Dock drives never spin down; Can't be booted from

[micky[_2_]]

I'm running XPProSP3 and I have a Thermaltake BlacX dual dock with 2
bare internal-type drives in it, that connects to the computer with USB,
and I use each for an almost** complete backup it seemed like a good
idea. If my internal drive fails, I just take one of the backups out of
the dock and install it internally.

I'm not sure but there may be weaknesses in this plan.

1) The drives never spin down, even when they haven't been used for
hours. Now I'm starting to wonder if they even spin down when the
computer is sleeping or hibernating. ?? I've looked for software to
make this happen, and all I found was HDDScan, which says it works for
USB, but maybe that doesn't included USB drives in a dock? Might that
be the reason it's not working for me?

What about connecting via eSATA. Would that spin down after my Power
Options 20 minute since last use setting?

Also,
2) I added these external drives to my boot.ini list so I could test if
the partitions were really bootable clones, but I get an error
message.**** Is that because I can't boot to a HDD in a dock, at
least the BlacX dock? Is that because it's connected via USB and USB
isn't working until Windows starts.

What about connecting vie eSATA?

**** "Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
configuration problem. Could not read from the selected host disk.
Check boot path and disk hardware".

**Except for temp files, prefetch files etc. I'm gradually enlarging
the list of files not included.

***Entries 2 and 3 are my efforts to boot from what I think are bootable
clones of my System Drive, but wI get the error message at **** above.

The first two entries work. The first is my newest XP parttion, and the
second is the one I normally use.

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="MS Windows XP Parallel Pro"
/noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="1 Microsoft Windows XP Pro"
/noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Win XP Pro BackUPD 244 GB
of 1.5 TB D2" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINDOWS="3 Win XP Pro XP-New 300 GB
of 500 GB D3" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="4 Win 98 on WIN98 internal
drive"
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
= = = = =
The last line showed up after I used a Windows disk and installed the
Recovery Console. It uses the Partition letter C: but I had no C:
partition at the time! Only D: and that's where it put it. But it
works so I guess until it gets further into the boot process MS has its
own way of deciding drive letters.

[Paul]

micky wrote:
> I'm running XPProSP3 and I have a Thermaltake BlacX dual dock with 2
> bare internal-type drives in it, that connects to the computer with USB,
> and I use each for an almost** complete backup it seemed like a good
> idea. If my internal drive fails, I just take one of the backups out of
> the dock and install it internally.
>
> I'm not sure but there may be weaknesses in this plan.
>
> 1) The drives never spin down, even when they haven't been used for
> hours. Now I'm starting to wonder if they even spin down when the
> computer is sleeping or hibernating. ?? I've looked for software to
> make this happen, and all I found was HDDScan, which says it works for
> USB, but maybe that doesn't included USB drives in a dock? Might that
> be the reason it's not working for me?
>
> What about connecting via eSATA. Would that spin down after my Power
> Options 20 minute since last use setting?
>
> Also,
> 2) I added these external drives to my boot.ini list so I could test if
> the partitions were really bootable clones, but I get an error
> message.**** Is that because I can't boot to a HDD in a dock, at
> least the BlacX dock? Is that because it's connected via USB and USB
> isn't working until Windows starts.
>
> What about connecting vie eSATA?
>
> **** "Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
> configuration problem. Could not read from the selected host disk.
> Check boot path and disk hardware".
>
> **Except for temp files, prefetch files etc. I'm gradually enlarging
> the list of files not included.
>
> ***Entries 2 and 3 are my efforts to boot from what I think are bootable
> clones of my System Drive, but wI get the error message at **** above.
>
> The first two entries work. The first is my newest XP parttion, and the
> second is the one I normally use.
>
> [operating systems]
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="MS Windows XP Parallel Pro"
> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="1 Microsoft Windows XP Pro"
> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Win XP Pro BackUPD 244 GB
> of 1.5 TB D2" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINDOWS="3 Win XP Pro XP-New 300 GB
> of 500 GB D3" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="4 Win 98 on WIN98 internal
> drive"
> C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
> = = = = =
> The last line showed up after I used a Windows disk and installed the
> Recovery Console. It uses the Partition letter C: but I had no C:
> partition at the time! Only D: and that's where it put it. But it
> works so I guess until it gets further into the boot process MS has its
> own way of deciding drive letters.

