can't boot M200 from external dvd drive

gtg947a · 07-20-2004, 03:48 PM

Hello all,
I received my M200 this Monday and have been finding out how the external USB CD/DVD drive I bought at the same time apparently is not going to boot (Lite-On SOHW-812S DVD+/-RW)...so I read up and tried a PEX network install. When I get to the dialog with the huge warning sign, I press 'C' to confirm a factory install, then my machine reboots and I'm at square one. Unfortunately, I'm not well-versed in MS bat verbage and was hoping if someone knew what exactly is causing the issue?

This is what I did:

1) Copied the contents of the DVD restore onto a folder on my PXE server (my desktop) call the directory <copied image>.

2) Added the following line to config.sys: "shell=a:\command.com /e:1024 /p"

3) Added the following line to autoexec.bat: "MSCDEX /X: /L:Q"

4) Modified <copied image>\bin\recovery.bat. The line "set CDDRV=q:" became "set CDDRV=x:"

6) Followed the steps on http://home.allegiance.tv/~joem298/ to setup PXE server

7) Reboot, PXE into server.

8) Issue "net use x: \\<server hostname>\<copied DVD directory>"

9) Issue "x:\bin\recovery"

10) Get the huge warning message and press 'C' for confirm

I'm trying to reinstall the factory image where the Windows partition is about half the HD so I can install Linux on the other half sometime later.

So what is the easiest way to not use an external DVD drive? Sorry, I've dug through the forums and don't know which way is the easiest? I'm sure modifying recover.bat is the simplest method? Thanks.

gtg947a · 07-21-2004, 07:43 AM

I guess nobody has done this?!

justjoem2 · 07-21-2004, 09:43 AM

I donâ€™t believe you are going to be able to use the Toshiba restore disk to reinstall over a network. The Toshiba restore disk restarts your computer several times during the restore process. Unfortunately the reboot messes up the network connection done with the PXE boot.

The restore image on the Toshiba restore DVD is a standard Ghost backup image. However, it is password protected. If it was not password protected you could use a standard retail copy of Ghost to restore the image without all the unnecessary reboots. I made a ghost image of my system on my server when the system first arrived. I use PXE boot to write and restore Ghost backups of the M200. It is simple and works flawlessly.

Summary. It is possible to restore a ghost image over a network using PXE boot. It just does not seem possible to use the Toshiba recovery DVD. Toshiba seems to have gone out of their way to make this impossible.

I believe the Restore DVD also reformats the hard drive on a single partition which will make it pretty useless for your duel boot setup. You will need to use partition magic or a similar program after restoring your system.

justjoem2 · 07-21-2004, 02:45 PM

Hmmâ€¦â€¦â€¦

Something new to try. My son was trying to figure out the password for the Restore disk Ghost file. In the process he ran the batch file os.bat that is in the /base directory on the restore DVD. It started the ghost program and began restoring his system. He didnâ€™t let it complete because he didnâ€™t want that install.

So try PXE booting, change to the /base directory, and run os.bat. Make sure you are ready to restore the drive because once you run the batch file it just starts the restore.

I havenâ€™t tried this, but I am very optimistic it will work for you. However, proceed at your own risk. Let us know if it works. I will give it a try this weekend when I can afford to have the M200 down for a couple of hours.

gtg947a · 07-21-2004, 05:01 PM

Great! Thanks for the tip...if it is the case that the factory restore does not actually provide a standard Windows install process (i.e. allow you to choose partition size) then I may just have to stick with the install I have now and use a partitioning tool.

Do you have a bootable CD/DVD drive? If not, how do you propose to reinstall the factory image if this tip does not work fully? I would like to try this method but have no way of restoring if this fails.

justjoem2 · 07-22-2004, 12:17 AM

I do have a bootable DVD. However, that isnâ€™t how I do backup and restores. My backup and restore on the M200 are done over the network using PXE boot and Ghost. This will of course require getting a copy of Ghost or another drive image program that will work over a network.

Note: PXE booting to backup or restore over a network is normally not needed with Ghost. The backup and restore process can be started in windows and the Ghost program reboots the system in DOS with the correct network drivers in place. PXE booting is only necessary if the Tablet operating system is corrupted to the point it wonâ€™t boot and run the Windows Ghost shell.

Hopefully I will have a little free time tonight to try the network restore using the Toshiba Restore disk. I will keep you posted.

DavidBeoulve · 07-22-2004, 02:01 AM

Joe, can you provide some links to Ghost and PXE please?
I'll need to image my Toshiba M200 as soon as it arrives, as well.

gtg947a · 07-22-2004, 03:11 AM

PXE:
http://home.allegiance.tv/~joem298/

Ghost:
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/

There are probably more Ghost tools...don't know for sure.

Thanks for all the help Joe! I just realized that the PXE site I used is (most likely) your site!:D

OSU-JCM · 07-22-2004, 09:50 AM

I've been following along and was able to successfully do a network, factory restore of my M200. As justjoem mentioned yesterday, I ran OS.BAT from the CD and managed to start the restore process on my tablet. Though that was not my intent at the time, it has led me to the following process for a 100% network reinstall.

1. Follow the instructions here to setup a PXE Server
http://home.allegiance.tv/~joem298/

2. On the PXE server share a folder.

3. Copy the contents of the \base directory from your Toshiba Restore DVD to the shared folder.

4. Right click in the shared folder and create a new text document. Paste the following lines into that document. Note that everything after TGHOST goes on one line

@ECHO OFF
XMSDSK 8192 P: /Y >nul
CALL PREDATA.BAT
SET TGHOSTPS=%FILENAME%
TGHOST -clone,mode=pload,src=PREINST.GHO:1,dst=1:1 -afile=P:\GHOSTERR.TXT -fni -auto

5. Save that text file and rename it install.bat (Be careful of hidden extensions. install.bat.txt wonâ€™t work.)

6. PXE Boot your tablet and follow the instructions in the PXE tutorial to map the shared network folder discussed in step 2.
(NET USE x: \\pxeservername\sharedfoldername)

7. Switch to the mapped drive and run install.bat.

Yesterday, justjoem mentioned the use of OS.BAT from the DVD, after I managed to run that file on my tablet. It worked fine using the DVD but since it makes reference to the CD-ROM drive, it wont work for a network reinstall. That is why the install.bat file must be created for a network restore. Also, I removed the -sure argument from the OS.BAT TGHOST command. If you run OS.BAT from the CD, it starts restoring without prompting you. Using install.bat, you will be prompted as to whether or not you which to proceeded.

From what I can tell, the dst=1:1 means device #1, partition #1. On my tablet, I have two partitions and running the commands stated above, the "C" partition was restored to factory default and the "D" partition was left untouched. This is perfect for me as I keep all of my documents on the D drive.

As a final note, be sure to back-up anything important before you try any of this. I had a good backup of my Tablet on my Desktop computer and that saved me a lot of time when I ran OS.BAT off of the CD-ROM. If anyone else gets a chance try this, let me know if it works for you as well!

OSU-JCM