boris@invalid.net wrote in news:ud5m9i$1lcra$1@dont-email.me:

> Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote in
> news:ud4bfl$1di9g$1@dont-email.me:
>
>> On 9/3/2023 11:30 PM, boris@invalid.net wrote:
>>> "...winston" <winstonmvp@gmail.com> wrote in
>>> news:ud18au$psu7$1@dont-email.me:
>>>
>>>> Paul wrote:
>>>>> On 9/2/2023 5:22 PM, Boris wrote:
>>>>>> Boris <nospam@invalid.com> wrote in
>>>>>> news:XnsB0738C563970Anospaminvalidcom@135.181.20.170:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote in
>>>>>>> news:ud007u$gu59$1@dont-email.me:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 9/2/2023 2:07 PM, Boris wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Boris <nospam@invalid.com> wrote in
>>>>>>>>> news:XnsB0736E0959D61nospaminvalidcom@135.181.20.170:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> boris@invalid.net wrote in news:ucvj9a$f2pm$1@dont-email.me:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> I normally take things in stride, but Windows has worn me
>>>>>>>>>>> down this time...
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> This Windows 11 machine has two storage devices.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> One is the OEM installed SDD, M.2 PCIe SSD-0 PC SN810NVMe,
>>>>>>>>>>> C:, 512GB, that came with the machine. This is the default
>>>>>>>>>>> boot drive.
>>>>>>>>>>> I use it everyday.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> The other is a bootable spinner hard drive, D:, a 1TB WDC
>>>>>>>>>>> WD10EZEX- 08WN4A0,drive onto which I cloned the OEM
>>>>>>>>>>> installed SDD when first set up. This drive also has
>>>>>>>>>>> additional programs and data files that I occassionally add.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Each drive has a different desktop background, so I know
>>>>>>>>>>> which drive I'm using.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> After a fucking update, it is now booting into the spinner,
>>>>>>>>>>> D:.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> If I press F12 to try and boot into the SDD, the SDD doesn't
>>>>>>>>>>> show up anymore.
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> All that shows up is:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> UEFI Options
>>>>>>>>>>> Windows Boot Manager
>>>>>>>>>>> Onboard NIC IPV4
>>>>>>>>>>> Onboard NIC IPV6
>>>>>>>>>>> HDD1 WDC WD10EZEX-08WN4A0
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Other Options
>>>>>>>>>>> BIOS Setup
>>>>>>>>>>> Diagnostics
>>>>>>>>>>> BIOS Flash Update
>>>>>>>>>>> Support Assist OS Recovery
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> If I go into BIOS Setup, the Main screen shows
>>>>>>>>>>> First HDD WDC WD10EZEX-08WN4A0-(SO) 1000GB
>>>>>>>>>>> M.2 PCIe SSD-0 PC SN810NVMe WDC 512GB-(SO) 512GB
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> If I go into the BIOS Setup Boot screen, under Boot Option
>>>>>>>>>>> Priorities, it shows:
>>>>>>>>>>> Boot Option #1 Windows Boot Manager
>>>>>>>>>>> Boot Option #2 Onboard NIC IPV4 PXE
>>>>>>>>>>> Boot Option #3 Onboard NIC IPV6 PXE
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> How do I get the SDD to appear so I can re-establish it as
>>>>>>>>>>> the main boot drive?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> (When booting into the spinner, which is the only drive I
>>>>>>>>>>> can boot into, I can use Windows Explorer and access all
>>>>>>>>>>> files on the SDD.)
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> TIA
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> By the way, Disk Management does correctly identify the SDD
>>>>>>>>>> as C: and the HDD as D:, but I don't know how to get the SDD
>>>>>>>>>> to appear in the BIOS so that I can set it as the boot drive.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> See here:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> https://postimg.cc/FdQ7cYjt
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> The SDD shows a boot sector, but won't show up in the BIOS,
>>>>>>>>> while the HDD shows no boot sector, and does boot up.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> What you've done, is a bit naughty.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I ran into this problem, myself. I had two identical drives,
>>>>>>>> each one had a "Windows Boot Manager" on board, and when I had
>>>>>>>> selected the correct one (based on disk port number), the UEFI
>>>>>>>> in my machine, races off and uses the other [wrong!] drive.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> That was how I determined, that the firmware does not like to
>>>>>>>> find *two* Windows Boot Managers.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Confusion is not guaranteed, but it is a potential outcome.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Even if you add the OS from the second drive, to the BCD file
>>>>>>>> boot menu of the first drive, that does not change the fact
>>>>>>>> that both have "Windows Boot Manager" in their EFS partition.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> In one of the other threads today, someone has used EasyBCD to
>>>>>>>> add a second ("invisible") OS to the boot menu. But the tool
>>>>>>>> the OS provides is "bcdedit" (command line), and you could do
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Admin terminal
>>>>>>>> --------------
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> bcdedit # show current config
>>>>>>>> bcdboot D:\windows # add an OS
>>>>>>>> bcdedit # show new config and the added
>>>>>>>> stanza
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> and add it to the erroneously booting menu right now. Even if
>>>>>>>> the drive the auxiliary OS is on, is unplugged, as long as you
>>>>>>>> don't "select" a missing OS, no harm is done.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I'm unclear. If I unplug the auxiliary drive (the HDD), how is
>>>>>>> it that I can add the OS from the auxiliary drive to the SDD?
