Saturday 4 June 2011

How to edit dual boot menu in xp/vista pc ?

Right now the boot menu says %26quot;older version of windows%26quot; and %26quot;windows vista %26quot;. I wanted to change the first name to%26quot;windows xp%26quot;, but I do not get any such option in boot.ini (which actually says %26quot;windows xp%26quot; there) of win xp ,or msconfig start up option of win vista(tried to use bcdedit.exe command in vista but found no such option).


Could anyone please tell me that :


1:from where is the pc picking up the master boot record : from within xp or vista


2. any idea about editing the dual bootup menu


thnx|||It%26#039;s whichever OS you installed most recently, in your case Vista.





So go into Vista, and read this Microsoft article:


http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVis鈥?/a>





I haven%26#039;t used the bcdedit tool(it%26#039;s new in vista), so I can%26#039;t help you with it.





Good luck!

How do I create a boot screen for Windows XP (installed first) and 98?

I%26#039;m trying to make a boot screen so I can choose between Windows 98 SE and Windows XP Home Edition. The problem? Windows 98 SE doesn%26#039;t contain a boot.ini (that I can see, even with hidden files shown), creating a boot.ini doesn%26#039;t seem to do anything, and trying to run 98 via multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WIND鈥?Windows 98 SE%26quot; in boot.ini from XP just returns an error that %26quot;hal.dll is either missing or corrupt%26quot; (although it isn%26#039;t -- it%26#039;s just Windows 98 being confused because it%26#039;s not the active partition). Changing that line to F:\=%26quot;Microsoft Windows 98 SE%26quot;, and trying to select it, only makes the computer reboot. Currently, the only way I can seem to change between 98 and XP is by switching the active partition via fdisk -- and in doing so, both operating systems run, but I must change the active partition via fdisk every time. Not that it%26#039;s important or anything, but I used Partition Magic 8 to create the partition that Windows 98 is on now, and installed it by copying the contents of the Windows 98 install disk (E:\Win98\) to F:\Windows\Options\Cabs. It works great, I just have this snag. By the way, here are my drives and partitions:





Local Disk (C:) / partition(1) / Windows XP Home Edition


Recovery (D:) / partition(2) / Recovery


CD Drive (E:)


WIN98 (F:) / partition(3) / Windows 98 SE





This discussion matches my question almost exactly, but there was no resolve:


http://discussions.virtualdr.com/archive/index.php/t-192810.html





Any suggestions?|||You can%26#039;t create a boot selection screen if you installed XP first and then Win 98. It should be Win 98 first and then XP. Let XP create the dual boot configuration.





Remember, when Win 98 was released in the 90%26#039;s, it didn%26#039;t know yet that there%26#039;s going to be a Win XP. Whereas when XP came out, it knew that there older versions of Windows so it has a way of recognizing it.





It goes the same for newer versions of Windows. If you want to have a multi-boot configuration, the order of installation should be from older version to newer version.|||right click the my computer icon %26gt;properties %26gt;advance tab %26gt;Startup and recovery - settings.





In the pop up you can choose the OS, the boxes should be ticked to display OS for 30 seconds.





Now click Edit.


In there you have to put in the string for windows 98. I dont know how you can do this because you should have loaded 98 first then XP, and XP would have done it for you.





Note , each Operating system needs to be on its own partition. You cannot have both on the same partition.





to find out what to put into there you could do this





grab another hard drive and install it,


partition it with a CD file


load 98


load xp





look what is in that file and save it in a memory stick





change hdd


update that file.


reformat that other hdd and put it in as a slave for extra space.

Backup or copy an XP partition, and restore to another partition so they are both dual bootable?

Hi,





I have done this before, but I forgot how! I am trying to create a dual bootable XP system. I know I can partition, and install separate copies of XP and all my programs on both partitions, and use my boot manager....pain in the ***! Currently I have a loaded partition with all my stuff, which I regularly image and restore with Drive Image no problem. The problem is...if I try to restore it to a different partition, than the one it was imaged from...it will not boot off of the second partition. It has something to do with the settings in the boot.ini file, but I just forgot what I did.





I remember doing two things.





I just copied one partition over to the other, and changed some settings in the new partition, and then I could dual boot no problem.





and/or





I just restored the image in the new partition, and changed the settings, and I could dual boot no problem.





I just don%26#039;t want to have to install XP, and all my programs all over again.





Right now I have one partition, so I will create a second one, and copy or restore the image to the second partition, but then what settings will I have to change in the ini files of the second one so it will boot up, when I select it from my boot manager? Oh yea, I know about keeping it hidden or not. I remember unhiding it when I had to edit the files, and then hiding it once it was ready for booting...





Help!!!!!!!!!!|||You will still need to use the boot.ini of the first partition as this is called when the pc starts (it%26#039;s always the one on the %26quot;active%26quot; partition).





So simply add a new line to the boot.ini on your original partition and change the value for Partition from 0 to 1. (like the example below)





multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition (1)


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition (2) \WINNT=%26quot;Second XP %26quot; /fastdetect








------addition





The %26quot;active%26quot; disk has a flag set that marks it as active, also the first partition is usually the %26quot;system%26quot; partition. When the PC boots, the bios runs first. then it looks for the %26quot;active%26quot; disk and looks for a boot loader in the system partition. The boot loader is taking its options from the boot.ini file (in case of windows %26lt; XP)





If you specify your second OS in the second line of the boot.ini and select it later in the boot loader, it will then simply go to the other disk/partition and load the boot record there, meaning it loads the os on the second partition. This does not %26quot;hide%26quot; or change the active disk or system partition. It will still be visible in the second os and can be used as any other disk. Also, once you reboot your computer, it will again go to the first, %26quot;active%26quot; disk/partition and display the boot loader from there.





Hope this clears it. Otherwise, feel free to ask again ;-)|||You could always shrink the XP partition and install something else in the free space?

How kan I change my Harddrive letter?

repaired pc, transfered files that I need to another h-drive then formatted h-drive c: and reinstalled win/xp...now i sit with an invalid boot ini file and the drive letter is now d:...I have removed the other drive and replaced the files that I wanted, fixed the boot ini file but now sit with C: drive as d: drive...how can I fix this?|||You can not change the name of the drive your bootable OS is on. Reinstall windows but dont have any other drives hooked up that will change your drive letters again.|||Do you have XP Pro, XP Home, Vista whatever?


It%26#039;s different for different OSs.





I%26#039;ll describe the steps in XP Pro. If you have something else amend your question please.





1. Click on start


2. Click on settings


3. Click on Control Panel


4. Click on Administrative Tools.


5. Double click on Computer Management.


6. Double click on Storage.


7. Click on Disk Management.


8. Click INSIDE the box representing the Drive you want to change.


9. Right click for menu.


10. Select %26quot;Change Drive letter and Paths%26quot;


11. Change to the desired drive letter.


12. Click on OK.


13. Click on OK again.


14. Close the Tools out and reboot if requested.

I have 2 different operating systems installed on my computer, and i want to remove one, but ........?

i have windows XP home and a few months ago i installed a copy of Windows VISTA on my computer so that i would have the option, when booting up, of choosing which system i wanted to use.





which i no longer want to have that option when i boot up,


i just want my computer to start up as windows XP without


giving me the option to choose VISTA. i went into my BOOT.ini


file and changed it to this :





[Boot Loader]


Timeout=5


Default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)


partition(1)\WINDOWS








but it did not help, when booting up im still given the option.


how can i stop this ?|||http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?sh鈥?/a>





You%26#039;re welcome.

How to install XP beside Pre-Installed Vista?

I bought a notebook. Windows Vista was installed on it. I wanted to have Windows XP beside this windows. So I installed Windows XP in another drive.(Vista installed on C and XP installed on D)





The problem is that when I boot a notebook, I don鈥檛 have any choice to choose from XP or Vista (I know that if you first have XP and then Install Vista, this problem don%26#039;t occurs). At first I could only choose XP. Then I repaired Windows Vista with Recovery Disk. Now, I can only boot from Windows Vista.(I tried to change the text of boot.ini, but it was not useful)





I don%26#039;t know what I could do to have both of OS at startup.





