Xp bootdisk w/ NTFS


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Im planning on switching my file system over to NTFS, and i know you cant use a windows 9x bootdisk with NTFS, so how do you make a bootdisk for xp under NTFS. I'm assuming there is an easy way to make 1 disk, instead of dloading that thing from microsoft and making 6 floppies. Thnx

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Dos boot disks can only read FAT and FAT32 partitions. So yes if you switch to NTFS these disks will be useless for anything other than flashing your bios etc.

Windows 2k and XP both have a "Recovery Console" feature that will let you access your machine in a manner much like dos. You boot off the WinXP cd, wait for it to load up and then pick the Recovery Console option. Booting from the XP cdrom takes a minute or two so its not something you want to do unless you really need to. And if for some reason you cant boot with the cd then you will have to boot with the 6 floppies, and that takes a long long time of course!

While at first this seems awful nice of Microsoft, when you start using the Recovery Console you will notice that you can only access your Windows Installation directory! So its very obvious ms just wants you to use this to fix whatever problem is stopping you from booting normally. I believe (though I cant quite remember) that you can still access the root of the drive and the root of any other drives you have. You can use all the normal commands like copy etc. I think you can also access a cdrom, but I am really not sure.

After saying all that, you really dont need a boot disk for WinXP. You can boot off the CDrom and format all your partitions any way you like and then do the installation.

Well I think I have typed enough...

Kibler

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when you start using the Recovery Console you will notice that you can only access your Windows Installation directory!

Actually, you are able to view all files on the HD's and CD-ROM, but I don't think that you can modify any of those files. To access the root drive, try the following:

1. x: (where x is the letter of the drive)

2. cd x:

3. chdir x:

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Actually, I was just in my recovery console the other day and I couldnt access any folder other than Windows. I didnt try a cdrom, just my two hard drives. you can access the root of all drives it seems. And if its like Win2k you cant access the Documents and Settings folder.

Kibler

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If you can't boot off your CD or don't want to wait for that, the recovery console can be installed as an operating system with a root at %systemdrive%cmdcons. It will then be placed in boot.ini. Insert your WindowsXP CD-ROM and run "d:i386winnt32.exe /cmdcons" (replace D with the letter of your CD-ROM drive if it is different)

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i just want a bootdisk that i can use to read mah ntfs oaritions like win9x/me. it can be helpful sometimes eg. i cant get into windows and i wanna format BUT i wanna back up some files on another hd. wtf would i do? normally, under 9x, i would boot up with mah disk and ****, but in 2k/xp, i dont know what to do!! i wanna do it *starts crying*:paranoid:

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When I tried to format to NTFS and then install XP, it gave me "NTLDR Missing, Please press Ctrl + Alt +Del to Reboot" any one know what went wrong?

You have to be able to boot from the CDROM. Change your BIOS to boot from the CDROM first. If you have already changed your BIOS then get yourself a better copy.

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I boot from a CD Rom then go through setup. It then asks me to restart and that setup will continue after the restart. Then I restart and get the NTLDR message :(

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If you created your partition in setup (not using fdisk or something else) then the partiton should be active. Sometimes when I am reloading a computer I will stick the hd in my bench computer and use disk manager. Sometimes I will forget to mark the partition active. Then I kick myself because I know better.

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as my acknowledgement, the only way boot windows xp command prompt from removable media is the Windows PE(Preinstall Environment), a stripdown Windows XP, automatically reboot after running 24 hours. It can boot from CD disc, network, and disk partition. It's included in the OPK(OEM Preinstall Kit).

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