Hello-
I have an aging Dell PowerEdge 830 that has 12GB on the system drive. The data partition is only 40GB, so I am in the process of moving the both partitions to a new HD.
This process is complicated by the concept that the original HD partions are dynamic. These are being mirrored to a second HD in a software-based pseudo RAID1 configuration.
In researching this issue, I have found that Easeus Partition Master is supposed to be good at cloning from a dynamic partition to a basic partition. It is my intention to leave the partition in a basic configuration after this process is completed and rely on other backup methods.
I performed the disk cloning process on the OS partition with no problems. I then proceeded to physically disconnect the old HDs and turn off the SATA ports in the BIOS, leaving only the new HD and its SATA port connected and active.
Upon booting the server, the BIOS runs through its normal boot options, coming to the Broadcom Netxtreme Ethernet Boot Agent, the Adaptec SCSI BIOS, and finally the Server Management Configuration Utility, at which point the boot process hangs. The Windows splash screen is never displayed. The server appears to completely ignore the HD with the cloned boot image on it.
The system will still boot the old HDs and bootable CDs with no problems.
Using a utility disc, I have managed to verify the HKLM/System/MountedDevices
key in the registry properly reflects the C drive letter for this drive. I have also performed the fixmbr, fixboot, and bootcfg /rebuild utilities from the Windows boot disc recovery mode.
I am at a loss to understand what could be preventing my cloned image from booting. I look forward to any suggestions or requests for more information.
