boot.ini configuration cant find xp install

My system has two harddrives, c: ide, and d: nvidia fake raid 0.

.:History:.

I installed windows on d:

I then installed a linux distro on c:

Due to a graphics error, linux didn't work, and my boot disk became corrupted, so I reformated c, and put xp on it as well.

I was able to get in my original install (d), and proced to delete the windows folder on c:

Everything worked correctly. The system booted boot.ini from c: at that time.

I became tired of the multiple os choices, so I transfered the boot files from d onto c



This is when the os refused to boot.

So, I reinstalled win xp on c, and used the cd to go into the recovery cousel, witch presented me with 2 os opions, c:.., and d:...

I logged into d, and ran bootcfg /repair. However, this only showed the windows instalation on c.

I recopied ntldr and ntdetedt to the drive. It is still not working.

What steps should I take from here?

 

Copy/paste the contents of the boot.ini file on the root of your C: drive into your next post and let's see what it reveals. It's a text file so just double click it and it'll open in Notepad. It's normally a hidden file so be sure you have your setting to reveal hidden files.

 

I tried to boot to windows on c: only to come across a bsod. So, I reformated c: and put a fresh copy of windows on it. Windows boot screen comes up, then bsod flashes, then pc restarts.

What could cause this?

 

Video adapter or card or MOBO chipset driver.

 

ok, I managed to find the error code. Its:

0x0000007b (0xF7A3E528, 0xc0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)

A google search seems to show a raid error.



From this site:

I dont know what exactly this means.

And a linux live cd seemed to work fine, so it is probably not a hardware error.

 

I managed, through a live cd, to aquire the boot.ini code.

The C: drive has 3 installs on it, as you can see:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows.0
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows.0= "Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows2= "Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\Windows= "Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

 

Your boot.ini file is not correct if you want to boot the copy of Windows that is installed on the D: drive.

To boot the D: drive it will need to have an OS selection that reads:

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

That assumes that the installation on the D: drive is in a folder named Windows.

If you have "write" capability with that live CD, you can go ahead and edit the boot.ini file to read as above.

If you have a floppy drive, you can use a boot floppy with a free program called BootIniEdit to edit the boot.ini file without any OS help. I'm assuming you are using the NTFS file storage system. Let me know if you want that and I'll link you up.

There are other methods for working around this but I'll hold off until I hear from you about the floppy drive or the Write capability of your Live CD.

 

The live cd cant write to the ntfs disk, and I don't have a floppy drive.

I was messing arround in the bios cofig a little, is there somthing I could have changed that could have caused the bsod?

 

I doubt it.

Since you have no floppy drive, do you have a CD burner? I can link you up with an ISO file for creating a boot CD that can direct the boot process to the proper drive.

 

yes, I do

 

OK, then download and unzip the file below. It will give you an ISO file that is an image of a boot disk you can use to boot your system with. Use your CD burner software to create a CD from this ISO file. Boot with that CD in the drive bay (verify bios sequence set to boot from CD) and it will give you a boot menu to choose different drives and partitions. In your case, choose Drive 2 - Partition 1 and it should attempt to boot the copy of Windows that you have on your D: drive. That is based on Windows XP being installed in a folder named Windows. If your install folder is named differently, it will not work. I can make you one that will but you'll have to tell me the folder name you installed into.

XpBootCD2P3D

 

Ok, I managed to edit the boot.ini file, and windows now works correctly. What can I delete in the c folder

C:/

Folders
Documents and Settings
Program Files
System Volume Information
WINDOWS
Recycler

Files

AUTOEXEC
boot.ini
CONFIG.SYS
IO.SYS
MSDOS.SYS
NTDETECT.COM
ntldr
pagefile.sys


Thankyou for your help.

 

You can dump all except the following:

ntldr
ntdetect.com
boot.ini

Those three files must remain on the root of the C: drive in order for XP to boot from the D: drive.

 

You should not now be seeing any boot selection screen during the boot process since you only have one OS installed. If you are still getting that menu and want to drop it, just edit those OS command lines out of the boot.ini file.

If you have any questions about that, post the boot.ini script here and we can suggest what changes you may want to make to expedite booting.