If you want to boot from them, use ESATA.

If you want to play with some power policy, ESATA
might be a good option for that too.

Now, all you need is cabling. And ports on the
computer end.

There is nothing magic about ESATA. It's SATA with
a different (apparent) launch amplitude and receive
sensitivity. But in practice, if you shorten up the
cable, the signal budget on regular SATA would work
as well. From a practical point of view, the protocols
are the same, so the drives are not distinguished
as "being on ESATA". The system considers them to be
SATA devices. I've seen chips that claim to support
both electrical standards, but when the chip doesn't
have a register bit to flip from one to the other,
I can only assume the chip is permanently driving
ESATA amplitude.

One other significant difference, is the standards only
allow SATA II rates over ESATA. Rather than SATA III.
Implying there isn't sufficient "magic" in the electrical
interface, to support 6Gbit operation on a long cable.
So they haven't extended the very highest transfer rate
over ESATA cabling. If you suspect a drive is not
working properly, because of a signal issue, you can
use the "Force" jumper on a SATA III drive, to get
it to run the cable at SATA II rates. A SATA II drive,
"Force" makes it run at SAIA I. Whereas on a SATA III drive,
the "Force" jumper makes it run at SATA II.

Paul

[VanguardLH[_2_]]

micky wrote:

> I'm running XPProSP3 and I have a Thermaltake BlacX dual dock with 2
> bare internal-type drives in it, that connects to the computer with USB,
> and I use each for an almost** complete backup it seemed like a good
> idea. If my internal drive fails, I just take one of the backups out of
> the dock and install it internally.

You need to clone to do what you want, not backup.

> I'm not sure but there may be weaknesses in this plan.
>
> 1) The drives never spin down, even when they haven't been used for
> hours.

Some docking stations don't support low-power modes. You are only
writing to the docked drives when cloning, er, backing up to them. So
why not use the power switch on the docking station? Not only would
that let you power-down the drives but it would also protect them
against malware from corrupting them.

> What about connecting via eSATA. Would that spin down after my Power
> Options 20 minute since last use setting?

Perhaps but you would still need a different docking station. If their
USB-to-SATA converter logic on the PCB doesn't pass on the spin-down
commands then drives in that docking station will remain spinning.

Looking at the reviews for this unit, it will let you retrieve
S.M.A.R.T. data from only the first docking port (i.e., only 1 drive can
be monitored). There is no S.M.A.R.T. monitoring via SATA connect. So
you cannot use a S.M.A.R.T. monitor to determine if there are predicted
or existing troubles with your drive(s). For example, without
S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, you cannot use HD Sentinel or other tools to
monitor the health of your drive(s).

Considering the high failure rate, unstable operation, and usage defects
reported for this unit, you might consider returning it if within the
return policies of whoever you bought it from.

> 2) I added these external drives to my boot.ini list so I could test if
> the partitions were really bootable clones, but I get an error
> message.**** Is that because I can't boot to a HDD in a dock, at
> least the BlacX dock? Is that because it's connected via USB and USB
> isn't working until Windows starts.

If your BIOS allows a selection to boot from removable media or USB then
the problem is with the docking station. If it's a dual-drive docking
station, only 1 slot in it can be booted from.

> What about connecting vie eSATA?

You would find data transfers to be much faster, plus that docking
station only support USB2.

> **** "Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
> configuration problem. Could not read from the selected host disk.
> Check boot path and disk hardware".

