Re: How do I solve this boot.ini problem with WinXP?

No it's not unless it's a paste issue, there has to be a space before every switch or the boot will fail.

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Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

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"microman" <microman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:199811D9-347C-4D00-8302-8DF71A24833E@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
John,

Hope you see my earlier reply today.

This is the current state of my boot.ini file in Win2K's Root:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional"/fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home
Edition"/noexecute=optin/fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Recovery Console"/cmdcons

Does that seem okay, to you? I'm no Windows software expert.





"John John" wrote:

I can outright delete them on the Windows 2000 that I'm on now and
Windows doesn't say a peep about it. In a Microsoft dual boot
configuration you will only see one set of these files in the root
directory of the active or System partition, in your case it's
completely normal that they aren't in the root of the xp drive. You
should be able to copy/rename/move/delete these files with Explorer.exe.

John

microman wrote:

> John,
>
> Thanks for those comments; they're reassuring.
>
> So, if Win2K will let me, could I just rename the existing two files in
> Win2K's root (with, say, ntldrbak and ntdetectbak?). Then add the two new
> files from the XP CD?
>
> After all the experimenting and re-running of the Setup I did yesterday,
> I've ended up right now with old-version ntldr/ntdetect files in Win2k, but
> none of those sorts of files at all in XP. Don't know how that happened. So,
> at present, I'm not even being given a choice to boot into XP. I'll have to
> re-run the XP Setup yet again, formatting and reinstalling it. But, before
> that, I'll try once more to somehow copy those two files to the Win2K root.
> If Windows won't let me change the existing files there, could they be
> changed instead by somehow using Command Prompt?
>
> John" wrote:
>
>
>>microman wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"RajKohli" wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>This is a little bit not understandable that why are you configuring 2
>>>>different "Primary Partitions" for dual boot between Win2K and Win XP. If you
>>>>have already Win2K installed then you easily install WinXP on a Logical Drive.
>>>>
>>>>It doesn't matter that you are creating 2 Primary Partitions on a Single HDD
>>>>or Multiple Hard Disk only one can be set as a "Active Partition". You can
>>>>use XOSL (Extended Operating System Loader) kind of program to boot between
>>>>different Primary Partitions. But I don't think that it will be a good idea
>>>>and it is a little bit complicated too. The main function of XOSL is to
>>>>detect different OS from different partitions and make a partition active
>>>>when you use a different Primary Partition to boot from.
>>>>
>>>>I will suggest you that if you already have Win2K in working condition then
>>>>run Windows XP setup through it and make a "Clean Install" on a different
>>>>Logical Drive not Primary Partition.
>>>>
>>>>Hope this is what you are missing, let us know!
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>"microman" wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>I've been trying to dual-boot WinXP Home with Win2K (having now used Win2K
>>>>>for several years), and yes it IS possible; even the readme file on the WinXP
>>>>>CD says you can, provided the two OSs are in separate primary partitions or
>>>>>you're not trying to update one with the other.
>>>>>
>>>>>Trouble is that I boot to the WinXP CD and go through the WinXP Setup, it
>>>>>completes, the PC automatically reboots and the splashscreen of WinXP shows
>>>>>and WinXP starts to open. But there it ends. The screen goes blank and stays
>>>>>like it.
>>>>>
>>>>>To cut a long story short, I've concluded that the problem lies with the NT
>>>>>Loader, in that the system files of Win2K called NTLDR and NTDetect.com
>>>>>differ from those of WinXP, the Win2K ones dating back to 1999. Win2K is the
>>>>>OS in the boot partition (C:) and so the choice between the two OSs is there
>>>>>when I then boot the PC but (as I understand it) WinXP picks up the wrong
>>>>>NTLDR and NTDetect.com files and so fails to boot to screen.
>>>>>
>>>>>The article at:
>>>>>
>>>>>http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3bEN-US%3bQ315233
