenticate with Microsoft.

12K Posts

October 13th, 2005 13:00

Yes it would, I misread your first post as I thought you said you had a second copy of XP.  Sorry, two installs, means two separate copies of XP.

12K Posts

October 13th, 2005 13:00

The only way I think you can do it is to boot from the CD and point the installation towards the other partition.

October 13th, 2005 13:00

Didn't need a second license for a second install on my desktop: same hardware.

Its just this preinstall nonsense that's causing me a problem...  Is there no way to build a setup disk from the preinstall?

Ian

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Message Edited by IanWorthington on 10-13-2005 10:02 AM

October 13th, 2005 13:00

Wouldn't this mean I'd have to buy yet another Xp license though?  The CD I have is registered to and authorised on my desktop machine.  Or is there some way of obtaining the key for the preinstall and using it with the CD copy?

Ian
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Message Edited by IanWorthington on 10-13-2005 09:15 AM

623 Posts

October 13th, 2005 19:00

"Is there any way I can use the preinstall, my disk, or some combination of the two to install a second copy on the 700m?"
 
Yes.  When my daughter and her friends started college, I reconfigured a few of their 600m laptops to dualboot two copies of the original installation as shipped by Dell.  It isn't easy, but how hard it will be will depend on what tools you have to work with. 
 
Do you have a Dell reinstallation CD?  Did your 700m come with a PC Restore partition, and is it still intact?  If so, are you planning to keep it, or will you replace it?  Do you have a nondestructive repartitioner (e.g., PartitionMagic, BootIt-NG, Partition Commander, et al)?  Do you have a cloning/imaging utility--if so, which one?  Assuming you don't have a floppy drive, do you have a cd burner with decent software (Nero or Roxio) to make a bootable cd? 
 
The answers to these questions will determine what approach you need to take to get that second OS created.  You'll need to clarify what your partition layout is now and what you'd like to end up with.
 
Dan Goodell
 
 

October 13th, 2005 20:00

Hi Dan --

I don't have a reinstall disk but have kept the reinstall partition intact. I have PartitionMagic and Ghost available, though I can't Ghost my current partition due to its size. The machine has a DVD burner and I have a copy of Roxio installed.

I have not changed the original partition layout and wish to end up with two bootable partitions.

What do you think my options are?

Thanks,

ian

623 Posts

October 13th, 2005 23:00

"I don't have a reinstall disk but have kept the reinstall partition intact. I have PartitionMagic and Ghost available, though I can't Ghost my current partition due to its size. The machine has a DVD burner and I have a copy of Roxio installed.

I have not changed the original partition layout and wish to end up with two bootable partitions."

As mentioned by others, you don't want to use the retail XP cd you have from the other system (and it wouldn't be legal, anyway).  So, since you don't have a Dell reinstall cd, you'll be using a Ghost image.  You can either Ghost your existing XP partition, or you can restore the "as-shipped" Ghost image buried in the DellRestore partition that you left intact.  (The latter would actually be easier to do, but either can be done--it just depends on which one you want the new copy to look like.)

You need to clarify what partition layout you want to end up with.  You presently have 3 partitions for Dell Utility, XP #1, and DellRestore.  You plan to add a partition for XP #2, but do you plan to also have a separate (perhaps even shared) partition for data?  If so, it won't be easy to also keep DellUtility and/or DellRestore, so what are your plans for those?

BTW, what size disk are you working with, and which version of PartitionMagic?

My recommendation would be to save the oem Ghost image from the DellRestore partition, eliminate the rest of the DellRestore partition (its use will be marginalized by dualbooting, anyway), and create a shared data partition.

Are you planning to use a boot manager?  It's optional at this point, as you can simply use pqboot32.exe, which you'll find on your PartitionMagic cd.  (Just run pqboot32 from either XP copy, and you can choose which copy of XP to reboot into.)

