Fix Vista so a Repair is not needed after a restore or clone

Okay... I got it right - (see above post number 45) better late than never!

Thanks again - you guys are the best!

Stay cool...

Sandy

 

Hi Mark, Should I care that Vista partition is FAT16 instead of NTFS. (I have read about what that is so I know)... Can you change something like that? and if so should you?

Sandy

 

Sandy,

Perhaps a screenshot of what Vista's Disk Management shows for your drive?

It's really curious that your Vista partition is FAT16 (if it really is). Vista's layout would show this.

 

Okay... how do I get there to look at my "Vista Disk Management."

Sandy

 

I agree.

Sandy, click START, type "Comp" and you should see "Computer Management" in the list. Click on it and then choose "Disk Management" to display Vista's Disk Management Window. Please post a screen shot of this window.

 

I have gotten some real great advice on doing better in regard to posting print screen in the forum. I haven't read up on all of it yet though before I needed to use it again... thus this may be a little "off."

Sandy

 

So... Vista is showing the Vista partition as NTFS (as it should be) and not FAT16.

All of Sandy's partition offsets divide evenly by 63. When I create Vista partitions they divide evenly by 2,048. So, I assume that her partitions are aligned by pre-Vista standards, which explains why the partition restore works without needing a repair. Whether they were originally like this or it was a change Microsoft had her do, I don't know. However, since ALL the partitions are like that, I suspect they were originally that way. A Vista repair would only affect the Vista partition.

 

Yes, thankfully. I was able to understand this better than the "partition table" which I didn't understand at all.

Thanks for confirming that everything is "good to go" for me!

If something is "whack" I like to know...

Sandy

 

The partitions were like that. I remember what I worked with Microsoft on. Heck, I did more with you today in regard to really "looking" at things than I did with him. What we did was create a "new user account." It took a long time because I wanted everything right. I made him wait - until it was all the way I wanted it (I paid for the call.)

Is it "odd" to have your partitions like this without a repair. Do you think it is something my OEM took care of before I got this computer?

Sandy

 

Not if the computer was that way originally. In that case, the OEM set it up that way. It's how it would have been without Vista. Perhaps to support their own "recovery" program or perhaps they used the same setup for both XP and Vista.

 

I'm just grateful for whatever they did because unlike most here I don't have what is needed to "fix it" if it went wrong.

Thanks so much for your input here - I learned quite a bit today.

Sandy

 

You guys are on California time and up past my East-coast bedtime. The Vista Disk Managment console view in post #56 demonstrates that from Vista's point of view, everything is completely normal. I'm still a little puzzled by the Partition Table shown in post #45. Everything in the table makes sense and agrees with Vista's Disk Managment console except for the "Type" column showing "0E" (FAT16) for partition 2. Everything else makes sense. The sizes of the partitions agree exactly with Disk Management; for example partition 2 is 70284375 sectors large, or [70284375 sectors * 512 bytes/sector]/[1.024^3] = 33.51 GiB, which is exactly the size reported by Vista. So the only discrepancy is the "Type" shown for Vista's partition. Curiously, the type is shown correctly by the PTEDIT32 tool on my machine in post #42. So I don't know how to explain that one.

Long story short, your machine is fine and like Paul said you can restore TI images of the Vista partition without needing a repair because your machine has the 63-sector offset "standard" partition layout.

 

Thanks Mark for your time looking this over. I feel pretty good that I won't have any "future" problem restoring any way I choose!

Thanks for the "how to" instructions as well..

Sandy

 

And . . . if you use TI-11, there should be no repair necessary. Acronis has fixed the problem.

I just completred three cloning operations of Vista main drives. None needed repair and they were all done differently. All used the Rescue CDR prepared by TI-11.

Case 1: Cloned IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad main drive to an external eSATA drive connected via Cardbus PCMCIA. No problems.

Case 2: Cloned IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad maindrive to a like-sized HDD mounted in the Ultrabay adapter (replaces the DVD drive) and booted using Rescue Media prepared by TI-ii on a USB flash memory device. No problems. I then swapped the drives and it booted right up.

Case 3: Cloned the Thinkpad main drive from the eSATA drive using the CDR Rescue Disk. No problems.

TI-11 does have other problems, however - not for this thread.

 

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This is the kind of post I am waiting for in regard to TI11. Like this thread as well... telling us what to do BEFORE we have a problem. When you guys have tested this thing and can tell us what is what (what it does well... what it doesn't) only then will I install 11.

You are so great "testing" the product and posting the information here so people like me can benefit.

Keep it up!

Sandy

 

Another option for creating a repair CD for Vista is apparently going to be released with Vista SP1.

http://www.istartedsomething.com/20070929/vista-sp1-recovery-disc/

 

That will be nice and a lot easier for people if they remember to make one before they need it. However, with more people using Vista, users would be able to create the CD on a friend's computer, etc. and use it on theirs.

I wonder why Microsoft didn't include that option when Vista was released. They had to know OEM DVDs wouldn't be able to do repairs.

 

I wonder if they are even fewer vendors providing a CD/DVD capable of doing repairs than there was for the initial release of XP. Could be they got flooded with problems because of Vista changes and found there was noway to correct them without a the repair facility.

 

I'll bet you're right. When XP was released most PCs came with an original installation CD for the operating system. Today not many do. What a deplorable trend.

 

Thanks for the link... I checked it out and it mentioned the following:

"You can find the tool in the “Start menu” > “All programs” > “Maintenance” > “Create a Recovery Disc”. You will need either a blank CD or DVD along with your original Windows installation disc. It will take approximately 5 minutes to complete."

I ran those instructions and my computer doesn't have the "Create a Recovery Disc" option (I wanted to see if it did.) I also don't have an original Windows installation disc. So, I will never be capable of doing any kind of "repair" to my computer. As I mentioned before, I have owned quite a few computers in the last 5 years and I have never received a windows disc. That doesn't seem fair to me - you all can make repairs and basically I can't (I'm certainly not alone - most people buy their computer just like I did - a name brand computer from a name brand store - Vista installed and ready to go...)

Just because I didn't install Vista myself doesn't mean I should have "less options" than somebody who did.


Sandy

 

Sandy:

This is a new feature that will be released with Vista Service Pack 1. As soon as SP1 is released and after you install it you should have the feature. Then you can make your own repair CD.

 

Killer! I just have to wait then. I thought when I read the instructions I would still need the windows installation disc.

Thanks for clarifying...

Sandy

 

k0lo, mudcrab, I'm back.
My toshiba just got returned
in an oversized box
was in styr0foam, but easy to jostle in the box....
anyway, they replaced the motherboard....
BUT, I replay the video, and still same wavy display;
I guess I'll live with it

ANYWAY, I am going to blow away their re-imaged partitions (back to factory, they set it...)
and I will restore my prior-edited-c-vista partition, as partition 1, and then try to reboot, and see if it goes to sector 63 offset.
anyway, off to the safe to get the right usb drive....
nick

 

I did a full backup from Acronis today and noticed my C partition says "NTFS" but also "FAT 16." Anybody have any idea why? I was just curious...

Sandy

 

The Sand,

This is a known problem with Acer laptops.

These are quotes from the TeraByte forum.

Use ptedit32 to change your OE partition type to 07.