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Problem with multiple boot menu

ectavares

By ectavares
in Windows XP

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ectavares

ectavares

Posted
Posted

Hi!

I have formatted my hard drive where I had windows xp home edition.

I deleted the partition and created a new one and formatted it just like I should do.

When I install Windows XP Pro now I have a multiple boot.wasnt it supose to have only one since I formatted the hard drive?

What could the problem be?

:/

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  • 4 weeks later...
Highspeedmac

Highspeedmac

Posted
Posted

I have a Question. :rolleyes:

This is how my Boot.ini File looks:

[boot loader]

timeout=5

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

I don't want the boot menu anymore.

I only have One Copy of Xp Home On My PC Now.

It is installed on the C: drive. The other Drive that

had Xp Home On Had to Be Replaced. When I

Replaced it, It left this Darn Boot Menu on the C drive.

I just want the PC to Boot Strait Into Windows Xp.

What Should I do?

Thanks In Advance. :)

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Justice

Justice

Posted
Posted

edit the boot.ini and remove the entire line reading:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

The XP installer automatically goes into upgrade mode when it detects a previous OS on the drive, even if you're formatting everything and starting over. It modifies the boot.ini to point to the "old" windows install, even though it's no longer there.

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khonjo

khonjo

Posted
Posted
I have a Question. :rolleyes:

This is how my Boot.ini File looks:

[boot loader]

timeout=5

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

I don't want the boot menu anymore.

I only have One Copy of Xp Home On My PC Now.

It is installed on the C: drive. The other Drive that

had Xp Home On Had to Be Replaced. When I

Replaced it, It left this Darn Boot Menu on the C drive.

I just want the PC to Boot Strait Into Windows Xp.

What Should I do?

Thanks In Advance. :)

The boot.ini file indicates that you thought you replaced old WXP install but what happend was making an additional WXP installation in a second physical hard drive and the old install was left intact. The old install of WXP resides in C: and the new install is in D: or something other than C: Deleting the follwing entry from boot.ini file will remove from the boot menu, an option of selecting the new WXP :

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

You can instead edit the boot.ini as follows to boot straight to the new WXP install:

[boot loader]

timeout=5

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

But the OS drive will not be C: and the old WXP needs to remains in C:

If you do not like this then you have to reinstall WXP in the first physical hard drive where the old WXP is. You have to make sure that the partition is deleted and reformatted in the process of this reinstallation.

Kaz

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Doggie

Doggie

Posted
Posted

seems to be on the same wave length with a similar problem for me so i might just ask :)

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows 98"

now what is wrong? it keeps saying im missing files when i try and run 98.. why? :rolleyes:

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Highspeedmac

Highspeedmac

Posted
Posted

khonjo,

The boot.ini file indicates that you thought you replaced old WXP install but what happend was making an additional WXP installation in a second physical hard drive and the old install was left intact. The old install of WXP resides in C: and the new install is in D: or something other than C: Deleting the follwing entry from boot.ini file will remove from the boot menu, an option of selecting the new WXP :

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

You can instead edit the boot.ini as follows to boot straight to the new WXP install:

[boot loader]timeout=5

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS

[operating systems]

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect

But the OS drive will not be C: and the old WXP needs to remains in C:

If you do not like this then you have to reinstall WXP in the first physical hard drive where the old WXP is. You have to make sure that the partition is deleted and reformatted in the process of this reinstallation.

Kaz

Thanks, But the first Solution has solve the problem.

I had made an error when I first Installed Xp.

See I had Win98 On my C: Drive, I decided to Install Windows Xp

On my D: drive, So that I would have A Multi-Boot and Also to test

how well Xp Would work on my Pc.

Well Xp Worked So Good That I Decided to Install it as the main OS and

Chuck win98. So Instead of Uninstalling Xp First, I just Formated The D: Drive.

When I restarted the Pc In Win98 I notice the Boot Menu Was still there.

Then I went an installed Xp On the C: drive Where 98 was. But I did not

Format the C: First. Xp Didn't Overwrite The Boot.ini File, It left it there.

Puff, I had two Option in the Boot Menu Both For WinXp Home. If WinXp Had

over wrote the Old Boot Ini I would not have had the Problem. :D

Next time I will know Better. :)Format First, Then Install.

Thanks Everyone For your Help. :rolleyes::D

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csaha

csaha

Posted
Posted

Another way is to format the drive using a low level format. Windows formats the system only in 0 and 1's. Use a thirf party software such as AutoClave to format your drive before you start loading the OS.

Windows CD will reformat the drive but AutoClave wipes out everything............. it will erase your boot.ini as well

Hope this info is useful

csaha

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Justice

Justice

Posted
Posted
Next time I will know Better. :)Format First, Then Install.

If you wanted to dualboot with 98 and just reload xp, the only thing needed was to delete the boot.ini from the c: drive.

If you wanted to wipe the drive and load just xp, all you needed to do was "Shutdown to ms-dos mode" and format the drive there, i.e. format c: /q/u/s (Which obviously deletes the boot.ini that was placed there by XP) and then boot to the xp cd and install.

If you re-install XP, you won't need to do anything to the boot.ini unless you install xp to a different partition than what you currently have.

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khonjo

khonjo

Posted
Posted
seems to be on the same wave length with a similar problem for me so i might just ask :)

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows 98"

now what is wrong? it keeps saying im missing files when i try and run 98.. why? :rolleyes:

If you install W98 after WXP then it is lot more difficult to set up dual boot system.

The way you added an entry to boot.ini file is incorrect. Correct entry would look like:

C:\xxxxxx.xxx="Windows 98"

xxxxxxx.xxx is a boot sector file which contains information in the boot sector of the partition where W98 is installed. Another word this file have to be created and is placed at the root of C: then is used in the above.

If you are interested in creating the boot sector file, then you need to learn how to use Disk Probe which comes in WXP/W2K CDROM. One of the functionality of this tool is to make a back up of boot sector file.

There is another way to switch between WXP and W98. You simply set a partition active where os resides which is wanted to boot. You can use Disk Manager to switch from WXP to W98 and FDISK to switch from W98 to WXP. If you use PQBoot which comes with PartitionMagic8 the OS switch-over can be more convenietly done.

Kaz

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