New Drive Snapshot build released.

tyee,

if I'm not mistaken that guid should be the identifier of the vhd and not of the fisical drive.

Panagiotis

 

Yes, GUID's are not used for the WinXP bcd store, that's why WinXP boots no problem after I image. Actually {default} is a Win7 shortcut to the actual multi-digit GUID like Mark showed, so I'm wondering if it will make any difference. I will have to try it tonight.

So what I'm saying is this, which Mark wrote --

bcdedit /set {16bde0ca-8d10-11de-8997-da4aa4476c8e} device vhd=[c:]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd
bcdedit /set {16bde0ca-8d10-11de-8997-da4aa4476c8e} osdevice vhd=[c:]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd
bcdedit /set {16bde0ca-8d10-11de-8997-da4aa4476c8e} detecthal on

Is the same as this -

bcdedit /set {default} device vhd=[c:]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd
bcdedit /set {default} osdevice vhd=[c:]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd
bcdedit /set {default} detecthal on

 

tyee,

no they are not. Mark used a custom guid probably taken from the example used in the guide http://blogs.msdn.com/b/cmayo/archive/2010/03/10/adding-a-native-boot-vhd-to-windows-7-part-3.aspx .

But I think that you go in loops. Unless you post the bcd entries on your original disk and those from your copied one we will not be able to understand the problem or help you.

As a wild guess I would modify your entries:
from
bcdedit /set {your GUID} device vhd=[c:]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd
bcdedit /set {your GUID} osdevice vhd=[c:]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd
to
bcdedit /set {your GUID} device vhd=[locate]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd
bcdedit /set {your GUID} osdevice vhd=[locate]\boot2vhds\win7.vhd

Panagiotis

 

Ok, I will get the values tonight.

Just a little theory again -

In Vista the bootmgr consults the BCD file for the information it needs to find the correct drive and partition, but it does not use the firmware to find the hard drive, or the partition table to find the partition. Instead it uses the unique Disk Signature in the MBR of a hard drive and the partition offset (starting sector) of a partition.

Inside the BCD store each boot item is in its own little container (Object) and many of these Objects hold details of the disk signature of the hard drive and the starting sector of the partition where the item to be started is located. Each Object is labeled with a 32 digit alpha/numeric number called a GUID number. When bootmgr is asked to start a boot item it identifies the item's Object by its GUID number and then reads the disk signature and partition offset information that is contained in that Object. Bootmgr then scans the connected hard drives until it finds the drive with that disk signature and then jumps straight to the desired sector on that hard drive by using the partition offset information. The BIOS no longer has to be consulted to find the hard drive because bootmgr is not looking for a specific number of drive but just scanning all drives for a disk signature. The partition table on the drive does not have to be consulted because bootmgr does not need to know the number of the partition or be told where that partition is.

 

OK, I have my data --

Not sure of the image sequence but capture 1 is the capture of my main c: HD bootstore when booted into the Win7 .vhd that is located in the root drive of my WinXP partition. I don't know if I could have copied bcdedit.exe from win7 into my WinXP partition and ran it from there?

Capture 2 is of the bootstore (when booted up with the Win7 dvd) of the restored image of my C:. I restored the partition structure and the disk signature, all with drive snapshot.

Capture 3 is the error upon booting that imaged drive.

It's kind of easy to see why it won't boot into Win7 .vhd, there is no entry for it! Only the identifier. Where did it go?? Wasn't it in the image? Obviously not. Well at least we've got a good start here for troubleshooting.

I did this procedure twice, once with a version of DS a couple of weeks old and the latest I downloaded tonight. Same results both times. I do remember I did have an entry for the Win7 .vhd but that was when I imported the bootstore from a saved file, but that's irrelevant here. When I image we have to find out why that entry disappeared.

 

Save time and go right back to basics using sysprep and install.wim to make it fully generic with your own customisation and then you can auto inject the settings into other future vhd's easily. Otherwise you have to change drive controller, vga card and the HAL which is what you trying to do now along with right boot entries, with not much luck.

bcdedit /copy

copies the default entry and creates a new identifier which is very similar to the default. You need to copy and paste this identifier code into the other commands.

should of started a new thread on this subject including your bcdedits as advised here.

 

@tyee

I had to try this. I have got vhd booting on a new pc and also from USB. I took a vhd of physical system c using Disk2vhd. I stored the dynamically expanding vhd on g partition. I add a new bcd vhd entry and the 3 generic commands for the vhd from the main Windows. I boot into the vhd and it came up with BSOD 7b error. I go into safe mode and find it stops at classpnp.sys. I reboot back into the main Windows and attach/mount the vhd which is assigned to the H letter. I update the bcd on the vhd system partition itself to make it generic, using these 3 commands.

bcdedit /store h:\boot\bcd /set {default} osdevice boot
bcdedit /store h:\boot\bcd /set {default} device boot
bcdedit /store h:\boot\bcd /set {bootmgr} device boot

I reboot and select the vhd entry and it boots up fully. classpnp.sys error can also be fixed by going into BIOS and turning SATA to compatibility mode. Incidentally you can enable AHCI from within Windows by changing HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\msahci and changing 'Start' to 0 then restarting and enabling AHCI in the BIOS.

