What did Windows 7 leave behind?

I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I would
use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well after the
year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT. Deleted
BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that all signs
of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much, much,
better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is also very
nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by making the copy
bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is still on my XP
system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is still there.

Anybody know what it can be?

--
Bill
Asus EEE PC 702G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix Linux

On 03/27/2011 08:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I would
use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well after the
year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT. Deleted
BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that all signs
of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much, much,
better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is also very
nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by making the copy
bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is still on my XP
system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is still there.

Anybody know what it can be?


It ain't Linux ;-)

--
Alias

On 3/27/2011 3:44 PM, Alias wrote:
On 03/27/2011 08:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I would
use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well after the
year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT. Deleted
BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that all signs
of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much, much,
better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is also very
nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by making the copy
bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is still on my XP
system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is still there.

Anybody know what it can be?


It ain't Linux ;-)


You are as sharp as a tac.

BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I would
use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well after the
year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT. Deleted
BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that all signs
of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much, much,
better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is also very
nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by making the copy
bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is still on my XP
system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is still there.

Anybody know what it can be?


You'd need to look at a description of a Vista/Win7 boot sequence, to
understand what hidden areas might be used.

Sector 0 is your MBR. So that will always be busy. Sometimes things are
stored in sectors 2-63, such as part of Grub. Maybe Windows 7 is hiding
something in there ? Normally, no partition starts in there.

By "deleting the w7 partition", are you overwriting the partition with
zeros ? A partition consists of two pieces. There is a small section,
before the proper NTFS section begins, and that is where the partition
boot sectors are located. If a utility can spot a specific flavor of
partition boot sectors, that would be a giveaway. If you zeroed the
partition (not the same thing as just deleting the files), then that
would be one less signature to leave behind.

PBS NTFS
^
+---- Deleting files, only cleans part of this. The Partition
Boot Sectors are untouched.

Zeroing a partition, with "dd", cleans both. As would reformatting with
NTFS again. That probably wipes the PBS. But to be sure, I use "dd",
then reformat as required.

Putting something between partitions doesn't make sense, but perhaps you
could check there.

Up near the very end of the disk, can also be a busy place. Dynamic disk
stores it's data structure up there. And RAID metadata can also be up towards
that end. (Rootkits may store copies of themselves up there too.)

So you have a few places to look.

Zero the disk, install Windows 7, and look for non-zero sectors. This is
an example of zeroing a whole disk.

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda

To speed the search, after installing Windows 7 (to trick it into showing
its hand), you can zero the boot partition and C: partition, then start
your search looking for non-zero data. These would be examples of zeroing
out particular partitions, and scrubbing the partition boot sectors as well
as the NTFS that fills the majority of the space to the right.

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda1
dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/hda2

How do you find non-zero sectors ? I did it once, but don't remember what
I used. It could be, I took samples with dd seek and skip, then used "sum".
"sum" takes simple arithmetic sums. If sectors are all zero, the sum will
be zero too. (This is unlike MD5sum, fciv, or SHA1SUM, which compute a CRC,
and have non-zero output on zeroed data input.) You'd want the simple "sum"
program that just adds bytes together, tossing the overflow.

Using dd with seek and skip parameters, and a length count, allows taking
small enough samples of a disk, to pop them into a hex editor. I think my
hex editor will only handle a file under 2GB, so to examine a disk in the
areas I'm interested in, I take 2GB sized chunks and transfer
them, as a file, to another disk.

You can also write a C program to look for non-zero data. I'd use Linux
for that, because gcc is already "in the box".

Have fun,
Paul

On 27/03/2011 2:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I would
use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well after the
year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT. Deleted
BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that all signs
of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much, much,
better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is also very
nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by making the copy
bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is still on my XP
system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is still there.

Anybody know what it can be?

Windows XP uses the boot.ini file, while Windows Vista/7 use the BCD
database in the \boot folder for storing configuration information. The
XP and earlier used the NTLDR to boot up, while the Vista and later use
BootMgr.

Windows no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

Yousuf Khan

On 3/27/2011 1:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I would
use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well after the
year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT. Deleted
BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that all signs
of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much, much,
better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is also very
nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by making the copy
bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is still on my XP
system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is still there.

Anybody know what it can be?

Run a copy of Partition Master or similar program and verify if there is
not a partition left over from the windows install. It usually creates
a small partition to boot from (no drive letter assigned) and then the
regular partition (with drive letter assigned) where the actual Windows
7 files exist.

A drive image copy would include the previously created Windows 7 hidden
partition which is what Paragon most likely is referring to.

