7 installed after XP => Only XP starts

JLX29886

Member
This is my first post.
I have an XP installation since many years.
I have now intalled a Windows 7 ultimate on the same disk as XP.

Problem:
Only Xp is proposed in the startup menu abd it starts correctly without ani issues..
I don't know how to add win 7 to this menu.

Could someone help me ?

Thank you for all.
 
How did you install W7 ?
If you created space on your XP disk and installed W7 to that empty space, the standard MS install process would have created an automatic dual-boot.
 
How did you install W7 ?
If you created space on your XP disk and installed W7 to that empty space, the standard MS install process would have created an automatic dual-boot.

It was an old partition I reused and enlarged and formatted for Windows 7. It was the XP version of my previous hardware (MB; processort etc ...) which was impossible to upgrade with my version of XP Pro
 
Yes but can you explain how you installed W7.
e.g.
from a booted DVD ?
with or without setting the target partition active ?
etc.
 
Sorry


W7 was installed from a bootable USB key, created from the content of an ISO. Why ? because the
install from the CD blocked at 66 % of the files extraction. The USB has been the only ay I found to make this install.


During the setup I was prompted to select a partition for the installation. I just selected the one that I enlarged an formatted therefore.


Was it active ? I don't known.


I can give you some more symptoms of the booting:


At boot time the PC still shows the old menu, presenting the 2 OS's that were present before the install of W7 :


- first the XP PRO called new ( the currently in useà


- second the previous XP PRO called olld related to my previous hardware.


Obviously only the first choice leads to a successfull boot and the otherd choice leads to a restart of the PC




This the boot.in on D:/ the parttiton of XP 'new'


[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professionnel New" /fastdetect /usepmtimer /NoExecute=OptOutmulti(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professionnel Old" /fastdetect=optin

Many thanks for your help.
 
That's the NTLDR/boot.ini boot process of XP (which cannot boot Vista/7/8), and indicates that the W7 installation cannot have been successful.
A W7 installation to an active partition will create a bootmgr/BCD boot process on that partition, and being active will subsequently boot directly into W7.
A W7 installation to a non-active partition will look for the active partition (in your case XP) and put its boot files in there, taking over the boot process and automatically creating a dual-boot entry for XP.
In your case neither of these things has happened, so the W7 installation cannot have completed.
Did you alter your BIOS to make the (failing) DVD, or the USB to be higher boot priority than your HDD(s) ?
It's not sufficient to use a temporary BIOS override at boot time to start an OS installation.
When the setup program needs to reboot during the install process, it must automatically return to the installation media. If you started the install with an override, the reboot will find the partially completed (unbootable) HDD partition instead and fail.
With the DVD in the tray, as you switch on the PC you should see "press any key to boot from CD/DVD".
You should press a key to start the install, but on subsequent reboots, you should see the message again but ignore it. Pressing a key on the reboot would start over again from the very beginning in an infinite loop.
The message is very misleading. The DVD has already booted when you see that message (it's the DVD producing it), and it really means "Would you like me to start the setup program".
 
Did you alter your BIOS to make the (failing) DVD, or the USB to be higher boot priority than your HDD(s) ?

NO. Each time a boot is lauched I use the F12 to enter the menu that allows to choose a media for booting.
Should my problem solved if
- I reinstall with the USB-HDD as boot media in he BIOS ?
AND/OR
-
I set the current W7 partition as active partition ? In this cas should my PC still boot correctly in XP if the W7 reinstall fails ?

Have a nice day.
 
Try the install from the DVD again with your BIOS boot sequence set with CD before HDD. You shouldn't need to make a USB copy.
If you install any OS to an empty partition which you set active before starting, the OS will be completely independent. The previously active OS will be untouched, but unbootable till you switch the active flag back to it, or use EasyBCD to add an entry to the W7 BCD for it.
The install process won't automatically set up a dual boot unless the old OS is active.
 
I am back.
Having following your "instrctions", W7 is now commpletely installed installed and activated with a dual boot W9/ and may XP New.
I have still an issue.
To display the new dual boot menu of windows 7I muist boot the PC on following wau
- start or restart from the CD/DVD device with the DVD (via BIOS or F12)
- and not to hit a key to boot to avoid the boot from de DVD

Any other boot device than CDROM makes the old boot menu to appear with the 2 XP installations.

The W7 partition is active.

Capture.JPG
 
You don't need to change the BIOS to take CD/DVD out of first place, just make sure there's no DVD in the tray when you boot.
If it goes to an XP boot, then the XP partition must be active.
Did you install W7 with XP active, then switch W7 active ?
If so switch XP active again, because that's where W7 will have placed its boot files.
 
"You don't need to change the BIOS to take CD/DVD out of first place, just make sure there's no DVD in the tray when you boot."
Yes I have to do that. Any other boot method makes the PC to start XP only...

