Partitioning Software with Vista

[Moira]

I twice tried the repair option on the Vista disk and it did bugger all. It detected errors with the startup but failed to fix them. It's saved one vista install for me and I thought it was a wonderful feature then - but no, it's not been any help this time.

My restore over the network kept inexplicably asking for a reboot, then going back to the beginning, ie the reboot cancelled Acronis. Since I ditched Ubuntu I had enough space to copy the backup across to the laptop which is what I'm doing now. It ought to work across the network but seems altogether flakier.

Whilst that's going on, I'm reinstalling visual studio AGAIN here as not only have I got that black screen problem, but it's started telling me I can't have registry access when I try to create a new project (instead of opening the project).

I had two and a half hours in bed last night and I'm at work 6 am tomorrow. This is one of the least enjoyable nights I've ever spent.

Edit And I can't see my two other disks in Explorer and I've no idea why! I wanted to copy the backup onto one of them but it's nowhere to be seen!

[RoadClosed]

I was just playing with something... I know you had a bad night but vista keeps getting cooler everytime I play with it hardcore. Despite the vast learning curve. This could come in VERY handy for any of us. Here is a screen dump:

c:\>bcdedit /help >cool.txt
BCDEDIT - Boot Configuration Data Store Editor
The Bcdedit.exe command-line tool modifies the boot configuration data store.
The boot configuration data store contains boot configuration parameters and
controls how the operating system is booted. These parameters were previously
in the Boot.ini file (in BIOS-based operating systems) or in the nonvolatile
RAM entries (in Extensible Firmware Interface-based operating systems). You can
use Bcdedit.exe to add, delete, edit, and append entries in the boot
configuration data store.
For detailed command and option information, type bcdedit.exe /? <command>. For
example, to display detailed information about the /createstore command, type:
bcdedit.exe /? /createstore
For an alphabetical list of topics in this help file, run "bcdedit /? TOPICS".
Commands that operate on a store
================================
/createstore Creates a new and empty boot configuration data store.
/export Exports the contents of the system store to a file. This file
can be used later to restore the state of the system store.
/import Restores the state of the system store using a backup file
created with the /export command.
Commands that operate on entries in a store
===========================================
/copy Makes copies of entries in the store.
/create Creates new entries in the store.
/delete Deletes entries from the store.
Run bcdedit /? ID for information about identifiers used by these commands.
Commands that operate on entry options
======================================
/deletevalue Deletes entry options from the store.
/set Sets entry option values in the store.
Run bcdedit /? TYPES for a list of datatypes used by these commands.
Run bcdedit /? FORMATS for a list of valid data formats.
Commands that control output
============================
/enum Lists entries in the store.
/v Command-line option that displays entry identifiers in full,
rather than using names for well-known identifiers.
Use /v by itself as a command to display entry identifiers
in full for the ACTIVE type.
Running "bcdedit" by itself is equivalent to running "bcdedit /enum ACTIVE".
Commands that control the boot manager
======================================
/bootsequence Sets the one-time boot sequence for the boot manager.
/default Sets the default entry that the boot manager will use.
/displayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays the
multiboot menu.
/timeout Sets the boot manager time-out value.
/toolsdisplayorder Sets the order in which the boot manager displays
the tools menu.
Commands that control Emergency Management Services for a boot application
==========================================================================
/bootems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services
for a boot application.
/ems Enables or disables Emergency Management Services for an
operating system entry.
/emssettings Sets the global Emergency Management Services parameters.
Command that control debugging
==============================
/bootdebug Enables or disables boot debugging for a boot application.
/dbgsettings Sets the global debugger parameters.
/debug Enables or disables kernel debugging for an operating system
entry.

[Moira]

I already got to know BCDEdit in fact I thought all I was ever going to experience or learn about Vista at first was that pesky bcdedit file as I battled with leftover dual boot entries from no longer there versions of vista or some other disaster with the boot loader. Then I found EasyBCD and life changed! I was no longer trying to learn command line prompts, it was an easy to understand program!

Well, I think I'll have to call it a night now - paragon is merging the entire hard drive, and because it's doing it non destructively it's taking ages, so that's the laptop out of action for a while.

I'm going to carve my disk up with the two new partitions after the main operating system partition to see if that helps. I still want to put ubuntu on, and have downloaded lilo in anticipation of major boot issues.