In anews.com,
GlowingBlueMist wrote:
On 3/27/2011 1:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well
after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that
all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is
still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Run a copy of Partition Master or similar program and verify if there
is not a partition left over from the windows install. It usually
creates a small partition to boot from (no drive letter assigned) and
then the regular partition (with drive letter assigned) where the
actual Windows 7 files exist.

A drive image copy would include the previously created Windows 7
hidden partition which is what Paragon most likely is referring to.

The whole drive is using all of the space as one single partition. No
hidden or unused space anywhere.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

In ,
Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 27/03/2011 2:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well
after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that
all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is
still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Windows XP uses the boot.ini file, while Windows Vista/7 use the BCD
database in the \boot folder for storing configuration information.
The XP and earlier used the NTLDR to boot up, while the Vista and
later use BootMgr.

Windows no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

Yousuf Khan

Yes I know. If Paragon Drive Copy v11 just cloned the drive, I wouldn't
have this problem. Although it clones and then insures the drive is
bootable. And for some dumb reason, it still thinks Windows 7 is still
there and it makes it bootable by the non-existing Windows 7. Running
FIXMBR and FIXBOOT corrects it. But this is getting old.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

BillW50 wrote:
In anews.com,
GlowingBlueMist wrote:
On 3/27/2011 1:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well
after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that
all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is
still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Run a copy of Partition Master or similar program and verify if there
is not a partition left over from the windows install. It usually
creates a small partition to boot from (no drive letter assigned) and
then the regular partition (with drive letter assigned) where the
actual Windows 7 files exist.

A drive image copy would include the previously created Windows 7
hidden partition which is what Paragon most likely is referring to.

The whole drive is using all of the space as one single partition. No
hidden or unused space anywhere.


Can you post a picture of the partition table contents (PTEDIT32) ?

If we look at this one, the first partition starts at sector 63, leaving
2-62 as storage space for things like the GRUB boot loader. And who knows
what else.

http://www.vistax64.com/attachments/...0-dell-tbl.gif

Now, one claim is, that Windows 7 doesn't to it that way. If you post a
picture of PTEDIT32 output, then we'll know (what potential spaces exist).

Paul

In ,
Paul wrote:
BillW50 wrote:
In anews.com,
GlowingBlueMist wrote:
On 3/27/2011 1:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7.
Well after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking
that all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7
is still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Run a copy of Partition Master or similar program and verify if
there is not a partition left over from the windows install. It
usually creates a small partition to boot from (no drive letter
assigned) and then the regular partition (with drive letter
assigned) where the actual Windows 7 files exist.

A drive image copy would include the previously created Windows 7
hidden partition which is what Paragon most likely is referring to.

The whole drive is using all of the space as one single partition. No
hidden or unused space anywhere.


Can you post a picture of the partition table contents (PTEDIT32) ?

If we look at this one, the first partition starts at sector 63,
leaving 2-62 as storage space for things like the GRUB boot loader.
And who knows what else.

http://www.vistax64.com/attachments/...0-dell-tbl.gif

Now, one claim is, that Windows 7 doesn't to it that way. If you post
a picture of PTEDIT32 output, then we'll know (what potential spaces
exist).
Paul

I don't see the point, since there are no other partitions. But ok here
it is.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2...0329063918.jpg

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

BillW50 wrote:
In ,
Paul wrote:
BillW50 wrote:
In anews.com,
GlowingBlueMist wrote:
On 3/27/2011 1:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7.
Well after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking
that all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7
is still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Run a copy of Partition Master or similar program and verify if
there is not a partition left over from the windows install. It
usually creates a small partition to boot from (no drive letter
assigned) and then the regular partition (with drive letter
assigned) where the actual Windows 7 files exist.

A drive image copy would include the previously created Windows 7
hidden partition which is what Paragon most likely is referring to.
The whole drive is using all of the space as one single partition. No
hidden or unused space anywhere.

Can you post a picture of the partition table contents (PTEDIT32) ?

If we look at this one, the first partition starts at sector 63,
leaving 2-62 as storage space for things like the GRUB boot loader.
And who knows what else.

http://www.vistax64.com/attachments/...0-dell-tbl.gif

Now, one claim is, that Windows 7 doesn't to it that way. If you post
a picture of PTEDIT32 output, then we'll know (what potential spaces
exist).
Paul

I don't see the point, since there are no other partitions. But ok here
it is.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2...0329063918.jpg


OK, so the partition starts at sector 2048. That means sectors 2 through 2047
are available for storage. (Sector 1 might be reserved, if some software was
using a scheme to swap out the MBR at boot or something.) 2048*512= 1MB.