If you are cloning the drives, boot.ini will refer to a drive by its
physical enumeration. Well, the USB-attached drive won't have the BIOS
enumerated physical value of the internally SATA port connected drive.
You would have to disconnect the internal SATA drive from its SATA port
on the motherboard and move your cloned drive into the case and attach
to the same SATA port. If you want to swap the normal drive with the
cloned drive then you really need to swap those drives.

XP's boot sector loader program will open boot.ini and from there decide
which location to use for the boot drive. What's recorded in the
boot.ini file on the cloned drive will not match the physical descriptor
for that cloned drive. Cloning means you perform hardware recovery by
replacing the original drive with the cloned drive.

> The first two entries work. The first is my newest XP parttion, and the
> second is the one I normally use.
>
> [operating systems]
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="MS Windows XP Parallel Pro"
> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="1 Microsoft Windows XP Pro"
> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Win XP Pro BackUPD 244 GB
> of 1.5 TB D2" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINDOWS="3 Win XP Pro XP-New 300 GB
> of 500 GB D3" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="4 Win 98 on WIN98 internal
> drive"

None of those boot.ini entries point at a USB-connected device. By
having your BIOS try to boot from the cloned drive, the boot sector
loader in the OS partition on the cloned drive would be trying to use
devices at the physical locations defined in that cloned drive's
boot.ini file.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/314081
http://www.dewassoc.com/kbase/multiboot/boot_ini.htm

Sorry, but I've never tried to boot from a USB-attached cloned drive.
If I needed to replace the internal drive (that was cloned to another
drive however it was connected), I disconnect the failed drive and slide
the clone drive in its place. I don't know that boot.ini can point at
USB drives. This might help:

http://xpt.sourceforge.net/techdocs/nix/disk/boot/boot11-WindowsSpecificBooting/ar01s02.html

Might work if simply changing rdisk(0) to rdisk(1) has boot.ini point at
a USB-attached drive; i.e., the cloned drive's boot.ini would point at
the cloned drive instead of the original internal drive.

> C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

That one is for the Recovery Console. You can run it off the install CD
or install it as a choice in the boot menu. Instead of pointing at a
physical device, it points at an image file. If the file system has to
be intact - so if you or malware corrupts the file system then you may
lose the image file, too, and have to use the install CD to get into
Recovery Mode.

> The last line showed up after I used a Windows disk and installed the
> Recovery Console. It uses the Partition letter C: but I had no C:
> partition at the time!

The image uses the default drive lettering scheme.

> Only D: and that's where it put it.

The image is the same no matter where you deposit the .dat file. During
boot, no drive letters are assigned until the OS loads. Drive letters
is an OS thing, not a hardware thing. You have not yet loaded Windows
when you see the boot menu showing the choices from the boot.ini file
(well, all you've loaded so far is the loader program in the partition's
boot sector so it can read boot.ini to present you with its choices).
So drive letter will be use the default scheme for the boot loader (C:
will be the first drive letter normally assigned and that's what the
image will use). When you see the selections listed in the boot menu
that come from boot.ini, no drive letters have yet been assigned because
no OS is yet loaded.

[micky[_2_]]

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage, on Fri, 11 Sep 2015 20:10:14 -0500,
VanguardLH > wrote:

>micky wrote:
>
>> I'm running XPProSP3 and I have a Thermaltake BlacX dual dock with 2
>> bare internal-type drives in it, that connects to the computer with USB,
>> and I use each for an almost** complete backup it seemed like a good
>> idea. If my internal drive fails, I just take one of the backups out of
>> the dock and install it internally.
>
>You need to clone to do what you want, not backup.

Sorry. That's what I meant.
>
>> I'm not sure but there may be weaknesses in this plan.
>>
>> 1) The drives never spin down, even when they haven't been used for
>> hours.
>
>Some docking stations don't support low-power modes. You are only

I went to the Thermaltake website and there was no Support and there is
no manual for my model. There is a short manual for the wi-fi model but
it didn't say anything about this topic.

