Help with [dual] booting the system? [Me + XP x64]

Hi,
I need help eith booting my computer.
I have 4 parttions on my hard drive these are
Local Disk C:\ (Windows ME) Documents D:\ Games E:\ and Windows XP x64 Edition F:\

I installed Windows Xp x64 Edition First and then installed Windows ME

So i am now currently in Windows ME but i do not know how to create a multiboot so that i can choose witch operating system to boot at startup

I understand that the Boot.ini file should look like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=C:\
[operating systems]
C:\= "Microsoft Windows "
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS= "Windows XP Professional x64 Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

But when i boot my system it goes into Windows ME straight away

Is there anyway i can get it to somehow read the boot.ini file before it boots into windows ME?

Computer specifications if you need them:
------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 10/22/2007, 22:38:51
Machine name: R3D6F9
Operating System: Windows Me (4.90, Build 3000)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: ECS
System Model: nForce3-A
BIOS: Phoenix
Processor: AMD Sempron(tm) Processor 3000+, MMX, 3DNow, ~1.8GHz
Memory: 512MB RAM
Page File: 73MB used, 1463MB available
Windows Dir: C:\WINDOWS
DirectX Version: DirectX 9.0c (4.09.0000.0904)
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 4.09.0000.0904 32bit

Thanks for any help!

 

Hello dale,

A blast out of the past so bear with me

Ok.

When you installed XP first on the F partition, it did create a boot.ini on C (boot.ini files must reside on C) that the subsequent ME installation erased -9X OS's don't use boot.ini files. And the reason the system goes into ME is becasue it's on C which is the saving grace here; it could've been worse, if you would have put ME on any partition other than C, then you would have to start again.

You can create a boot.ini for XP and create a dual boot menu by using XP's Recovery Console.

To start the Recovery Console from the Windows CD, follow these steps:

Insert the Windows CD and shut the system down, then restart. Follow your computer’s prompts to start from the CD. (You may need to adjust settings in the computer’s BIOS to enable the option to start from a CD.)

Follow the setup prompts to load the basic Windows startup files. At the Welcome To Setup screen, press R to start the Recovery Console.

If you have multiple options on the Windows startup menu, enter the number of the Windows installation you want to access from the Recovery Console. Enter XP.

When prompted, type the Administrator password. If you’re using the Recovery Console on a system running Windows XP Home Edition, this password is blank by default, so just press Enter. At the command prompt, enter Recovery Console commands directly.

The command for you to enter:

Bootcfg: Automatically scans all local disks for Windows installations and configures and repairs entries in the operating system menu (Boot.ini)

You can enter help at any time to get the list of RC commands.


FYI: ME will not be able to access any partition that is formated as NTFS. I assume that F where XP is currently is formated NTFS. XP does have the ability to access FAT - FAT32 file systems which is what ME uses.

If you want ME to access D and E, keep that in mind.

 

While you're in the Recovery Console, run the following two commands in addition to the boofcfg command:

fixmbr \Device\HardDisk0

fixboot c:

I would run the bootcfg command last, after running the other two.

That assumes you have the one hard disk only. Mind the spaces in the command strings or they won't execute properly.

When you installed Windows ME after installing XP, it rewrote the boot sector code so as to direct the boot process to the appropriate file for ME. That's not going to work with XP since it requires that the boot process look on the root of the system drive for a file named boot.ini and when found, that file directs the boot process to further destinations and provides for dual boot as well.

If after running all three of those commands successfully you are still unable to boot to XP and get the dual boot menu screen, bite the bullet and reinstall XP. It will set up the dual boot automatically in the normal install process. If you have any XP files you would like to save, try a repair install over the existing XP installation as will be offered when you run the install CD and it detects the XP that you have already installed.

 

Thanks SD for the additional info/suggestions - it's been a long time since I dual booted 9X with XP

 

If the first partition on the drive was the Active partition during the XP install then all the XP boot files would have went to that partition, so the subsequent install of ME would have deleted all of these files. I don't believe there is any XP recovery console command that will replace these files in the root of ME, so fixboot and bootcfg won't help because there is no ntldr or ntdetect.com on the ME partition. You can copy them manually from the XP CD, but the fixboot command will disable your ability to boot ME even if these files are present. For the ntldr to boot ME you have to copy the Partition Boot Record (the PBR) to a file called bootsect.dos and place it in the root of ME before fixboot overwrites it.

I would say make an XP boot floppy and use that to boot into XP. Once there you can see if ntldr, ntdetect.com and boot.ini are on the XP partition and if not then copy over the ones that are on the boot floppy. You can then install another bootmanager, which is a better solution than trying to get the complex and mental Microsoft one to work.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305595
http://gag.sourceforge.net - Free
http://www.osloader.com - $25

 

Hi McTavish,

Dale has nothing to lose by trying the RC first.

Once I replaced an ME installation on C with a new XP install while a current XP was running on D and used the RC.

 

I don't see much action taking place here so I'll bait the trap a little. Here's a boot floppy creator file that you can download and run. It will prompt you to place a blank floppy in the drive bay and after which it will create a boot floppy that you can leave in the drive and boot to your XP installation.

XP P4 Boot Floppy Creator

Incidentally, if you did not format the C: drive after installing XP and prior to installing ME, then the bootloader files should still be on the root of the drive.

If they aren't you can copy them from the boot floppy that you create.

If you get booted successfully with the floppy, it may inspire you to do the head scratching and further research and add the proper load line in the boot.ini file of the floppy and then copy it to the c: drive root. Then you should be able to repair the MBR and Boot code by running the commands from the Recovery Console that I mentioned earlier.

If you aren't all that interested in doing the task, the Repair install may be your choice after all. That your option.

Of course another option is to leave the floppy in to boot to XP and when you want to boot to ME, just pull the floppy out and boot normally.