>>>>>>> If I unplug it, I can't boot.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I did a bcdedit on both auxiliary D: and SDD C:. They were
>>>>>>> identical: https://postimg.cc/gallery/jYBxNgM
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> *******
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> It's possible the machine is using the TPM right now, it's
>>>>>>>> doing Secure Boot, and just maybe, it will only acknowledge the
>>>>>>>> existence of one "Windows Boot Manager" under those
>>>>>>>> circumstances. My Windows 11 machine has never used the TPM, so
>>>>>>>> while the machine gets confused, it's not total confusion :-)
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If the TPM is involved, it has to start "measured boot" at some
>>>>>>>> point. And that likely starts when the BIOS UEFI, hands off to
>>>>>>>> the first file in the ESP [EFI System Partition, FAT partition]
>>>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I just unplugged the auxiliary drive (HDD), and the machine
>>>>>> booted up, but still showing the auxiliary desktop, files, etc.
>>>>>> How does this happen? It obviously booted from the SDD, since
>>>>>> the auxiliary HDD was unplugged.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Disk Management shows I am logged onto C:. Before unplugging, it
>>>>>> was D:. Either way, I get the same (incorrect desktop.)
>>>>>>
>>>>>> A "bcdedit" shows the same as before.
>>>>>
>>>>> It appears that MSDOS partitioning, makes tracking what happened
>>>>> better than GPT partitioning. I can't tell which ESP in the GPT
>>>>> diagram, was the source of boot.
>>>>>
>>>>> [Picture]
>>>>>
>>>>> https://i.postimg.cc/fTrjVNS9/compare-partition-information-
> MSDOS
>>>>> -
>>> v
>>>>> s-GPT.gif
>>>>>
>>>>> I can, in principle, use the ESP from one drive, to elect an OS
>>>>> partition on a second drive.
>>>>>
>>>>> *******
>>>>>
>>>>> As for "where is the info coming from", other than that, you'll
>>>>> have to look in Device Manager, and there are too many variants
>>>>> to really give a recipe for listing and understanding everything.
>>>>>
>>>>> For example, I have two SATA controller chips, and by some
>>>>> trickery, one shows its device as a regular hard drive. The second
>>>>> device, shows a new entry called "Portable Device", which might be
>>>>> evidence it has permanently turned on HotPlug detection.
>>>>>
>>>>> Paul
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Fyi....
>>>> Earlier Boris said
>>>> <qp>
>>>> I did a bcdedit on both auxiliary D: and SDD C:. They were
>>>> identical: https://postimg.cc/gallery/jYBxNgM
>>>> </qp>
>>>>
>>>> You mentioned that since it was cloned, it's referring to the C:
>>>> partition.
>>>>
>>>> To make that clearer - Bcedit displays the boot manager and boot
>>>> loader info for the o/s that is logged on to Windows.
>>>> - the pics were identical because the info is for the same logged
>>>> on o/s i.e. both pics are showing the same drive(and yes, afiak,
>>>> it will
>>>> always be C:)
>>>>
>>>> Might have been a good idea to use the bcedit command interface to
>>>> rename the description for the logged on o/s
>>>> - i.e. the identifier {current}
>>>> So that any later changes when both drives are bootable provide the
>>>> ability to tell the difference.
>>>>
>>>> Also, if not mentioned...The Bootloader info shown in bcedit comes
>>>> frmo the UEFI boot variable which is stored in the UEFI/BIOS NVRAM
>>>> and not on the disk.
>>>>
>>>
>>> Well,I was able to 'successfully' bcdboot to the D: drive, But,
>>> when I reloaded the OS, it wouldnt' come up. I got the blue screen
>>> Recovery Options, none of which worked. One option was to change
>>> the UEFI settings, another was to change the BIOS options, but none
>>> worked. After every reboot, I kept coming back to the blue screen
>>> Recovery Options. I couldn't get a OS to load.
>>>
>>> When I was allowed to get into the UEFI settings, the only option in
>>> the Boot Menu settins was Windows Boot Manager, not any drives.
>>>
>>> If I don't select a Recovery Option, the macnine powers off.
>>> Strange to me.
>>>
>>> Bottom line, the machine now circles to the blue screen Recovery
>>> Options, none of which are helpful. I've tried them all. Next may
>>> be Reset, and then Factory Reset.
