No multiboot option, XP Vista

MKLife

Member
can anyone help?
can i get the multi boot option at startup ?
have pc with 3 hdd as follows ..
"0" = hdd C (partition 1) XP Pro 32bit (System, Active, Primary)
"0" = hdd D (partition 2) New Volume (Primary)
"1" = hdd E (partition 1) Vista 32bit (Boot, PaFi, CrDu, Active, Primary
"1" = hdd F (partition 1) unallocated
"2" = hdd H (partition 1) Backup (Active, Primary)
installed vista on pc from xp so vista drive letter will remain constant,
after completing install vista boots but no boot options at startup,
files Boot.ini, NTDETECT.com, bootmgr, ntldr and boot folder are on HDD C "0"(xp).
boot.ini looks like this ..
;
;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=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /FASTDETECT /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN

CMD Prompt in vista bcdedit looks like ..

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6001]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
E:\Windows\system32>bcdedit
Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=C:
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
displayorder {ntldr}
{current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 10
Windows Legacy OS Loader
------------------------
identifier {ntldr}
device partition=C:
path \ntldr
description Earlier Version of Windows
Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=E:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Microsoft Windows Vista
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
osdevice partition=E:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {5052a7dd-fb13-11dd-801f-e97c5297d604}
nx OptIn
Any guides or help appreciated.Cheers !
 
Hi MKLife, welcome to NeoSmart Technologies.

Download and install a copy of EasyBCD 2.0 Beta and use the on-screen wizard to configure boot.ini when adding a Windows XP entry.
 
no boot option

Thanks for the welcome Guru,

I've installed Easybcd 2.0 Beta,
Sorry :O are you saying boot.ini is missing a Widows XP entry, Or boot.ini needs to be elsewhere?
Quote: "and use the on-screen wizard to configure boot.ini when adding a Windows XP entry"
Do you refer to tools > Auto configure boot.ini ? I did that anyway on reboot i go straight to Vista ?
Excuse my ignorance
 

Attachments

  • easybcd wizard.bmp
    816.8 KB · Views: 4
It all looks OK. Try removing the XP entry, and adding it again in EasyBCD "add/remove entries".
 
Try pointing your XP entry at E: instead of C: in the "Change Settings" window of EasyBCD, under the "Drive" menu.

GL and let us know if this fixes it.

-Coolname007
 
C: is "system" Cool, that's the right place for the XP entry to be pointing. I just don't know why it doesn't show in the boot menu. That's why I suggested, remove and add again to recreate it.
 
C: is "system" Cool, that's the right place for the XP entry to be pointing. I just don't know why it doesn't show in the boot menu. That's why I suggested, remove and add again to recreate it.

Maybe you're right, but if that's the case, then shouldn't Vista's entry be pointed at C: too? :wink: Right now, its currently pointed at E: instead.

-Coolname007
 
That entry is telling where to find the windows/system32/winload.exec
The 1st entry is boot manager. (That's on C)
The 2nd entry is boot loader (That's on E)
It's the Vista functional equivalent of boot.ini on XP, the bit that tells the boot manager where the system really is.
 
still "trying"

hi everyonne , thanks for all the response , sorry i,ve not replied i had problems booting into any o/s today (blue screen) after pointing vista to "C" as was suggested. Quote "then shouldn't Vista's entry be pointed at C: too? " i won't ignore the ? next time.LOL
Not great with pc,s so took time to learn how to fix had to used recovery cmd to delete ID on "C" after EMS recovered vista and could then boot into vista again.Thanks Coolname007

XP pointing to "E" didn't do much apart from taking ages boot. so changed back to "C".Thanks again Coolname007

Tried removing the XP entry, and adding it again in EasyBCD "add/remove entries.ThanksTerry60

Any more ideas please....

Windows and Others say all should be cofigured by Vista if installed after XP and i should get the boot option , is this correct, as i nearing the point where im thinkinng it may be easier to reformat my hard drives and reinstall XP + Vista as something must have gone wrong,any thoughts peeps?

PS. Any reason why you dont offer installation instructions here?

Addendum:

That entry is telling where to find the windows/system32/winload.exec
The 1st entry is boot manager. (That's on C)
The 2nd entry is boot loader (That's on E)
It's the Vista functional equivalent of boot.ini on XP, the bit that tells the boot manager where the system really is.

vista on "C" so if pointing to "E" nothing to Boot
 
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Ok, make sure you got a copy of ntldr, ntdetect.com, and boot.ini on your Vista partition. Run EasyBCD | Tools | boot.ini auto-configure. This should fix your boot.ini.
 
Jus, XP is the "system" partition, so there's no need to copy anything to Vista, and 2.0 has already been used to create boot.ini, which is pointing to the correct place. (This is all assuming that the detail in post 1 is correct - but if so the dual-boot should be working perfectly)

MK, can we go back to square 1 please. The details you've given indicates that everything's ok. Since it isn't, we must have some wrong data.
Can you post a screenshot of your disk management display and paste the output of the "display settings" from EasyBCD (detailed mode)
 
That entry is telling where to find the windows/system32/winload.exec
The 1st entry is boot manager. (That's on C)
The 2nd entry is boot loader (That's on E)
It's the Vista functional equivalent of boot.ini on XP, the bit that tells the boot manager where the system really is.

