Macrium Partition on WINXP Pro-Gone!

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Dell XPS M1710 2gb RAM 2 ghz CPU, 80GB hdd(?)

Had a Boot menu w/ Macrium(year old version?) and winXP Pro. I decided to uninstall a lot of old junk and clean up the HDD, and in the process I messed up I think.

On attempted reboot, Message appeared Missing explore.exe module, click ok, Then missing ???.DLL I’ll have to get back to you all on that, but after click ok, just plain green screen(background color) So I pull out handy dandy Macrium USB emergency bootable but No way…nothing happening. Boot order is correct. I found a labeled disk winxp pro install (copy) original long gone. Boot up with this and it started to install new XP pro. Now I know its not sp3 so I’m not happy but what the heck. So while this goes on I burn macrium winPE 32 bit emergency CD and USB. CD just doesnt do anything-blank screen. The USb finally shows a window ala win10, then the swirling dots!! HUH!! Finally opens a commnd prompt x:/system32_. Then it lists all files in this dir and stops at x:/system32. Cmnd window just sits there. Background screen blank, blue green color. Hung up. When I closed this command prompt, went into reboot.

When I inspected the winxp install disk, it said windowsLite in title. I dont recall this, but back to the “new” install, boot menu shows 2 windowsXP Pro installs, no sign of Macrium. Boot into the newest install but cannot connect to internet. No wireless adapter installed but ethernet plugged in but no ‘net. Lots of things missing in Device Mangr including erhernet driver. So No internet.Cannot find drivers.

Cannot install Macrium-needs web connection(tried from usb).

I have several images on a USB HDD but no way to restore.

Anyone have any ideas? I used windows disk cleaner lastly before no boot so I think that proggie deleted somethings winxp needs…just a guess. I’ll dig in again tomorrow and get the names of those dll’s missing. After 4 hrs I was burnt and the wife insisted I eat w/ her so had to stop.

So Hopefelly someone will have some idea…..

Thank yall for ‘listening’

Don

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@driftydonn , I’m wondering if your XP box might have developed some kind of catastrophic hardware problem. If you can’t even boot into a previously created Macrium emergency bootable USB, this is what would come to mind.

It would be a heck of a coincidence for such a catastrophic problem to crop up just when you were doing cleanup on the computer, but I can’t imagine what you could have done to the XP system that would cause all of these issues that would seem to have nothing to do with changes (deleted files, etc.) to XP.

Can you boot into any other kind of live system, such as a Linux CD?

 

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DriftyDonN

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I’ll have to look into making one….where would you go for info on that subject?
DriftyDonN

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[Cybertooth]

Here’s a set of instructions for creating a live DVD. The page offers Ubuntu, but you can download and burn the ISO for any flavor of Linux that you like.

Good luck, and keep us posted.

 

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• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Cybertooth. Reason: added hyperlink!

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DriftyDonN

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The Macrium boot disk drops you into Macrium, not a Command Prompt, so it seems to be a PC problem.

Try booting another machine from the Macrium USB.

cheers, Paul

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Thinking logically, if it were a PC problem why would it “drop into” anything that worked? By worked I mean dir, cd.., and such commands? It would seem if the pc was broken it simply wouldn’t do anything even close to right…..now this train of thought may be way off but I’ll follow up on hardware check

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Considering the emergency boot usb and disk I made yesterday are 32 bit, will they even work in win10? I realize 32 bit programs can run on win10, I am wondering about Macrium. I have used the 64bit USB to boot other machines w/ no trouble.

 

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That emergency boot USB and disc that you created, from which operating system (version and bittedness) did you create them? And, what version level of Macrium Reflect (5, 6, 7) is it that you put on the USB or disc?

In earlier versions of Macrium Reflect (up to version 5), it used to be that you could create one boot CD and use it on any computer, so long as you weren’t trying to run a 64-bit version on a 32-bit computer. Now, though, they’ve gotten a lot pickier about what Macrium CDs will run where, and I’ve ended up creating a dedicated disc for each PC that I use Macrium on. Pain in the proverbial hindquarters.

 

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Acer E15 E5-576G-5762

Win10 Pro,  64Bit 1903 bld 18362.592

WHEN i OPEN MACRIUM, TITLE BAR SAYS MACRIUM XXXXX  uefi!!!!!  IS THE UEFI THE PROBLEM? oops didnt mean to shout

Working on linux disk….

Thanks,

Don

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Cybertooth

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I am able to mount the image from a different laptop- it appears Macrium reflect was installed in 2015- cant seem to find the version yet. Also, was able to load 2nd windowsxp pro in safe mode- still no web connection….I think this would indicate the hardware is ok..

Don

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OK, two questions about what you wrote up there.

This image that you mounted from a different laptop–is it an image of the now-troubled XP system?

And, when you said that you can load a second Windows XP Pro in Safe Mode, is that a different computer altogether from the one with the problem? I’m not sure how this info fits into the picture, it seems unrelated?

 

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[DriftyDonN]

Ok here we go! In answer to ? 1- yes I can mount the damaged PC image on a different PC.

and 2. well, itsa bit more confusing…I allowed the xppro cd I have to install, thinking it would install OVER the top of the damaged one but I would get a chance to choose new, repair or something of that sort. No I then had 2 winxpPro installs on the boot menu- one worked sort of (Many Drivers missing-ie ethernet so no web!)The 2nd one will boot so I dl’d Macrium ver 6.xxx on a USB(other pc) ,installed, and made a USB boot drive. It actually worked!! But wait–bad pc would boot into winPE and found the image on the external USB spinner- The sand in my butter is winPE did NOT see the destination PC. !!! Hopes dashed, cannot restore image that is so pretty on that external drive.

I found a site(dont ask I lost the URL) – following instructions to REPAIR the broken install

I was to allow it to go thru the installation again(I did) and select……wham! reboot, went thru the boot menu in 2 seconds and tried to boot from cd and install AGAIN…I stopped that but now in my boot menu I have 3 yep 3 winxp pro installs with no indication of which is which. I’m fairly certain the 1st is the last. So is it a hardware problem? to check I……=>

So What the **** will it even boot into safe made?Yes it did(the original broken  one)! I opened task manager(ctrl-alt-del) and tried to type explorer.exe and before I finished typing, rec’d The ” explorer.exe is missing Normaliz.dll and “newdev.dll module could not be found” and blank screen (nice desktop color) with safe mode in all 4 corners. I thought perhaps safe mode might give me some options to repair the missing stuff issue. No

I then boot into the 2nd entry in boot menu and there it is, win xp pro w/ many missing drivers. I KNOW where they are- in that small 16 partition I have no access to! Dell recovery I guess. The other partition contains the 3 partial installs.

I located what is supposed to be a complete xpProsp3 file and am going to burn that I guess, hoping it has drivers on it! What are the odds they would be compatible w/ my m1710 dell?

I dunno what I’m going to do at this point.

First Problem is the [tricky] partition- 2nd, will format the drive have any effect?3 will I have good copy xp pro to install?

Who knows?
tired
DriftyDonN

BTW, Thank you
Oh yea, I now know why I have a cd labeled winlite=> dell put the drivers on the spinner!

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by DriftyDonN.

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DriftyDonN wrote:

WHEN i OPEN MACRIUM, TITLE BAR SAYS MACRIUM XXXXX uefi!!!!! IS THE UEFI THE PROBLEM? oops didnt mean to shout

No problem about the unintended shouting, we’ve all done that at some point. 

The fact that the newer versions of Macrium are UEFI could well be the (or a) problem. Maybe someone more familiar with the intricacies of UEFI vs. BIOS booting can pitch in here.

It will probably help a lot if you can find a Macrium bootable disc or USB thumb drive that contains version 5, or more precisely the version that you used to image your XP system.

 

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DriftyDonN wrote:

Ok here we go! In answer to ? 1- yes I can mount the damaged PC image on a different PC.

All right, let’s try the simpler approach first.

How old is the most recent image that you have of the XP system you’re having trouble with? If it’s fairly recent, then if you manage to install it you will be minimizing the amount of stuff lost to whatever was new since the image was created. And even in that case, you should be able to copy over any new data. New programs, not so much…

Here’s what I’m thinking. If, as you reported, you can mount the damaged PC’s Macrium image on a different PC, then maybe you can buy a new internal hard drive (or take a used one that you can spare), put the image on it using that other PC, and then replace the current drive in the damaged PC with this new drive that will be sporting the Macrium image. Then you would try booting into it. Assuming this is successful, considering that it looks like you can still read data off the bad drive you should be able to copy any new data from it onto the new drive.

 

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Yea I really messed up with the description of what has occurred.

The first issue was the missing files needed by xp pro to boot into the GUI. No amount of searching has given me a clue as to how to repair that install of the OS. There is nothing wrong with the hardware. The backup install disk I have from forever ago doesn’t have drivers on it, the most important being networking so I can get on the web. My backup images are on an external USB SSD. At this point I’m not too concerned with losing content if I have to. I AM wondering how to get the active partition straightened out, if it does indeed require any attention at all beyond formatting. BUT as a last resort because the problem comes back to NO DRIVERS. I do have a spare ssd 256 gb but I’m not sure it would be compatible….

On a happy note I was able to extract a folder named DELL with 8 – 10 drivers in it to the downloads folder OUTSIDE of the image. Will try to install them tomorrow..if I can get on the net maybe Ill be able to reconstruct the partitions? Dont know but will let you all know.

Aint this fun!! Esp for you folks working with me- ai just dont seem to be able to explain things like I used to.

