Re: Linux utility needed in Windoz

On 1/17/2022 9:52 PM, Robert Baer wrote:
>    What i need to do is turn on/off the boot bit(byte).
> 
>    Right now i can copy one or more partitions, thereby adding the requisite 100MB system sector to a windows system, making it usable.
>    But without that magic mark, it is not fully testable.
> 
>    Yes, one could use Partmagic, but that requires re-cabling the computer and switching the OS.
>    Big PITA.
> 
>    The Linux DD routine has been emulated for Windoz, so why not a Linux routine for this?
> 
>     Thanks.

On a legacy partitioned disk (not a GPT) that would be

    administrator command prompt

    diskpart
    list disk           # keep diskmgmt.msc open on the screen while you are working...
    select disk 3
    list partition
    select partition 2
    active
    exit

Diskpart has pretty good help, to help you
figure it out.

Third party application "ptedit32.exe" from powerquest,
a free utility in their paid suite, could also do it.
But as utilities go, it whines a bit, and if it does
not like the partition boundaries, size, or any other
casual integer number, it can actually just bail on
you. The utility was offered for download for ten years
from an FTP server at Symantec, until they closed down
the server one day. It still exists as a package download,
on "one of those downloader sites" (filehorse or the likes).

http://mistyprojects.co.uk/documents/ptedit/index.html

PTEDIT32 is sometimes good, if you need to visualize the
numbers in the partition table in the MBR sector 0, as well
as displaying the chained list of logical partition declarations.

But really, with the function in diskpart, look no further.

Microsoft utilities are seldom uniform from one OS to the next,
and Robocopy is an example of that. Even the venerable CHKDSK,
has a few extra flags (poorly documented) that actually do
stuff you might appreciate. And you might have to boot an
installer DVD to use them. No, I have not done a comparative
study, just noticed there are differences. They don't believe
in backporting things, unless it is to MSFT advantage. For example,
"cleanmgr.exe", that WAS back-ported, which is at least one
example of a standup move by the corporation.

Even Linux has utilities, such as "ntfsfix" for fixing the $MFTMIRR
that Windows 10 keeps breaking. This allows mounting NTFS
partitions that the Linux desktop told you they weren't going
to mount. I usually record the chit-chat that utility dumps to
terminal, in my "disk drive inventory" directory, for future usage.
That way, if at a future time, the partition is damaged, I can look
back and see if NTFSFIX might have played a part.

HTH,
    Paul