Anyone else have a similar problem with Win Server 2003 after starting an openSUSE installation and aborting it, or for that matter, after completing it?
Win Server error message says that directory service cannot start. I’m not sure if this happened as a result of moving the partition, or defragging. However restoring Win Server 2003 from the backup I made before before re-partitioning - does not solve the problem.
Windblows? Yikes.
What do you mean “Moving the Partition”?
And if you have a backup which does not restore correctly, then there must be something wrong with your backup methods.
It, M$erver, would have to have 1st partition I think (not certain on that) certainly true for XP and 2000.
I used Acronis to make an image of each partition, rather than windows backup pgm. The restoration worked. Perhaps I did not back up everything necessary, such as “system state.” But I thought a complete image of the partition would include that. I’m not an expert in backups but I do test them afterwards. Also, I did not back up the active directory (which I would have done if this were an actual company computer), and the error msg I get when trying to start is “security accts manager failed. Dir services cannot start. Lsass.ese system eror… 0x00002e1. Boot to dir services restore mode… Check event log.”
I cannot boot to dir services restore mode. None of my user-name password combos work. Either I mistakenly remembered a password, or the actual username was lost, as a result of corruption of active dir. The actual active directory database file,
c:\windows
tds
tds.dit,
is still there, but there is also a “recovered file fragments” file in the same folder, suggesting that chkdsk changed ntds.dit. It is possible I did the backup after I did chkdsk, w/o first checking if I could still boot, after doing chkdsk. Fortunately this is a learning exercise. If I were doing this at an actual company, I would have put each domain controllers on its own hard drive with a single partition, and I would have had multiple domain controllers. But for learning at home, I can’t afford to buy a separate hard drive, and I only have 3 computers.
I have 1 primary (win xp) and 2 logical partitions (distribution, data) ahead of the win server 2003 partition. By moving the partition I mean I used a partition managing program to increase the size of the first logical partition, distribution, and to add an area of unallocated space between the second logical parition, and win server 2003. Thus winserv2003 starts at a higher sector number, and ends at a higher sector number. It did not change its size. This is unbelievably easy to do with Easeus ultimate. To enlarge, you just grab the edge of a partition’s graphic representation with a mouse and move it over. To move, you just grab the partition’s graphic rep in the middle, and move the partition. Then you press the “apply” button.
I did the backup befor I did this. I don’t remember if I did the backup before or after doing the checkdisk.
I don’t have a bak of ad. There was nothing important there. It is just an issue of time. It looks like I’m going to have to spend an hour installing, and several more hours configuring and updating. I want to get practice installing winserv before Linux.
“It, M$erver, would have to have 1st partition I think (not certain on that) certainly true for XP and 2000.”
Not if you use a 3d party os selector and partition manger such as partition magic w/ boot magic or acronis. After you install your first window op sys, you use the partit manager to hide it. When you boot from the installation disk, only the partition where you want to install the second op sys is visible. The other one is hidden. So the second (or 3d, etc) partit goes completely in one partition, as if the other one (or 2 etc) did not exist. (This is in contrast to the windows method of their being a system partit plus a boot partit.) After you install the 2d op sys you unhide the first op sys. Then you open the 3d party os selector and adjust it to recognize both partitions. In short, you need to use a 3d party os selector pgm instead of using windows os selection method.
This enables you to intall as many windows pgms as you want, and install them in any sequence you want.
I said “as many windows pgms as you want” but I meant “as many windows operating systems as you want.” And by hiding them from each other you should be able to install multiple os that by installing the M-Mush way, would be incompatible with each other.
I’m assuming, I hope correctly, that I can start installing Linux without having to do any hiding of any MS os beforehand as the Linux os wouldn’t care about what is going on in any ms partitions, and wouldn’t try to put any files in any ms partitions.
Dude, I tried to help you in another thread and gave up, which for me is saying something. I find it hard to believe you are still procrastinating. Just get on with it already!
Apparently moving or resizing a partition changes its serial number and apparently Active Dir needs a serial number. I’m going to have to go over to the windows server forums and see what they have to say.
thanks for your help all, incl you caf4926.
“I find it hard to believe you are still procrastinating. Just get on with it already!”
I can’t believe you think I am “procrastinating;” I’ve already effed up my win server by rushing through the preliminaries and not checking things every step of the way.
OK I’ve got OpenSUSE installed on my hard drive in 3 partitions , /, /home, and swap, and my windows xp and windows server partitions seem to be intact and of course i’m logged onto this forum from Firefox withing openSUSE. The OpenSUSE installation was no problem, but every time I try to re-install any windows os, I get a “windows shutting down to prevent damage to computer” error, and I can’t for the life of me figure out where the problem is. It is obviously not a hardware probem because I was able to install openSUSE.
