[Download] Vista Hide 'n Seek BETA

Thanks PC Eye & Terry

Aplogoies to both for me not following carefully enough your advice. I must admit this whole thing has got me somewhat frusatrated and exasperated. It ain't simple or straightforward and every time I re-install the OS's due to things not working the issues change!

Used EasyBCD to remove the Windows XP entry from it. So it now only shows Vista with a 0 time default. When I now boot from HnS into Vista I don't see the next level of menu in any way shape or form and the vista command from the second level menu now boots straight into Vista! Fantastc!!

Not tried booting into XP yet, but I assume it will now boot into it and hide Vista and boot into XP and not destroy the Vista recovery/rescue points and not corrupt my Vista installation?!

For the final step, I need to copy the ubuntu boot options into the HnS menu and then remove the ubuntu grub loader so that it is not the first bootload menu.

So I how do I use administrative priveleges to edit the menu.lst for HnS to copy the Ubuntu menu list into it? Not seen it come as an option when I right-click on c:\menu.lst.

Then, how do I remove Ubuntu grub as the default menu so that the first menu I see is the HnS menu?

Terry - I know that Linux is not your thing - so hoping that PC Eye or CG will answer the final question.

If this all works, I will have a perfect laptop with 3 operating systems working in harmony!!

Thanks

Gareth

Addendum:

Not sure if this is a problem or not.

I installed XP first so you would think it would be on C:\ drive.

Then installed Vista onto D:\ drive.

I have just gone to Windows Explorer and it is reoprting that Vista is installed onto C:\ drive and XP onto D:\ drive.

Additionally, HnS has installed onto the the XP drive.

Does this cause a problem?

Gareth

Addendum:

Issues still exist in above addendum with regard to labelling of discs and where HnS is located. However, have manged to alter the permissions with regard to the menu.lst and copied in the the boot options for Ubuntu into the HnS menu list and they work!! Result!!!

Now just need to remove the first Linux/Ubuntu bootloader so that I see the HnS menu first.

Not sure that I understand that yet and any help appreciated.

Thanks

Gareth
 
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Gareth. It doesn't matter to you where HnS has put its files. It will go to the active partition (that's XP for me too)
Also, what Vista or XP calls the disks, C, D etc, is internal to each system and , again doesn't matter, unless it offends your sense of neatness.
To get admin privileges, go to Notepad, right click it and select the option, then when it starts click "file" and open menu.lst from inside the program, which will already be running as admin.
 
Thanks Terry

Ubuntu menu now installed into the HnS menu and it works. So down to 2 menus - Ubuntu and HnS.

Now just need to remove the Ubuntu one and I will be down to one menu!

Unfortunately not sure how to remove that without destrioying all the set-up work done so far!

I know Linux is not your thing, so hopefully CG or someone else will point me in the right direction.

Then I will very happy and can stop fiddling with my boot options!

Gareth
 
Gareth,
I didn't advise how to get ubuntu integrated into HnS (for obvious reasons), but I can advise that if you set Vista as default in your Ubuntu grub (first) menu, and timeout to (0), then that menu will not be presented and the 1st (and only) you'll see will be HnS.
Wait for CG, or another Linux user for advice on removing it completely, but this should at least look like what you want and enable you to set your prefered OS as default in HnS's menu, and thereby enable you to have an unattended boot into your 1st choice system.
 
Thanks Terry

The thank you was for telling me how to get into the menu.lst as I wasn't sure how to use the administrator rights on it.

Thanks for the further advice on configuring Ubuntu's menu so that it defaults to the HnS menu.

One point to clarify - you talked about handing off to bootloaders etc. So is HnS a booting menu which gives the instructions to hand off to the appropriate bootloader? I assume this is similar to what the linux or neosmart grub does?

Thanks once again.

