Make a HD bootable [Archive]

Swifty_Johnson

01-04-2005, 10:43 AM

Guy here at work put a new HD into his system at home. Copied the old drive to the new, and now wants to boot off the new HD. He did not use an imaging program, just made it a 'nother drive on his system and copied the files over. (I know dumb idea)

Is there anyway to make that drive bootable?

Swifty

Noleader

01-04-2005, 04:17 PM

Yea, You need to use one of the more high end utilities to write a boot sector... If he is not good at using a computer, and it sounds as if he is not, then he might just want to do a fresh install of windows on that drive and then copy the files over.

Rooster

01-04-2005, 08:32 PM

I agree with noleader.

There's lots of ways to make it bootable, but it sounds like he's not doing it in the right order.

bloodreign

01-05-2005, 01:10 AM

eww
all i can say is eww.

that's just wrong.

Swifty_Johnson

01-05-2005, 08:27 AM

I told him to get one of the boot loader untilities to write a boot sector, I figure if he screws it up, he's got a copy of all his data on the 2nd drive.

Swifty

Tammarion

01-05-2005, 08:32 AM

I thought you just plain couldn't do that with straight copying because windows would kibosh the whole thing with "files in use"

Rooster

01-05-2005, 09:48 AM

Yeah, you can't copy the entire system drive while it's in use.

I don't have enough information to really make a good recommendation here.

Elvtin

01-05-2005, 02:36 PM

Since Rooster wont suggest it...

I will.. I'm not Skeered!!!

He should send his computer to RoO!!!

feril

01-05-2005, 03:03 PM

Tell him to use ghost if he's just tryin to make a disk copy of the same thing to another drive, just make sure you don't image over the old drive with the new drive;)

Swifty_Johnson

01-05-2005, 04:49 PM

Man, I tell you some people are just cheap.

I did tell him to get something like parition magic and he reply was. "That costs money."

Now he is a senior project manager, and drives a nice car. He has money and is complaining about costs.

Anyway I told him to just install the new HD as the C: drive, boot off of CDROM and install the OS on the new drive. Then make his old drive like E: and copy the data from there. That wouldn't cost him a dime.

Swifty