So, could they store something in there ? That's where I'd start my search.

dd if=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\Partition0 of=C:\mysearch.dd bs=512 count=2048

and then use a hex editor on the one megabyte C:\mysearch.dd file and see what
is stored in there. If Windows 7 didn't need that area, you could even zero it,
being careful not to hit the MBR. dd has options like "seek" and "skip", to
allow it to copy or carpet bomb any arbitrary contiguous set of sectors. With
the right set of parameters attached, you can zero areas of the disk with

dd if=/dev/zero of=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\Partition0 ...

I'd try this on my Windows 7 laptop (the copy of the first bits), but there
is no guarantee my laptop has exactly the same setup. I don't have a standalone
installer CD, as Windows was preinstalled on the laptop.

Have fun,
Paul

In ,
Paul wrote:
BillW50 wrote:
In ,
Paul wrote:
BillW50 wrote:
In anews.com,
GlowingBlueMist wrote:
On 3/27/2011 1:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7.
Well after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking
that all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead.
Much, much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live
which is also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me
a favor by making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part
of Windows 7 is still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon
off that Windows 7 is still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Run a copy of Partition Master or similar program and verify if
there is not a partition left over from the windows install. It
usually creates a small partition to boot from (no drive letter
assigned) and then the regular partition (with drive letter
assigned) where the actual Windows 7 files exist.

A drive image copy would include the previously created Windows 7
hidden partition which is what Paragon most likely is referring
to.
The whole drive is using all of the space as one single partition.
No hidden or unused space anywhere.

Can you post a picture of the partition table contents (PTEDIT32) ?

If we look at this one, the first partition starts at sector 63,
leaving 2-62 as storage space for things like the GRUB boot loader.
And who knows what else.

http://www.vistax64.com/attachments/...0-dell-tbl.gif

Now, one claim is, that Windows 7 doesn't to it that way. If you
post a picture of PTEDIT32 output, then we'll know (what potential
spaces exist).
Paul

I don't see the point, since there are no other partitions. But ok
here it is.

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/2...0329063918.jpg


OK, so the partition starts at sector 2048. That means sectors 2
through 2047 are available for storage. (Sector 1 might be reserved,
if some software was using a scheme to swap out the MBR at boot or
something.) 2048*512= 1MB.
So, could they store something in there ? That's where I'd start my
search.
dd if=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\Partition0 of=C:\mysearch.dd bs=512
count=2048
and then use a hex editor on the one megabyte C:\mysearch.dd file and
see what is stored in there. If Windows 7 didn't need that area, you
could even zero it, being careful not to hit the MBR. dd has options
like "seek" and "skip", to allow it to copy or carpet bomb any
arbitrary contiguous set of sectors. With the right set of parameters
attached, you can zero areas of the disk with
dd if=/dev/zero of=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\Partition0 ...

I'd try this on my Windows 7 laptop (the copy of the first bits), but
there is no guarantee my laptop has exactly the same setup. I don't
have a
standalone installer CD, as Windows was preinstalled on the laptop.

Have fun,
Paul

Might be something that Paragon is creating. As I can clone with other
software just fine like Acronis True Image 2009 (although you have to
shutdown Windows and can't do it live like Paragon). I am using the
clone copy right now and the partition starts at sector 63. Tried to
clone this copy with Paragon Drive Copy v11 and it still wants to boot
Windows 7 which doesn't exists.

I will have Acronis True Image 2011 here in a day or two. So maybe I
will wait until I see what Acronis True Image 2011 can do. Although I
have endless problems of Acronis True Image not seeing USB drives
sometimes. Yet everything else has no problems with them.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

On 3/29/2011 07:05, BillW50 wrote:
In ,
Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 27/03/2011 2:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7. Well
after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking that
all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7 is
still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Windows XP uses the boot.ini file, while Windows Vista/7 use the BCD
database in the \boot folder for storing configuration information.
The XP and earlier used the NTLDR to boot up, while the Vista and
later use BootMgr.

Windows no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

Yousuf Khan

Yes I know. If Paragon Drive Copy v11 just cloned the drive, I wouldn't
have this problem. Although it clones and then insures the drive is
bootable. And for some dumb reason, it still thinks Windows 7 is still
there and it makes it bootable by the non-existing Windows 7. Running
FIXMBR and FIXBOOT corrects it. But this is getting old.

Not sure what you mean by making it bootable by 7... Is it creating the
System Reserved partition and/or the 7 boot folders and data?

Could it be something simple as Paragon checking the date of ntldr and
deciding that you are cloning 7. Ntldr isn't rewritten by a fixboot.

