Dual boot XP SP2 and Ultimate Vista

Hello, i followed this guide PC Hardware: How to... Add XP to a Vista machine - ComputerAndVideoGames.com exactly step by step and after, everything went well, except for the fact that when i try to boot from XP, it just restarts my computer automatically. I can boot into vista though.
I also tried to use Installing XP After Vista - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki after reformatting the XP partition. I reinstalled XP, and followed it until the step where you install EasyBCD in win XP when you try to get vista back, because i had EasyBCD installed in vista and already had the boot menu, same thing, my computer still restarts when i select XP in the boot menu.

Some facts that may help you help me..

  • I can boot into XP with a bootable win XP cd in the cd drive.
  • My XP partition is located on Drive 0, partition 2.
  • here is my boot.ini file:
    Code:
    [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 Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
  • I am using EasyBCD 1.7.2
  • My windows XP does not have .net Framework Version 2.0 yet, does that matter?
  • Have you tried to boot from the second drive and boot XP normally that way? yes, does not work, boot files are located on C:/ (drive where vista is located), if i boot from H:/ (where xp is located), there are no boot files
  • Was XP installed after Vista or before? XP waws installed after Vista
  • Did you verify that ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini were at the root of the partition for which you referenced when you added the XP entry? Yes, they are in drive C:/ which i am trying to boot from
  • Did you check boot.ini to make sure the default/OS entry for XP is pointing to the correct disk and partition? Yes, its pointing to Partition 2 of drive 0, which should be correct.
  • I checked and i saw no boot.ini file on the XP partition, but they are there on the Vista partition, which is the drive I'm booting from. The boot.ini file from above is from the Vista partition, drive C://
Thanks for the help :smile:
 
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Hello,

You will need to change the partition number to 1. When it ocmes to counting partitions the Zero counts. So O, then 1. Being on the 2nd aprtition would give it the number 1 not 2. :wink:

Have .NET 2.0 is only so that you can install EasyBCD. Since you are using it with Vista no it doesnt matter.

Change the boot.ini to show the numbering system i said and it should work.

Cheers,
Mak
 
I changed both values of the partitions to 1, and it still instantly restarts, is there anything else wrong? I thought the partitions started counting from 1, and so the second partition would be two.

partition(y): The number of the partition on the drive rdisk(x). partition(y) starts counting from 1, so the first partition is partition(1), the second is partition(2), etc. partition(y) counts primary partitions first then counts extended partitions.
from Rebuilding Boot.ini - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
 
Can you do EasyBCD | Diagnostics Center | Copy Debug Data

Then paste the contents of the clipboard here in a reply?
 
I will have to consult Guru on that. As we have always said that partitions start at Zero. Maybe it is just Windows way of counting with the 1 and Linux counts with Zero.

I will have to think about this more. See if i can come up with a solution.
 
Code:
Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier              {9dea862c-5cdd-4e70-acc1-f32b344d4795}
device                  partition=E:
path                    \bootmgr
description             Windows Boot Manager
default                 {121a4f42-48bb-11dd-86af-cd38c2e7d251}
displayorder            {121a4f42-48bb-11dd-86af-cd38c2e7d251}
                        {121a4f49-48bb-11dd-86af-cd38c2e7d251}
timeout                 30

Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier              {121a4f42-48bb-11dd-86af-cd38c2e7d251}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description             Windows Vista (TM) Ultimate (recovered) 
osdevice                partition=C:
systemroot              \Windows
resumeobject            {38985f0a-489a-11dd-9f4b-806e6f6e6963}

Real-mode Boot Sector
---------------------
identifier              {121a4f49-48bb-11dd-86af-cd38c2e7d251}
device                  partition=C:
path                    \NTLDR
description             Microsoft Windows
By the way, i have no idea why E is the drive for the boot manager, i think its because i recovered windows vista after i installed XP based on that one guide: PC Hardware: How to... Add XP to a Vista machine - ComputerAndVideoGames.com
 
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I'm assuming you copy 'n pasted that boot.ini - if that's the case, then you have a problem:
Code:
[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 Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

As you can see, the closing "]" in the "[boot loader]" line is missing.
 
actually sorry, it's there, i did not copy and paste it, i typed it in on my laptop as it was viewed on the desktop
here's the copy and pasted version
Code:
[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 Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
 
I just saw the edited version of your previous post - that explains stuff...

Move NTLDR, NTDETECT, and BOOT.INI to drive E:\

Change the XP entry in EasyBCD to point to drive E:\ as well (from the "Change Settings" page).

Reboot & test.
 
Ok, moved files to drive E:\, changed letter in EasyBCD to E:/, now when i try to run it, i get an error:
Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk.
Check boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows documentation about hardware disk configuration and your hardware reference manuals for additional information.
 
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The BIOS sometimes sees disks in a different order than Windows does (gave me hell with Vista Hide 'n Seek until we implemented a BIOS-level hook that detected the drives on its own).

Your first problem was that NTLDR and BOOT.INI weren't on the boot partition - they were on the Vista partition instead so at boot time they weren't being seen. Then after moving it, boot.ini was read, but it was pointing to the wrong disk - the errror message given by NTLDR is basically telling you the partition referenced doesn't exist which means we need to try a different disk since we know for a fact that there is a partition number 2 on the disk in question.

Addendum:

I've updated the wiki to add that particular error message and the details similar to what I posted above for future reference:

Troubleshooting Windows XP - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
 
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Sorry for bumping an old topic, especially as it is my first post, but I am facing a problem similar to the one outlined in the firt post of this thread; my computer restarts when I select XP from my Vista boot menu. I originally had XP installed, and I later installed Vista on a seperate HDD, so my boot files are in the right place (I assume). I am able to boot XP normally via changing my bios boot priority. My disk setup is as follows: (read from Vista)


Any help in the matter would be greatly appriciated.

-Nimbus
 
Hi Nimbus, welcome to NST.
You'll need to copy the 3 boot files as mentioned here from XP to the Vista drive root, and edit the copied version of boot.ini to point at the other hard disk (rdisk(1) probably)
 
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