Theory Question: Change boot from Win 2k to Win7

So I am sure that this question will create more questions - but will give it a go!

 

So I have a requirement to upgrade windows 2000 machines to windows 7, preserving only some flat files. I have created a Windows 7 WIM and can happily apply this to a Windows 2000 machine when booting into winpe via PXE/TFTpd32.

 

So I was thinking, the file structure between Win2K and Win7 are pretty much completely different (apart from Program Files). Because these files are different you wouldn't have any issue putting this file structure on to a HardDrive that has Win2k already installed (and booted).

The question would be how you would change the Boot Configuration to boot to the WIndows7 system, instead of the Win2k system when you reboot Win2k next?

 

If this was possible then I would be able to trickle the windows 7 files to the already installed windows 2k machines (over adsl) - then when I have confirmed all files are present switch the boot order on next reboot to Win7. Afterwhich I can remove the Win2k Files from the HDD.

 

 

Am I living in a make believe world?!?!

There are really no issues (exception made for the "superimposing" you mentioned).
Usually Windows 2000 (at least by default) is installed to \WINNT while Windows 7 is installed on \WINDOWS.
When you apply the .WIM (actually when you run BCDboot and later bootsect /NT60) an entry for the "previous operating system" should be added to the \boot\BCD (please read to the Windows 7 boot manager choices).
 
Standard booting of a Win2K (or XP) machine:
MBR (2K code)->PBR of Active Primary partition (2K code invoking NTLDR)->NTLDR->BOOT.INI->Choices in BOOT.INI->NTDETECT.COM->Windows 2000
Standard booting of a Windows 7 machine:
MBR (Win7 code)->PBR of Active Primary partition (Win7 code invoking BOOTMGR)->BOOTMGR->Choices in \boot\BCD->WINLOAD.EXE->Windows 7
Dual booting:
MBR (Win7 code)->PBR of Active Primary partition (Win7 code invoking BOOTMGR)->BOOTMGR->Choices in \boot\BCD->NTLDR->BOOT.INI->Choices in BOOT.INI->NTDETECT.COM->Windows 2000
 
You can better understand it here (just fake that you are reading "Windows 7" instead of "Vista" ):
http://www.multiboot.../multiboot.html
 
Now, it would make sense to have anyway a "Plan B".
One of the features of BOOTMGR is that it will parse directly the BOOT.INI for any booting entry which is NOT an ARCPATH.
So you can (should) add to the root of the booting disk (where now NTLDR is) a copy of grldr (one of the main files from grub4dos) and add to the BOOT.INI this line:

C:\grldr="grub4dos"

this way, should for any reason the Windows 7 install not add itself the Windows 2000 entry to BCD, you can use grub4dos to chainload either BOOTMGR (to boot the Windows 7 and manually add the entry to the BCD with BCDEdit) or use it to load temporarily the Windows 2000.
 
Get grub4dos from here:
http://grub4dos.chen...egories/0-4-5c/
click on the 2014 tab and get latest available, right now:
http://grub4dos.chen....5c-2014-11-27/
http://dl.grub4dos.c...c-2014-11-27.7z
 
In a nutshell:

• add the grldr and it's BOOT.INI entry
• test that it boots to grldr if chosen
• apply the Windows 7 Wim
• run the BCDboot command 
• run the bootsect command
• try booting

Read this topic for #3, #4, #5 explanation:
http://reboot.pro/to...external-drive/
 
JFYI, there is an "evolution" of the above here:
http://www.msfn.org/...372-375-beta-1/
(though cannot say if it runs on 2K )
 
THEN:
IF the entry for Windows 2000 has been added, it's fine.
IF the entry for Windows 2000 has NOT been added, run grub4dos and use it to chainload NTLDR (and boot to the Windows 2000)
 

Wonko

Thank you Wonko - as always your responses are very detailed!

 

I will take a read of everything you have said and see if I understand correctly.

If I were to use Grub4Dos would i be able to do the following;

 

From Within Windows 2000 (current operational OS);

 

Apply Windows 7 WIM to a Folder on the Active Single HDD (C:\NEWHDD for example)

Install Grub4DOS

Amend the Boot.INI to load GRLDR 

Have a dual boot via the menu.lst to either call Windows 2000 OR Windows7 from the C:\NEWHDD location

 

Or would i come into a world of trouble not using the Root of the HDD?

You have to understand that the .WIM is an imaging format.

You capture an installation (in this special case the pre-installation has been already captured and provided to you as .wim) and deploy an installation.

 

The installation is intended to be on root, you capture it from root and deploy it to a root.

 

What you are asking ultimately (and indirectly) is "can I install windows 7 to a folder instead of the root of a drive?" (and the answer to it is NO).

 

You should install (not actually "install" but rather simply copy grldr and amend boot.ini) on the working windows 2000 and test its functionality first (if you prefer outside and before adding to the system anything else, the only difference will be an added choice in BOOT.INI and a few kb occupied on the root by the grldr file).

 

What you may want to do (actually what you can do alternatively) is another thing, installing the new Windows 7 OS to a .vhd file, i.e. a (rather largish) file that you are able to place *anywhere* on the disk drive, even in a folder or subfolder.

 

This can be done "natively" with some "higher" versions of Windows 7 or using grub4dos and a third party driver (Winvblock) on the "lower" versions.

 

The .vhd file will behave to all effects as if it was another partition (i.e. it will get another drive letter) and will be completely separated form the Windows 2000 install.

 

Whether this is convenient in your specific environment is to be seen.

 

Yet another possibility is the "classical" way to dual boot a system, you shrink your current (Windows 2000) partition, create a new partition on the disk and install the Windows 7 on this second partition, this will also guarantee a "separation" of the systems.

 

A trick or two may be needed to assign drive letters the way you want them to be, but nothing that cannot be done.

 

Wonko

To you point about creating a VHD and giving it a partition, is there a way to shrink the current active partition (like Diskpart can do now)?

 

That way i could just apply the wim to a new drive and set that to boot?

To you point about creating a VHD and giving it a partition, is there a way to shrink the current active partition (like Diskpart can do now)?

 

That way i could just apply the wim to a new drive and set that to boot?

 

You are seemingly confusing things.

 

A .vhd is a "file backed virtual disk", i.e. it contains a partition/volume and the backing file needs to be hosted inside a partition/volume.

ALTERNATIVELY to the .vhd approach, you may want to shrink current partition/volume size in order to create enough space for another (new) partition/volume.

 

An example may help.

Let's say that you have a 250 Gb hard disk with in it a single (primary) partition, NTFS formatted, and that you have on that volume more than 30 Gb of free space.

You can EITHER:

• create inside that volume a .vhd file of about 30 Gb

OR:

• shrink the existing around 250 Gb partition (with diskpart or with a third party tool) to around 220 Gb and create a new partition of around 30 Gb.

Or you are asking something else?

 

Wonko

I think the question i was aiming for was is there a way of getting the Diskpart Shrink command to work on Windows 2000? For this was a feature of Vista and above?!

I think I am going to have to stay on the WinPE route - seems like far too much trouble trying to do all this from WithIN windows 2000!

 

Thank you Wonko, a pleasure as always!