Big problem, having changed dual boot back to single boot

[humberstone26]

I have been running a dual boot syatem for some years. Win98 and Win XP, with no problems. I have now formatted the Win98 partition and installed Win XP with SP2. I then deleted the partition with the original Win XP on it and now have just 2 partitions (1) Primary with Win XP (2) Logical with a partition just for data , no operating system on it. Large HD no shortage of space.
BUT !! when I boot up I now get the choice of 2 "Windows(default)" . Just as if I have 2 operating systems, but only one works.
Boot magic only shows one Win XP.
I may have used Fdisk years ago,
How do I get rid of this problem, I have spent all day on it!
Any help would be gratefully received

[Murf]

Hum, no one came by.

Use a text editor (Notpad is good), open up the boot.ini file (may have to unhide it) it is located in the root drive C:

Take out the entry for the removed version.

It should look similiar to this:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

You can change the wording in the bold are anyway you want, just remove the offending line. Don't forget to SAVE and EXIT

[humberstone26]

Followed your clear instructions, although my boot.ini only had one line for the operating system, but with..... partition(2)\WINDOWS, which I changed to (1) and then added the line you advised and it worked great! Even "msconfig" appeared again which I noticed had stopped working as well.
There is a slight hiccup however, which when I RESTART or REBOOT I get the message "DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER". I switch off and then back on and it boots up normally. Could this be connected with changes I have just made? Would appreciate another wise word. Many thanks!

[Murf]

Yes,

The boot.ini looks for Windows and this file tells where it is at. If your getting that message, then it isn't finding it right off.

If you have Windows loaded on your "C" drive (1st partition if more than one) then the boot.ini should look like this:

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

The default is the name of the folder it is in. Some may have WINNT, some different. Just look at your C: drive and the name of the folder that Windows is in, if different than "Windows" change it to reflect the actual name of the folder.

What these lines actually mean are:

default=multi(0)
This option is used with IDE and ESDI drives and is also used with SCSI drives for computers using Windows NT. The number used in the above example is "0", this number is the adapter's number and should always be "0" for computers that rely on the BIOS to load system files.

• In a computer using only IDE this option will work with up to four hard disk drives.
• In a computer using only SCSI this option will work with the first two drives on the primary SCSI controller.
• Finally, if a computer is using IDE and SCSI this option will work with the IDE drives on the first controller.

disk(0)
The disk on the controller. If "multi(x)" is used , this value will always be "0". However, if "scsi(x)" is defined, this value will be SCSI address.


partition(1)
Which partition the operating system is on. In the above example, the operating system is on the first partition of the drive.

Finally, the last portion of this line defines the directory of where windows is located and what the boot menu should display as the operating system. In the above example, the boot menu would display "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" as a selection

fastdetect Causes NTDETECT to not detect serial and parallel devices and instead let Plug and Play handle detection.

I would also reconfig the master boot record has to be done using the XP Recovery Console.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

[humberstone26]

Thank you Murf ! No more error messages, my PC boots up like the speed of light, well not quite, but pretty good. I would like to use the XP Recovery Console to reconfig the master boot, as you suggest but my XP disk just says "setup cannot continue as a newer version is on my PC." I expect there is a little trick to get round this one, which I guess I will find in the XP posts.
Your help has been much appreciated.
Humberstone26

[Murf]

HUM,

You indicated that you installed XP SP2 but when you use your XP CD you get the cannot do this. The CD you are using trying to use the recovery console is it the same one that was used to install? If not, then we will not go there.... and I will just say your Welcome...

Timeout=30 you can change, Mine is 10 it will boot a little faster...

[humberstone26]

Hi Murf ! Good of you to come back, I will try the Timeout change. The XP installation disk is the same one I used to install. The SP2 was added from a separate disk obtained direct from Microsoft.

[Murf]

OK, then I would slipstream the two together, this way you have one CD with XP SP2 on it. When you run a scannow it will not work with just the xp CD or the SP2 CD. Sometimes it does, sometimes it does not. I slipstreamed mine. Not to difficult.

Here is a good step-by-step

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...slipstream.asp

[humberstone26]

Thanks Murf for the latest info and link. My goodness, it looks as though I am going to have fun with this one. I will get back to you when the slipstreaming and disk is up and running.

[Colmaca]

humberstone26,
If you find the manual slipstream one CD with XP SP2 on it, you could try AutoStreamer.
You will need, a windows xp cd and the sp2.
here a how to do it site http://www.simplyguides.net/guides/u...streamer.shtml

[Murf]

Colmaca,

Thanks for the link, that does make it easy. I have all my drivers slipstreamed in mine also.

Here is a download link for Autostreamer.

http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/S...streamer.shtml