Used Ghost 15 - SP1 to copy partitions from old disk to new, larger. I enlarged all new partitions.
After coping Vista partition, shut down machine & removed old drive. New OS partition booted fine.
Shut down again, put old disk back in, then booted into BootIT Bare Metal. Set old OS partition to inactive - hidden.
Confirmed in Computer Mgmt, shows old OS partition only as healthy, primary. No "active, system, boot" etc.
Yet, when boot normally, get Windows err msg - need repair - insert Vista disk (in my case, Recovery Disk).
It STILL wants to make the inactive, hidden OS partition a boot option - changing BCD. I let it proceed, because I knew it'd never boot. Confirmed that on boot up - if select the old (hidden, inactive) item on boot menu, Vista quickly returns to boot menu - w/ no err msgs. If choose the new disk / OS, boots fine.
Unfortunately, on boot menu, old & new OS (from Old & New disks) have same name (are not same as the Vol. names in shown Disk Mgmt / any partition mgr. Boot menu calls them both "Vista Hm. Prem."
Q-1: Why does Vista insist on modifying BCD to include this hidden, inactive partition as a boot selection?
Q-2: Other than del old OS partition (which I didn't want to do until saw everything was working), how do I get Windows to stop wanting to "fix" error & add the old hidden, inactive OS partition to boot selection menu (more important, if it's not on the boot menu, to stop refusing to boot new disk, until I insert recovery disk)?
I suppose I could change the partition type from primary. Doesn't look like Vista will leave it alone until I del the old OS partition, change partition type or....
Could select the correct new disk OS as defaut to boot in Advanced System Settings \ Startup & Recovery, but I'd rather get Windows not to recognize the old (hidden, inactive) OS. Was under impression if set a boot partition to Inactive (& hidden), Windows would ignore it. If just "hidden" but still active, it would try to give a dual boot option.
Thanks.