XP & Win 7

jonboyuk

Member
I have a hdd partitioned in to C: and D: XP is on D and Win 7 is on C. I can't boot XP but Win 7 works, how do I modify the bootloader to boot XP as well?
 
Hi jonboyuk.
Get 2.0 beta version of EasyBCD which automates the process of configuring boot.ini. Then simply add a new entry to boot XP, and hit Yes at the prompt, and you should be ok. :wink: You should also download the "ntldr" and "ntdetect.com" from the link provided in the same window, and then simply place them in the root of the "system" partition (as seen from Disk Management), before it will work though. XP requires all three boot files.

Cheers,

Jake
 
Thanks Mak/Coolname,

Okay I set it up as below and XP is in the menu on restart. However, I select 'Windows XP' and before it starts to boot XP it reboots the PC?! Any ideas. I put NTLDR/NTDETECT.COM on the root of the C: where Win7 is located. I see no boot.ini file on the C: though....

There are a total of 2 entries listed in the bootloader.
Default: Windows 7
Timeout: 30 seconds.
EasyBCD Boot Device: C:\
Entry #1
Name: Windows 7
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Entry #2
Name: Microsoft Windows XP
BCD ID: {734a2463-1d0b-11de-b395-f16b1e45963a}
Drive: D:\
Bootloader Path: \NTLDR

Where am I going wrong? :frowning:
 
Thanks Mak/Coolname,

Okay I set it up as below and XP is in the menu on restart. However, I select 'Windows XP' and before it starts to boot XP it reboots the PC?! Any ideas. I put NTLDR/NTDETECT.COM on the root of the C: where Win7 is located. I see no boot.ini file on the C: though....
It seems you either did not let Easy auto-configure boot.ini for you, or else C is not "system". You need to check Disk Management, and whatever partition is "system" copy the boot files into the root of that partition. :wink:
 
Okay I see Coolname. There's a random System Reserved partition! What the hell? Do I need to make C: the system partition?

Also, there is no boot.ini and for some reason EasyBCD says it will make one, but nothing appears. If I put a blank boot.ini in the C: it still doesn't update it. Is this because it's using the system reserved? I can't access it thought because a drive letter isn't mapped to it.

Thanks for all your help so far Coolname

Capture.JPG
 
Yes, you will need to give the "System Reserved" partition a drive letter before you can browse its file structure, and copy the "ntldr" and "ntdetect.com" files into the root of that partition. :wink: To do that, go into Disk Management (if you left it, that is:wink:), select that partition, right-click, and you should see an option to give the partition a drive letter. Pick any one you want, and once you're done doing all that, XP should boot.
EasyBCD modifies the boot.ini file in your "system" partition, so yes, that will be the boot.ini its updating.

Jake
 
XP's boot files need to be copied to the root of the "System Reserved" partition, because it is "system" and "active". If the boot files were on C, and nowhere else, then XP wouldn't boot. :wink: Take a look at the screenshot above, Justin.
 
@ Jake: You're right, I was going on the basis of his posted bcd details.

@ Jon: Ok, so the problem here is your system partition (the one you boot from) is niether C: nor D:. In fact, it doesnt even have a letter assignment. You'll need to give the partition a drive letter, make sure all of XP's boot files are there, and re-add in EasyBCD.
 
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