UBCD4Win Forums > Question about using a UBCD4WIN tool

secateurs

Nov 18 2005, 09:04 PM

Hi,

I'm not sure whether this is the right place to post this, but i'm sure someone will move it if it's wrong...

I want to use UBCD4WIN to do this:

I have a laptop which came with recovery cd's only, and not an XP cd. I tried setting up using an XP cd, but it failed - probably driver issues, and also can't activate windows for some reason....

So, i'm stuck with the recovery cd's. I have the basic recovery installed on my HDD now, but it's FAT32. Of course, you can easily convert this to NTFs using the icon. However, i have found out that doing this leaves you with an NTFS volume with a cluster size of 512B. But I want a cluster size of 4K. How do I do it? I tried copying all the files onto another HDD, then reformatting the partition and recopying the files. This didn't work.

My next attempt will be to use one of the imaging programs in UBCD4WIN to create an image of the windows installation, save it to another HDD, then reformat the partition with 4K cluster, then write the ISO back onto the partition. However, i have my doubts that this will work. Because ISO's are bit-by-bit, won't it just overwrite my 4k clusters with 512B again?

Am I stuck with 512B, or is there another way to resize my clusters?

Thanks for your help!

BvF7734

Nov 21 2005, 08:11 AM

I know that when I use Ghost here at work, it formats the drive to the style saved in the image file. If it was Fat32 and is now NTFS, it will overwrite the NTFS with the Fat32 of the image file.

I do not know aboiut the other tools but I would have to say that it wouild most likely be the same story.

I also do not know a way to change the cluster size after the OS has been loaded. I believe that is only adjustable as a preset for when you format the drive.

hilander999

Nov 21 2005, 11:28 AM

What are you using to "copy" the files?

Have you tried using robocopy to transfer the files?

rdsok

Nov 21 2005, 12:50 PM

Thought I've seen Linux based utilities that claim to be able to resize the cluster sizes, I'm not sure if they are reliable or not. In Windows based utils all I've seen were commercial apps such as Partition Magic make claims to be able to perform this.

The most common method that I've seen mentioned though is the manual method of

1. Backup the partition.
2. Reformat the partition with the new cluster size.
3. Restore the partition.

Note: Drive Imaging programs will simply restore the cluster size and file system type, so make sure to use a file backup utility instead.

thomasjk

Nov 21 2005, 03:19 PM

QUOTE(secateurs @ Nov 18 2005, 09:04 PM)

Hi,

I'm not sure whether this is the right place to post this, but i'm sure someone will move it if it's wrong...

I want to use UBCD4WIN to do this:

I have a laptop which came with recovery cd's only, and not an XP cd. I tried setting up using an XP cd, but it failed - probably driver issues, and also can't activate windows for some reason....

So, i'm stuck with the recovery cd's. I have the basic recovery installed on my HDD now, but it's FAT32. Of course, you can easily convert this to NTFs using the icon. However, i have found out that doing this leaves you with an NTFS volume with a cluster size of 512B. But I want a cluster size of 4K. How do I do it? I tried copying all the files onto another HDD, then reformatting the partition and recopying the files. This didn't work.

My next attempt will be to use one of the imaging programs in UBCD4WIN to create an image of the windows installation, save it to another HDD, then reformat the partition with 4K cluster, then write the ISO back onto the partition. However, i have my doubts that this will work. Because ISO's are bit-by-bit, won't it just overwrite my 4k clusters with 512B again?

Am I stuck with 512B, or is there another way to resize my clusters?

Thanks for your help!

Check this url for the process to convert Fat32 to NTFS and get the proper cluster size.
http://aumha.org/win5/a/ntfscvt.htm

secateurs

Nov 21 2005, 07:23 PM

Hi,

Thanks for the replies everyone. Thanks for the link, ThomasJK. Looks good, except that my laptop doesn't have a floppy, which seems necessary for the process. However, it may be helpful for when I reinstall windows in my parent's HP machine.

Is there a backup tool on UBCD4WIN that doesn't require a floppy?

Here's what i've found in my own wanderings. ASUS FAQ says:

Question: Can I use original windows XP to reinstall without using the Recovery CD?

Answer: When recovery process is complete, the original files of WinXP are located at C:\Windows\i386. You can copy them to D drive partition, then reinstall WinXP from i386 directory.

My question is, how? More detail needed. Ok, so I have a 15GB partition and a 65GB partition. I install windows/drivers, etc on 15GB partition, and when it's done, I copy the whole i386 folder to the 65GB partition. Then what? How do I use that folder to reinstall windows on the 15GB partition?

I could probably use the folder to make a customized version of UBCD4WIN for my laptop, too, but that's not what I need right now....

thomasjk

Nov 21 2005, 07:58 PM

QUOTE(secateurs @ Nov 21 2005, 07:23 PM)

Hi,

Thanks for the replies everyone. Thanks for the link, ThomasJK. Looks good, except that my laptop doesn't have a floppy, which seems necessary for the process. However, it may be helpful for when I reinstall windows in my parent's HP machine.

Is there a backup tool on UBCD4WIN that doesn't require a floppy?

Here's what i've found in my own wanderings. ASUS FAQ says:

Question: Can I use original windows XP to reinstall without using the Recovery CD?

Answer: When recovery process is complete, the original files of WinXP are located at C:\Windows\i386. You can copy them to D drive partition, then reinstall WinXP from i386 directory.

My question is, how? More detail needed. Ok, so I have a 15GB partition and a 65GB partition. I install windows/drivers, etc on 15GB partition, and when it's done, I copy the whole i386 folder to the 65GB partition. Then what? How do I use that folder to reinstall windows on the 15GB partition?

I could probably use the folder to make a customized version of UBCD4WIN for my laptop, too, but that's not what I need right now....

The Bootit software can also be put on a CD. The ISO is supplied in the download.

secateurs

Nov 25 2005, 01:38 AM

Thanks so much, thomasjk! That is exactly what I needed!

I now have 4K clusters and a boot time that's improved by 25 seconds!

I also have a much-improved write speed - from 5MB to 16MB. Not that impressive, I know, but it's a notebook....

Thanks again!