So please tell me is it possible to have first Vista and then install XP and have choice to choose between them at startup?|||i dunno .. make both partitions primary maybe ..|||Install Windows XP in a Dual Boot with Pre-installed Windows Vista


http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/about8鈥?/a>

How do I dual-boot Linux and windows using my Windows boot loader?

I%26#039;ve recently installed Windows XP Professional on my machine that%26#039;s been running Linux exclusively for about 2 months. The installation went without a hitch, but now I can%26#039;t boot Linux using the Windows bootloader.





I%26#039;ve seen tutorials that show you how to do it by reinstalling GRUB, but I don%26#039;t want to go through the trouble of running my LiveCD again. And besides, I sort of like the Windows bootloader because it gives you a 60-second delay for choosing your operating system. GRUB only gives you 2. (Yes, I hacked it to change the delay to 60 seconds. Don%26#039;t sue me.)





So, any ideas? I tried editing boot.ini to include the boot directory for my Kubuntu 6.10 OS, but with no luck. I tried accessing it and it threw me an error.





BTW, the directory I tried was multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\boot鈥?I%26#039;m pretty sure the partition is right, because it appears as /dev/hda1 on my partition editor, but i%26#039;m not sure which directory I should choose.





Can anyone help?|||check these 2 sites out:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ntldr





http://gentoo-wiki.com/HOWTO_Dual_Boot_f鈥?/a>





looks like it would be easier to put the disk in and edit grub.conf|||It wont work with the Windows boot loader, sorry. Windows is NOT %26quot;other OS friendly%26quot; like either Grub or Lilo is. To dual boot, you need to load Windows First, then modify the partitions with qparted, and load Kubuntu.


You see, Windows is UNABle to really do any repartitioning except at startup, (unless you have already made some unformatted partitions when you loaded Windows).


qparted (the open source partitioner with Kubuntu) , however, does a far better job of formatting than Windows. For example, Windows takes forever to reformat, and even then, does not do that good of a job.


My suggestion is that, either you dual boot, as above, or just forget Windows and use the Kubuntu. You will like it, you will get used to it and get comfortable. You will love that you dont even need antivirus software with Kubuntu, you will love that you dont need to defregment with K, and there is never a Reactivation Hassel with K!


There is some learning you need to do, but hang in there, its worth the switch. www.kubuntu.org

Problems Booting XP Professional?

Recently I have been trying to remove a virus the regenerated on startup. Having done this before I knew I had to boot to safe mode in order to delete it so I tried that. I tried this but my computer failed to boot into any form of safe mode. First I would select it, then I would see the choice of operating systems and in the bottom left corner it would say safe mode then I would select XP Professional, a list of files would cascade down the screen then it would kick back to the dell logo screen at the begining of the boot sequence and ask me all over again how I wanted to boot.





To get around this I tried MSCONFIG and under general selected use original boot. That changed nothing so I went to BOOT.INI and under boot options selected/SAFEBOOT. This seems to have created a bigger problem then the original virus because it will not boot to windows under any boot option even last know good configuration.





Lastly I tried booting from CD, the repair option wouldn鈥檛 work so I tried the install (first option) and when it asked me to hit f8 to proceed it would do nothing. All I could do was hit ESC and exit the setup process.





I have no idea where to go from here or how I can undo the /SAFEBOOT option to load some form of windows. Any ideas???|||Download and burn a copy of the Ultimate Boot CD:





http://www.ubcd4win.com/|||boot from a knoppix CD, mount the hard drive, find the file, remove the file, then try to reboot in windows.. Make sure you UNMOUNT any drives before exiting knoppix though..|||Instead of F8, try F11 this time - that should get you to a Windows Repair boot.|||I would do a low level format on the drive first, and then install windows fresh.





If you have important files that weren%26#039;t backed up - then you might have to figure out a way to get them (make sure to carefully scan them before putting the virus back on the freshly loaded computer).





Good luck!

Ntldr is missing continued?

I have 98se on a 10 gig harddrive. I added a 40 gig hd to it and put xp on it............I wanted to transfer some files b4 I removed 98 which is why I didn%26#039;t remove it before I put xp on (I didn%26#039;t know this was gonna happen). After doing all my updates on xp I swapped out jumpers making xp master and 98 slave. An error popped up saying ntldr missing press control alt del to restart. I went in boot area changed the boot order from c: then a: to d: which allowed me to boot into xp. My problem is how can I get ntldr on my xp harddrive without reinstalling xp or leaving 98 plugged in. can%26#039;t do repair because my disk is sp and I have upgraded to sp2. (update) I put ntldr, boot.ini, and ntdetect on floppy disk. some reason boot.ini isn%26#039;t working boot.ini is invalid then it says starting C: windows/ (at this point the c: drive is disconnected) then it loaded xp unfortunatly I can%26#039;t do it without floppy disk. (I did try just changing ntldr and ntdetect in i386 didnt work) any ideas?|||Try changing the default drive in Boot.ini. Might just work.





Otherwise you can create a SP2 disc with your CD and a copy of the SP2 patch and AutoStreamer.|||The hard drive needs to have a valid boot sector and the partition that XP is on needs to be marked as active. You will need to reformat the drive and reinstall Windows if you want it to work properly. Be sure to physically disconnect all other hard drives before installing XP.

How to start windows 7 ?

I have two operating systems namely windows 2003 server edition and windows 7. My problem is that now windows 7 is not showing in startup option, and computer directly boots to windows 2003. As far as i know, i might hv accidently deleted boot configuration! i hv heard that boot settings can be changed . I hv found boot.ini of windows 2003, but i dont know to edit it!! please help me, if there is anything i can do rather than formatting the drive and installing windows 7 freshly!!|||There was free software that among other things lets you edit/change this.





It is called VistaBootPro version 3.3





The later versions cost money, so if you can find version 3.3 to download somewhere it will be free.





Howard|||Since im not a guy who meddles with boot config, try reinstalling it, or otherwise call a technician|||I don%26#039;t have any suggestion..Sorry, just pass by..Excuse me..:)|||I am sorry but you now you can%26#039;t boot Windows7 from Windows 2003 because boot manager of


Windows 2003 will not detect your Windows 7,So.you will need to reinstall Windows 7.Trust me


I have faced this problem with Windows XP some thime ago.|||Go to a Local Mom and Pop Computer service Company for the technical fix.





I think you have a conflict with two operating systems on your machine.





Spend a few bucks and save yourself a lot of heart ache.|||Might help:


EasyBCD, follow the documentation


http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1|||this was very very simple , first do what i say .


goto my computer properties


advance option


start up and recovery click on edit


just carefully see that %26#039;%26#039; windows 2003%26#039;%26#039; and %26quot;windows 7%26quot; with in qutation marks u can edit with any name


for the sake of not confusing with on what version ur booting the system





after that insert ur windows 7 cd ,


click on repair option , you had already said that you accidentley deleted the boot.in ,


on the repair option just type 1


and type boot.in


it will automatically install the misssing boot files


BUT REMEMBER THAT IT WILL HAPPEN ONLY IF YOU HAVE INSTALL THE WINDOWS 7 ON C DRIVE ONLY


OTHER WISE THERE IS NO USE WITH THIS PROCESS|||Microsoft is funny that way.





The NEWEST version MUST be loaded first, in most cases, and win7 does NOT use a boot.ini file, being a completely different OS.


They also need separate OS partitions and entirely separate apps files as apps for 2003 are, for the most part, NOT compatible with win7.





For any better information, I would need to see your system.|||Ok, first off, let me say I have done this exact thing, I know it works, so just try.





Boot off Win 7 CD. At install screen, click on %26quot;repair boot partition%26quot;


It should automatically see your Win 7 partion and repair the ability to boot to it.