Happy Daze!

DriftyDonN

 

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What a mess. If you can boot with the WinXP CD, why not use that to copy your data onto other media? I’m assuming that the HD is readable, of course. Then format the HD to see if it eliminates any errors, and reinstall.

That seems simpler to me, unless I’ve misread the situation.

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[Cybertooth]

@driftydonn , this Web page may turn be helpful in dealing with the problem your PC is having. Before you even go to that page, though, please skip to the third paragraph and also the last paragraph in this post.

In Step 5 on that page, select the first option when you reach the Welcome to Setup screen. I recommend that you first read through the whole set of instructions, as this method will revert your XP to its original state and you’ll have a boatload of Windows Updates to install afterward. (Apparently you will not lose any data files, but you will need to re-install any programs that didn’t come with XP.)

HOWEVER… a less radical approach, and the one that I would try first, is to use your Macrium CD on that other PC to copy the most recent image of the troubled XP installation from your external USB backup SSD onto a fresh internal hard drive. Then you would replace the current internal hard drive on the troubled PC with the new hard drive. If this boots up normally, you’re good to go and all you need is to copy any desired data files from the troubled hard drive over to the new one.

This second approach bypasses the “no drivers” hurdle because (presumably) everything was working fine when you made that image of XP back when. And then, once you’re satisfied that the restored image is working properly, you can nuke (reformat) the troubled drive and repurpose it.

Update: While researching this issue, it occurred to me to see if XP has the System File Checker as more recent versions of Windows do, and it does. Before you try anything else here, boot into the troubled XP system (you reported that you can) and run the command SFC/ scannow as described here. Be sure to read the introductory section on the page, and to refer to the troubleshooting section if you run into problems.

With any luck, SFC will restore your missing files and that’s all you will need to do to regain a working XP system.

 

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• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Cybertooth.

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Note: in the first paragraph from the previous post, when updating I forgot to change the reference to the “last paragraph” there. Just go to the paragraph labeled “Update”, which is now the second-to-last paragraph.

 

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DriftyDonN wrote:

bad pc would boot into winPE and found the image on the external USB spinner- The sand in my butter is winPE did NOT see the destination PC

Do you mean MR couldn’t see the internal disk?
This usually happens because your disk controller is not recognised by WinPE. Old unusual hardware may be an issue and you can add drivers, but it’s not particularly easy.
Cybertooth’s idea of restoring the image on another PC and then putting the disk in your machine, is easiest.

cheers, Paul

p.s. UEFI is not an issue, it is just a boot mechanism.

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It occurs to me that not being able to get the Macrium recovery to properly run could be due to having selected a different Windows PE other than version 3.1. Perhaps create a new rescue USB drive on a different computer using Macrium 7.2 and selecting Windows PE 3.1.

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DriftyDonN, Cybertooth

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well, This is what happened w/ earlier boot usb made on the xp machine that is a problem:

yes , its a 32 bit as you suggested….made w/ ver 7, below.

I think I am going to try to find an earlier version of macrium …5 maybe…to install in the xp that works, then make a new usb…..Not sure why since the version of macrium on the xp machine was 7.xxx? anyway. But let me ask, would the partition table have anything to do with boot ing into win pe and seeing the image but not the HDD? It used to have a macrium selection? on boot menu when it worked, doesnt now.

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GREAT DAY!!! Puttering around after taking wife to ER last night she’s asleep so I tried sfc /scan now… no response after running si I guessed no news is good news. Started Macrium ver 6.xxx? and pokes around a bit ..noyhing…but wait, asked add Macrium reflect to boot menu. Well I had one before so I said y. logged out. Using file explorer, mounted the backup disk and serched for those missing files…found them in sys32, so I copied them onto a usb. Wasnt certain what to do with them but wait. I dismounted, loked into disk partition and as  I though only 1 partition (well 2 bu the other is dell tools that are older n dirt anyway 2003 I think. So huh. Rebooted computer just cause and got error missing MBR continue same continue got the boot menu this time selected HDD and then up comes ONE windows XP install (used to be 3) and 2 macrium reflect (into winpe) 1st did nothing…second one booted into win PE. Looked for destination, no…went to backup to look for it and it was there waiting to be backed up!! Well I didnt want that but went back to restore and did refresh and dang but there it was!!!! As of now, the winxp machine is fully restored! And get this- all this went on while I read woody’s post re: how to beat Pause and that worked too!! Sometimes multi tasking works . Sometimes. Thank you all for the suggestions and info I didnt know Appreciate it so much!

Have to thank cybertooth for his company on this ride. Your suggestions and research are very much appreciated!!!

The head scratcher is I really dont know what I did that clicked. I have a usb boot usb ver 6.xxx that didnt help but adding to the boot menu apparently did the trick I just dont know.

Bed time  good folks!

DriftyDonan

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Cybertooth

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