In g.com,
Bill Blanton wrote:
On 3/29/2011 07:05, BillW50 wrote:
In ,
Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 27/03/2011 2:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7.
Well after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking
that all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7
is still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Windows XP uses the boot.ini file, while Windows Vista/7 use the BCD
database in the \boot folder for storing configuration information.
The XP and earlier used the NTLDR to boot up, while the Vista and
later use BootMgr.

Windows no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

Yousuf Khan

Yes I know. If Paragon Drive Copy v11 just cloned the drive, I
wouldn't have this problem. Although it clones and then insures the
drive is bootable. And for some dumb reason, it still thinks Windows
7 is still there and it makes it bootable by the non-existing
Windows 7. Running FIXMBR and FIXBOOT corrects it. But this is
getting old.

Not sure what you mean by making it bootable by 7... Is it creating
the System Reserved partition and/or the 7 boot folders and data?

Could it be something simple as Paragon checking the date of ntldr and
deciding that you are cloning 7. Ntldr isn't rewritten by a fixboot.

No I installed Windows 7 along time ago and deleted the partition that
Windows 7 was on and expanded the original Windows XP partition. Of
course Windows XP won't boot in this state because the BCD is still
there. But FIXMBR and FIXBOOT got Windows XP booting and working
normally.

Problem reoccurs when running Paragon Drive Copy v11. Either copying the
one partition or the whole drive, Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor
by also correcting to make sure it will be bootable too (and you can't
turn this off). And it thinks Windows 7 is still there and instead of
booting ntldr, it boots bootmgr (part of Windows 7) instead. Deleted
bootmgr and the boot folder and it still tries to boot the missing
bootmgr.

So something is making Paragon to believe Windows 7 is still there. So
far, nobody knows. The date stamp on ntldr you say? This one says date
modified on 1/6/2010 12:26PM. You think?

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era)
Centrino Core Duo 1.83G - 2GB - Windows XP SP3

On 3/29/2011 20:38, BillW50 wrote:
In g.com,
Bill Blanton wrote:
On 3/29/2011 07:05, BillW50 wrote:
In ,
Yousuf Khan wrote:
On 27/03/2011 2:47 PM, BillW50 wrote:
I installed Windows 7 on three machines. And I promised myself I
would use them for a year. Two machines I had dualbooting XP/7.
Well after the year I still didn't like it.

Deleted the W7 partition, fixed XP boot by FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.
Deleted BOOTMGR, BOOTSECTOR, and the BOOT folder. I am thinking
that all signs of Windows 7 should be gone.

I used to make backups, but now I am cloning drives instead. Much,
much, better. Anyway Paragon Drive Copy v11 can copy live which is
also very nice. Although Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor by
making the copy bootable by Windows 7. So some part of Windows 7 is
still on my XP system which is tipping Paragon off that Windows 7
is still there. Anybody know what it can be?

Windows XP uses the boot.ini file, while Windows Vista/7 use the BCD
database in the \boot folder for storing configuration information.
The XP and earlier used the NTLDR to boot up, while the Vista and
later use BootMgr.

Windows no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

Yousuf Khan

Yes I know. If Paragon Drive Copy v11 just cloned the drive, I
wouldn't have this problem. Although it clones and then insures the
drive is bootable. And for some dumb reason, it still thinks Windows
7 is still there and it makes it bootable by the non-existing
Windows 7. Running FIXMBR and FIXBOOT corrects it. But this is
getting old.

Not sure what you mean by making it bootable by 7... Is it creating
the System Reserved partition and/or the 7 boot folders and data?

Could it be something simple as Paragon checking the date of ntldr and
deciding that you are cloning 7. Ntldr isn't rewritten by a fixboot.

No I installed Windows 7 along time ago and deleted the partition that
Windows 7 was on and expanded the original Windows XP partition. Of
course Windows XP won't boot in this state because the BCD is still
there. But FIXMBR and FIXBOOT got Windows XP booting and working
normally.

Problem reoccurs when running Paragon Drive Copy v11. Either copying the
one partition or the whole drive, Paragon thinks it is doing me a favor
by also correcting to make sure it will be bootable too (and you can't
turn this off). And it thinks Windows 7 is still there and instead of
booting ntldr, it boots bootmgr (part of Windows 7) instead. Deleted
bootmgr and the boot folder and it still tries to boot the missing
bootmgr.

Perhaps some configuration data in Paragon? Have you tried
uninstalling/reinstalling?


So something is making Paragon to believe Windows 7 is still there. So
far, nobody knows. The date stamp on ntldr you say? This one says date
modified on 1/6/2010 12:26PM. You think?

Or the size. Just a WAG though. I don't hold much hope for that being
the reason, but it's easy enough to check.