Restart computer.


When you start up, you should see only win 7, that%26#039;s fine. If miracles in the IT world happen, you might even see %26quot;older windows operating system%26quot; (that would be server 2003 and you can change the name in msconfig boot tab).





Once you are in Windows 7, download and install Vista Boot Pro. You should be able to add the Server 2003 to the boot environment quite easily with that.

How do I edit Boot.ini properly?

I installed Windows a non-traditional way, I will explain:


My notebook has no CD/DVD functionality, I had to use a floppy to boot into MS-DOS (the only floppy i had kept failing to write over and over so I had to repair it with flobo about 9 times) So once I finally booted success with A:\ I did fdisk, now my hard drive has two partitions one is 2.5GB and the other is 25GB roughly.





I made partition 1 (2.5GB) active and format it as C: with system files for emergencies (I do not want to use a floppy again, I would rather boot dos from partition 1) then I reboot and removed the floppy.





C: drive booted into DOS from here I had already pre-loaded the WindowsXP files off of my CD onto partition 2 from another machine at an earlier time.





So I ran smartdrv.exe then changed directory to the winxp folder and went into i386 proceeding to run winnt, installing Windows XP to partition 2 (25GB) so I have DOS on partition 1, XP on partition 2. If XP fails I would like DOS to still be bootable, the Boot.ini is on partition 1 (2.5GB)


here is what i did, but this crashes and reboots when I select the DOS option.


[boot loader]


timeout=30


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\=%26quot;鈥?/noexecute=optin /fastdetect


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WI鈥?Windows XP Professional%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect





This is not working, any ideas? I assume \=DOS means the root of C:\ is where the boot files are, is this incorrect? Thanks!|||W/o full lines it is tough to tell. This KB from Microsoft will give you a good idea of what it is about





http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022

MAC! HELP! CHANGE THE OS!?

For the Mac OS X Version 10.5.5 how do you edit the boot file? How would you change the the OS, the computer loads? I just need to get access to the boot file. For example, in Windows XP, it%26#039;s the boot.ini file. Or you can simply change it by typing msconfig in the run box. How do you do it for the Mac?|||Control panel / Startup disk|||you can install a different os on a different hard drive


when booting hold the option key down, they you can choose what drive boots

How do I direct the boot.ini file to make it Dual-Boot?

Ok I really F***ed up. I had Windows Media Center installed on Disk 0 (was on drive c:\)NTFS. on the same disk, I had another partion, FAT32 on Drive L:\. on Disk (1) I have four partions E:\ F:\ G:\ and h:\. I deleted the F:\ drive and from the unallocated space i installed windows xp professional NTFS. now it made my h:\ drive the c:\ drive. my old c:\ drive with windows Media Center is now the D:\ drive.





My problem is I cannot boot into windows media center anymore. this is my current boot.ini (only booting into xp pro):





[boot loader]


timeout=30


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WI鈥?Windows XP Professional%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect





And this is my old boot.ini:





[boot loader]


timeout=3


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WI鈥?XP Media Center Edition%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect


C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT=%26quot;Microsoft Windows Recovery Console%26quot; /cmdcons





when i copy the direct line into the boot.ini %26quot;MSCONFIG%26quot; tells me that the path is incorrect. i tried changing to disk(1) but i recieved the same error.





If anyone can give me the right context for %26quot;multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WIN鈥?for my new file system that would be great.





I need to boot into windows media center.





HELP HELP HELP|||Hmmm im not sure on this. You may wanna find a computer expert around your area and go have it looked at.

How do I change the bootloader?

I have been running Windows for a while, then I tried to install Linux onto an external hard drive. I tried two distributions (Ubuntu 8.04 and then Mepis (I think it was 2003)). As Ubuntu was installed, GRUB was too. The problem is that my system drive is a FAT32. GRUB won%26#039;t run off of a FAT32. I don%26#039;t want to reformat my system drive. All I want to do is change my bootloader back to boot.ini so I can boot Windows.


I have an Inspiron 2500 with Phoenix BIOS 4.0 Release 6.0 (even though I don%26#039;t think it is, anything online about the setup menu is different than the setup menu that I have).





If anyone knows how to change the bootloader, that would be great.|||If the hard drive with Linux is SATA, you can edit the boot.ini, and skip GRUB all together, but if you want to uninstall grub, obtain a Windows 98 start up floppy, or any other disk with fdisk on it, and run the command fdisk /mbr. What this does is restore the default boot manager, while removing grub at the same time. It worked for me perfectly. Hope that helps.|||I am not sure I got a firm grip on your problem but I know that with Vista as I rn it I can fix my boot system by putting my windows install dis in the drive and a choice there is fix boot, and it does.

XP computer will not boot?

I was trying to boot in safe mode. I opened msconfig, went to the BOOT.ini tab, and checked %26quot;Boot in safe Mode%26quot; I restarted the computer, and now it will not boot. I get to the screen that says %26quot;Windows did not start correctly, select an option: Boot in safe mode, safe mode with networking, etc.%26quot; I tried all the options, but as soon as I hit enter, it starts over again. I assume that the fact that i checked %26quot;boot in safe mode%26quot; it is overriding my choices and always trying to boot in safe mode, which apparently doesn%26#039;t work. I do not know why it will not boot in safe mode, but I don%26#039;t need it to. So what I need is some way to change that setting in the BOOT.ini file. If I could access the hard drive from something else, how would I go about changing that? I need a way to edit the file.





Any help is appreciated.|||load ubuntu linux with a CD as a live user. then go into the C drive and edit the MSCONFIG program. try that.

Nelp with OS choices menu. Boot.ini?

Whenever I start my computer I get a screen that comes up, asking me which operatising system I want to boot up with.





I have 2 options.. Windows XP Media Center Edition and an option that says Windows(Default).





By defualt, my computer starts up using Windows(default) and then tries to install windowsxp.Which I don%26#039;t want...I have to manually select Windows XP Media every single time.. How can I change this so that it automatically selects the OS I want? Here is what my boot.ini file looks like.





[boot loader]


timeout=10


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WI鈥?XP Media Center Edition%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /usepmtimer|||Change %26#039;default=%26#039; to %26#039;multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Win鈥?XP Media Center Edition%26#039;





Change %26#039;timeout=10%26#039; to %26#039;timeout=0%26#039;

I have Linux Fedora 7 installed in my PC . now i wanna install windows P in the same PC. will both work ?

bcoz win xp will modify the boot.ini file and change the entry of boot loader thus linux will no longer work . what to do ?


i don%26#039;t wana install linux over windows xp ?


how can i get rid of that problem ? is there any soft ?


can i store or modify the boot.ini or any other file to rescue linux later in my pc ?|||PCs typically run on one OS (operating system) only, however new software is out for Macintosh users (parallels and boot camp) that allow those mac users to run multiple os on one computer. as for a PC however, you%26#039;re a bit out of luck.

How to create or restore a boot.ini again??

Well my boot.ini is gone all of a sudden I tried to find out whats wrong but nothing...But when i boot it comes out this


%26quot;Invalid boot.ini


Booting from C:\windows\%26quot;





Anyway I can repair it or restore or something Without losing anything????





P.S. I tried to go to system properties and go to start up and recovory and it says %26quot;The C:\boot.ini file can not be opened. Operating system and timeout settings can not be change.%26quot;|||http://www.puppylinux.org/downloads/offi鈥?/a>





pg

How to change the path of boot files from one drive to another ???? read below?

if i have got two operating systems (both windows) on two separate drives then it take two of my boot files from c: and other two from other drive


plz tell me how or where do i change the address of the two files


i luked at the sysedit command to find my boot files location but tell me how to change their location


Eg.config.sys and autoexec.bat in c:


win.ini and system.ini in d:,


d: is also an primary partition but right now c: is set as active partition.......


if i make my d: partition active will it boot???|||start, run, msconfig, then click on boot tab you can change it from here.|||edit boot.ini file from msconfig or manually search for it in windows system32 folder

Two operating systems in one pc?

