Ghost, NTFS in XP and NT 4

[Bookguy]

have a question that I hope the Anannd tech experts can help me answer. Our NT server has one IDE drive in it, with 2 NTFS partions. The system partition is 3.4 GB's and the extended partition is 15GB's. Both of these partitions are running out of space.

What I would like to do is get a 60Gb drive, create 2 partions on it, the primary being a NTFS partion of 7.5GB's and a extended NTFS partition of the remaining space, 50 or so gigs. Then I would like to Ghost the old drive to the new, partition to partition.

Now, here's my question: Will NT 4 read an NTFS partition created in XP? What I would like to do is prep the 60 gig drive in my XP machine at home. Use fdisk to create the partitions, format them in Fat32, and then convert them to NTFS in XP. Then install the drive in the server and use Ghost to copy the partitions. Will this work? If not, is there another way to do this? I want to be sure that the server will see the new partitions and it will boot after the size change of the system partition. Thanks for the help.

 

[BreakApart]

Ok, quick and simple...(forget all that Ghost stuff, just setup the disk with NTFS and follow this)

Setup the new drive(s) as you would like, make sure you make the boot partition active-"bootable". 7.5G NTFS boot partition sounds great.

Once that is setup take your old drive and hook it up as a slave in a current working NT, 2000, XP machine-(has to be an NTFS capable OS) you want it as a slave so that ZERO apps are loaded or running from the old drive. Now use the built in NTbackup to backup the boot area, and then the data area onto your running NT, 2000, or XP machine.

After that completes connect your NEW drive in the same system as the "slave" again, just like you did with the old drive-(setting your old drive to the side just incase something goes wrong) Now using the same NTbackup program restore the boot area backup file, and data partition backup file onto your NEW drive.

Once that's done place it into your old system and it should boot just fine. Unless of course you forgot to mark the boot partition active on the new drive.

This is best done using an existing system, that way you don't have to take the time to make a 3rd HDD bootable in the old system with all the correct SCSI etc drivers just to do the NTbackup stuff.

Good Luck

 

[Athlon4all]

<< Will NT 4 read an NTFS partition created in XP? >>

Only with Service Pack 4 (maybe 5) and up. And beware, that if you boot Windows XP, it will automatically convert all NTFS partitions to NTFSv5.1 which NT4 requires SP4 or up to boot from. I gotta run, but I'll come back and post a suggestion on how to do this later tonight.

 

[Athlon4all]

Ok. Here's what I would do. I first off have never used Ghost for something like this, so but anyway. Here's basically what I would do:

1. Insert the drive into the server as a slave and make the partitions in NT 4 using Disk Administrator. (I don't see why that would be a problem to do it that way)
2. Use Ghost to copy the old partitions to the new ones
3. Take out the old drive and put the new one as Master. And then it should boot up perfectly fine.

I don't see why that wouldn't work. Good luck!

 

[BreakApart]

SP4 is already installed on Bookguys system, you can tell that by the 15G data partition.

Before SP4 all NTFS disks will show a maximum size of approx 8G total, SP4 had to be installed for the 15G partition to be created.


To be double sure things go well you want to use my technique in another NT machine. NT for NT, 2000 for 2000, etc, hate to get you into any trouble.

 

[BreakApart]

<< Ok. Here's what I would do. I first off have never used Ghost for something like this, so but anyway. Here's basically what I would do:

1. Insert the drive into the server as a slave and make the partitions in NT 4 using Disk Administrator. (I don't see why that would be a problem to do it that way)
2. Use Ghost to copy the old partitions to the new ones
3. Take out the old drive and put the new one as Master. And then it should boot up perfectly fine.

I don't see why that wouldn't work. Good luck! >>



EDIT: Disregard below...brain fart
Not a good idea to try that in a running system Ghost may miss or skip the copy of running services, similar to why NTbackup and such utilities require some services to be shutdown prior to backup. It would work for the DATA partition though.

 

[mikshan]

 

[Athlon4all]

But, doesn't Ghost run from a Boot floppy on Windows NT platforms (it does for Win XP at least for me on Ghost 2002)? I agree that if the system is running, then you'll run into trouble, but if I am correct about Ghost, then it should be fine. I dunno.

 

[BreakApart]

<< But, doesn't Ghost run from a Boot floppy on Windows NT platforms (it does for Win XP at least for me on Ghost 2002)? I agree that if the system is running, then you'll run into trouble, but if I am correct about Ghost, then it should be fine. I dunno. >>



You are correct
Not sure what the heck i was thinking-i use Ghost all the time, just not for what Bookguy is planning to do, mostly archive backups.
Guess i kept thinking he was using SCSI, maybe that's why i was trying to avoid Ghost so much, ohh well.

Good Luck