>writing to the docked drives when cloning, er, backing up to them. So
>why not use the power switch on the docking station? Not only would

Because I'd like it to be automatic like it is for the internal drives.

Because when I when I want to turn off the drive I usualoy have major
trouble with Safely Remove Hardware.

And I use other partitions in the drives for other things sometimes, on
no particular schedule, and when I need a drive and turn on the dock, I
think 2 of the partitions, I think the FAT32, have a small window in
the upper left which has the names of files flying by, not sure why, and
there is also a box that shows up in the middle of the page for each of
several parttions, and I have to pick what I want it to do. I scroll to
the bottom and highlight Nothing, and I click Okay. One partition is a
backup of win98, and the other is a FAT32 backup of XP.

(I think 4 of the partitions, I think the NTFS, had check boxes,
"Always do the same choice")

>that let you power-down the drives but it would also protect them
>against malware from corrupting them.

That would be very good.

>> What about connecting via eSATA. Would that spin down after my Power
>> Options 20 minute since last use setting?
>
>Perhaps but you would still need a different docking station. If their
>USB-to-SATA converter logic on the PCB doesn't pass on the spin-down
>commands then drives in that docking station will remain spinning.
>
>Looking at the reviews for this unit, it will let you retrieve
>S.M.A.R.T. data from only the first docking port (i.e., only 1 drive can
>be monitored). There is no S.M.A.R.T. monitoring via SATA connect. So
>you cannot use a S.M.A.R.T. monitor to determine if there are predicted
>or existing troubles with your drive(s). For example, without
>S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, you cannot use HD Sentinel or other tools to
>monitor the health of your drive(s).

Thanks. I didnt' think to check reviews.

>Considering the high failure rate, unstable operation, and usage defects
>reported for this unit, you might consider returning it if within the
>return policies of whoever you bought it from.

Too late for that.

>> 2) I added these external drives to my boot.ini list so I could test if
>> the partitions were really bootable clones, but I get an error
>> message.**** Is that because I can't boot to a HDD in a dock, at
>> least the BlacX dock? Is that because it's connected via USB and USB
>> isn't working until Windows starts.
>
>If your BIOS allows a selection to boot from removable media or USB then
>the problem is with the docking station. If it's a dual-drive docking
>station, only 1 slot in it can be booted from.

I tried one partition in a drive in each of the two slots.
>
>> What about connecting vie eSATA?
>
>You would find data transfers to be much faster, plus that docking
>station only support USB2.

I don't remember getting the eSATA cable which comes with it now, and
maybe 3 or 4 years ago it didn't have eSATA, but otoh maybe I did and I
can find it. A new cable is $10 or 14 and I don't think the ones I saw
had the right USB plug. (B) (Please don't look for me for cheaper. I
probably wouldn't do it anyhow.)

>
>> **** "Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
>> configuration problem. Could not read from the selected host disk.
>> Check boot path and disk hardware".
>
>If you are cloning the drives, boot.ini will refer to a drive by its
>physical enumeration. Well, the USB-attached drive won't have the BIOS
>enumerated physical value of the internally SATA port connected drive.
>You would have to disconnect the internal SATA drive from its SATA port
>on the motherboard and move your cloned drive into the case and attach
>to the same SATA port. If you want to swap the normal drive with the
>cloned drive then you really need to swap those drives.
>
>XP's boot sector loader program will open boot.ini and from there decide
>which location to use for the boot drive. What's recorded in the
>boot.ini file on the cloned drive will not match the physical descriptor
>for that cloned drive. Cloning means you perform hardware recovery by
>replacing the original drive with the cloned drive.
>
>> The first two entries work. The first is my newest XP parttion, and the
>> second is the one I normally use.
>>
>> [operating systems]
>> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="MS Windows XP Parallel Pro"
>> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
>> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="1 Microsoft Windows XP Pro"
>> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
>> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Win XP Pro BackUPD 244 GB
>> of 1.5 TB D2" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
>> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINDOWS="3 Win XP Pro XP-New 300 GB
>> of 500 GB D3" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
>> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="4 Win 98 on WIN98 internal
>> drive"
>
>None of those boot.ini entries point at a USB-connected device. By

When I read that it could boot from the USB port, I ust assume the
syntax would be like above. I've read instructions for writing
boot.ini and I don't remember there being a way to say "USB", but I'm
sure you're right that these 2 lines won't work.

