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Number : 11432 Date : 2005-07-27 Author : des4212001 Subject : Re: Backup Quandary Size(KB) : 4
--- In xxcopy@yahoogroups.com, "lhopper11226" wrote: > Hello, > > Perhaps the members here can provide some guidance on what seems to be > a real quandary involving the multiple partitions created using FAT16. > > I've just been through upgrade hell... installed a motherboard which, > as it turned out, would not boot from SCSI. SCSI access okay after > booting from an XXCOPY boot disk, but no booting directly to the SCSI > drives (my only drives). Had to back out of the upgrade and return to > the original motherboard, but by that time setup had made many changes > to the boot disk picking up devices from the NEW motherboard. (Tech > support for the new mobo worked with me and confirmed it wasn't my > SCSI hardware or settings, it was the mobo.) > > Anyway, the computer is now back to where it was, files restored etc, > but after much grief and extremely slow restores using XXCOPY16. BTW, > a new mobo is on its way and lucky me gets a chance to do this all > over again! > > For some time I've been aware of the recommended backup solution... > that is, to have a second bootable drive and keep a copy of the boot > drive on the second drive... then if disaster strikes just swap drives > and boot. > > But I'm using W98SE and FAT16 (for various compatibility reasons which > are not readily remedied) and it requires setting up a Primary DOS > partition, then an Extended DOS partition on any bootable drive. The > problem is that W98SE assigns logical drive letters, automatically, > according to the way the partitions are set up. It assigns drive > letters to all Primary partitions first, ascending according to SCSI > ID, then returns to the lowest SCSI ID and starts assigning drive > letters to the logical drives in the Extended partitions. > > So, right now, the first physical drive has a primary partition with > logical drive c, an extended partition with logical drives d, e, f, > and the second phsical drive has an extended partition (only) with > logical drives g, h, i, j. There is also a third physical drive which > currently has an extended partition (only) and contains logical drives > k, l, m, n. Drive k backs up c, l backs up d, etc. > > Now... it's this third physical drive that is the issue... containing > ONLY an extended partition means it can't be made bootable... yet to > modify this setup and create a Primary DOS partition on this drive > would place logical drive d on this third physical drive and move > everything else down a notch... so that logical d on the first > physical drive would become e, e would become f, etc. If a Primary > DOS partition were created on the third physical drive (necessary to > later make it bootable), the new logical drive letter mapping would > look like this: > > First Physical Drive: c, e, f, g > Second Physical Drive: h, i, j, k > Third Physical Drive: d, l, m, n > > This would create havoc in software and registry settings. > > Is there any way around this? Can I have a drive I maintain with > XXCOPY /CLONE and/or XXCLONE which in an emergency can substitute for > the original boot drive, yet accomplish this without reassigning drive > letters? > > I hope so. > > Thanks. Last I heard xxclone didn't apply to W98 (more specifically FAT)? xxcopy can transfer everything of interest there anyway. You appear to grasp the Drive Letter assignment scheme there. Here's what I use for changing it - http://www.v72735.f2s.com/LetAssig/index.html. Don't let it make any changes because of your changing the Windows Partition, it doesn't understand that you may have more than 1 copy of the OS. My personal scheme in W98 is much simpler than yours but perhaps it will help? Disk0 has 2 partitons, Disk1 has 3, the first on each a primary for bootability: Disk0 C:(OS), E:(3rd party stuff) Disk1 D;(copy of C:), F:(Archive), G:(copy of E:) If (0) is removed (unplugged) then (1) simply replaces it at boot. (F: becomes D: but no startup items are present there so no problem.) Or LetterAssigner can be used to swap C: & E: with D: & G: to boot with both installed in their original places. I've created a batch file call BootWho, called from Autoexec.bat, that performs this swap. Three primary partitions complicates this somewhat (if your 3 disks are copies?) but the basic scheme remains. Should it be necessary to change some drive letters containing startup items or other refereces, there is a utility at PC Magazine called COA2 (Change of Address 2) that can take care of this. NTFS actually makes all this simpler & quite easy to manage without xxclone. I have 3 disks of 6 partitons each there, in an obvious case of over management! Good Luck: DES
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