[H-GEN] backup image of disk

[James C. McPherson]

Troy Piggins wrote:
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> 
> I just "acquired" a Dell Inspiron 5100 for free.  Yay me, my
> first notebook.  :)
> 
> At first this will read like it's a Windows question, but I'll
> get to the linux part next paragraph.  Promise.
> 
> It's got WinXP Pro on it, single partition of a 30GB disk.  Didn't
> get the XP install CD.  But the sticker on the underside of
> notebook has CD key for WinXP Home, not Pro.  I assume if I
> install Pro from an install CD I do have, the serial no won't
> work.
> 
> What I want to do is re-partition the disk to dual boot Ubuntu
> and WinXP.  But I have no CD to reinstall XP.
> 
> So I just wanted to run this by you guys.  I'm sure there's a way
> to create an ISO image of the current disk, then I can install
> Ubuntu, creating partitions as required.  Not sure how I go about
> getting the WinXP image back onto a new partition.  Will the
> registry be intact and working?  Boot sector also.
> 
> Any ideas/hints?

gparted is your friend.

http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php


James C. McPherson
--
Solaris kernel software engineer, system admin and troubleshooter
               http://www.jmcp.homeunix.com/blog
                   http://blogs.sun.com/jmcp
Find me on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamescmcpherson