ntldr, NTDETECT.COM and Vista
- Thread starter rluka
- Start date
It created a dual boot menu but it wouldnt boot into XP.
Frst off, in Vista I created another partition (D) by shrinking the drive (C) partition.
Then when I loaded XP Pro it would only boot into XP Pro even though I went into Sysytem Properties/Advanced and added Vista to the boot.ini file and as you already know (I didnt know it at the time) it wouldnt boot up into Vista so I kind of panicked and instead of just doing a repair in Vista, I completely restored the Vista operating system.
Then i discovered EasyBCD and tried what you suggested and when I choose XP in the start up boot menu it seemed to start but stayed in the blue screen and that was it.
Does there have to be a boot.ini file in the C drive also?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thansk
Ron L
Frst off, in Vista I created another partition (D) by shrinking the drive (C) partition.
Then when I loaded XP Pro it would only boot into XP Pro even though I went into Sysytem Properties/Advanced and added Vista to the boot.ini file and as you already know (I didnt know it at the time) it wouldnt boot up into Vista so I kind of panicked and instead of just doing a repair in Vista, I completely restored the Vista operating system.
Then i discovered EasyBCD and tried what you suggested and when I choose XP in the start up boot menu it seemed to start but stayed in the blue screen and that was it.
Does there have to be a boot.ini file in the C drive also?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Thansk
Ron L
Vista cannot be ran with NTLDR and boot.ini.
In your previous configuration, you would point to Vista's partition when creating the XP entry because it is the boot drive.
If you have Vista installed now and have XP on its partition/going to re-install it, follow option 1. If you need to re-install XP, do that before following option 1.
If you have XP only installed now and want to install Vista, follow option 2.
OPTONS:
1) You can recover the Vista bootloader by using startup repair from the recovery disc and then using EasyBCD to add the entry to boot XP.
2) You can delete your Vista partition if you still have it and use a Vista DVD to re-install Vista. Since XP is alreadly installed in this case, Vista's installer well detect it and automatically setup the dual-boot configuration for you.
In your previous configuration, you would point to Vista's partition when creating the XP entry because it is the boot drive.
If you have Vista installed now and have XP on its partition/going to re-install it, follow option 1. If you need to re-install XP, do that before following option 1.
If you have XP only installed now and want to install Vista, follow option 2.
OPTONS:
1) You can recover the Vista bootloader by using startup repair from the recovery disc and then using EasyBCD to add the entry to boot XP.
2) You can delete your Vista partition if you still have it and use a Vista DVD to re-install Vista. Since XP is alreadly installed in this case, Vista's installer well detect it and automatically setup the dual-boot configuration for you.
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Did I forget to mention that this is on a dou core laptop that only has a system restore partition.
And also, after I installed Win XP Pro I completely restored Vista and it didnt recognize XP. At least as far I know and thats by going into "System Properties/Advanced/Startup and Recovery"
Ron L
And also, after I installed Win XP Pro I completely restored Vista and it didnt recognize XP. At least as far I know and thats by going into "System Properties/Advanced/Startup and Recovery"
Ron L
Yes, full system restore off the recovery partition. And your saying that Vista should have recognized XP Pro?
And whats seems really strange: Most of my restore pionts are gone since I tried booting into XP Pro using EasyBCD. A dual boot menu came up when I restarded my laptop and when I choose XP it just went into a blue screen and stayed there.
And whats seems really strange: Most of my restore pionts are gone since I tried booting into XP Pro using EasyBCD. A dual boot menu came up when I restarded my laptop and when I choose XP it just went into a blue screen and stayed there.
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Read the wiki about how dual booting works with Vista and XP, so that you understand what it is you're trying to do before jumping in and doing full system reinstalls.
http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Windows+XP
paying particular attention to the troubleshooting link.
What you are trying to end up with, is Vista on one partition, XP on another, the Vista bootloader in charge (it knows all about XP too, XPs NTLDR cannot be made to boot Vista however, so no point in trying to put Vista entries in boot.ini), and all of the boot files from both systems in whichever of the partitions is the boot partition (it's the one marked "system active" in disk management)
Whenever you boot XP on a system where it can see Vista, it will destroy Vista's restore points.
