EasyBCD 1.6: Vista/2003 dual boot, 2003 can NOT boot any more

C

capilano

Member
Dear Computer Guru,

I have a Vista Pre-installed PC. I added a new HD and installed Windows Server 2003 on the new disk. Then I used EasyBCD 1.6 successfully dual booted to either OS for about a week. But now I can NOT boot into 2003 any more.

I read some posts and here's some info to better help you see my situation:

1. EasyBCD 1.6 boot configuation

There are a total of 2 entries listed in the Vista Bootloader.
Bootloader TimeOut: 20 seconds.
Default OS: Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium
Entry #1
Name: Windows Vista (TM) Home Premium
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Windows Directory: \Windows
Entry #2
Name: Windows Server 2003 Chinese
BCD ID: {ntldr}
Drive: L:\
Bootloader Path: \ntldr
Click to expand...

2. Vista disk have the following in root, C:\

Code: 
C:\>dir /a
 Volume in drive C is HP
 Volume Serial Number is 7AC2-13BE
 Directory of C:\
08/08/2007  09:40 PM    <DIR>        $Recycle.Bin
06/23/2007  02:46 PM                74   autoexec.bat
08/30/2007  12:02 PM    <DIR>        Boot
08/28/2007  08:22 PM               209  boot.ini
04/05/2005  08:00 AM       322,730 bootfont.bin
11/02/2006  05:53 AM       438,840 bootmgr
06/23/2007  03:08 PM            8,192 BOOTSECT.BAK
09/18/2006  05:43 PM                  10 config.sys
11/02/2006  09:02 AM    <JUNCTION>  Documents and Settings [C:\Users]
08/31/2007  01:55 AM    <DIR>          hp
08/28/2007  11:48 PM                    0 IO.SYS
08/28/2007  11:48 PM                    0 MSDOS.SYS
06/23/2007  02:49 PM    <DIR>        MSOCache
04/05/2005  08:00 AM         47,772 NTDETECT.COM
04/05/2005  08:00 AM       304,752 ntldr
09/04/2007  03:42 PM     2,460,680,192 pagefile.sys
09/02/2007  10:54 PM    <DIR>          Program Files
08/29/2007  09:03 PM    <DIR>          ProgramData
08/30/2007  12:40 PM    <DIR>          RECYCLER
06/23/2007  02:31 PM                 471  RHDSetup.log
08/31/2007  09:58 PM    <DIR>          SoftwareHardware
09/04/2007  06:23 PM    <DIR>          System Volume Information
08/08/2007  09:34 PM    <DIR>          Users
08/31/2007  01:46 AM    <DIR>          WD_MyBook
09/04/2007  08:43 PM    <DIR>          Windows
08/24/2007  11:14 PM               158 YServer.txt
              13 File(s)  2,461,803,400 bytes
              13 Dir(s)  40,504,004,608 bytes free

3. C:\boot.ini has the following - exactly the same as L:\boot.ini
Code: 
[boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows Server 2003, Enterprise" /noexecute=optout /fastdetect

4. 2003 has the following in root, L:\

Code: 
L:\>dir /a
 Volume in drive L is 120_2K3
 Volume Serial Number is EC11-C94F
 Directory of L:\
08/30/2007  12:20 PM    <DIR>        $RECYCLE.BIN
06/23/2007  02:46 PM                74   autoexec.bat
08/30/2007  01:40 AM                 0    AUTOEXEC.BAT.bak
08/28/2007  08:22 PM               209 boot.ini
08/30/2007  01:34 AM               210 boot.ini.bak
04/05/2005  08:00 AM       322,730 bootfont.bin
08/31/2007  12:16 AM    <DIR>        Config.Msi
09/18/2006  05:43 PM                  10 config.sys
08/30/2007  01:40 AM                    0 CONFIG.SYS.bak
08/30/2007  01:44 AM    <DIR>        Documents and Settings
08/30/2007  11:49 PM    <DIR>        Intel
08/28/2007  11:48 PM                    0 IO.SYS
08/30/2007  01:40 AM                    0 IO.SYS.bak
08/28/2007  11:48 PM                    0 MSDOS.SYS
08/30/2007  01:40 AM                    0 MSDOS.SYS.bak
02/18/2007  12:00 AM         94,720 msizap.exe.bak
04/05/2005  08:00 AM         47,772 NTDETECT.COM
04/05/2005  08:00 AM       304,752 ntldr
08/30/2007  09:48 AM       306,288 ntldr.bak
08/31/2007  12:15 AM    <DIR>        Program Files
08/30/2007  11:27 AM    <DIR>        RECYCLER
08/30/2007  01:44 AM    <DIR>        System Volume Information
08/31/2007  12:26 AM    <DIR>        WINDOWS
08/30/2007  01:41 AM    <DIR>        wmpub
              15 File(s)      1,076,765 bytes
               9 Dir(s)  15,000,649,728 bytes free

Please give me a hand solving this problem.

Thanks and best regards,
Capilano
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Hi Capilano, welcome to NeoSmart Technologies!

A couple of questions:
1) When you attempt to boot Windows 2003, what happens? Do you get an error message or just a blank screen?
2) Do you have any idea what happened to stop 2003 from loading? Did you change a configuration, install a program, etc.?

-CG
 
Hi Computer Guru,

Here're my answers:
1. I got a blank screen when trying to boot to Windows Server 2003
2. I took the Windows Server 2003 HD out from the PC chasis and pluged in another HD for a couple of days. Now I pluged it back in and the problem started...

Will it fix the problem if I copy & paste Windows Server 2003's booting files such as ntldr, boot.ini, etc.?

Thanks and best regards,
 
Delete the 2k3 entry, download EasyBCD 1.7, and re-create it.

You'll need to have NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM and Boot.ini - that's a must. They should go in the same drive that EasyBCD 1.7 will auto-assign for Windows 2k3.

Of course you'll need to configure Boot.ini with the correct ARC path pointing to the 2k3 drive - if you need help with that: http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Windows+XP
You can also get a copy of NTLDR and NTDETECT from that URI.
 
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