Meanwhile, start building yourself a dos-bootable cd.  Since you don't have a floppy drive, visit www.bootdisk.com and download the "non-Windows based" version of a Win98se boot disk.  Extract the image file (win98sec.img) from the download and use it directly as the boot image for Roxio--start Roxio, tell it you want to make a bootable cd, and when it asks for the source floppy, tell it you have a file instead and direct it to win98sec.img.  Into the cd project window, drag the rest of the utility files you'll need:

  • PartitionMagic:  all files from your PM cd's \english\dosmake\disk2 directory.
  • Other PM utils:  pqboot.exe, pqboot32.exe, ptedit.exe, and ptedit32.exe--copy from your PM cd.
  • Ghost:  ghost.exe from your Ghost 2003 cd.
  • Terabyte utils:  editbini.exe and mbrwork.exe--download from the free utilities page at  www.bootitng.com.

Basically, the idea is to boot from cd, retrieve the oem Ghost image for safekeeping, use PM to rearrange your partitions, use Ghost to restore an image to your XP #2 partition, fix a few minor glitches with ptedit/editbini so both XP's will work, and use pqboot to switch back and forth between the two bootable XP's.

Contact me by email (see my webpages) and I can give you step-by-step instructions of how you'll use these tools.  For a little light reading (not! :smileywink:) you'll find plenty of background material on my webpages at www.goodells.net/multiboot, www.goodells.net/dellutility, and www.goodells.net/dellrestore.

Dan Goodell

 

Message Edited by dg1261 on 10-13-2005 07:22 PM

October 14th, 2005 12:00

Hi Dan --

Many thanks for your comprehensive answer, and your even more comprehensive website:  I think everything I need to know is covered in that lot.

With my desktop I have it configured so that the two bootable partions XP1 and XP2 are equale and both visible to each other and the data is storted elsewhere.  For this machine I only need to keep a seperate os/registry so I would propose to have a small XP2 just for that and keep XP1 as the data store.

I have the largest hdd the 700m ships with, 80GB, which I think is ok for my PM, v7. 

I was just going to use the standard XP boot loader.  Do you think there's good reason to avoid it?

Thanks,

Ian
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623 Posts

October 14th, 2005 18:00

"I have the largest hdd the 700m ships with, 80GB, which I think is ok for my PM, v7." 

Yes, PM7 should be able to handle an 80GB.

"I was just going to use the standard XP boot loader.  Do you think there's good reason to avoid it?"

You can't use the native XP boot loader.  Read www.goodells.net/multiboot/principles.htm carefully.  The XP boot loader cannot support two independent XP installations.  When you use Ghost to duplicate an OS partition, the two must use the same drive letter, and the XP boot loader can't do that.

 

October 15th, 2005 09:00

If I rename the keys in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\MountedDevices so that:
 
Boot XP1 XP2
XP1  C:  D:
XP2  D:  C:
 
doesn't that fix that problem?
 
Or have I missed something?
 
Ian
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623 Posts

October 15th, 2005 18:00

"If I rename the keys in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\MountedDevices . . . doesn't that fix that problem?"
 
No.  Try it and you'll find it will seem to work for awhile, but as you use the system you'll realize that the OS is mixing up which partition is which, and it reads/writes some information from the first partition and some from the second.  The longer you use it that way, the more corrupted both partitions get.  What you end up with is the equivalent of a schizophrenic system.
 
 
 
 

October 15th, 2005 19:00

What's the mechanism that getting it confused?  I realise it has some dependencies on the first partitrion: obviously boot.ini and presumably the loader but, if I remember correctly, the system hive is about the third thing that get loaded and that sets up the drive letters.  Don't doubt what you're saying: just trying to understand it!
 
What would you recommend?  pqboot? I notice you talk highly of xosl.
 
Thanks for your continuing patience with me on this!
 
Ian
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Message Edited by IanWorthington on 10-15-2005 03:10 PM

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