OS Selector shortcut on desktop does not work
Problem...
After install of OSS from Disk Director an OS Selector shortcut appears on Desktop. It does not work because the .exe file it points to is missing.
System: Single XP installation on C:, Data partition D:
Disk Director 10 latest build from Sept 2009
That's the path it is: "C:\Program Files\Acronis\Acronis Disk Director\OS_Selector.exe"
Thanks
I would at least like to know if anyone else has this shortcut issue. Thanks.
BTW, I did confirm the file is also not in the bootwiz folder which in my case I put on my data drive D:\BOOTWIZ
Hello Webguy,
Thank you for posting your question, I will be happy to help.
I would recommend you to reactivate Acronis OS Selector.
Start -> Programs -> Acronis -> Acronis Disk Director -> Install Acronis OS Selector -> Repair Update Acronis OS Selector. See if the issue remains.
To avoid possible boot problems in the future you can install the program in the following way (the issue is not addressed at this point, however it is generally recommended):
Please let us know the results, we should be sure that the program runs flawlessly. If the provided information is not clear or if you have any other question do not hesitate to post them and we will be glad to answer.
Thank you.
Oleg,
Thanks for the response. I finally got a chance to try what you suggested. Here's more info on the drive config and my results...
Operating Systems: 2 installs of XP. Will call them XP-1, XP-2.
Drive Info...
- Drive 1: (All partitions primary)
Partition 1 C: XP-1 System,
Partition 2 D: Data,
Partition 3 J: XP-2 System (hide won't work but no big deal)
- Drive 2: Used for data only E:, F: (both primary)
Software...
- Disk Director on Drive 1, Partition 1 (XP-1 C:)
- OS Selector installed on Drive 1, Partition 2 (XP-1 D:)
PROBLEMs...
- OSSelector shortcut on Desktop not working
- DD / Tolls / OSSelector not working either
What I did (basically what you said with some additional steps reqired)...
A) Repair: Did not help.
B) Reinstall to separate partition as follows...
1) Drive 1: Resized last partn 3 to leave space at end.
2) Made new NTFS primary partn 4 100MB. Made S: (for "S"elector)
3) OS Selector deactivated but took 2 times before boot menu gone. Checkdisk fixed error on D: after uninstall. No idea why.
4) Uninstalled OSS
5) Tried install but only gave repair, activate, etc. options.
6) Renamed D:\BOOTWIZ. NOW got clean install option.
7) Reinstalled OSS to new 100MB partition 4 end of first drive (instead of D:).
8) Set OSS settings.
8a) XP-1: Only other XP-2 C: partition hidden from XP-1.
** HOWEVER, it shows as J: from XP-1 (Hide J: does not work.) ** Did NOT try forcing hide.
XP-1 boots OK
8b) XP-2:All partitions hidden from XP-2 (partn 3) except it's C:. HOWEVER, unable to UNhide C:
Tried boot to XP-2 anyway. ERROR on boot since it's C: actually IS hidden.
9) FIX for inability to unhide XP-2...
- OSS setup...
- Deleted XP-2 from menu.
- Re-Detected including unhiding and setting bootable
Now XP-2 C: NOT hidden when XP-2 selected.
XP-2 now boots OK.
** Original Problem STILL exists...
- OSSelector shortcut on Desktop not working
- DD / Tolls / OSSelector not working either
** Question: For the 8a) inability to hide other XP-2: SHOULD I TRY using FORCE? What is the danger, if any?
** Observation: Uninstall of OSS does leaves reinstall info that prevents a clean install unless main BOOTWIZ folder deleted.
Thanks!
Hello Webguy,
Thank you for your response.
We need additional information to find the exact reason of the issue. Please download Acronis Report utility available here and run it, create a report and attach the file to your next post. Please compress the Acronis Report output file into an archive (e.g. with WinZip) and attach to your message by browsing for the archive.
This would provide us with detailed information on the hard disk partition structure.
Could you please also explain what you mean by FORCE?
We are looking forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience.
Please do not hesitate to ask additional questions if the provided information is not clear or you need a further assistance.
Thank you.
8b) XP-2:All partitions hidden from XP-2 (partn 3) except it's C:. HOWEVER, unable to UNhide C:
Tried boot to XP-2 anyway. ERROR on boot since it's C: actually IS hidden.9) FIX for inability to unhide XP-2...
- OSS setup...
- Deleted XP-2 from menu.
- Re-Detected including unhiding and setting bootable
Was the XP-2 partition set as hidden when you reinstalled OSS? If so, you ran into one of the long-standing bugs in OSS.
It may help to see the BOOTWIZ.OSS file. Can you attach it to a post? (How to Find and Create a Copy of the BOOTWIZ.OSS File)
----------------------------
Oleg,
"FORCE" (referring to 8a) means to use the Force hiding partitions option in the Advanced section of a menu entry's properties.
Oleg,
Mudcrab is correct. "FORCE" (referring to 8a) means to use the Force hiding partitions option in the Advanced section of a menu entry's properties. The help say to be careful which is why I asked. I will send the report shortly. Thanks.