Good point. I get what you're saying, and it makes sense. The bootmgr (boot manager) file must be on the C partition, while the winload.exe (bootloader) is on E. And since Vista is on C, the BCD store (Vista's equivalent of boot.ini) is most likely on C as well. And the bootmgr (in the root of C, the "system" partition) is what finds the BCD store (also on C), reads from it where the winload.exe is located (in this case E), and that is what then loads Vista. And the process for booting XP is basically the same, except when it reads from the BCD file, it gets pointed to the boot.ini file, which then tells the ntldr which XP uses instead of the winload.exe where to locate XP, and then ntldr loads it with the help of the NTDETECT.COM file. But what I didn't get before though was why Vista would have spread its boot files over two partitions, instead of doing the smarter thing of limiting itself to just one partition to put its boot files on...:brows:
Jus, XP is the "system" partition, so there's no need to copy anything to Vista, and 2.0 has already been used to create boot.ini, which is pointing to the correct place. (This is all assuming that the detail in post 1 is correct - but if so the dual-boot should be working perfectly)
MK, can we go back to square 1 please. The details you've given indicates that everything's ok. Since it isn't, we must have some wrong data.
Can you post a screenshot of your disk management display and paste the output of the "display settings" from EasyBCD (detailed mode)
Wrong. Vista's partition is "system" (C), not XP's, judging from the next quote...
vista on "C" so if pointing to "E" nothing to Boot

Bottom line is everything's pointed where it should, with XP's boot files in the root of C (most likely...), the "system" partition, and the XP entry pointed there, and the winload.exe on E, and Vista's entry pointed at E. :wink: So it is indeed strange why everything's not working the way it should...
@ MKLife: Could you please describe what kind of errors (if any) you're getting when attempting to boot into XP? And I assume you're now getting a boot menu, but the XP entry shown there is just not working, correct?
Also, what exactly did you mean when you said "XP pointing to "E" didn't do much apart from taking ages boot"? :S Are you saying it was actually booting (just taking long) when it was pointed at E? Or it was just hanging when selecting that entry?

-Coolname007
 
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Cool. Please look at post 1
"0" = hdd C (partition 1) XP Pro 32bit (System, Active, Primary)
I'm not guessing or speculating about what's "system". I'm reading it off the information MK gave us.

Winload.exe is always in Windows/system32 on the Vista partition. If you install Vista from a running system (as MK did from XP), it puts the BCD and bootmgr on the "system" partition. i.e. XP.
The reason is to maintain the bootability of XP.
If it took "system" status for itself and put the BCD on its own partition, XP would no longer boot without manual intervention.
The MS philosophy of oldest first - newest last, is designed to make the dual boot process automatic, without user intervention.
MK shouldn't have needed to come here.
Installing Vista after XP should result in an automatic working dual-boot.
I don't think we've got all the information we need from MK
His first post seemed to indicate that he wasn't getting a dual-boot menu at all - that's why I suggested the add/remove.
When he later followed your advice to point things to the wrong partitions, his replies seem to indicate that he does have a dual boot menu, but things aren't booting, which is an entirely different problem.

MK
Can you please read the sticky thread and verify that you've done everything you should have done.
If you don't find the solution to your problem there, can you please describe exactly what problem you are having.
If you need to post again, can you include the information I asked for in my previous post, so we can see your situation first hand.

 
slow down !!! ,too ethuusiastic on this forum
Thanks kairozamorro > already copied files to vista "E" after reading other threads didn't work(system is "C" )

thanks -Coolname007 > the Addendum vista on "C" so if pointing to "E" (should be system not Vista, very sorry for that.:shame:smile:

maybe look at the attatchment "disc mannagement" that terry60 called for..

to clarify .... I have no dual boot option at startup, i can only get into vista automatically without pressinng anything without seeing any o/s boot options.

TO > Terry60 like you say look and come back if find fix, tried and still looking ,please have a look at my disc management snapshot, I really dont know why i got no multi boot options (oldest first theory)

View attachment Disc Managemet.bmp

thannks alot everyone
 
OK, that confirms post1 partition configuration is all accurate.
Can you run EasyBCD and copy/paste the output from the "display settings" in debug mode into your post, and screenshot the contents of the C:\ partition root with explorer.

(prt scn, then snip with the Vista snipping tool, save as .jpg to your desktop (or wherever's temporarily convenient, then use "go advanced" under the quick reply window, and attach the .jpg with the paperclip icon from wherever you've saved it. That will save you a hell of a lot of upload time and save Guru some space)
 
Cool. Please look at post 1
"0" = hdd C (partition 1) XP Pro 32bit (System, Active, Primary)
I'm not guessing or speculating about what's "system". I'm reading it off the information MK gave us.

You're right...you're absolutely right. :shame: I'm very sorry. Yes, I had read that when first coming to this thread, but I had simply forgotten, and MKLife's later post about Vista being on C (which I now understand to be a typo) is what confused me. I understand it all now. Thanks, Terry. :wink:

-Coolname007
 
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