>having your BIOS try to boot from the cloned drive, the boot sector
>loader in the OS partition on the cloned drive would be trying to use
>devices at the physical locations defined in that cloned drive's
>boot.ini file.
>
>https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/314081
>http://www.dewassoc.com/kbase/multiboot/boot_ini.htm

It's going to take a while to read the second one, but it looks like
just what I need. I'll read it after I post this.

>Sorry, but I've never tried to boot from a USB-attached cloned drive.

The goal was originally just to verify that indeed I had bootable
copies, without the trouble of installing them inside the computer.
I've been making a clone for a long time and I shouldn't assume it's
going to work.

But I started when I already had two internal HDDs. While reading this
post it has slowly dawned on me that since I only have one now, I could
move one of these two drives to be internal. And then testing would
surely be possible. And if''s a good bootable clone, at least that
means the method is good and the other one is probably good too.

>If I needed to replace the internal drive (that was cloned to another
>drive however it was connected), I disconnect the failed drive and slide
>the clone drive in its place. I don't know that boot.ini can point at
>USB drives. This might help:
>
>http://xpt.sourceforge.net/techdocs/nix/disk/boot/boot11-WindowsSpecificBooting/ar01s02.html

This one looks right on the money too. Thanks again. .

>Might work if simply changing rdisk(0) to rdisk(1) has boot.ini point at

I do have rdisk(1) in the line meant for the first slot in the dock.
I have rdisk(2) fn the line for the second slot, which you have
convinced me cannot work. (But if I ever got this to work, I could put
the second one in the first slot for testing. I won't know if I can do
that that until I read the two long pages you gave me. Maybe I'll make
one drive interna, but I'lll still try to make this work. )

>a USB-attached drive; i.e., the cloned drive's boot.ini would point at
>the cloned drive instead of the original internal drive.
>
>> C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
>
>That one is for the Recovery Console. You can run it off the install CD
>or install it as a choice in the boot menu. Instead of pointing at a
>physical device, it points at an image file. If the file system has to
>be intact - so if you or malware corrupts the file system then you may
>lose the image file, too, and have to use the install CD to get into
>Recovery Mode.

I'll bear that in mind.
>
>> The last line showed up after I used a Windows disk and installed the
>> Recovery Console. It uses the Partition letter C: but I had no C:
>> partition at the time!
>
>The image uses the default drive lettering scheme.
>
>> Only D: and that's where it put it.
>
>The image is the same no matter where you deposit the .dat file. During
>boot, no drive letters are assigned until the OS loads. Drive letters
>is an OS thing, not a hardware thing. You have not yet loaded Windows
>when you see the boot menu showing the choices from the boot.ini file
>(well, all you've loaded so far is the loader program in the partition's
>boot sector so it can read boot.ini to present you with its choices).
>So drive letter will be use the default scheme for the boot loader (C:
>will be the first drive letter normally assigned and that's what the
>image will use). When you see the selections listed in the boot menu
>that come from boot.ini, no drive letters have yet been assigned because
>no OS is yet loaded.

I get it!

[VanguardLH[_2_]]

micky wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote:
>
>> You would find [eSATA] data transfers to be much faster, plus that
>> docking station only support USB2.
>
> I don't remember getting the eSATA cable which comes with it now, and
> maybe 3 or 4 years ago it didn't have eSATA, but otoh maybe I did and I
> can find it. A new cable is $10 or 14 and I don't think the ones I saw
> had the right USB plug. (B) (Please don't look for me for cheaper. I
> probably wouldn't do it anyhow.)