Dear friends i have 2 op systems Me and Xp installed in my pc. When the computer starts it dont give me choice by which operating system i wish to start windows. Please advice me how to enable selection of operating systems on boot. I think i have to make changes in boot.ini file. If so then what command i have to write there. If not then advice me what to do. Thanks|||hi


go to control panel-system-advanced, then select setting from start up and recovery group.


check weather the option is select - %26#039;time to display list of operating system 30 sec%26#039;


click edit and then check notepad is something like this








[boot loader]


timeout=30


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


win xp...........(file name)


win me..........





if win me line is not there then reinstall


bye|||XP allows compatibility mode. I%26#039;ve got 98 and XP, and XP is the default. Shouldn%26#039;t be a problem. Control panel, system help can show you the steps.|||If you installed ME after XP, you cannot correct it. Reinstall XP. Else from %26quot;Start%26quot; menu select %26quot;Run%26quot; and type %26quot;msconfig%26quot; then press Enter.


go to %26quot;Boot.ini%26quot; tab and look for your second OS. If it existed, active it.|||Your boot .ini file is located in your C: drive with documents and settings,program files and windows,it is a hidden system file so you will have to show these in folder options or do a search for it.Change the Timeout to around 30 to give yourself sometime to switch to it during boot up.If you have it on a seperate hardrive change it from bios|||It%26#039;s possible, but not recommended. You%26#039;ll have to partition your hard drive in order to do that.

How to remove 2nd vista option?

How to remove 2nd Vista option on startup?


I%26#039;ve recently installed Windows 7 on my laptop %26amp; now when I boot up I get the option to choose which version I want my original Windows XP that i still use(my Primary Operating System), Windows 7, and a old Windows Vista that i use, I get 30 seconds to chose before it choses for me.





The 1st option works, and so does the 2nd one which is the Windows 7





How do I remove the 3rd option, which is Windows Vista??


Ive already tried removing it by going into the msconfig then the boot.ini, but it only shows the start up for XP, but not operating systems such as Vista or 7





Does anyone have any ideas how to remove this Vista Startup??





and when i go into the the startup bit in systems. And settings it only shows the XP startups, it says to change boot settings for vista use BCDEDIT.exe, but i dont know how to get there|||Your best bet is to download %26quot;easy BCD 1.7.* install on whatever XP


or W7 and run it, you will find everything amazingly easy as the name suggests. You add and remove entries swap preferences whatever you want and it has some very good little extras AND it%26#039;s free


Here is the direct link.


http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1

PLEAAAAASE HEEEEEEEEELPPp!!!!!!?

I had windows Vista installed on my computer.I wanted to install XP, on my first try I didn%26#039;t write down the serial key, so when installing, it created a boot partition. after that I couldn%26#039;t boot to my vista. Now I%26#039;m on XP and i want to go back to vista, but I don%26#039;t know how to change boot options.


I tried %26quot;msconfig%26quot; to go to boot.ini, but that%26#039;s not there...


what can I do to change boot option?


is there any other way or I must give up and format?





THANK YOU|||Boot from your VIsta DVD and select the repair option. If it doesn%26#039;t find anything that it can fix it will give you the option to open a comand prompt.





1. Use Bootsect.exe to restore the Windows Vista MBR and the boot code that transfers control to the Windows Boot Manager program. To do this, type the following command at a command prompt: Drive:\boot\Bootsect.exe /NT60 All





In this command, Drive is the drive where the Windows Vista installation media is located.





Note The boot folder for this step is on the DVD drive.


2. Use Bcdedit.exe to manually create an entry in the BCD Boot.ini file for the earlier version of the Windows operating system. To do this, type the following commands at a command prompt.





Note In these commands, Drive is the drive where Windows Vista is installed.


鈥?Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /create {ntldr} 鈥揹 %26quot;Description for earlier Windows version%26quot;





Note In this command, Description for earlier Windows version can be any text that you want. For example, Description for earlier Windows version can be %26quot;Windows XP%26quot; or %26quot;Windows Server 2003%26quot;.


鈥?Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /set {ntldr} device partition=x:





Note In this command, x: is the drive letter for the active partition.


鈥?Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /set {ntldr} path \ntldr


鈥?Drive:\Windows\system32\Bcdedit /displayorder {ntldr} 鈥揳ddlast





3. Restart the computer.|||Install a new bootloader.|||Vista must use the primary partition.

XP 4Gb RAM upgade? Why can't i see it?

Hi all, i just brought 4gb of RAM and installed it, booted up my system but it only shows 2.62gb on %26#039;My Computer%26#039; properties. I%26#039;ve heard you have to change the boot.ini file but don%26#039;t know where it is? Could someone please give me very clear instructions on how to do this?





I am running XP pro SP3 on an Acer Aspire 5100. I ran an online scan and it told me i could support upto 4gb, hence why i brought it, and when i checked some online doc%26#039;s on my laptop that too said i could support 4gb.





Many thanks in advance guys n gals|!!!!!





Hope someone can help?|||XP will reserve some of the addressable space for it%26#039;s own use. You%26#039;ll never see it showing the full 4GB.|||XP can only register 3gb of RAM if you want to use the full 4gb then upgrade to vista.|||Because windows xp is designed on 32 bits it can address only 4G of memory space. This means that if you have swap file on (virtual memory). It will limit the amount of physical memory that it can manage.


So to be able to see all of your physical memory try to disable the swap file and see what happens.


You can do this by going to System proprieties -%26gt; Advanced -%26gt; Performance -%26gt; Advanced -%26gt; Virtual Memory -%26gt; Change|||GO TO BIOS AND CHAK THE RAM.U CAN DO THIS BY HITTING F10/F2/DEL ETC(DEPANDS UPON U R LAPPY) WHAN U R LAPTOP GET STARTED..............





IF IT IS SHOWING THER THAT U HAVE 4 GB RAM THAN DON%26#039;T WORRY.IT MEANS U HAVE 4 GB RAM





NOW U%26#039;LL ASK ME Y THIS HAPPENDS.THIS HAPPENS


BECAUSE





1) U R LAPTOP%26#039;S MOTHER BOARD DOES NOT


SUPPORTS XP





2) U DONT HAVE


GENUINE XP|||You do have 4GB of RAM, but not all of that is available for use by the OS. More than likely your built in video card is a shared memory video card. That is using some of your memory.





You can edit the boot.ini file which is a hidden system file at the root of the c:\ drive. You need to go into your explorer in the folder options turn on see hidden and protected operating files.





You can add the /3GB switch to your boot.ini file, but for XP this may cause your system to become unstable as many drivers are incompatible with this.





See more at:





http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/鈥?/a>





You could also install the 64-bit version of XP which would recognize all the RAM, but many applications are not compatible with this version and there may not be drivers for your laptop that support 64 bit XP, so I would not recommend it.|||Ok, here is HOW to do it:





Why it%26#039;s happening:





The range of integer values that can be stored in 32 bits is 0 through 4,294,967,295 or 鈭?,147,483,648 through 2,147,483,647 using two%26#039;s complement encoding. Hence, a processor with 32-bit memory addresses can directly access 4 Gigs of byte-addressable memory.





However, it is not a waste, there is a function called PAE (Physical Address Extension) which will, in a nutshell, tell your cpu to use all 4 gigs, while your os will continue to detect that you%26#039;re using say 3.2 gigs of RAM. to enable PAE, you need to edit the boot.ini file with this by adding :





/PAE





How to edit the boot.ini file:





STEP 1, SAVE A BACKUP, this is an IMPORTANT FILE!





Save a Backup Copy of Boot.ini





1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.


-or-


Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.