"If it goes to an XP boot, then the XP partition must be active."

... and the XP partition is not active. The W7 is active

"Did you install W7 with XP active, then switch W7 active ?"
XP was active during the first phase of the first install from USB (F12)
W7 was active when I reinstall W7 from USB with bios configured for booting from USB.
I did not have repeated the first phase of install from the DVD because the install process immediatly started the completion of it.

"If so switch XP active again, because that's where W7 will have placed its boot files."
Doing this the result is the same : an XP boot menu.

Could the problem come from the presence of NTLDR and boot.ini in both folders ?:/windows on XP and W7 partitions ?

I also see that one of my 3 HDD's is not seen by W7.

Manu thanks
 
Let's be clear. When I say "active", I don't mean its use as a general English synonym for "in use".
I'm referring to switching the "active" flag in the MBR to point to a particular partition. That's the flag which the MBR uses to locate the boot sector and controls how the boot progresses. Only one partition on each HDD can be active at any moment.
It's also examined by the MS setup during installation and controls where setup places the boot files, and whether or not it automatically creates a dual-boot..
If you install W7 with XP "active", you'll get an automatic dual-boot and boot files for both XP and W7 will be in the XP partition.
If you install W7 into an empty "active" partition on the same HDD as XP, you'll get a W7-only boot with W7's boot files in its own partition. XP will still contain the XP boot files, but you will only be able to boot XP after adding an XP entry to the W7 BCD yourself, or by switching the "active" flag back to point at XP.
Whichever you choose, you cannot change horses in mid stream and change the "active" flag during the install.
You also didn't mention additional HDDs in your OP.
They will complicate the possible permutations of what happened to your W7 boot files.
W7's annoying default behaviour during installation is to attempt to place the boot files in a small dedicated partition which it calls "System Reserved". It will do this if you allow it to use empty space on the disk. It divides the space in two (100Mb for the boot files and the rest for the OS).
You can prevent it from taking this action by formatting the space as a single partition before starting setup, but if the space is not set "active", it will still separate the boot files by searching for an "active" partition elsewhere, primarily on the same HDD, but if that's not possible (no active partition or insufficient space) it will place the boot files on the first active partition it can find on any other HDD.
It seems likely that that's what's happened to you.
Set your folder options to be able to view super-hidden files and look on the other HDDs for bootmgr and \boot.
If you find them, set that HDD to be top of the HDD priority list in your BIOS boot sequence.
 
Let's be clear. When I say "active", I don't mean its use as a general English synonym for "in use".
I'm referring to switching the "active" flag in the MBR to point to a particular partition. That's the flag which the MBR uses to locate the boot sector and controls how the boot progresses. Only one partition on each HDD can be active at any moment.
It's also examined by the MS setup during installation and controls where setup places the boot files, and whether or not it automatically creates a dual-boot..
If you install W7 with XP "active", you'll get an automatic dual-boot and boot files for both XP and W7 will be in the XP partition.
If you install W7 into an empty "active" partition on the same HDD as XP, you'll get a W7-only boot with W7's boot files in its own partition. XP will still contain the XP boot files, but you will only be able to boot XP after adding an XP entry to the W7 BCD yourself, or by switching the "active" flag back to point at XP.
Whichever you choose, you cannot change horses in mid stream and change the "active" flag during the install.
You also didn't mention additional HDDs in your OP.
They will complicate the possible permutations of what happened to your W7 boot files.
W7's annoying default behaviour during installation is to attempt to place the boot files in a small dedicated partition which it calls "System Reserved". It will do this if you allow it to use empty space on the disk. It divides the space in two (100Mb for the boot files and the rest for the OS).
You can prevent it from taking this action by formatting the space as a single partition before starting setup, but if the space is not set "active", it will still separate the boot files by searching for an "active" partition elsewhere, primarily on the same HDD, but if that's not possible (no active partition or insufficient space) it will place the boot files on the first active partition it can find on any other HDD.
It seems likely that that's what's happened to you.
Set your folder options to be able to view super-hidden files and look on the other HDDs for bootmgr and \boot.
If you find them, set that HDD to be top of the HDD priority list in your BIOS boot sequence.

I effectively found a HDD with "system like" folder §programs, bootç and files (bootmgr...). I set this HDD as first bootable HDD and it works fine with the duak boot W7/XP. Depending on the creation dates of these elements it seems that it comes from the first failing tentative to install W7 from a DVD Thank yiou.
Now :
how van I know witch executable are taken into account :
- those of this partition or those of "my official" W7 partition.
- is there a way - if possible without a full reinstallation - to make the boot "cleaner" with my partition only because the other is on a HDD reserved for data and backups.

PS
i knew wgat is an active partition, but not all the importance of this concept.:|
 
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