Gareth
 
F.Y.I.
The logic, as I understand it, is as shown in the attachment. (subject to correction by Guru)
The black lines show how the Vista bootmgr works by loading Vista directly or by passing control to NTLDR for XP (which presents another menu if there are multiple XPs), and how with EasyBCD it can also link to grub to load Linux.
The red lines show how HnS links to the Vista bootldr to load Vista (and how you still need a second menu if there are multiple Vistas), but bypasses BCD to go directly to multiple NTLDRs for multiple XPs (no second menu needed)
The blue line is what you've done with your custom edit, to link linux directly from HnS, and is not currently an automatic feature of HnS
 

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Last edited:
To see the Grub loader removed simply boot up with the Vista dvd and use the startup repair option. When trying to get Grub onto the root here when installing from a live cd Grub set ubuntu as default with the same option seen of seeing the Vista boot loader as an option. The repair tool removed Grub and a quick start over with the HnS tool was all that was needed.

With two drives on a system the second version of Windows to go on will automatically detect the existing other version and use the next drive letter in line. For both versions see themselves as C drives you first unplug the drive with the first Windows on it. You then proceed to see the second version setup as a stand alone OS on the second drive.

Once installed and the other drive is plugged back in you copy the XP dos files along with the ntldr and boot.ini over to the Vista root and boot upto the recovery console in XP. After using the Fixboot and Fixmbr commands to see the XP boot.ini and mbr modified you boot with the Vista dvd for the startup repair tool so Vista will boot again. From there you simply add XP in by selecting the change name option in HnS. The add entry will open EasyBCD automatically.

The other method is a manual edit of the Grub4Dos version CG used in HnS. At the boot screen which looks like a command prompt you press E and proceed to edit. CG is the one who can help you more there since I've only mantually had to edit HnS when first trying here.
 
Hi Terry

Thanks for the diagram. If my logic follows correctly, from all the posts from you and others and the way grub from ubuntu has integrated with Vista then I think the following seems to be the case. However, I will await CG's verdict on my view:

1. HnS is a grubloader. It integrates with Vista in a way that grub has not before and allows vista and grub to coincide which previous versions of grub did not.

2. It should operate independently of Easy BCD. EasyBCd is needed to remove the multiboot operation from Vista so that in certain installations of differrent OS's where a multiboot is automatically setup it is removed. EasyBCD should not be needed from thereon in.

3. It's primary purpose has been to hide Vista from XP. However, it can function as a bootmenu and boot all sort of systems. This is no surprise as it is based upon grub4dos which does exactly that.

4. With the right instructions it can do basically whatever you want. CG has focussed on hiding Vista from XP. But his instructions to me on how to copy the Ubuntu menu into it shows that it is a boot menu.

5. Your diagram proves that it can do things that others are not aware of. I think that CG should move this to another level. At the basic level it does what it says. Yes there will always be configurations that do not work, but essentially it does what it says on the tin. CG gives credit to the grub4dos program from which I understand he has derived this from (apologies CG if I have misunderstood!)

6. Please move this to beyond the beta level with the appropriate level of instructions. I think it is beyond Beta level and deserves a proper documentation and explanation of what and how it does what with multiple OS's

7. And yes, I will give my time and I will contribute funds to help progress, because I think it is a worthwhile project. Any support I can give I will do. Boot systems are a new area to me but I do understand the logics of programming.

Gareth



hanks

Gareth
 
Gareth, all you need to do now is run EasyBCD in Vista, go to the "Manage Bootloader" page, and select "Reinstall Vista Bootloader"

WARNING: Don't do this from the Diagnostics page, but from the Manage Bootloader page!

Upon reboot you should now only see the HnS menu.

HnS will be leaving the beta area really soon. So far no complaints with this build, and everything seems to be going OK. There has been a discussion as to what direction NST will take with HnS & EasyBCD, you can see the brainstorming here:

EasyBCD Discussion - The NeoSmart Forums

HnS is indeed derived from the Grub4Dos project, without whom none of this would have been possible. In the process of creating EasyBCD and adding support for all kinds of complex boot scenarios I've had a lot of contact with the G4D team and contributed a lot of code to Linux community and seen what they have to offer. HnS is basically a fork of Grub4Dos with added features designed to improve compatiblity with Vista and add more partition manager-like features for more reliable hiding of partitions, etc.
 
Well so far having Build 56 inplace it has shown itself to be reliable boot manager as well as protecttion for Vista. With the correction of the floppy search item I think you would ontrack preparing the first beta page for more people to try out.