2. On the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery.


3. Under System Startup, click Edit. This opens the file in Notepad ready for editing.


4. In Notepad, click File on the Menu bar, and then click Save As.


5. Right click in an empty area of the Save As dialog box, point to New in the context menu, and then click Folder.


6. Type a name for the new folder, for example temp, and then press the ENTER key to create the folder named temp.


7. Double-click the new folder named temp, and then click the Save button to save a backup copy of the Boot.ini file.





STEP 2, Edit the Boot.ini File:





Edit the Boot.ini File


To view and edit the Boot.ini file: 1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.


-or-


Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.


2. On the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery.


3. Under System Startup, click Edit.


*-------------------------------------鈥?br>

Here is how the boot.ini file looks %26gt;%26gt;BEFORE%26lt;%26lt; you edit it:


*-------------------------------------鈥?br>




[boot loader]


timeout=30


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WI鈥?Windows XP Professional%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /usepmtimer





*-------------------------------------鈥?br>

Here is how the boot.ini file will look %26gt;%26gt;AFTER%26lt;%26lt; you edit it:


*-------------------------------------鈥?br>




[boot loader]


timeout=30


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WI鈥?Windows XP Professional%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /usepmtimer /PAE





Note: That you must be careful NOT to change anything ELSE, just add the /PAE to the last line exactly as I have


shown you.





You will now SAVE this file as boot.ini and reboot your computer.





If anything goes wrong, then be prepared to go into SAFE MODE, by holding down F8 on bootup and then RESTORE the original backup boot.ini file.





for more info on PAE, see the following links:





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Ad鈥?/a>


http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system...A鈥?/a>


http://technet2.microsoft.com/window....鈥?/a>|||I think your motherboard can%26#039;t take it anymore





it must show at least 3.10 GB RAM

How do you...?

ok i have an external hardrive and want to boot the recovery partition off of it so how do i change the boot.ini so i can boot from the external hardrive





[boot loader]


timeout=3


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WI鈥?XP Media Center Edition%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect


C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT=%26quot;Microsoft Windows Recovery Console%26quot; /cmdcons








this is my boot.ini|||It depends on how your external partition is mounted.





However, you should just go into BIOS settings and try to get it to boot from USB there, rather than editing boot.ini|||you might just try going into bios and change the order of the boot devices (make your external hard drive first)

How do you edit boot file in Mac?

For the Mac OS X Version 10.5.5 how do you edit the boot file? How would you change the the OS, the computer loads? I just need to get access to the boot file. For example, in Windows XP, it%26#039;s the boot.ini file. Or you can simply change it by typing msconfig in the run box. How do you do it for the Mac?|||I%26#039;m not really good at using macs, double click the file and click open with a different program and look for notepad.

How do I get my computer to boot?

My computer has been working fine, until recently, say the past week, I turn it on, use it for a while and then it would turn itself off. It%26#039;s not connected to the internet so I didn%26#039;t think it could be a virus.





However I tried to turn it on yesterday and it wouldn%26#039;t even get to load all the way before it turned itself off. Now when I turn it on it shows the acer screen as it should, then beeps as it should and then I get a message which says:





Invalid BOOT.INI file


Booting from C:\windows\





I have been on other forums and seen that many answers say they either need a disk to boot it from (which I don%26#039;t have) or that they need to change the BOOT thing but I can%26#039;t do that because my computer won%26#039;t load. It will just sit at the Invalid BOOT.INI screen for hours.





I%26#039;m hoping there is a way I could fix this problem without having to spend a lot of money.





Thanks





Oh and my computer runs on Windows XP home edition.|||Borrow a Win XP home CD from a friend. Use the Recovery consol and at the C prompt type %26quot;fixboot%26quot; without the quotes.





wdw|||Ok! This is a bit complex! First of all, if possible try to get a copy of the boot disk for the formatting purpose. This you can generally find on torrents I suppose. Else, try logging into Safe mode pressing F8 key as soon as you see the acer screen and try to recover the previous settings . I just have this much amount of information. :( Hope this helps.|||try reinstalling / repair using win xp.

How to dual boot windows 7 and xp?

Started with XP on a desktop. Disconnected the XP hard drive and installed a new SATA hard drive and installed Win 7 home premium 64 bit on the new drive. Now both drives are connected. XP is in position 1 and Win 7 is in Position 2. So system comes up by default in XP. I can boot from Win 7 if I change the boot order in BIOS. I want to boot from win 7 through the boot.ini that shows up in XP. How is that done?|||Step 0: Download the Windows 7 Beta and Burn It to a DVD


Assuming you%26#039;ve already downloaded a fresh copy of Windows 7, you%26#039;ll need to burn it to a DVD in order to do a fresh installation. To handle this task, grab a copy of the most popular CD and DVD burning tool ImgBurn, burn the ISO to a DVD, and move right along to step 1.





Step 1: Partition Your Hard Drive


Before you go installing Windows 7, the first thing you need to do is create a new partition on your hard drive to hold the new installation of Windows. Partitioning your hard drive will vary depending on whether you%26#039;re running XP or Vista鈥攏amely because Vista has a partition tool baked in, XP does not.


Partition Your Hard Drive in XP


To partition your hard drive in Windows XP, you%26#039;ll need to download some sort of third-party partitioning software. There are a lot of options available, but I prefer to stick with the previously mentioned GParted live CD, a free, open source boot CD that can handle all kinds of partitioning duties.


To use it, just download the GParted Live CD, burn it to a CD, then reboot your computer (booting from the disc). You%26#039;ll boot right into the partitioning tool. HowtoForge%26#039;s previous guide to modifying partitions with GParted is a great place to start, but it%26#039;s a fairly basic procedure:


1. Resize your current OS drive to free up enough space for a Windows 7 partition (the minimum system requirements ask for 16GB).


2. Create a new partition from the newly freed space.


3. Apply your changes.


Partition Your Hard Drive in Vista


The folks at Redmond were kind enough to include a disk partitioning tool in Vista if you know where to look. So go to Control Panel -%26gt; System and Maintainence (skip this one if you%26#039;re in Classic view) -%26gt; Administrative Tools -%26gt; Computer Management. Once you launch the Computer Management tool, click on Disk Management under the Storage heading in the sidebar. It%26#039;s partitioning time.


Luckily we%26#039;ve already gone down this road before in step-by-step detail, complete with pictures, so check out our previous guide to creating a new partition in Vista. In a nutshell, you%26#039;ll need to shrink your current OS partition to free up at least 16GB of disk space (per the Windows 7 minimum system requirements), then create a %26quot;New Simple Volume%26quot; from the free space.





Step 2: Install Windows 7


Now that you%26#039;ve done all the heavy lifting, it%26#039;s time for the easy part: Installing Windows 7 on your new partition. So insert your Windows 7 disc and reboot your computer (you%26#039;ll need to have enabled booting from your DVD drive in your system BIOS, but most PCs will have this enabled by default).


Once the DVD boots up it%26#039;s a simple matter of following along with the fairly simple installation wizard. When you%26#039;re choosing installation type, be sure to select Custom (advanced) and choose the partition you set up above. (Be careful here. Choosing the wrong partition could mean wiping your other Windows installation altogether, so make sure you pick the new partition you just created.)


After you select the partition, go grab yourself a drink and let the installer do its work. Windows will run through some installation bits, restart a few times in the process. Eventually you%26#039;ll be prompted to set up your account, enter your license key, and set up Windows. Keep your eyes open for fun new Windows 7 features, like your new homegroup (and the accompanying password). When it%26#039;s finished, you%26#039;re up and rolling with your new Windows 7 installation.


Congratulations! You should now have a new entry for Windows 7 on your boot screen when you first start up your computer. You%26#039;ve now got all the tools necessary to dual-boot Windows 7 and XP or Vista鈥攐r even to triple-boot Windows 7, Vista, and XP.


This isn%26#039;t the only way to set up a multi-boot system by any means, but it%26#039;s how I pulled it off. If you%26#039;ve got a method of your own that you prefer, let%26#039;s hear it in the comments.

