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Cloning XP To Larger HD With Dual-Boot Partitions

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jimwg
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Cloning XP To Larger HD With Dual-Boot Partitions

#1 Post by jimwg » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:34 am

Seasons Greetings!

I wish to check my cloning procedure with others here.

I intend to move my R60 laptop's XP hard drive system which is on a 60gig disk to a new 320gig disk. In addition I want to partition the new HD so I can dual-boot install a current Mint 17.1 which resides on another disk. I want to partition the new drive for a 60gig partition to accommodate XP and the second partition all Linux. I have no XP install CD though I am using a Ultra IDE-SATA converter multiport device to USB connect different drives.

My first step is exchanging the laptop's original 60gig HD with the larger new one via the Ultra so I can use my GParted on my current Mint HD to create the new HD's partitions then reboot into the Ultra-connected XP disk and run EaseUS to do the XP cloning into its new partition (I'm unsure whether EaseUS will clone from the same XP disk it resides). The issue I have is how do I clone Mint into the second partition and get it to dual boot? Most everything I read entails dual-booting with totally fresh Mint install, not installing/cloning a current working Mint disk.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

Jim in NYC

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Re: Cloning XP To Larger HD With Dual-Boot Partitions

#2 Post by MrMaguire » Wed Dec 02, 2015 9:46 am

Hi Jim,

A linux based programme called Clonezilla might suit your needs a little bit better. I think that Clonezilla can clone partitions without automatically resizing them. So you should be able to clone the 60GB XP partition from the drive, as well as the Linux Mint partition from its drive, then resize the Mint partition to take up the remaining space.

As for setting up the bootloader, somebody else might have to help you out with that. I actually prefer to just install each OS on its own hard drive with their own independent bootloader. I think it's ultimately easier that way.

http://clonezilla.org/

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Re: Cloning XP To Larger HD With Dual-Boot Partitions

#3 Post by MisterB » Wed Dec 02, 2015 1:13 pm

I would first use Easus to clone the Xp partition to the new drive and then make sure it boots. If all works, you can use the Easus partition program to create a Linux partition primary partition on the new disk. You could also create another Linux partition that is 1gb more than the R60's memory for a swap partition. Boot again and Windows should be used to the new partition scheme. Then install Mint directly on the new disk. Choose custom install Have it format the Linux partition and set it to "/". If you made a swap partition, set it as "swap". Grub will by default install in the mbr but for multibooting it is better to have it installed in the Linux system partition and you should have that option. If the Mint partition is active or Grub is in the mbr, the Grub menu will be able to boot Windows but getting Xp to boot Linux is a bit more tricky. It involves making a copy of the Linux boot sector and editing the "boot.ini" file to load it. It is much easier than doing a BCD edit to do the same in later Windows versions.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

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Re: Cloning XP To Larger HD With Dual-Boot Partitions

#4 Post by sdi-p » Mon Dec 28, 2015 1:27 pm

since you are familiar with Gparted, use that. it has everything you need.
1. attach both drives to the same computer
2. boot with a live CD/USB that has Gparted (the Mint ones all do)
using Gparted:
3. create a new partition on the target drive that is the same size or larger than the one you want to copy
4. on the old drive select the partition and then select "copy"
5. on the new target partition select "paste"
when it is done boot with Mint
using a terminal enter: " sudo grub-install /dev/sda && sudo update-grub " ... assuming the boot drive is sda, revise as needed.

shut down and reboot, your Windows should be on the Grub list, but Mint will be default.
Windows may want to do some check disk thing, NTFS file format is kinda dumb that way, just wait for it to finish and you should be good to go.

I recommend that you do Not use any of those copy/clone programs... they often create other problems.
Peter in Baja
T-61

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Re: Cloning XP To Larger HD With Dual-Boot Partitions

#5 Post by MisterB » Tue Dec 29, 2015 12:24 am

Gparted works best with Linux partitions, of course. I don't use any of the Windows partitioning utilities to resize Ext 3 partitions and conversely, I don't use Gparted to resize NTFS partitions. Cloning can be done with with most of the partition managers I've used but I've found the imaging programs do it a bit better. I've set up a lot of multiboot systems and even with all the experience I have with it, I still have to do things over now and again so the best advice I can give is to keep the original disk so you can always have a working system if things don't work on the first try.

It is easier to boot Windows from Grub than to boot Linux from the Windows boot loader. I generally have it set up so Grub is installed in the Linux system partition and I can boot Windows from it if it is the active partition. I set up the Windows BCD to load a copy of the Grub bootsector and boot Linux if the Windows partition is active. In the case of my X201, I installed Mint on an SD card in the card reader and installed Grub in the SD card's mbr. I can boot it by pressing F12 and selecting it as the boot device. That is not the most convenient way to boot it and I put it on the Windows boot menu by making a copy of the mbr with Grub installed and loading it with the Windows boot loader.
I've got a T580, 2 W500s, a W520, an X201T, an X220T, an 3 X61Ts, a 15" T60, a 14" T60P, a 15" UXGA T60P, a 15" T42p a W701, and my first Thinkpad, a 770X.

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Re: Cloning XP To Larger HD With Dual-Boot Partitions

#6 Post by sdi-p » Tue Dec 29, 2015 8:48 am

off topic just a little:
I ran onto this http://wiki.minix3.org/doku.php?id=user ... partitions
It is a little dated and the second half it pointed specifically to Minix3, but it explains a bit about how partitioning is universal, mostly a hardware configuration issue. I really does not matter much what you use to manipulate it with. I prefer open source software
Peter in Baja
T-61

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