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Topic: Windows installer crashes after repartitioning

i used the GParted live-cd v0.3 to repartition the disk on a Dell d620.

the system came pre-installed and there were 2 primary partitions created. the first one was apparently a Dell utility partition and the second was an NTFS partition for Windows XP SP2.

i shrinked partition 2 and created a third primary partition with NTFS.

after this change the Windows Vista RC1 installer started to always crash during boot. i've seen a similar problem earlier with Windows XP installer when i've used Linux partitioning tools.

i installed Partition Magic 8 on the system and did some cosmetic repartitioning (deleted partition 3, extended partition 2 slightly). after repartitioning Windows installer works again.


is this a known issue with GParted? under what circumstances does it appear exactly? is there a workaround?

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Re: Windows installer crashes after repartitioning

I think this has something to do with the ntfsutils which we use to manipulate ntfs filesystems. iirc i heard the developers complaining microsoft changed something in the ntfs specs.

Could you do some research on http://linux-ntfs.org/ and report back to us with the results?

thnks!

3 (edited by szaka 2006-09-16 03:09:41)

Re: Windows installer crashes after repartitioning

plors wrote:

I think this has something to do with the ntfsutils which we use to manipulate ntfs filesystems. iirc i heard the developers complaining microsoft changed something in the ntfs specs.

Could you do some research on http://linux-ntfs.org/ and report back to us with the results?

Hi. I wrote the used NTFS tools and I've have never said anything like the above. Actually what I'm telling non-stop for SEVERAL YEARS to you (first at 28 Oct 2004 and last at 25 Aug 2006), the Parted guys (both to the old and the new maintainers), all the other partitioner developers who use Parted that Parted is seriously broken in certain cases and it corrupts the partition table. None of the NTFS tools read or use the partition table. It's completely irrelevent for the filesystem.

I have pointed you several times to http://mlf.linux.rulez.org/mlf/ezaz/ntf … oubleshoot and I really don't understand why you keep ignoring this problem and making false claims as the above one.

Yes, corrupt geometry in the partition table can cause also exactly the same problem as descibed above. Install use the BIOS which uses the wrong geometry from the partition table what gparted corrupted.

The usual developer argument is that "I don't have Windows". But the solution doesn't require Windows at all. The geometry shouldn't be changed, it's just that simple.

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Re: Windows installer crashes after repartitioning

szaka wrote:
plors wrote:

I think this has something to do with the ntfsutils which we use to manipulate ntfs filesystems. iirc i heard the developers complaining microsoft changed something in the ntfs specs.

Could you do some research on http://linux-ntfs.org/ and report back to us with the results?

Hi. I wrote the used NTFS tools and I've have never said anything like the above.

Hi Szaka,
in http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=346046#c3 you said something about 'Perhaps MS introduced it with one of their latest releases' (about the 'Windows Bad Clusters File'). which i correlated with the fact this guy was trying to install/run Vista. You also said 'Windows is known to corrupt, mishandle the Bad Clusters File.' in http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=346046#c1 and mentioned something about file a bugreport about this by MS.
Anyway to story is only short and it's all that bug.
All this leaded me to the conclusion: hey, new stuff (vista), szaka mentioned something about errors in one the recent releases, let's point the poster to the ntfsguys for some more clues.
So we have probably a misunderstanding, combined with a somewhat lazy (and very busy) me.

szaka wrote:

Actually what I'm telling non-stop for SEVERAL YEARS to you (first at 28 Oct 2004 and last at 25 Aug 2006), the Parted guys (both to the old and the new maintainers), all the other partitioner developers who use Parted that Parted is seriously broken in certain cases and it corrupts the partition table. None of the NTFS tools read or use the partition table. It's completely irrelevent for the filesystem.

You are right, you do say it in your email, it somehow slipped my mind, maybe because it works just fine for thousands, if not tens of thousands of users. Anyway, if you really think there is a problem then let's take this to 'GNU Parted developers list <parted-devel@lists.alioth.debian.org>' and try to fix it once and for all.

szaka wrote:

I have pointed you several times to http://mlf.linux.rulez.org/mlf/ezaz/ntf … oubleshoot and I really don't understand why you keep ignoring this problem and making false claims as the above one.

Szaka, i don't make false claims. If i made a mistake, then that's what it is.. a mistake. A false claim implies so much more of evil intent. Please let's keep a bit civilized here, thnx.
The above link seems down, so i cannot verify what's on it, but i don't think i've visited it.

szaka wrote:

Yes, corrupt geometry in the partition table can cause also exactly the same problem as descibed above. Install use the BIOS which uses the wrong geometry from the partition table what gparted corrupted.

The usual developer argument is that "I don't have Windows". But the solution doesn't require Windows at all. The geometry shouldn't be changed, it's just that simple.

Again let,s take it to the parted developmentlist. I'm going to do it anyway, but i'd like your backing in this, since you seem to know what exactly the problem is.

thanks for your response btw smile

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Re: Windows installer crashes after repartitioning

plors wrote:

Please let's keep a bit civilized here, thnx.

Hey plors did I ever tell you my wife has really big boobies?

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Re: Windows installer crashes after repartitioning

hmm

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Re: Windows installer crashes after repartitioning

hmm