I have problem with dual booting XP & Vista ?

I have a samsung 120 GB PATA IDE hard disk. I had XP Pro (NTFS) installed in my first primary partition, Suse Linux 10.2 installed in my second primary partition, which I replaced with Win Vista Ultimate (NTFS) . After installing it The Vista became active but there was no option to boot into XP. So I changed XP partition to active (which I use most) and changed the %26quot;boot.ini%26quot; to bring dual booting option.


I have following entries in %26quot;boot.ini%26quot;


[boot loader]


timeout=30


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WI鈥?Windows XP Professional%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(6)\WI鈥?Windows Vista%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect





Now it loads XP without any problem, but when I try to load Vista it says that hall.dll file is missing or corrupted. There is no way to replace that file, how can I change %26quot;boot.ini%26quot; of XP so that it can also load Vista without any problem.|||Vista has to be your Primary partition--It can%26#039;t be your secondary partition. When you install Vista it will overwrite the Win XP boot.ini file and install Vista own boot manager. If install correctly, when you boot your PC, the manager will ask which OS you want to boot into. And for that to work you have to install Win XP first and then Vista, so that Vista will use its boot manager for both WinXP and Vista. WinXP doesn%26#039;t have a boot manager that can recognize Vista.





EDIT: Yes, Vista has to be install as the primary partition (Active) and to use WinXp as your main OS, you have to change the setting in Vista. Go here : http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-v鈥?/a>


http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-v鈥?/a>|||Unfortunately it wont be in the boot.ini that will change the missing dll file. i would try to boot from the vista cd and do a repair if your able to. Otherwise you might have to format that partition and just reinstall it. The boot.ini has nothing to do with a corrupt OS. Have you tried the version of Vista before? Make sure you have a clean partition and reinstall. I would not even try to edit the .ini file. It should do everything automatically.

What software should I use or how should I modify the boot configuration coming with Windows Vista ?

After creating a clean installation of Windows Vista Home Premium on my computer already with the Windows XP OS, my previous boot configuration is changed to something new, unfamiliar to me so much accustomed to the traditional Boot.ini. Please help me make the changes as I would wish.|||Vista doesn%26#039;t use the Boot.ini like XP did. It uses a different utility called BCDEDIT. And it%26#039;s not very user friendly. Here%26#039;s a couple of articles that go into a bit more detail and a free utility that%26#039;s supposed to make it easier to change boot configuration. I have not used the utility so proceed with caution.





http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/tip鈥?/a>





http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVis鈥?/a> %26gt;FAQs





http://www.vistabootpro.org/ %26gt;free utility





plrr

I want to change everything in windows.. how can i do that?

i have a very addictive interest on to customize my windows xp to its limit...i%26#039;d changed a lot... and well..it amazed me... but there%26#039;s a lot of thing that i want to customize but dont know how..





This is the list :





1-how can i create my own boot screen and logonui...i mean...really my own boot screen...perhaps i want to put flash on it..i%26#039;ve already put fbi logon as my logon..but can i know how to make its more interesting like i said..by flash or animating it... and for the boot screen.. i do have problem with boot.ini.. when i try to change the boot screen using tuneup..it says that boot.ini is invalid or corrupted..|||It is impossible to change your boots screen to a flash animation. Unless you can somehow get your CMOS to have the flash player loaded into it.|||if you really want to change everything, install Ubuntu.|||Hmmm... A completely customized OS where you鈥檙e in control of everything including your own custom flash boot screens, etc. Sounds like LINUX to me. I doubt you%26#039;ll mind the rock solid stability, thousands of good free applications, and better internet and network performance either. Oh yeah, and then there鈥檚 the fact that it%26#039;s open source so you can edit EVERYTHING with control over even the most minute details.





Windows does not support custom boot screens and does not lend itself well to customization of any kind. They have a bunch of pre-cooked appearances you can choose from but I would not really call them custom. That being said, you can do this with bootskin which is a third party Windows application designed for this purpose. Look for links below

Can't start PC in normal mode after selecting SafeMode from msconfig?

Please help. I%26#039;ve tried changing the boot.ini in msconfig to restart in safemode. When I did this, I got the login screen and can%26#039;t login even when leaving the password blank as administrator or any other user (and when using the correct password too).





I%26#039;ve tried pressing F8 while the computer is restarting and select Normal mode to see if I could even get it back to how it used to be, but when I do that it still starts the computer in safe mode and gets me to the login screen.





What can I do?|||You will have to go back into msconfig and reset what settings you changed in there..|||in msconfig---check normal startup on the General Tab....


all should be checked in the System Tab and the win.ini tab, and nothing checked in the Boot.ini tab---all should be checked in the Services tab and most should be checked in the StartUp tab....








click ok, then restart





even in safe mode, all user passwords with Admininstrative privelges would still be in effect. in safe mode, Administrator doesn%26#039;t have a password by default. if you don%26#039;t enter the correct password, it won%26#039;t let you in....make sure ALL CAPS on your keyboard isn%26#039;t turned on.





if you can%26#039;t get any of those to work.


then as the computer is restarting, keep tapping F3 or F4 at the First blue %26amp; white screen you see or whatever brand computer you are using....mine is HP, so is the HP blue and white screen...either way just hit those F keys, it now pauses long enough to enter F Keys as needed. it will beep a few times as you tap in the F keys. then, you will get a black screen with Startup Options....use the Arrow keys to move the Highlighted area to the first start up , windows xp home edition, normal...well, anyway, it is the first option. then hit Enter....and it should start in Normal mode.|||just select normal startup in msconfig|||First off you should almost never have to mess around with the boot.ini file. (or at least back up a copy of it so you can replace it later if need be)





Windows has features like pressing F8 while booting up to get into safe mode and do what you got to do.





The fact that you have changed this file to run in safe mode, means you would have to change the file back to it%26#039;s original state in order to get the OS to run in normal mode.





System Restore while in safe mode may help as well.





If you are unable to get the OS to respond normally, I would back up your files and reinstall windows.

How to restore boot files in Windows XP?

I have an Acer Aspire 5520-5912 and i%26#039;m using XP. I have two partitions on the HD. Both of them with windows XP installed on it.


I deleted one of the partitions with Paragon Partition Manager and told the program to redistribute the free space to the other partition. Then rebooted the computer and the following message appears:


Nvidia Boot Agent


Copyright Nvidia Corporation


Copyright Intel Corporation


PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable


PXE-M0F Exiting Nvidia Boot Agent





I managed to fix it by installing Windows XP again from CD because the partition i previously deleted appeared on the Windows XP installation and then booted to the new Windows XP and changed the boot.ini file manually.


I think Windows is using the boot.ini files on the new installed XP for loading the old OS and that%26#039;s why when i delete the partition, the system no longer boots.


Anyone knows how to fix it?


Thanks!|||The other guy was sorta right, his instructions were wrong though. And didn%26#039;t go further, to the boot.ini.





Insert Windows XP disk, boot from it. At first screen select %26quot;R%26quot; for %26quot;Recovery Console%26quot;





After you do that, and select windows install, admin password, usually can press enter on each, unless professional version, where you need to enter PW. Do the following commands.





FIXMBR





FIXBOOT





BOOTCFG /REBUILD


(First question, say Yes, when it asks for Identifier, Type in %26quot;Windows XP%26quot; (or whatever you want, to identify it in boot menu, but type something) when it asks for load options, press enter)





When it finds the 2nd windows installation, name it samething different for the Identifier. Like %26quot;Windows XP 2%26quot; (or whatever you want to name it)





This will fix your problem.|||Insert the restore cd in and dont reinstall the whole windows, instead click cancel and then it suppose to go to a command prompt. Type in fixmbr and click enter... try doing that, it will restore the master boot record

Having problems with my win XP SP 3, boot.ini file?