In discussions of dual booting XP with Vista with two separate drives lately some argue that copying the msdos.sys, io.sys, config.sys, and ntdetect.com along with the boot.ini and ntldr over from the XP drive is nonsense. I have repeatedly explained that besides EasyBCD I've been running a prebeta tool utilizing Grub4Dos and it would likely see a beta #1 download page available soon oferring the restore point protection rather then the basic dual boot edited with EasyBCD.

Here I did manually see Grub installed on the root of ubuntu 8.04 but still no go with EasyBCD. Seeing Linux added in through HnS would be a plus since that would simplify the need for HnS only. Presently the 8.04 release is on the Vista drive while Grub is on the second XP offering the Vista loader as a second choice there.
 
Thank you for creating this helpful utility. I have a few questions before I give your Hide 'n Seek a try. I just "discovered" the infamous dual-boot problem with System Restore the hard way and your utility looks like it might be the best solution for me.


1) Is there a list of exactly what Hide 'n Seek does or changes somewhere?

2) Does it automatically make the Registry change in

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices\Offline

to hide Vista on boot? Or should/can I also change that Registry manually to work in conjunction with Hide 'n Seek?

Does Hide 'n Seek make additional system changes to protect the hidden system?


3) I have the following partitions on one drive:

C: Vista 64 Home Premium
D: Windows XP SP3 Professional
E: Shared Data (programs for both systems and media files)

If I use Hide 'n Seek, I should be able to use both native System Restore functions on their respective systems, but I would have to disable System Restore on the E: Shared Data drive. Is this correct?

For example:

a. Boot Vista

C: Vista with Vista System Restore
D: Hidden? *
E: Visible with System Restore disabled (from both OSes)

* Is D: XP hidden or still visible when booting Vista with Hide 'n Seek?

b. Boot XP

C: Hidden
D: XP with XP System Restore
E: Visible with System Restore disabled (from both OSes)


4. If I have installed programs from both systems to the E: Shared Data drive (in different folders), will that potentially cause any problems with System Restore or anything else?

5. What would happen in the following case while using Hide 'n Seek?

If I...
(2) enable Vista System Restore on the E: Shared Data drive and create a Restore Point 1
(2) boot into XP and install a Program or download an .exe to the E: Shared Data drive
(3) boot back into Vista and create a new Restore Point 2
(4) use Vista System Restore to rollback to Restore Point 1

Will the install or download to E: Shared Data drive be lost? Or does Vista System Restore only track and rollback/undo things installed, download or changed while in Vista?

Or is it best to completely disable System Restore on the E: Shared Data drive in both OSes to avoid unintended data loss?


All comments and opinions are appreciated. Thank you.
 
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Hi MWill, welcome to NST.
Firstly, you only have to hide Vista from XP, not XP from Vista. Vista is backwards compatible and will do XP no harm.
If the MS registry zap works for you (it did nothing for me), you don't need anything else.
HnS does nothing to the registry, so it won't care if you have the zap there or not.
Sharing the installed 3rd party software on one partition between the 2 systems is fraught with problems.
If you use system restore, one of the things it must be able to do is back out recently installed software (that may be causing the problem), so on each system you need to have system restore turned on for the system partition and any other partition with installed software on it, so you see the problem !
You really ought to split the user apps into independent partitions for each system, and then hide the 2 vista partitions from XP.
HnS has evolved during Beta, from a simple hide Vista utility into a fully fledged boot manager, and it works by placing itself at the head of the boot chain (renaming system boot files to aliases), then it hands control to the renamed OS boot files as requested by you in its boot menu, after having hidden/unhidden the appropriate partitions.
By doing this, it can control your boot from a single menu, whereas the previous method it superseded, needed a 2 stage boot.
see the attached logic in this post
http://neosmart.net/forums/showpost.php?p=21174&postcount=327
 
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Hi, thanks for the warm welcome and very helpful reply. You cleared up all my questions and now I think I have a good idea of what Hide 'n Seek does and doesn't do.

Terry60 said:
Sharing the installed 3rd party software on one partition between the 2 systems is fraught with problems.
If you use system restore, one of the things it must be able to do is back out recently installed software (that may be causing the problem), so on each system you need to have system restore turned on for the system partition and any other partition with installed software on it, so you see the problem !
You really ought to split the user apps into independent partitions for each system, and then hide the 2 vista partitions from XP.
Click to expand...
Well, that settles it. I will have to re-think my partition strategy. I may go for 5 partitions. Vista and XP, plus two Programs partitions, one for each OS and then a shared media partition.
 