Read the sticky thread about Vista Hide n Seek (HnS) in the ideas and wishlists forum, and download yourself a copy once you've fixed your dual boot.
http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Windows+XP
paying particular attention to the troubleshooting link.
What you are trying to end up with, is Vista on one partition, XP on another, the Vista bootloader in charge (it knows all about XP too, XPs NTLDR cannot be made to boot Vista however, so no point in trying to put Vista entries in boot.ini), and all of the boot files from both systems in whichever of the partitions is the boot partition (it's the one marked "system active" in disk management)
Whenever you boot XP on a system where it can see Vista, it will destroy Vista's restore points.
Read the sticky thread about Vista Hide n Seek (HnS) in the ideas and wishlists forum, and download yourself a copy once you've fixed your dual boot.
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Take Terry's advice seriously. Booting multiple OSes on a system can be a complicated thing to set up if you don't understand the procedure.
Read the guide and follow the instructions below to get XP working.
Assuming you've restored the system using the recovery partition:
1) You'll need to shrink Vista's partition (Usually labeled "OS" and is drive C:.) to make room for XP. You can do this in Disk Management by right-clicking on the Vista parition and selecting the shrink option. If you are unsure about the amount of space to take away from Vista's parition, use the default. Vista well automatically, by using the default, shrink half the partition. So if you had a 100GB parition for example, your Vista partition would then be about 50GB after shrinking it and you would be left with 50GB of free space in which to use for XP's partition. Now, i'm assuming at the moment you have only Vista on the system since you've used your recovery partition to return the computer to the factory default state.
2) Create a new parition from the free space taken from the Vista partition in order to hold the new XP installation. I'd go ahead and do a quick format in NTFS and give it a volume label like "XP" or something that well help you to remember which parition you need to install XP on later.
3) Boot the computer from XP's cd and when the partition screen comes up, highlight the newly created partition and hit enter to install XP there.
4) When XP is finished installing, Vista well still be on the system, but when you boot the system, it boots straight away into XP. Follow option 1 from my previous post to get Vista working again and add the entry to dual-boot with XP.
Do yourself a favor and use HnS. You never know when you're going to need Vista's restore points in case there are problems. XP is a restore nightmare for Vista's restore points.
Read the guide and follow the instructions below to get XP working.
Assuming you've restored the system using the recovery partition:
1) You'll need to shrink Vista's partition (Usually labeled "OS" and is drive C:.) to make room for XP. You can do this in Disk Management by right-clicking on the Vista parition and selecting the shrink option. If you are unsure about the amount of space to take away from Vista's parition, use the default. Vista well automatically, by using the default, shrink half the partition. So if you had a 100GB parition for example, your Vista partition would then be about 50GB after shrinking it and you would be left with 50GB of free space in which to use for XP's partition. Now, i'm assuming at the moment you have only Vista on the system since you've used your recovery partition to return the computer to the factory default state.
2) Create a new parition from the free space taken from the Vista partition in order to hold the new XP installation. I'd go ahead and do a quick format in NTFS and give it a volume label like "XP" or something that well help you to remember which parition you need to install XP on later.
3) Boot the computer from XP's cd and when the partition screen comes up, highlight the newly created partition and hit enter to install XP there.
4) When XP is finished installing, Vista well still be on the system, but when you boot the system, it boots straight away into XP. Follow option 1 from my previous post to get Vista working again and add the entry to dual-boot with XP.
Do yourself a favor and use HnS. You never know when you're going to need Vista's restore points in case there are problems. XP is a restore nightmare for Vista's restore points.
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ntldr, ntdetect.com missing
I finally SOLVED the problem. What I didn't realize is that I was trying to boot from the drive that had Windows 7 when I should have been booting from the drive that had XP. As soon as I did that everything was fine. I could now choose from the boot menu and boot up from either Windows 7 or XP. Ü
I finally SOLVED the problem. What I didn't realize is that I was trying to boot from the drive that had Windows 7 when I should have been booting from the drive that had XP. As soon as I did that everything was fine. I could now choose from the boot menu and boot up from either Windows 7 or XP. Ü