By mistake i amended my boot.ini file to change the order of windows booting. Now the order that i changed and brought the win xp as first choice was to a path to a previously deleted windows. Hence the windows wont start any more. Pl help as to how to get to the boot.ini file and change the order again without being able to boot.|||try %26quot;system restore%26quot; ----- Start ---- all programs --- accessories --- system tools ---- system restore -- click next


pick an earlier date == click next --- follow instructions .|||Try pressing F8 at during boot up and go into safe mode.|||First arrange a Windows XP installation disk.





Boot into it. When prompted, press R to start the recovery console. Bring the prompt where your Windows XP is installed. Type the following two commands.





fixboot


fixmbr





The above two commands resets your boot manager. It can solve most of the bootup problems and hopefully will solve this one too.

I have the "Invalid BOOT.INI" problem but NONE of the fixes are working.?

Okay I will try to keep this breif and also show all of the attempts I exhausted before posting. This way I won%26#039;t get a flood of posts for stuff I did already.





XP MCE 2002 (pre SP2, before the domain BS they took out on 2005)


came pre-installed on Toshiba 5205-s705 laptop


1GB RAM


160GB HDD


2.4GHz P4


128MB nVidia





Okay.


PC working great for years.


I have 2 partitions. First on the drive is a FAT32 partition of 7.4GB and it%26#039;s the factory partition (ghost%26#039;d, hence the fat32. I had to have it Fat32 b/c of a boot manager)


It%26#039;s obviously PRIMARY


the 2nd partition is also a PRIMARY and is NTFS.


It%26#039;s the remaining 147GB and has the same factory install but much older and has a lot of stuff on it. It started off as the factory image however. (they (toshiba) give you a DVD that has a ghost image of the factory state)





Okay all that explained, it%26#039;s working fine. Nothing installed or changed. The next morning I power it on and get the invalid boot.ini message. It flashes VERY fast and reboots.





Here is what I have tried:


Uninstall boot manager - no change


Rconsoled the following:


fixboot


fixmbr


bootcfg /rebuild


manually copy a correct boot.ini using bartPE


NO CHANGE





This is definitely a partition related issue. maybe even MBR related. NOT a file related.





I also did these things...


(we%26#039;ll call the FAT32 partition Factory and the NTFS (faulty) partition Work)


I did a bartPE and changed the work to inactive and hidden


changed the factory to active and visible


booted. Got the multi os boot screen from IT%26#039;S boot.ini file. If I pick work it gives me the HAL.DLL error instead. (weird huh?) but if I pick Factory it boots just fine to windows.


If I unhide work and do the same, it is identical in behaviour except now when the factory one boots I can see the other drive (partition) and access all of the files just fine.


All of the bartPE bootdisks can see it.


If I try and do a repair install with a windows disc it sees the work


partition as %26quot;Unknown%26quot; and wants to do a destructive install rather than a repair install. (so it will only allow FORMAT of work partition)


weird stuff.





So then I tried CHKDSK /F and it didn%26#039;t find any problems with either partition.


I also tried drive commander, partition magic and PDT Doctor


and none of them see the problem and report all is A-OK





What


the


fark....???





So before BLASTING the damned drive and installing again and copying all that 120GB of crap back over and then re-installing the 30 or so apps, I was hoping to possibly fix what seems to be some mundane issue. I am sure it%26#039;s just a matter of some stupid bit on the mbr or Master Partition table or even the MFT (I%26#039;ve seen mft issues make a drive look physically dead) that needs adjusting.





My guess on how this happened is probably the boot manager screwed up somehow.





So the post is because I don%26#039;t know WHAT to do with the MBR, MFT or MPT in order to correct this issue.





Any ideas?|||I%26#039;m not quite sure; but among those options for fixmbr and the like, is there another one that would attempt to completely rewrite the MBR? When things get to this point, the easiest thing is probably just to nuke the thing, reformatting it and doing a full reformat, not a quick one, to check disk integrity.





I%26#039;d just back up everything (boot off a bartPE or linux livecd and drop things on an external).





By the way Ygg, if you check this, I doubt it was the OP who voted you thumbs down. Anyone who reads the question can vote.

How do i get this custom boot screen to work?

I found this cool boot screen where it will show a rat instead of the windows thing. it says you have to change the boot.ini file, but i dont have one. (Im running windows xp media center edition Serive Pack 3). How do i get this to work? I cant get it to work and already have to completly restore my system cuz i messed it up trying to get it to work. Is there a EASY way to make it work?


http://themes.belchfire.net/index.php?automodule=downloads%26amp;showfile=6382|||C:\boot.ini





It%26#039;s hidden so you%26#039;ll have to set Windows Explorer to show hidden files.

How do i set the jumpers for a dual-boot, dual HDD PC system and which boot.ini file must i change?

i%26#039;m trying to merge my g/friend%26#039;s pc with mine, but i want to maintain each OS independantly and i am having trouble booting up her OS. mine (master HDD disk 0) boots fine, and i have tried modifying the boot.ini%26#039;s on each PC multiple different ways, so i think it%26#039;s a jumper setting that i%26#039;m getting wrong on the slave device.|||First of all, I%26#039;m assuming we%26#039;re dealing with a desktop computer and not a laptop/notebook machine. If that%26#039;s not the case, read no further.





Equip your PC with two removable HDs installed in their mobile racks. These mobile rack devices of which I speak are two-piece affairs - the rack itself and the inner tray or caddy (in which the hard drive resides) that slides into the rack. They come in all-aluminum models or a combination of aluminum-plastic ranging in price from about $15 to $50. Naturally, your desktop computer case will need two 5录%26quot; bays that are available to house the


mobile racks. Mobile racks come in various versions, depending upon whether the hard drive to be housed is an IDE/ATA, SATA, or SCSI device. A Google search for %26quot;removable hard drive mobile racks%26quot; will result in a wealth of information on these products and their vendors.





The installation of these devices is simplicity itself - no more difficult than installing a CD-ROM. After they%26#039;re installed you just plop the hard drive into the removable tray (caddy), make two simple connections (power %26amp; data cable), and slide the tray into the mobile rack. Note that the removable hard drive mobile racks we are discussing are designed to be installed in desktop computers and not laptop or notebook computers. The size, weight, and design considerations of laptops/notebooks


do not allow for this hardware configuration.





These mobile racks are nearly always equipped with a ON-OFF keylock, so a simple turn of the key, in effect, activates the HD. For added security you can push or pull the removable tray in or out using the tray%26#039;s handle and thus electrically/physically connect or disconnect the HD from the system.


No more difficult than opening or closing a small desk drawer.





Do you see the enormous advantages of this type of hardware configuration for your desktop computer? You can boot to either HD without the need to enter the BIOS. There is no need to modify the boot.ini files. Each drive is effectively isolated from each other, but if for any reason you want both drives connected during bootup, you can achieve that configuration as well.


It%26#039;s an ideal system for computing with different operating systems or. as your interest is, multiple XP operating systems.





Another significant advantage is that now you can have an *unlimited* number of HDs at your disposal by simply using additional removable trays to house the drives.





As far as the dip switches, your harddrive manufacturer should have documentation on how to set for a slave drive.|||no jumpers need set as long as the drives are both seen, boot.ini only looks at one drive normally but you can edit the drive from 0 to 1, and BTW merging means coming together not keeping apart, wrong concept or wrong word but wrong

Please help. When I was in regular Windows XP mode, I changed the boot.ini in msconfig to restart in safemode.?

When I did this, I got the login screen and can%26#039;t login even when leaving the password blank as administrator or any other user (and when using the correct password too).





I%26#039;ve tried pressing F8 while the computer is restarting and selecting Normal mode to see if I could even get it back to how it used to be, but when I do that it still starts the computer in safe mode and gets me to the login screen.





