Re: Fixing pagefile.sys from recovery console???

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

On Sep 24, 1:11 pm, "Pegasus [MVP]" <n...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
"surface9" <da...@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:ffb4cff6-cef2-464d-94dc-4c0cf29790b5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Sep 24, 1:10 am, "Pegasus [MVP]" <n...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:



"surface9" <da...@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message

news:b429bcaf-c272-4e40-ae43-cb04e153a568@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I tried a simple but involved method of backing up my windows 2000
(sp4) system. I installed my main win2k system to Drive XXX and
installed all my drivers and got connected to the internet and, after
I got it all working OK, I created a backup to DRIVE ZZZ connected as
a USB drive. The actual method (which works for XP), is to install
just the basic windows 2000 sp4 system to a seperate drive YYY, and,
then, boot to DRIVE YYY using the SYSTEM menu's during POST to select
which harddrive for booting. After I get booted up to DRIVE YYY
(which is only the basic win2k with only the USB driver installed
extra), then I can see DRIVE XXX (as drive E:) and then I connect
DRIVE ZZZ as USB DRIVE F: Then I use the xcopy command to copy the
entire h/d from E to F as follows:

xcopy E:\*.* F:\*.* /s/e/c/h/o/y

This method works for XP, and it seems to work for win2k also, but, I
discovered that when I try to boot to my backup ZZZ, I have to first
go into the Recovery Console (booting from the Win2k CD), and then
execture FIXBOOT in order for the PC to go ahead and boot to ZZZ. But
then, when it gets to the point where it is going to put up the
desktop (with the intro sound clip), it shows a message dialogue
telling me there is not enough virtual memory, and giving me
instructions on how to increase the page file - but those instructions
require that I have a desktop so I can right-click on "My Computer".
Here is where it gets into an infinite loop of making the intro sound
clip, putting up the error message, and, when I click OK, it repeats
endlessly.

So, how can I use the recovery console to make sure the pagefile.sys
is set up correctly. I can examine the backup disk (ZZZ) and it does
have a pagefile.sys which is exactly the same size as the one on XXX,
so, I am thinking it must be something flaky. Drive XXX and Drive ZZZ
are both the same make, model, and size, but have different VOLIDS,
but, when I used the same VOLID for ZZZ as for XXX, it still got
caught in that endless loop about pagefile.sys.

Since I have used this technique many times to create backups for XP,
and I have also restored from these backups successfully (in XP), I am
wondering what is different about win2k and how can I fix the
pagefile.sys problem so I can go ahead and boot from my backup
(ZZZ).

The reason I want to avoid having to re-install win2k here is because
it always means I have to call AT&T to get my DSL working again and
that is a tortuous experience (takes over 2 hours with someone who
usually speaks with such a thick accent I can hardly understand what
they are saying).

How can I fix that pagefile.sys problem on my backup ZZZ drive?

You write "I tried a simple but involved method of backing up my windows
2000". You're contradicting yourself: The method can't be simple and
involved at the same time. Reading your post I'd say it is extremely
involved and it is about as clear as mud. Here are two simple methods to
back up a Windows installations. Both of them work:

a) By using an imaging program such as Acronis TrueImage.
b) By booting the machine with a Bart PE boot CD (or similar), then using
xcopy.exe or robocopy.exe to copy all files (including hidden files!) to
the
backup medium.

I recommend you look at one of these methods for your backup process.

I tried several times to create a Bart CD before but couldn't get it
to work - it would go through all the steps and then not boot.  I
finally gave up.  I can use an imaging method (I use H2COPY) which
does work but requires several hours to complete.  The method I wanted
to use works very well with XP and I was wondering why it has problems
with Win2k.  It is involved, but, once you get it down, it is very
simple.  It requires 3 hard drives (which are very cheap these days).
The main hard drive XXX is where you go to the trouble of installing
the system fresh with all drivers, applications, and connections.  The
2nd hard drive YYY is just a "working" installation of Win2k that will
be used to execute the xcopy command (you cannot use xcopy for copying
the very system that you boot from).  The third harddrive is ZZZ which
is the target of the xcopy (a clone of XXX).  When I install XP on
XXX, then I can use YYY (which has win2k) to execute the xcopy over to
ZZZ, and ZZZ can be booted and works and can also be xcopied back onto
XXX should XXX get infected and need restoring.  I have done this for
years and it works flawlessly - what happened to me this time was that
both my main XXX and my backup ZZZ failed at the same time (they were
both very old h/d's and I should have known better - live and learn).

I realize from your post you don't think much of this method of backup/
restore, but, for XP, it works very well, is quick (a few mintues at
most), and puts your main drive XXX right back to the state it was in
when the original xcopy was executed.  I have a seperate XP machine
and I never have to worry about viruses because I can restore it to
its original fully installed state within 15 minutes.  It doesn't
requies any fix to the pagefile.sys or anything else - just do the
xcopy backwards and i'm good to go.  I don't understand why
pagefile.sys is different for win2k.

My question on here has to do with fixing the pagefile.sys problem - I
was hoping there was some command from the repair console that I could
use to do that.
=========
Here is the standard method to clone a disk without using an imaging
product:
1. Get your three disks ready:
    Disk1=An auxiliary Windows installation.
    Disk2=Your source disk.
    Disk3=Your target disk.
2. Connect Disk1 as the primary master disks, the others as slave disks.
3. Boot the machine from Disk1.
4. Partition & format Disk3 if necessary.
5. Mark its primary partition active.
6. Use robocopy.exe to copy Disk2 to Disk3.
7. Disconnect all disks.
8. Make Disk3 the primary master. Do NOT leave Disk2 connected!

Windows XP or Windows 2000 will now boot normally. If your current target
installation has a problem with the paging file then you did not follow the
above recipe. You're in a good position to say what you did differently.


These 8 steps are pretty much what I am doing except a) disk3 is
connected as a USB during the copy command, and b) I use xcopy instead
of robocopy. I have never heard of robocopy but I will go now and see
what I can find out about it. I am not trying to boot to a USB - I do
just what those 8 steps say and then I try to boot from my backup
(disk3), after the xcopy completes, but mounting it as the primary
with no other disks present. It says it is not-bootable, but, I then
boot to my Win2k CD and run FIXBOOT from the repair console, and then
boot to Disk3 again and it goes OK, until it is ready to bring up the
desktop - then it goes into the infinite loop about the pagefile.sys
being too small or not present - I check this Disk3 by booting to a
DOS disk and looking to see that there is infact a pagefile.sys file
and it is the exact same size as the original one (Disk2 from the 8
steps above). If robocopy works better then xcopy, then that will
solve my problem, but, I am still wondering why the xcopy method works
for XP and not for Win2k.
.

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