Re: shrinking win2k on a factory win2k install

[Andrew Clausen]

On Fri, Sep 07, 2001 at 11:11:09AM -0400, address@hidden wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 07, 2001 at 03:57:24PM +1000, Andrew Clausen wrote:
> > On Thu, Sep 06, 2001 at 12:25:56PM -0400, address@hidden wrote:
> > > When using lib parted on default/factory installs of win2k (fat32) on dell
> > > inspirons the partition is resized but it seems to get hosed and 
> > > unbootable.
> > 
> > Does it look OK from a DOS and/or gnu/linux rescue disk?
> yes, the filesystem appears fine but win2k will not boot.

OK.

> > 
> > IIRC, w2k install CD has a rescue thing... try telling it to reinstall
> > the boot loader.  (Can't remember of the top of my head... it's documented
> > in the parted docs, which are on the parted bootdisk, etc.)
> What we have to do is do install the windows from the recovery discs which is 
> a
> long and painful process. I'm not using the parted bootdisk, we have our own
> in-house universal install floppy which I used libparted to write our non
> interactive resizer/fs creator. (www.emperorlinux.com)

Anyway, can you try using the w2k rescue CD?  If that DOES fix it, then
we can do a Big Diff, and see what changed ;)

BTW: is it possible that the file system was converted to FAT16?

> > I have tested on win2k though, and it worked.
> 
> Yes the weird thing is it is only on the new dell ispiron 8100 win2k that it
> happens, all other laptops with win2k work fine. There must be something
> special with their w2k installs.

Is the hard disk size any different?

> > > Or is it possible to hack the library to dump out the sectors greater
> > > than some value that contain files and are being relocated ?
> > 
> > This would be possible, but a non-solution.  If it's that hard to resize
> > a partition safely, you may as well backup & restore.  I'd like to fix
> > it properly.
> 
> If there is something special that win2k has under these installs, and it is
> some file way out on the fs I'd like to figure out what it is and why it's not
> supposed to get relocated. In any case I'll continue working on it... if I
> figure it out I'll post a message.

Anyway, you can #define VERBOSE in fat.h, which will print out all files,
with their cluster numbers.  Also, you can remove the #if 0 in resize.c,
and see where all clusters are getting relocated.

You can also run from within gdb, and inspect what's happening.

Thanks,
Andrew