issue with dual booting vista and xp

elmaestro

Member
hello im new at this dual booting thing and i felt in a issue which was i cant dual boot now, I had xp installed already in the computer and so i partitioned the hard drive on my laptop and so i installed vista succesfully but when i was at tha point of changing the name of Earlier version of windows to windows xp ( when i boot up my computer) I accidently deleted the entry of windows xp (Earlier version of windows) and so now i can only boot on vista not on my original xp. I Would dearly appreciate your time in helping me resolve this issue. anyone who is available if you could take a bit of ur time please help.. Thanks in advance. P.s I was asked to look for guru? Thank you any one :scared:
 
Hi maestro,
You don't say how you deleted the entry, are you using EasyBCD already ? If not the first step is to download a copy and run it. If you've already got it and accidentally deleted your entry with it, you can just add one back again on the add/remove entries menu in the add an entry section.
Its a good idea to read Raul's dual-boot primer too so you'll have a better idea of what it is you're actually doing.
http://neosmart.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1203
Welcome to the forum by the way.
 
well i deleted the entry by mistake by going to add/remove entries and clicked on Earlier version of Windows thinking i would then rename it but now i received this message in the legacy entries
;
;Warning: Boot.ini is used on Windows XP and earlier operating systems.
;Warning: Use BCDEDIT.exe to modify Windows Vista boot options.
;
[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="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT

I would really appreciate if you could help me..
 
You have to add a entry back for XP. I gave the link above which explains how to do this. For jsut changing the name from Legacy Windows to XP or whatever you use the Change Setting tab. Not the Add/Remove Entries Tab.
 
When I try to the notepad with the Title "Boot.INI" In local disk D( which is xp It tells me boot.ini exists already ? im sorry im being a perdon
 
You already have the bot.ini so you dont need to edit it at all. You need to open EasyBCD and use the Add/Remove Entries tab to add a entry for you XP install. From there make sure that all your boot files for XP are on the boot drive.

First things first. Add a entry for XP to the BCD again via EasyBCD. Then restart and see if it works. If not check the wiki for some common trouble spots.

Troubleshooting Windows XP - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
 
ok i added the entry named windows xp like you said and i re booted and i selected the windows xp system but the screen just stayed black, o and i've noticed tat when i move the arrow to highlight windows vista it says in the bottom (to specify and advance option this choice press f8) but when i highlight windows xp i doesnt say tat?

Addendum:

wait i thought of this is u c i have a partition which is for back up on my computer is it possible to delete vista on this partition part of the computer and merge it with the xp one and be like it originally be and restore it again. And begin the the whole operation of dualbooting again??? iz it possible?? its a dell inspiron e11405 it this helps in any way?? please i appreciate ur help
 
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Again the answer to your blank screen is in the Wiki that i posted in my previous post. You are missing the NTLDR and NTDETECT files from the boot drive. Which i am going to say is the Vista drive. So get them from your XP drive and put them in the root of your Vista drive.

Another install gone bad... - The NeoSmart Forums

I gave specific instructions on how to do this in that thread. As for you query on merging the Recovery Partition with the XP partition it is possible. You can either do that with Disk Management or GParted. GParted is a free LiveCD partition manager. To get to disk management right click on Computer (Or My Computer in XP) and choose the Manage option. When that window pops up choose the disk management and format the recovery partition then delete that partition. After you format and delete it, or jsut delete it, it will be unused and unparitioned space. Right clicking on teh XP drive at this point should allow you to expand the partition to include this space.
 
ok

ok im going to do that ill reread it and ill tell the results/ o about the partition idea had i dont no if i can do it because i previously used Norton Partition magic 8.05 but now i boot it to merge it but no it only shows me one partition and it says ( Disk:74881mb Partition Type: Error #105 and the only solution would be to format it but i dont want to lose my original xp in doing so, and i had another question if you could tell me if i format it and and but in the windows xp cd to install it again but i put in the product key in which xp origanlly had or do i have to by another key????

Addendum:

in the thread does it tell me where is the root of the vista drive?
 
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If your Windows CD/DVD is an OEM version, you can install it back on the same PC as often and as many times as you like, but not on another PC.
If it's a full-price version or an Upgrade from a previous Windows system, you can reinstall it as often and as many times as you like, on any PC as long as that's the only PC it's on.
In the latter case you'll probably have to get telephone authorization from Microsoft when the OS detects that it's on a different set of hardware, but that's a formality - they'll just give you a code without demur when you tell them you've moved the system to a new machine.
So in your case, installing back on the same hardware, you can do it whenever you like. Just quote the key on the box again.
 
Yes i describe where the root of the drive is. The rrot of any drive is jsut the drive itself. C:\ is considered the root of the C:\ drive. Just like D:\ is the root of the D Drive. The root is just the drive with no folders. I have said all this in that thread where i explain how to find those files.
 
Okay so which XP can you get into? There should be 2 selectable form the boot menu. Basically you need to edit you boot.ini file to include both XP boots.
 
ok makaveli213 i copied the roots on my d drive and now it gaves me a message windows cannot boot because <windows Root>\system 32\hal.ddl. is missing or corrupt but this file is in the drive?
 
That file you have to use the XP CD and the Recovery Console to replace it. Just copy it from the CD over ot the <System Drive>:\Windows\system32 folder.

Again all this info is available in the Wiki pages provided. :wink:

Code:
Hal.dll is missing or corrupt
Windows\System32\Hal.dll missing or corrupt:

Please re-install a copy of the above file.

This means the ARC paths in the [operating systems] section or the default entry in BOOT.INI is incorrect. Double-check that multi() and disk() are both set to 0, and verify that rdisk(x)partition(y) points to the correct partition where Windows XP is installed.

Troubleshooting Windows XP - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki
 
hay how u doin i recopied the file tat i posted but it still isnt booting it keeps telling me the same message, im copying the file from a xp professional cd and i have xp media center is this a problem?? appreciate alot if you would help me:grinning:

Addendum:

sorry didnt se ur post ok im going to do this

Addendum:

ok i tried what the articled said in changin the rdisk to x and partition to y but i give me the message i previously got now what is the recovery console u mentioned ?? how do i get this file again it takes me to a screen boot up xp media center or windows default either one takes me to the message
 
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You don't change rdisk to x nor partition to y - those are place-holder values that you need to figure out (it's a number from 0 to 10)
 
hi computer guru how exactly do i figure thsi place holders out?

Addendum:

o and by finding these place holder the message of hall.dll missing or corrupt will be fixed??
 
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