OK, I’m going to see if grub works. Bye.
One thing for sure. And I’m amazed you have not clicked on this:
Install and setup all windows OS’s first.
Linux last
As far as windows is concerned. IT is the 'B all and end all’.
It cannot comprehend or accept symbiosis with Linux installations, at least not from an install perspective. You should have all windows OS’s installed and then install Linux.
It is possible to install windows after or re-install windows. But you will need to have the boot flag on the 1st partition (which is where windows wants to be). And following any windows install, you can then re-do your grub bootloader, by booting the openSUSE install DVD.
Check here for details:
GRUB Boot Multiboot openSUSE Windows (2000, XP, Vista) using the Grub bootloader.
OK, I’ve the windows installation working now. I was just installing the wrong RAID-AHCI driver by mistake. And yes after I installed the windows os I couldn’t get into linux any more, but Acronis os selector allows me to boot into grub bootloader, then I can boot into linux from there.
Thanks for the info caf4926. I appreciate the info about boot flag and re-doing grub boot loader as I would prefer to have only 1 os selector into linux.
However I am having a great deal of difficulty understanding info on the page you linked me to.
I suppose tho that I could simply completely re-install openSUSE after I install all of my windows os’s.
Re-install of suse is not necessarily going to be required. All will depend on if you can get windows to install in the partition you want, without formatting the whole drive. Which should be possible.
Then just use the DVD and re-install the bootloader.
Actually i wasn’t able to complete the install of the winxp op sys until I installed acronis os selector from the acronis rescue cd. Instead I had been hanging at - i forgot the error message.
I do need to have the option of reinstalling window after linux has been installed and I really want to know exactly what acronis did to enable the install to proceed and the boot to proceed. You said something about boot flag on first partition. But how do you do put it the boot flag there? With a search I can’t find the word “flag” on the page you linked me to.
Also, I had some problems after hibernating xp, instead of shutting down, then booting linux. The first time I did that I was able to return to xp where I left off, but the second time, the grub boat loader wouldn’t send me there; I don’t remember if xp failed to show up in grub of or if it showed up but clicking it wouldn’t start xp. Acronis doesn’t allow you to boot another win op sys until you fully shut down the first. However boot magic did allow me to boot another after hibernating the first.
You should not hibernate XP and then boot to Linux!! Reboot!
Boot flag active is shown by * in fdisk output
Any good partition tool like Parted Magic will show the flag too.
Here is my fdisk -l:
Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sda1 1 8486 68163763+ 83 Linux
/dev/sda2 * 8487 10575 16771829 83 Linux
/dev/sda3 10575 19457 71352666+ f W95 Ext’d (LBA)
/dev/sda5 10575 10965 3140676 82 Linux swap / Solaris
/dev/sda6 10966 19457 68211958+ 83 Linux
see sda2 has flag
here is a unrelated to me, parted magic shot
http://thumbnails17.imagebam.com/3230/f93e5132293206.gif](ImageBam)
Yes but what does the boot flag mean, how does it affect the computer when it boots up? And how do you move it from one partition to another? A search thru the page you linked me to does not show up the word “flag.”
Also, when I do fdisk, i see “parition table entries are not in disk order,” between the sdb’s and the sdc’s. Is that relevant?
Remember, I’m not using windows partitioning method. I’m using a third party partitioning method, with an acronis os selector, not a window os selector, and I’m keeping each win partition distinct from the other win partitions. To do that, I install the first win op sys, then I use partition manager to hide it, before I install the second op sys.
Window would normally have the second op sys set up so its partition is a “boot” partition, and so that it uses the first partition as its “system” partition (they reverse the words around). The first op sys - its partition would be both a sys partition and a boot partition, for the first op sys. But the way I do it, the second parttit is a sys partit and boot partit for the second op sys, and the first parition is a sys partit and boot partit for the first partit. The ntldr files and boot.ini files are in both paritions. Acronis os selector inserts itself - somewhere - so that acronis os selector does the choosing of which partit to load, rather than the first win partition doing the choosing via a boot.ini file.
I’m not sure how all this works - I set it up by just following step by step instructions - pretty much the only thing I ever understand.
fdisk show the boot flag in the second partit. But I don’t understand how it got there, or what it is. It stays there when i use fdisk in linux, whether I previously had booted from the first partit, or the second partit.
It is very confusing to me.
The boot flag is a yes/no attribute associated with each partition. It is meant to be set on for all partitions that could be booted from. Some boot loaders will not allow you to boot from a partition without this flag on. Some (like GRUB) don’t care. There are even BIOSes that will ignore the whole device for booting if the flag is not on at least one partition.