The only thing that actually needs to be hidden from XP is the Vista primary by default since the older version will cancel out Vista's restore points when booting into XP. As far as having a totally separate storage partition visible to both versions I have that as well as XP updates backed up there in separate custom folder for each version.

The HnS tool is the only and champoin at protection for Vista's own restore points and is essentially ready for a first public beta release. What the HnS tool will first do since you already have a working dual boot configured is modify the existing boot loader and entries.

At first it will want to see EasyBCD program downloaded while you can simply add XP into the HnS own option menu and no longer need EasyBCD for the options. Many will still prefer to set the HnS tool to 0 seconds for display and use the Windows like gui seen in EasyBCD however.

It's a great tool once you have it on. I've already suggested that a more public beta release be available for more users to try out and report on results and any problems if any that should be seen. There are plenty out there that could use the benefits seen here from trying out the various builds to date.
 
PC eye said:
The only thing that actually needs to be hidden from XP is the Vista primary by default since the older version will cancel out Vista's restore points when booting into XP. As far as having a totally separate storage partition visible to both versions I have that as well as XP updates backed up there in separate custom folder for each version.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the comments. I'm now juggling around my files to prepare to re-partition and set up HnS on my system. HnS seems to be the perfect solution. It's unfortunate that Microsoft didn't think it was worth their while to resolve this major issue.

Addendum:

Well, I re-partitioned to the following layout and gave HnS build 56 a try today.

C: vista64 system (HIDE from XP)
D: vista programs (HIDE from XP)
E: xp pro sp3
F: xp programs
G: data (shared)
H: backups (shared 2nd physical drive)

Hide 'n Seek seemed to be working fine until I decided to try installing Service Pack 1 onto Vista 64.

Vista boots fine and the Vista bootloader has Vista and XP, but Grub4Dos and Hide 'n Seek isn't working anymore and I can't seem to uninstall Hide 'n Seek completely. I have tried both "Uninstall" and "Start Over," but I get errors trying to do either one. I also got an error trying to look at the "Rename Boot Entries" option.

I imaged my two Vista partitions (with Hide 'n Seek installed and working) before installing Service Pack 1, so I can try to do a System Restore or restore the partition backup images.

Is there another solution I can try to uninstall, reinstall or repair Hide 'n Seek before restoring the system? Both my Systems are working fine, except that Grub4Dos and Hide 'n Seek are not working (and not hiding the Vista partitions from XP).

There is no critical data at stake and the system is mainly for testing now, so I'm open to trying different things.

Thanks again for your time and assistance.

Error 1:

Code: 
See the end of this message for details on invoking 
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.IO.IOException: The process cannot access the file 'G:\_install_vista\Vista HnS Beta Build 56\Vista HnS.log' because it is being used by another process.
   at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
   at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options)
   at System.IO.StreamWriter..ctor(String path, Boolean append, Encoding encoding, Int32 bufferSize)
   at System.IO.StreamWriter..ctor(String path, Boolean append)
   at Vista_HnS.Logger..ctor(String path, LogLevel logLevel)
   at Vista_HnS.HnS..ctor(Configuration configFile)
   at UI.Working.Start(ControlCollection cCollection)
   at UI.Install.btnNext_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mevent)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ButtonBase.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework64/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
UI
    Assembly Version: 0.5.0.47
    Win32 Version: 0.5.0.47
    CodeBase: file:///G:/_install_vista/Vista%20HnS%20Beta%20Build%2056/UI.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Vista HnS
    Assembly Version: 0.5.0.47
    Win32 Version: 0.5.0.47
    CodeBase: file:///G:/_install_vista/Vista%20HnS%20Beta%20Build%2056/Vista%20HnS.DLL
----------------------------------------
System.Management
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Management/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Management.dll
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
    <system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.
Error 2:

Code: 
See the end of this message for details on invoking 
just-in-time (JIT) debugging instead of this dialog box.