>>>
>>> I do have a Macrium image taken 9/2/2023, on a WD Passport portable
>>> drive, in anticipation of this nightmare, but I can't acces it on
>>> the Windows 11 machine, because the Windows 11 machine won't load
>>> Windows. (I'm writing this note on my Windows 7 machine) The 7
>>> machine tells me I don't have permission to access the Macrium image
>>> of the Windows 11 machine. Crap.
>>>
>>> I may try two of my Windows 10 machines to access the Macrium files
>>> on the WD My Passport.
>>>
>>> I wonder if I do a Factory Reset (absolutely last resort) on the
>>> crapped out Windows 11 box, if I'll be able to access the files on
>>> the Passport drive. Doubt it. I will
>>>
>>> I have some very special data on the Passport drive (and the Windows
>>> 11 SDD), that I don't want to loose. I can gather it from friends,
>>> but...
>>>
>>> Anyway, I'm not asking for suggestions (unless you have any). I
>>> just want to reply back as to how things are going to those who have
>>> thaken the time/effort to reply. I so appreciate the help/replies.
>>>
>>> Again, Thanks.
>>>
>>
>> Easy peasy.
>>
>> You should have made a Macrium rescue CD.
>>
>> Macrium keeps pestering you about that, after you install it.
>>
>> It should be able to make USB flash or an ISO for CD burning.
>> I do not see the USB option in the screen right now.
>>
>> The version must be sufficient to read the media you made.
>> Like use a Version 7 CD to read V7,V6,V5 media kind of thing.
>>
>> On your machine that works, open Macrium and check out the
>> making of media.
>>
>> Other Tasks : Create Rescue Media
>>
>> [Picture]
>>
>> https://imgur.com/a/tuGvviC
>>
>> On the machine where you have:
>>
>> hard drive needing restore
>> external USB with .mrimg on it
>> Macrium Rescue CD or Macrium USB Stick
>>
>> you boot from the Rescue CD or equivalent, and do a "Restore"
>> from there, and "browse' for the .mrimg you want to restore to the
>> hard drive needing restore.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>>
>>
>
> I did make a Macrium Ver. 8 Rescue USB when I first installed Macrium
> v8 on the Windows 11 machine. The only way this machine recognized
> anything plugged in to it is if I disable Secure Boot. When I do
> this, it recognizes any USB, external CD/DVD device, or USB HDD (WD
> Passport).
>
> If I turn on the machine and go into the Boot Menu, all the above
> devices show up, including Windows Boot Manager and the WD
> W10EZEX...1000GB Drive, bu not the SDD.
>
> If I try to boot from the Macrium Rescue USB, the screen goes black
> and freezes. I also have a Macrium Rescue Ver. 7 on CD. If I put
> this into my external CD/DVD drive (the Windows 11 machine has no
> optical drive of it's own), it does load up ("Windows is loading
> files...") but once the Windows flag logo appears, all things freeze.
>
> I did try both the USB Ver. 8 and DVD Ver. 7 in my Windows 7 machine,
> and both worked just fine, and I was able to accesss my Windows 11
> .mrimg image.
>
> Also, the choices I had on the Boot Code Options were:
> Reset the boot disk ID
> Replace the Master Boot Record
> Replace the partition sector boot code
> Rebuild the Boot Configuration Database (BCD) and boot.ini files
>
> I just can't get the Windows 11 machine to load either Macrium Rescue
> program.
>
> Using diskpart, I was able to look at the volumes on the Windows 11
> machine. I had all external devices plugged in, and diskpart listed
> them all, and all were healthy. Diskpart also identified my drive C:
> as the 500GB SDD. If logging on to C:, I could see all the folders I
> expected to see.
>
> I'm going to try and make a Macrium Version 8 DVD on my Windows 10
> machine and see if I can get it to boot on the Windows 11 machine.
>
>
I used my Windows 7 machine (the Windows 10 machine was tied up) to make
a DVD of Macrium Ver. 8 RE. It loaded the Windows files, but when it
was "Starting Windows", it froze with the Windows flag logo, just like
when using the Ver. 7 RE, earlier.

I also used the Windows 7 machine to make a USB stick of Marcium Ver. 8
PE. It showed up on the Boot Menu, and when booted, the Dell logo
appeared, then Reflect 8 appeared, I selected the Restore tab, then Fix
Windows Boot Problems. The screen next showed the machine checking
files, and finally showed the machine fixing file(s). The messages went
by too fast for me to write them down. Finally, the machine booted up
to my C: drive (SDD) with everything still intact.

The only issue I have now is that when shutting down and then starting
back up, I'm asked if I want to load Windows 11 from Volume 11, or
Windows 11.

I've read that the Windows 11 (that is not the current Default OS) can
be deleted from within System Configuration. But, when I type in
msconfig in the Run box, nothing happens. How do I get msconfig to
appear in Windows 11?