>>>>>
>>>>>gives some insight into this and gives a possible solution. This involves
>>>>>copying the XP versions of the two files to the Win2K partition. Since I can
>>>>>still run Win2K and can also explore the WinXP CD, to get at the two newer
>>>>>files, I could copy them across, as suggested.
>>>>>
>>>>>However, the article is ambiguous, in that it's not clear whether identical
>>>>>pairs of these files need to exist in both XP and 2K. Also, whether you're
>>>>>supposed to delete the Win2K's versions of these files before then copying
>>>>>across from the XP CD. Does anyone know the answer to this? Has anyone met
>>>>>this problem?
>>>>>
>>>>>Actually, when you look in an up-to-date Win2K, the existing files NTLDR and
>>>>>NTDetect.com get used in other folders, other than just residing in the root
>>>>>folder. This means that if you changed the versions in the root folder, you'd
>>>>>end up with two different versions of the files in Win2K. Some of the
>>>>>existing ones are involved in uninstalling service pack files, etc., so are
>>>>>quite important.
>>>>>
>>>>>If this grabs your interest, go to Windows Explorer in each of Win2K and
>>>>>WinXP, and go to Tools/Folder Options and untick Hide System Files
>>>>>(Recommended), then search for these files in the respective root areas.
>>>>>Better still, do Search/Files & Folders. You'll see what I mean.
>>>>>
>>>>>I'm anxious to get WinXP booted to screen but this seems the only hope in
>>>>>doing it. A problem peculiar to dual-booting, it seems.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>Thanks, everyone, for your various suggestions.
>>>
>>>Jerry,
>>>
>>>I've read what you've written and am not sure to which part of the whole
>>>WinXP Setup cycle you're referring. I'm certainly booting to the XP CD
>>>initially, having changed the BIOS to do so. I'm finding that toward the end
>>>of the WinXP Setup, the PC reboots itself and that's where the XP
>>>splashscreen then appears. But then the screen goes blank and stays blank.
>>>I've then had no option but to power off. When I power the PC back on, I get
>>>the same result if I choose to go into WinXP. I've tried this last bit,
>>>leaving the CD in the drive and then not leaving the CD in the drive, but
>>>WinXP still refuses to boot. On the assumption that I'll finally manage to
>>>get XP to boot to screen, should I leave the XP CD in the drive until I'm
>>>specifically instructed by the Setup or Welcome to WinXP to remove it?
>>>
>>>John,
>>>
>>>Having unmasked the system files in Folder Options, I yesterday tried to
>>>overwrite the ntldr file in my Win2K root folder but the system wouldn't let
>>>me do it. I got an error message saying it was a protected file. An example
>>>of the files I'm currently seeing in the Win2K partition are:
>>>
>>>NTDETECT.COM C:\
>>>ntdetect.com C:\cmdcons
>>>ntdetect.com C:\WINNT\$NtServicePackUninstall$
>>>ntdetect.com C:\WINNT\ServicePackFiles\i386
>>>
>>>So, this is why I'm wary of REPLACING ntdetect.com. There are similar folder
>>>nestings for the file ntldr. Maybe a distinction has to be made between
>>>REPLACING the existing file in the Win2K root or ADDING a new file? And are
>>>files that are in different cases (upper/lower) considered different, anyway?
>>>Do you see what I mean?
>>
>>The Upper/lower case makes no difference at all. The file has to be
>>replaced, there cannot be two copies of the files with the same name in
>>the root folder. The boot process uses only the files in the root
>>directory, the other ones are not used. The Windows XP version of the
>>files are aware of earlier Windows versions and know how to boot these
>>earlier versions. Try renaming the existing file or try doing it from
>>the recovery console as it says in the article you mentioned earlier.
>>Are you sure that is the cause of your problem?
>>
>>Having Windows installed on different primary partitions (as opposed to
>>logical drives) make no difference. You can have up to four primary
>>partitions if you want and have a different operating system on each of
>>them, it doesn't matter to Windows one way or the other, there will only
>>be one active partition, aka the System partition or System volume, and
>>the files necessary to start the operating system will be stored in the
>>root directory of the System partition. What does the boot.ini file
>>contain, what does it say for the XP setup? Does it point to the setup
>>bootsector?
>>
>>John
>>
>>John
>>
>>


.

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