************** Exception Text **************
System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file 'C:\menu.lst'.
File name: 'C:\menu.lst'
   at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
   at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, Int32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
   at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options)
   at System.IO.StreamReader..ctor(String path, Encoding encoding, Boolean detectEncodingFromByteOrderMarks, Int32 bufferSize)
   at System.IO.StreamReader..ctor(String path, Encoding encoding)
   at System.IO.File.ReadAllText(String path, Encoding encoding)
   at Vista_HnS.Settings..ctor(Char bootDrive)
   at UI.Rename..ctor(Char bootDrive)
   at UI.MoreOptions.btnDo_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.OnClick(EventArgs e)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.OnMouseUp(MouseEventArgs mevent)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WmMouseUp(Message& m, MouseButtons button, Int32 clicks)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.ButtonBase.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Button.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.Control.ControlNativeWindow.WndProc(Message& m)
   at System.Windows.Forms.NativeWindow.Callback(IntPtr hWnd, Int32 msg, IntPtr wparam, IntPtr lparam)


************** Loaded Assemblies **************
mscorlib
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/Microsoft.NET/Framework64/v2.0.50727/mscorlib.dll
----------------------------------------
UI
    Assembly Version: 0.5.0.47
    Win32 Version: 0.5.0.47
    CodeBase: file:///G:/_install_vista/Vista%20HnS%20Beta%20Build%2056/UI.exe
----------------------------------------
System.Windows.Forms
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Windows.Forms/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.Windows.Forms.dll
----------------------------------------
System
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System/2.0.0.0__b77a5c561934e089/System.dll
----------------------------------------
System.Drawing
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Drawing/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Drawing.dll
----------------------------------------
Vista HnS
    Assembly Version: 0.5.0.47
    Win32 Version: 0.5.0.47
    CodeBase: file:///G:/_install_vista/Vista%20HnS%20Beta%20Build%2056/Vista%20HnS.DLL
----------------------------------------
System.Management
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/System.Management/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/System.Management.dll
----------------------------------------
Accessibility
    Assembly Version: 2.0.0.0
    Win32 Version: 2.0.50727.1434 (REDBITS.050727-1400)
    CodeBase: file:///C:/Windows/assembly/GAC_MSIL/Accessibility/2.0.0.0__b03f5f7f11d50a3a/Accessibility.dll
----------------------------------------

************** JIT Debugging **************
To enable just-in-time (JIT) debugging, the .config file for this
application or computer (machine.config) must have the
jitDebugging value set in the system.windows.forms section.
The application must also be compiled with debugging
enabled.

For example:

<configuration>
    <system.windows.forms jitDebugging="true" />
</configuration>

When JIT debugging is enabled, any unhandled exception
will be sent to the JIT debugger registered on the computer
rather than be handled by this dialog box.
Log:

Code: 
NeoSmart intelliLogger 1.0
Logging started on 7/19/2008 at 6:19 AM using log level Debug

6:19 AM    Vista Hide 'n Seek 0.5.0.47
6:19 AM    Boot drive: C:\
6:19 AM    Listing drives involved in the procedure.
6:19 AM    Beginning Uninstall process.
6:19 AM    Reverting BOOTMGR on C:\
6:19 AM    Access to the path 'C:\BOOTMGR' is denied.
6:19 AM    Cannot create a file when that file already exists.

