Re: problem with dual boot

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Ok, I fixed it, adding the information you shared with me to what I already
know. I had copied ntldr and ntdetect.com to my d: root folder, but there it
does no good, because it's not the boot drive! I did the following:

1. Copied the ntldr and ntdetect.com files from my d: drive to my Vista c:
drive (boot drive). If you have lost these files, you can find them on your
original XP installation cd in the \i386 folder and copy them to your BOOT
drive root.

2. Double checked my boot.ini (which should also be located in your boot
drive root!) I modified the rdisk settings as you suggested and found that
rdisk value of (1) worked for me (even if the XP drive is listed as drive 0
in my Disk Manager).

3. Used VistabootPro from inside Vista to modify the boot option menu added
another entry labeled "Windows XP".

4. Restarted the computer, and everything worked just as it should.
Dual-boot menu came up, I tried my "Windows XP" entry, and was back in my
original operating system after being "locked out" for 3 days!

FYI: during the last few days, I received alot of suggestions to use the
Recovery/Repair console via my original XP install Cd. I tried to rebuild
the boot.ini using the bootctf /rebuild command, but when I tried this, it
told me that D: drive which contained my XP installation, was corrupt, and
could not continue, so that wasn't a viable solution for me (chkdsk verified
that the disk was not corrupted).

Thanks to all of you for contributing to a real solution to my problem.

"John John" wrote:

The boot files go on the common System partition. Put the files ntldr,
ntdetect.com and boot.ini in the root folder of the C: drive. The ARC
path in the boot.ini file will have to point to the drive and partition
where Windows XP is installed. Typically in a case like yours the rdisk
value will point to a disk other than 0, it should be something like
like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=15
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

If you are unsure of the rdisk ordinal number you can put multiple lines
pointing to different ordinals in the boot.ini file and try them out
when the boot menu appears. Valid ordinals are 0, 1, 2, or 3. The boot
file to test all rdisk ordinals file could be as so:

[boot loader]
timeout=15
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="RD1 Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINDOWS="RD2 Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(3)partition(1)\WINDOWS="RD3 Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="RD0 Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

The above presumes that XP is installed on the first partition of the
disk, as indicated by the partition(1) portion of the ARC path and that
it is in folder \Windows.

John

Erik wrote:
Ok this is what I did: I had an older problematic version of XP Pro
installed on drive C: (boot drive). Newer version of XP Pro on drive D:
Dual-boot between these two operating systems functioned without a hitch. No
longer needed the old version, so like a dummy, I formatted c: drive and
installed Vista. With my format I deleted the boot.ini, so now I can't get
to my d: drive XP installation.

Tried the Vistabootpro, and it noticed that there was a missing operating
system, and added it, but with no information. My vista dual-boot login asks
me which operating system to start with, but when I choose XP on D: tell me
that {ntldr} is missing and cannot continue. I have copied these files from
my original XP installation CD onto d: drive, but to no avail.

I need to get back into that operating system! How do I show the computer
that there is another perfectly functional operating system on another drive,
bearing in mind that I have erased the original boot.ini?

Thank you anyone. I'm exasperated.

"Erik" wrote:


Where is the proper forum to address a dual boot issue between XP and Vista?
Ever since I installed Vista, I lost access to my XP installation on the
other drive.


.

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