Mudcrab,
Thanks. It's been a while but yes, I believe I would have had the XP-2 partition set as hidden when I reinstalled OSS. Sorry, I don't have the original Bootwiz file from when I had the issue. All I would have now would be the file after everything was fixed AND after I later moved OSS to a separate partition.
Oleg,
Sorry, I created the report but hesitate to post that report on an open forum. Can I email it to you?
Hi MudCrab,
By chance do you have any idea about the answer to my force question? (I heard nothing further from Oleg.)
Thanks!
You didn't attach the BOOTWIZ.OSS file to a post so I could see it. There may be something configured incorrectly that's causing the problem.
Are you trying to hide the XP-2 partition from XP-1 or are you trying to hide the XP-1 partition from XP-2? Or is it both.
Is the hide option grayed-out or unavailable or can you check it (it just doesn't do anything)?
Using the Force Hide option is not something I'd recommend until I knew what's causing the problem. If the problem is with Windows still seeing a normally hidden partition, then it could be tried. If the problem is that OSS isn't properly hiding the partition, it may cause more problems instead of fixing it.
I am trying to hide both from each other. XP2 can't see XP1 but XP1 sees XP2. The hide option is set but does not work.
Here's the file. Thanks!
[bootwiz.txt was here]
Hello Webguy,
Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response.
If you don't want to publish your system report to the public forum, please send a Private Message to me or to Oleg and attach your report.
We are looking forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience.
Thank you.
Webguy,
I'm not seeing anything wrong with the BOOTWIZ.OSS file.
When you run DD in XP-1, does DD report the XP-2 partition as Hidden or as normal? It's possible that OSS may be not correctly hiding the partition or that Windows is somehow still seeing it.
You could try the Force Hide option and see if it makes a difference. If it does work, you may be able to disable the option and return to normal hiding (you'd have to try it to find out). When you try using the Force Hide option, I would recommend that you only hide the XP-2 partition (as currently setup).
You might also try just removing (deleting) the MountedDevices entry for the drive letter assignment of the XP-2 partition (for example: \DosDevices\J:) when booted into XP-1. After it's deleted, reboot and see if Windows still picks it up. This can be done using the Registry Editor and browsing to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
Ilya,
I sent the report file to you via PM. Thanks!
MudCrab,
RE: When you run DD in XP-1, does DD report the XP-2 partition as Hidden or as normal?
A: Yes, DD reports it as hidden. XP Disk Management shows as "Healthy (Unknown Partition)"
RE: You might also try just removing (deleting) the MountedDevices entry for the drive letter assignment of the XP-2 partition (for example:
\DosDevices\J:) when booted into XP-1. After it's deleted, reboot and see if Windows still picks it up.
A: Tried the regedit. After reboot, Windows picked it up again but now I: instead of J:
Next in Disk Director I did these 3 steps...
1) Set it back to J: (just because if it still showed I wanted J)
2) I unhid it
3) I hid it again
4) Applied changes and rebooted.
FIXED: XP-2 System partition NO LONGER shows when booted into XP-1.
It makes me think OSS might not be hiding it correctly from Windows but DD does?
(Never got to try the Force Hide option since it's fixed via above method. I still am curious what that option does technically.)
Thanks MudCrab!
As far as I know, OSS doesn't do any hiding in Windows. All partition changes take place when OSS boots that OS.
Is the hiding now working when you boot between XP-1 and XP-2 with OSS or does it take another DD unhide/hide to hide it?
Force hiding sets the partition type to zero (0) in the partition table and saves the value. Doing this causes the slot to appear unused and the space unallocated. Because of this, it's more risky to use. A partitioning program that's not aware of this may cause corruption or accidentally overwrite used space because it thinks it's available. If using this option, it's best to not make any partitioning changes with a program other than DD. It's also a good idea to have a backup of the MBR and partition table (or better yet, the entire drive) before using it. Basically, if it's not necessary, it's safer to not use it.
Here is an example:
I started with an XP partition, resized it down to create two more partitions (Part1 and Part2), and then took several screenshots.
This is before using Force Hide on Part2:
As you can see, both DD and Disk Management show all the partitions. In addition, all partitions are shown normally in the partition table.
This is after using Force Hide on Part2:
DD still shows the partition (as hidden), but Disk Management now shows the space as unallocated (unused/available).
In DD's Disk Editor, the partition table shows what OSS did. The partition type was removed (set to zero) for Slot 2 (the actual values for the partition still remain). Also, you can now see the partition in the OSS Hidden Partitions list at the top.
The danger of this is not so much what the program did, but that the user may not be aware of it. As long as you know what's been done, how to reverse it manually (if necessary), and how to avoid causing corruption, it's generally safe.
Yes, the hiding is now working perfectly when I boot between XP-1 and XP-2. Interesting! :-)
Thank you for your excellent explanation of forced hide. I now understand exactly what is being done. Simple, but it's clear why they warn you. Looks like I now don't need to use it, but if I ever do I will know the risks.
Maybe I missed it in the TI documentation, but if not there, it might be good for them to add at least a basic description for those who want/need to know.
Thanks again for your time!