My priority is to go back to the normal Windows mode. How can I do this? Your help is very much appreciated.


|||Learn form this. Do NOT play with things you do not understand. you will now need to boot into a command window, and then use a pure text editor (edit) to repair the boot.ini file. you will need to remember exactly what you changed and return it to its%26#039; exact state. Of course if you can not get paste the login (even the OS cd will tend to ask for this) you will now need to re-install the system from scratch. This will lose all your files and programs.|||boot from windows install cd and at some point you can go command prompt mode, then you can edit boot.ini again back to what it was before





(edited) you will loose nothing ... lol. you can get clean boot.ini file even from a friend, are just few lines there

I have a boot line in the boot menu.to erase it I am supposed to go to the boot INI. file.How do I get there ?

it is left over from a system backup and is a test boot.every time I start windows it locks there and I have to go to the boot menu and change the boot program to windows.|||The boot.ini file is located on the root of C:. In order for it to be visible you have to go to Windows Explorer%26gt;Tools%26gt;Folder Options%26gt;View Tab and select %26quot;Show hidden files and folders%26quot; under Advanced settings.

How to change boot screen??

hi


i want to change boot screen to bmp boot screen and i dont know hot to do it.. i know i hav to make 640x480pixel 16bit color image and call it boot.bmp.


the problem is were to put this file in sistem 32 or somwere els and wat to write in boot.ini


if im using xp home..


i%26#039;ll be very great full for ur help


thak u|||http://articles.networktechs.com/17-p1.p鈥?/a>

How can I get Ubuntu to auto-boot?

I%26#039;ve just installed Ubuntu via wubi and I want it to autoboot to that instead of Windows. I gather you change the boot.ini file but im not sure what to do.





Thanks|||%26quot;How do I make Ubuntu the default boot option?





Ubuntu is not installed as the default boot option, you have to select it in the windows boot menu. To change that, in windows XP go to control_panel %26gt; system %26gt; advanced %26gt; startup_and_recovery and edit the %26quot;Default Operating System%26quot;, if you want you can change the timeout as well.%26quot;





This is a quote from the official Wubi Guide found here:|||Ubuntu is not installed as the default boot option, you have to select it in the windows boot menu. To change that, in windows XP go to control_panel %26gt; system %26gt; advanced %26gt; startup_and_recovery and edit the %26quot;Default Operating System%26quot;, if you want you can change the timeout as well.|||Well, if you install Ubuntu after XP or Vista, it will install GRUB and default boot with Ubuntu%26#039;s latest kernal. You can edit the GRUB config from within Ubuntu to change boot options. (Google how, I can%26#039;t remember off-hand)

How do I change my boot menu?

I have Linux and windows xp home edition on my PC, I changed a couple of things and now when I boot up I only get the option to boot windows, I understand that I have to change the boot.ini file, but I am unsure to what I have to add to the text file.





I currently have the following:





[boot loader]


timeout=15


default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partiti鈥?br>

[operating systems]


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WI鈥?Windows XP Home Edition%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect





I have 2 harddrives both windows and linux are on the same harddrive.|||Just install GRUB then you can decide which to boot from.. Lilo is poop





http://www.bo.infn.it/alice/alice-doc/mll-doc/linux/advanced/node49.html|||doesn%26#039;t say which linux you are using if you are using a live cd/dvd go for the install option again and fix with grub. I am dual booting win xp and Sabayon linux. You might try a post on your linux OS forum as they may be more apt to deal with this.. Good luck!

How can i cange boot.ini so that it recognize linux?

I have xp and linux on my cmp. At startup Grup runnig and i can choose which OS to start with. But after i choose xp and press F8 there just appears xp, so i can%26#039;t choose linux using xp boot menu. How can i change boot conf so that xp recognize linux and show it in the OS boot menu?|||id rather use a linux loader because it will recognize windows boot files|||that has to be done in msconfig|||I don%26#039;t think you can, why would you choose XP from grub and then want to go into linux? that makes no sense, if you want to go into linux choose linux from grub, the boot.ini file is for boot options/command not for showing what OS to boot into, by the time you see the XP screen you are commited to XP





just select linux from grub when you want to boot into linux and xp when you want to boot into xp





dougc|||you have to extract the first 512 bytes from the linux boot partition (/boot typically).





Here is the windows software which can automatically extract the linux boot loader and edits the boot.ini appropriately.





Just download bootpart from the link below and run it from command prompt.|||chain it.

How can i change the boot.ini file to change the boot default option?

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WIND鈥?Windows XP Professional%26quot; /noexecute=optin /fastdetect





U just change partition(1) to another partition you prefer.If primary partition u will need to change to 0.

How to configure boot.ini?

my computer is installed with xp. but i just bought another hard disk to install vista. before the installation, i disconnect the old hard disk and connect the new one. then i install vista untill complete. after that, i reconnect the old hard disk that contain xp. when i turn on my computer, it dont shows boot options. so, i need to know how to make boot options appear so that i can choose whether i want to log in into xp or vista. i think i have to change boot.ini in win xp. but i dont know how. so please help me...|||Vista doesn%26#039;t use boot.ini anymore, it now used BCD store and the XP Bootloader won%26#039;t load Vista. The easiest and most autmatic way would be to install XP then vista on seprate partitions to dual boot.





You can try easy bcd and see if that helps (on vista)


http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1|||to access BOOT.INI all you have to do is Open start and select run and there type in msconfig !


A new window will open with a few different tabs and select the one saying BOOT.INI and you can edit it from there


I%26#039;m not really sure if that is going to help you much but anyway :D





EDIT:


I just read the post above me I know for sure that this method works on XP not sure about Vista XD

How can I modify my boot.ini file to change the boot order of Operating Systems?

I tried installing this %26quot;Longhorn Reloaded%26quot;, it was actually a build of XP proffesional that had been juiced up. It was really bad and nothing worked. Worse it put itself as the primary Operating System. When I try to change it, it doesn%26#039;t even list Vista in the system. So I have to do it manually.





I have Windows Vista Home Premium, what should the text in the boot.ini file in Drive C look like?





Thank you ;-)|||Start %26gt; in the search type %26quot;msconfig%26quot; %26gt; view the %26quot;boot%26quot; tab





good luck mate|||Install EasyBCD to make any changes to the Boot record, its a freeware and pretty easy to use, I feel uncomfortable touching the boot.ini myself but with EasyBCD my PC is running as triple boot (XP, Vista and Ubuntu) which I configured all by myself.





Get your app here...





http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1|||That is a boot.ini or boot config file.


C:/startup/WindowsVista/*some secret code here to make sure you are LEGIT* /run


That is nowhere near close, just look up boot ini for vista,(whatever of the 5 that you run)


http://windows.edu.pl/vista-34705.html


That one seems to explain it well.


Boot.ini has been replaced in Vista with BCDEDIT Boot Configuration Data Editor (a command prompt application.)


Boot Configuration Data Editor Frequently Asked Questions http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsVis鈥?/a>


This app may also be easier for you to use from a gui.


http://www.vistabootpro.org/


http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/post-5鈥?/a>


http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/post-5鈥?/a>


There are further articles on the use of BCDEDIT on the Technet and MSDN sites, and you can type BCDEDIT /? at the cmd prompt and view the long list of switches.





/%26amp;Author CH/%26amp;


These people usually get it correct:


http://www.computing.net/windowsvista/ww鈥?/a>


Take note, make a backup before changing ANYTHING in the BCCONFIG,Sysedit,Sysconfig or whatever root/suda/admin files you are accessing and altering.

Change boot.ini file in xp...

I need to change the boot.ini file in windows xp to open windows vista by default. The reason I need to do this is because I originally had vista on my C: partition, and I installed xp on my D: partition.


according to what I have just said, please give me instructions on how to alter the boot.ini file to boot from vista, (which is on the C: partition) by default.





PS.


I have no way of getting into vista right now, so I cannot use EasyBCD





PPS.


I have visited bootdisk.com, and I cannot figure it out, so if your instructions include going to that website, or anywhere similar, write your instructions in great detail... I%26#039;m really slow :)





thanks a million|||


Hello


get on this page


you need information!


http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022


I hope this helps you.