[Help] Dual boot problem - 98 and XP

[JohnS]

Hi,

I was experimenting, but clearly my knwolegde is not enough to do it.

I have two hard-drives.

On drive 1 I had installed Windows 98 - C: (fat 32)

On drive 2 I had installed XP - H: (NTFS)

As I installed XP after 98, XP installed a boot selector which allowed me to select the OS.

Now I decided to format C: and re-install 98.

The result is that 98 installed it's own boot loader that does not recognize XP (now I know all this because after the desaster I googled for it).

How can I have back the boot selector that allows me to choose between 98 and XP without having to re-install XP?

I searched the web but there is so many information that I couldnt find a clear walkthrough.

Thanks.

[LLXX]

There are the fixboot and fixmbr commands... but those only work if you can boot into XP.

What about a Repair Install from the XP CD?

[JohnS]

I don't have XP here with me, just the 98 CD.

And I also can't boot into XP.

Aren't there any tools that I can grabe from internet and use?

[atomizer]

you'll have to do some searching, but i think you can just make a very simple edit to 'boot.ini' (in your 98 installation) to get your boot selection back. here's a generic copy of a 'boot.ini', for a single installation:

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

and here's a sample 'boot.ini' for a dual boot, XP and ME, for which each OS resides on a different hard drive (a different physical drive, not a different partition on one drive):

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

hope this helps.

another quick way to boot XP may be to manually select the boot volume in BIOS. rather than making changes to BIOS, there may be a key that you press which will ask you what drive you want to boot from (in my case it's 'F11). typical choices are CD/DVD drives, USB (if something is plugged in, like a flash drive), floppy and your hard drives. here you'll be able to select any recognized drive, regardless of whether it has the necessary files to boot windows.

Edited January 11, 2006 by atomizer

[LLXX]

Changing boot.ini won't work, since NTLDR reads the boot.ini to determine the OSs to boot, but NTLDR is loaded by the boot sector which has been overwritten with the 98 one.

Is it possible to run FIXBOOT.EXE after booting into 98? If it is, then your problem is solved.

[JohnS]

Thanks for your precious help, guys.

With your help, the XP Cd that I finaly could get from home and this post:

Unable to boot Windows

I'd do all of the following in RC:

bootcfg /rebuild
fixboot
fixmbr

and check that there is a ntldr and ntdetect.com in C:\ .

I managed to get XP back.

But I lost Windows 98 boot.

What I did:

1- Copied ntldr and ntdetect.com from a computer with XP installed and copied them to C: (where I have windows 98 installed)

2- Created boot.ini from atomizer post, like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(3)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows 98" /fastdetect
»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»Edited because of a typo«««««««««««««««««««««««

3- Executed Recovery Console and typed "bootcfg /rebuid" & "fixboot". I did not execute fixmbr because it showed a frighting warning

When I restarted the computer it showed the two choices. When I choose Windows XP it started normaly.

But when I choose Windows 98 it gave me a message saying that a file called hal.dll was missing in \Windows\System32.

So I booted XP, copied hall.dll from XP partition to 98 partition.

Restarted computer and tried again to choose again 98.

It gave me a message that ntoskrnl.exe was missing in \Windows\System32.

So I booted XP, copied ntoskrnl.exe from XP partition to 98 partition.

Restarted computer and tried again to choose again 98.

It gave me a general error, telling me to contact support.

So I ask: how can I boot Windows 98?

Edited January 13, 2006 by JohnS

[atomizer]

i don't know, but there's a typo in the XP line...

multi(0)disk()rdisk(1)partition(3)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

disk()

[LLXX]

Windows 98 is not an NT-based OS, and thus does not boot via NTOSKRNL.EXE. The fact that you had to copy the XP kernel over to 98 should already be a sign something is wrong.

The correct syntax should be

D:\="Windows 98"

instead of

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows 98" /fastdetect

Edited January 13, 2006 by LLXX

[JohnS]

Atomizer,

Yes, there was a typo. I edited the post and corrected it. Thanks.

The correct syntax should be

D:\="Windows 98"

instead of

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows 98" /fastdetect

Sorry, but why D:, if I have Windows 98 installed on C:, which is the firts partition of the first hard disk?

Edited January 13, 2006 by JohnS

[LLXX]

Another typo. Sorry.

[Nepali]

Process1

L 100 2 0 1
N C:\BOOTSECT.DOS
R BX
0
R CX
200
W
Q

setup 98 after windows XP

save upper text from (L.....Q) as read.scr

creat backup of X:\bootsect file (X: is ur root drive)

run debug<read.scr

run xp setup

choose repair

choose consol

typw admin password

run fixboot command

reboot

enjoy dual boot

second Process

u need to install third party software like

paragon boot manager

os selector

bootstar etc

Do not proceed if u don't know what u r going to do...

[jaclaz]

Hey guys, why don't you just refrain from posting "random" hints?

@JohnS

Read these posts of mine:

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=51016

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=33030

http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=25365

get yourself bootpart:

http://www.winimage.com/bootpart.htm

and/or read these:

http://thpc.info/dualboot.html

jaclaz

Edited January 14, 2006 by jaclaz

[JohnS]

Success!

Thank you all.

Thanks specially to jaclaz

Just read your posts and http://thpc.info/dualboot.html

Created a new bootsect.dos with their utility, corrected my boot.ini, typed fixboot at the recovery console and voila.

And most important, learned something new.

It's just a pitty that when I googled for "dual boot", that site didn't came as the first hit.

Once again, thanks.