There's nothing magic about eSATA. It's just SATA brought out to a
connector on the backpanel. If your case doesn't have an eSATA port in
the backpanel connector module, you can add on in an unused card slot.
You could install an SATA controller daughtercard that included an
external SATA (eSATA) port or you could use up an unused SATA port on
your motherboard to bring it ou using an eSATA card slot adapter
(http://ak.buy.com/PI/0/500/208668126.jpg). You could just run a SATA
cable from the mobo out a hole in the case (e.g., removing a card slot
or pushing out punch-out for connector in the backside of the case that
wasn't used). Although most eSATA backpanel connectors are in the
connector module soldered to the mobo, your case might have a punch-out
for a panel-mounted eSATA connector (that then goes to a SATA port on
your mobo http://www.frontx.com/pro/p1182p2.gif).

http://www.pinout.net/connectors/esata.gif
(just signal connection; the external SATA drive would need its own
power supply)

http://www.differencebetween.net/technology/difference-between-sata-and-esata/

If you have a spare SATA port on the mobo, go with [e]SATA. The
external drive will look like it's an internal drive because it goes to
the mobo's SATA controller, not through its USB controller.

[Rod Speed]

micky > wrote

> I'm running XPProSP3 and I have a Thermaltake BlacX dual dock
> with 2 bare internal-type drives in it, that connects to the computer
> with USB, and I use each for an almost** complete backup it seemed
> like a good idea. If my internal drive fails, I just take one of the
> backups out of the dock and install it internally.

> I'm not sure but there may be weaknesses in this plan.

> 1) The drives never spin down, even when they haven't been
> used for hours. Now I'm starting to wonder if they even spin
> down when the computer is sleeping or hibernating. ??

Mine do in my dock. But I am running Win7 and a no name dock.

Forget what it used to do when I ran XPProSP3, pretty sure
I would have been irritated by them not spinning down
with that. Can't easily test that now because the one
remaining system which still runs XP isn't running SP3.

> I've looked for software to make this happen, and all
> I found was HDDScan, which says it works for USB,
> but maybe that doesn't included USB drives in a dock?
> Might that be the reason it's not working for me?

> What about connecting via eSATA. Would that spin down
> after my Power Options 20 minute since last use setting?

I expect that depends on the dock given that the
lack of spin down appears to be due to the dock.

> Also,
> 2) I added these external drives to my boot.ini list so I
> could test if the partitions were really bootable clones,
> but I get an error message.**** Is that because I can't
> boot to a HDD in a dock, at least the BlacX dock?

Likely.

> Is that because it's connected via USB and
> USB isn't working until Windows starts.

No, some motherboards can boot USB drives.

> What about connecting vie eSATA?

Should be fine.

> **** "Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
> configuration problem. Could not read from the selected host disk.
> Check boot path and disk hardware".

> **Except for temp files, prefetch files etc. I'm
> gradually enlarging the list of files not included.

> ***Entries 2 and 3 are my efforts to boot from what I think are bootable
> clones of my System Drive, but wI get the error message at **** above.

> The first two entries work. The first is my newest XP parttion, and the
> second is the one I normally use.

> [operating systems]
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="MS Windows XP Parallel Pro"
> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS="1 Microsoft Windows XP Pro"
> /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS="2 Win XP Pro BackUPD 244 GB
> of 1.5 TB D2" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINDOWS="3 Win XP Pro XP-New 300 GB
> of 500 GB D3" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="4 Win 98 on WIN98 internal
> drive"
> C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons
> = = = = =
> The last line showed up after I used a Windows disk and installed the
> Recovery Console. It uses the Partition letter C: but I had no C:
> partition at the time! Only D: and that's where it put it. But it
> works so I guess until it gets further into the boot process MS has its
> own way of deciding drive letters.