6:19 AM    Reverting BOOTMGR on D:\
6:19 AM    Reverting BOOTMGR on E:\
6:19 AM    Reverting BOOTMGR on F:\
6:19 AM    Reverting BOOTMGR on G:\
6:19 AM    Reverting BOOTMGR on H:\
6:19 AM    Removing menu.lst from C:\
6:19 AM    Attempting to revert boot.ini.hns, XP.ID.HnS, & Vista.ID.HnS on C:\
6:19 AM    Attempting to revert boot.ini.hns, XP.ID.HnS, & Vista.ID.HnS on D:\
6:19 AM    Attempting to revert boot.ini.hns, XP.ID.HnS, & Vista.ID.HnS on E:\
6:19 AM    Attempting to revert boot.ini.hns, XP.ID.HnS, & Vista.ID.HnS on F:\
6:19 AM    Attempting to revert boot.ini.hns, XP.ID.HnS, & Vista.ID.HnS on G:\
6:19 AM    Attempting to revert boot.ini.hns, XP.ID.HnS, & Vista.ID.HnS on H:\
6:19 AM    Deleting NTLDR and NTDETECT from C:\
6:19 AM    Access to the path 'C:\NTLDR' is denied.
6:19 AM    Access to the path 'C:\NTDETECT.COM' is denied.
6:19 AM    Deleting NTLDR and NTDETECT from D:\
6:19 AM    Deleting NTLDR and NTDETECT from E:\
6:19 AM    Access to the path 'E:\NTLDR' is denied.
6:19 AM    Access to the path 'E:\NTDETECT.COM' is denied.
6:19 AM    Deleting NTLDR and NTDETECT from F:\
6:19 AM    Access to the path 'F:\NTLDR' is denied.
6:19 AM    Access to the path 'F:\NTDETECT.COM' is denied.
6:19 AM    Deleting NTLDR and NTDETECT from G:\
6:19 AM    Deleting NTLDR and NTDETECT from H:\
6:19 AM    Re-creating NTLDR and NTDETECT on C:\
 
Last edited:
Sorry I haven't been around today MWill, only just seen your post.
Shame you put HnS on, then SP1.
SP1 replaces the bootmgr, and rewrites the MBR, so it does to HnS, what XP does to Vista, and leaves it a a b*gger*d state.
This has been dealt with earlier in this thread (a lot earlier - post 129 from memory - I'll edit later if wrong)
CG has promised a "forced remove" in the release build, but this is still Beta (or even pre-Beta) so not as tidy as it will be.
It's just a case of deleting HnS files so that you can run it again without it detecting that it's already there (partially); though for the moment, you'd best wait for CG to update what files to delete, since the number and placement has changed somewhat since the build that was current when SP1 first struck.
(I think I was the first victim).
For the moment, if you can, refrain from booting XP and your Vista restore points should be safe till Guru advises what to delete and you can run HnS UI again.
 
Terry60 said:
For the moment, if you can, refrain from booting XP and your Vista restore points should be safe till Guru advises what to delete and you can run HnS UI again.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the reply. I will wait until I hear the updated manual removal method for build 56 from Guru before I do anything else on the machine.
 
I had to reinstall XP to then see #56 go on. I'll probably end up unplugging the Vista primary to perform another stand alone install of XP and then proceed to add it back in with #56. I've done this with the previous builds to still see XP added in easily and was able to prevent loss of restore points being that XP was on a separate drive.

For the most part it's a matter of hiding the Vista primary from XP so XP doesn't detect a Vista installation and end up cancelling out the restore points. As far as any other partitions you don't have to worry about hiding anything there. The first click of the button sets a partition/drive as Vista while a second click sees the XP designation.

I had to initially try that alone a few times since no lettering is seen for the Vista setting while XP is on the second click while pointing out the XP primary. Any other partitions can be ignored and left visible for access in XP as well as Vista without any ill effects. An indicator like seen with the second click showing the letters XP for Vista would be a help however so you know that a partition is set and not simply ignored. That has been the only concern except for the last build seeing the floppy issue come up.
 
Terry60 said:
This has been dealt with earlier in this thread (a lot earlier - post 129 from memory - I'll edit later if wrong)
Click to expand...

Well, after re-reading this and other threads on the subject, I went ahead and tried a manual uninstall.

First, I made backups of the main HnS and system root files from each drive, including those from my Backup images. Then I compared everything to see what was different.

In the end, it turned out that all I had to do was manually delete BOOTMGR.HNS from my C: Vista root.

From an Administrator command prompt, I entered:

takeown /f C:\BOOTMGR.HNS
cacls C:\BOOTMGR.HNS /G AdministratorUsername:F

Then I deleted BOOTMGR.HNS.

After that, I ran UI.exe Build 56 again and it let me start over from a clean slate.

The Grub4DOS boot manager is now working as it was before SP1 and I can boot into XP with the Vista Drives (system and programs) hidden.

So, I think I'm happy and working once again.



Through this process and re-reading the thread I think I have a better understanding of HnS. I had 2 Vista partitions, 2 XP partitions (system and programs both marked as XP in HnS) and one shared. Now, I see that I don't need to mark the second XP (programs) partition as XP in HnS.
 
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