Users cringe when you mention sysprep, but you can make Windows generic for all machines with the command: c:\windows\system32\sysprep\sysprep /generalise

I also got it working by using IFW that supports vhd. With copy option, it writes system or any partition straight to a vhd. I tried all this on a older IDE pc with several problems along the way. classpnp.sys and disk.sys errors. It didn't have AHCI in BIOS. Running sysprep still didn't fix it. It was because it didn't support virtualization. I solved that by using virtualpc2007 which made it more incompatible with Windows 7, and it ran out of disk space expanding the dynamic vhd on bootup. There is a virtualpc for Windows 7 that works for non virtualization hardware. Trouble with Disk2vhd is, it recreates all your partitions even when you just pick c, so you have to delete the others to make more room for the vhd. Terabyte have a specific script in there deployment tools addon, specifically for copying physical to virtual.

If you get a blue screen very early on booting vhd, it means the entry in the bcd is wrong. If it starts to bootup, then it nothing to do with bcd, it has passed that stage and is likely a hardware incompatibility. If you get BSOD 136, then it means the dynamic vhd has run out of disk space expanding. Make sure to have plenty of space, more than double the vhd and use a fixed disk vhd, to improve performance.

 

fwiw, you can boot VHD on Windows XP too using third party bootloaders such as vboot or grub4dos+winvboot, although it's tricky and experimental. For those interested in that sort of thing, check out the reboot.pro forum. I'm currently trying out one of their methods to boot a mini windows xp from vhd.

 

Yes WinXp is the fastest and Drive Snapshot will still run in 98. Very good is MicroPe x64 there. It is Win7PE and only 86mb. That boots very fast to a cmd box. Alot of these custom WinPe have too many tools than you actually need for recovery purposes, so just as well making your own which boots fast. Simple instructions here to make your own custom. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc709665(WS.10).aspx

 

markymoo
Thanks for testing this. So what am I doing wrong. Do I have to boot into my Win7 vhd and directly add the 3 generic commands like you posted.

What about the main HD bcd that includes the path to the vhd file. Can you post what you used there. I don't see how those entries can be made generic.

Once you had everything working, did you try imaging with Drive Snapshot and trying to restore the image then booting into the vhd? That's my problem.

 

Hello people, just got this feeling booting from a pendrive would be a great idea, where i could stack my images in one stick. No need for switching DVD's and assigning drives, that's personal preference.
Has anyone been successful at making a bootable Restore Pendrive
Just tried to copy the bootdisk.img from the Boot CD, no good,,, is it possible.

YEY: DS HAS MADE RESTORING REALLY EASY.

 

Sure.

But remember, DS will only run in DOS from the Pendrive unless you have a WinPE ISO on the Pendrive.

 

@ tyee

When you restore on the other drive do you select to restore the mbr?

ps. I would also advise you to check this guide for managing the bcd entries directly from your xp.
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ramnishs/archive/2009/05/26/vhd-boot-from-windows-xp.aspx

Panagiotis

 

Panagiotis
The instructions for Drive Snapshot say when you "Restore Partition Structure" the MBR is also restored. That is what I select all the time. I hope it's true.

 

I come late to the table. I dont believe this cloning is a good idea. Better to just install Windows again and backup that. This vhd has many pitfalls as I discovering because what what works on one hardware good with drivers removed becomes a problem on another pc. Certain services were found to be not running on the clone. Get it wrong and your vhd is working but accessing the original Windows registry due to wrong drive letters. Yes you can hide the drives hence the MBR boot manager.

 

Sure thing as mentioned in a previous post.

 

First of all try turning off AHCI in BIOS.
Yes I done that and booted ok. I not tried XP. There is a tool called volumeid. The identifer derived from the volume id so change the volume id on a partition or drive will stop them clashing. You can do same thing using uniqueid in diskpart. Change the volumeid then update the bcd.


Plus you not said ever at what stage it fail booting, so that has not been helpful. Disable automatic restart on BSOD to see any error code from safe mode.

 

www.bootdisk.com/pendrive.htm

Several methods to create USB at that url.

 

markymoo
I made a PE3 recently to try with drive snapshot and it worked of course. It's called "Make_PE3". Really makes it very easy to build a UFD for booting although I had problems at first. I had to go into my BIOS and tell it to disable the A: and B: drives to the operation system. If I didn't the UFD would boot up and hang for quite a while before showing the desktop.

On the imaging problem, I have never had a BSOD. It's the main boot menu that errors. Like I said earlier, I can fix it with the Win7 boot CD or a Win7 install UFD I just made, which boots much faster than the CD. I think I'll leave it at that. As long as I can fix it in a few minutes that's ok but the theory would be nice to know why it has this problem.

Thanks for all your past help.

 

The 0xc00000c screenshot error you getting is not a normal boot error.

 

just been trying out DS this afternoon.

it is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, imaging app i have tried.
i love that you can schedule to reload an image at next reboot from the desktop
and this without the need for the app to modify or install anything to the MBR.

all this from an app than is only about 1/4 of a meg without a need to install anything.

simply amazing!
this wins the "Small is Beautiful" award, along with Shadow Defender and Sandboxie!

 

small is beautiful
and bloatwares are ugly lol

 

moontan
Are you using Windows 7? Did you try to restore to a brand new hard drive (not the original) and did it work?

 

Windows 7 here.
no i haven't tried restoring to a new drive.
it's not a big priority for me in the way i use my computer.

still interested in knowing of other people were successful though...

 

Why run it from a WINPE ,that would take a considerable amount of time: i think booting from a WINPE DISC would win in boot time.
Arn't their some other easier way to do so: OK making a backup from a DOS Floppy Disc is too much to ask, having a bootable USB stick is a viable wish thing: considering that now a days the CPU doesn't come with a Floppy Drive.