[Closed] Problem with 1.7.2 or user error?

[BBBB]

I'm using EasyBCD 1.7.2 and I'm either using it incorrectly or there's a bug.
I have Vista on partition C: and WinXP on partition E:

Here's what I do:

-Start EasyBCD on Vista partition
-Select "Add/Remove Entries"
-At the Add an Entry section
The "Type" drop-down menu is blank and the "Drive" is set to "C:"
- I select "Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3" from the "type" drop down and I then loose the
option to change the drive/partition associated with that OS as the "Drive" field
is greyed out.

To get around this I set the drop-down list back to "Windows Vista/Longhorn", select drive "E:", change the drop-down back to "Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3", and, set the
name to "Windows XP". I then press "Add Entry".

Seems a strnage way to do things but should work right?
Only problem is that when I check the "View settings" it shows that the WinXP partition defined on drive "U:" I don't even have a drive "U:" I'm assuming this is a problem....

Entry #1
Name: Microsoft Windows Vista
BCD ID: {current}
.....
...

Entry #2
Name: Windows XP
BCD ID: {sddwfjr-rhrftyrf=some-jibberish}
Drive: U:\
Bootloader Path: \NTLDR

Just one thought. Does EasyBCD read the boot.ini file to work out which directory Win XP is installed on? If so what is the logic for this? Does it just count the number of entries and use the last one?

[Mak 2.0]

You do not select the drive for a XP entry. You will use the boot drive and that is what EasyBCD selects. This is not a bug or a error. It is all explain in the documentation.

EasyBCD Documentation Home - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

If you wish to add a XP entry jsut do what you did. From there follow the steps outlined here:

Windows XP - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

To get it working correctly. You will move the boot.ini file, NTLDR and NTDETECT files to the boot drive and the Vista boot loader controlled by EasyBCD will do the rest.

[Computer Guru]

I've seen this issue before - it has something to do with mixups in EasyBCD between the original Vista beta implementation and the RTM one.....

EasyBCD 2.0 should resolve all such problems.

[BBBB]

You do not select the drive for a XP entry. You will use the boot drive and that is what EasyBCD selects. This is not a bug or a error. It is all explain in the documentation.

EasyBCD Documentation Home - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

If you wish to add a XP entry jsut do what you did. From there follow the steps outlined here:

Windows XP - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

To get it working correctly. You will move the boot.ini file, NTLDR and NTDETECT files to the boot drive and the Vista boot loader controlled by EasyBCD will do the rest.

Hi
Thanks for providing some useful information. Please don't take the original question as a critisism - merely a question. I think EasyBCD is a great tool - and easier than using the command line bcdedit. But i do have some general observations (again not critisisms, just things that may make things easier for users).

There are a number of websites with examples of creating Vistsa Dual boot PCs using EasyBCD. That's a good thing. But you'll also find a large number of people still having problems. A number of people, for instance, are recommending that you copy the WinXP boot files (ntldr etc.) onto the C:/Vista system root. That doesn't seem to be a good idea if you think about it.
http://apcmag.com/how_to_dual_boot_vista_and_xp_with_vista_installed_first__the_stepbystep_guide.h tm

Pointing some of those people towards your wiki page would probably help (not your issues but would prevent people trying out some of the more "creative" fixes).

I must admit I originally missed the note about version 1.7 automatically detecting the ntldr, and then automatically setting the drive letter. This is good to know.....and not as clear as it should be when using the tool.

One of the reasons it "looks odd" is the fact that when I select "Windows XP" from the drop down list it auto-selects drive C:/.

Unfortunately, Vista is the first/default boot option and is installed on the first partition (with the drive letter C:/). The WinXP boot files (ntldr etc.) are on partiton E:/ I am assuming that the BCD entry for the WinXP entry should be the drive letter E:/?

Either way, when you review the settings, the WinXP drive letter is given, not as C:/ or E:/, but as U:/.

And to finish - it's a great tool.....just maybe some misunderstanding on my part.

Addendum:

I've seen this issue before - it has something to do with mixups in EasyBCD between the original Vista beta implementation and the RTM one.....

EasyBCD 2.0 should resolve all such problems.

Thanks - didn't see this reply.
Am I right in thinking that the BCD entry for WinXP should list the drive letter where the WinXP boot files (ntldr etc.) are located? In my case that would be the second partition marked with drive letter "E:/".

Any idea when EasyBCD2.0 will be released?

Thanks!

Addendum:

I've just noticed something else that's a little strange and maybe related to the same issue above.

If you start EasyBCD with only one entry: Microsoft Windows Vista and then go to "View settings" you see that the BCD entry for Vista marks the device drive as "BOOT".

If you then go to the "Change Settings", and change the drive letter to, say "C:/", you cannot then change it back to BOOT. On the face of it this looks like EasyBCD is checking a drive/partition for a BCD boot system, finds that there is one on the C:/ drive and says: "Looks ok to me - its the active , boot partition anyhow".

The only problem is that you can also set the Vista drive to "F:". This isn't correct because Vista will not be able to boot from the F:/ partition - it's got XP on it.

Worse, if you then delete the Vista entry under "Add/Remove Entries", then add it back it adds an entry called "Windows Memory Diagnostic" rather than "Microsoft Windows Vista". If you then delete the "Windows Memory Diagnostic" entry the "Microsoft Windows Vista" entry appears in its place.

Whether it's my machine or EasyBCD it looks like the underlying BCD database is screwy.

[Mak 2.0]

The talk about the taking XP files is known by us. It has to be done. Because of the fact that XP and Vista use different boot methods. Vista uses the BCD and XP uses the boot.ini which in turn uses the NTLDR and NTDETECT files.

The reason they are suggest to be moved to the "boot" drive is because teh boot procedure is very simple. After you select XP it looks for those files. If you do not have those files present then you come across the stuff we describe in the XP Troublshooting section. Which is why the article and other places talk about moving those files.

The people that are having issue are more than welcome to stop by ans ask questions. We are more than willing to help them solve the issues.

I hope that better explains to you why when selecting XP entries it selects the C:\ drive which is most commonly the boot drive.

[BBBB]

Thanks - that helped.

C:/Vista system root partition now complete with:
Vista bootloader: Winload.exe
WinXP bootloader and files: ntldr, NTDETECT.COM and boot.ini.
-- Still seems strange to do this/

One thing I didn't realise was that BCD does NOT launch, or hand-off, to any other boot loader, at least on anything other than the boot partition, even when it's ntldr. And all that editing of the BCD file is simply to get a second OS listed on the boot up menu....

Got a BSOD error but WinXP re-install fixed that. I think I can fix it from here. Thanks for the help.

My last issue is now logging into WinXP (it needs re-activation)....before I can then use EasyBCD to update the Vista BCD so I can boot into that also.