[Gllug] Help!! XP CD copying problem to change linux partitions - what tools to use to copy a failing install CD?

[M.Blackmore]

Thanks Tim, tet, nix everyone - I successfully used dd to run a couple
of working install CDs from the one that was left that was useable for
the dell laptops, so now have some backups. Been offline for a few days
as ubuntu 8.04 upgrade did something to my laptop video card - couldn't
even get a terminal screen using alt-ctrl-f... too ignorant to figure
out from a knoppix boot what setup file had been altered how so
installed Linux Mint I'd been meaning to try out on another spare
partition and transferred home onto its own dedicated partion, which I'd
been meaning to do for ages. Linux Mint seems very nice, does all the
media stuff without fiddling around installing codecs and whatever from
wherever around the web (the version that was on the magazine last month
only did the lite version which didn't automatically include all these
copyright and patent ridden things).

Whats nice is that these dell cds seem indistinguishable from ordinary
xp pro, just add relevant drivers for the computer at hand, and the
install doesn't nag for serial numbers, so I don't have to open and
register the couple or three of XP packages I got when they first came
out and then never used for 5 years or so!

I'll hold onto them for any newer faster computers we get, not worth
using up on 1ghz or so old kit!

Many thanks
Malcolm

On Wed, 2008-04-23 at 21:15 +0100, M.Blackmore wrote:
> Help!! XP CD copying problem to change linux partitions - what tools to
> use to copy a failing install CD?
> 
> Funny that John should pop up with a Vista question as I hit a very
> similar sort of brick wall yesterday trying to alter an XP partition on
> a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop.
> 
> Suggestions as to what tools I should use to do a precise duplication
> (or two or three for safekeeping) of a dodgily reading XP installation
> CD will be gratefully received before it flakes out altogether, as K3B
> won't read the format of track 0 and refuses to do a "clone" as a
> result.
> 
> Background of what I was doing: We've got a couple of these Inspiron
> 8200's and they each came with some sort of CD disk marked Windows XP
> reinstallation disk SP2. 
> 
> I'm not sure that - well I'm pretty sure they aren't - original disks as
> the laptops were second hand and the CDs look like the label might be
> printed - but they installed OK onto the blank hard disks as supplied in
> both machines then a couple of linux partitions were put on each. Alas
> one CD is mortally scratched by kids, and the other isn't in great shape
> either. So I've only got one dodgy XP install disk for these Dells.
> 
> Notably the XP installation didn't ask for any serial number to be
> entered, which is *convenient*. 
> 
> So out of pure curiosity I installed the only readable CD onto another
> machine and it installed fine, with no serial number query, this being
> an old ShuttleX AMD2200+ box with a replacement blank disk ready to go
> for my wife to upgrade to (tho' she will never need or use XP, I was
> just curious to see what happened). 
> 
> Why should this be? The laptop hard disks had no partitions at all on
> them when obtained as they had been nuked.
> 
> So... I went to resize an XP partition last night and it wouldn't and I
> hosed the partition and XP to, err, not boot, being bold and foolish and
> impatient (this is Windows after all and *I* don't want it!!) and
> defragged with XP and then resize with Ubuntu 7.10 wilfully ignoring
> that the hard disk part with XP had a ruddy big block of red just like
> John's bang in the middle of the XP "disk". So I vaped things with fdisk
> and started again.
> 
> That's when I found that one disk is mortally and visibly physically
> damaged. Great.
> 
> Dug out the second one and that did install but was grunting a bit to
> say the least (no idea if anything installed is thus corrupted as yet).
> Thus be the dangers of letting the kids near your desk if you haven't
> wrapped up all CDs in case hardened steel boxes beforehand - the penalty
> be scratched CDs :-(
> 
> So given that I now only have only one dodgy XP CD for these Dells to
> work from I thought I'd better make a backup or cloned copy of it. I
> attempted this using K3B.
> 
> Problem number #1: The matsushita CD burner fitted to the Dell won't
> support cloning according to the error message. Why ever not?
> 
> Remove and stick into another box with and LG DVD burner in it. 
> 
> Problem number #2: This burner will support cloning but K3B cloning
> fails as track 0 is unrecognisable format or something (I've forgotten
> the actual message it was getting rather late at that time).
> 
> Alas I do - or more precisely my daughter - *really* needs an XP
> partition and I *do* need to make a backup of this disk which was
> proving to be a bit difficult to read on 3 different cd and dvd drives.
> 
> Now, what would they have done to track 0 of this CD? 
> 
> How can I do a bit by bit copy of the CD under Linux seeing as K3B won't
> read the track? Or do I have to use windows tools? 
> 
> Is this unreadable format on track 0 relevant to creating a couple of
> bootable backup install CDs to install XP from in the future?
> 
> The contents of the CD were all read off onto hard disk OK, despite some
> grunting, so its something to do with the format as per the specific
> message. But What?
> 
> Suggestions as to what tools or methods I should use to do a precise
> duplication (or two or three for safekeeping) of this dodgy CD will be
> gratefully received. 
> 
> And what would this unreadable format in track 0 be doing, or for,
> seeing as I am pretty sure that these CDs were created by the second
> hand dealer for supply of the laptops, the hard disks of which had been
> nuked?
> 
> Malcolm
> 
> 

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