Problems trying to install on WIn-XP...

cookdav

Member
As I mentioned in my first post, I've HAPPILY (and easily) loved
installing and using EasyBCD on both Vista and Win-7.

But, today, I tried to install the latest (2.0.2, as I recall) onto
Windows-XP (which is mostly still what I have). The 2 laptops
are the Vista/Win-7 systems. But, all my desktop-boxes are still
Win-XP (already setup to dual-boot with various Linux distros).

What I'm now wanting to do is switch over from using Linux-supplied
boot-mgrs (i.e. 'grub' and 'grub2') to using EasyBCD, under Win-XP.

Is that gonna be do-able?

Because, during the 'install' on Win-XP, I immediately got some sort
of 'not found' thing, after it searched for some present boot-info.

At first, it appeared as though the install failed, but NOW I see that it
has woken up and is at least installed. (Maybe I'm just forgetting how
it behaved a few months ago, on Vista and Win-7???)

Am I good to go? If so, how do I proceed?

EDIT:What I'm thinking I need to do is (somehow) get Win-XP to overwrite the MBR with
some beginning entry for itself, and then I'll be able to (manually) add back in the
extra entries for my Linux partitions. So, how do I get Win-XP back into the MBR?

TIA...

Dave
 
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Windows XP doesnt use the BCD. So what you want to do isnt going to work. As you cant use a program that is designed to work with the boot loader of Vista & Win7 for XP.

Windows XP uses the boot.ini method. By default XP and boot.ini do not support the booting of multiple systems like you want to do.
 
Hmm...then, your installer OUGHT to be catching the fact that's it's running on Win-XP
and STOPPING and saying that the product won't work here. [And, ditto, probably for all of
Windows-98, Windows-2000, etc etc.]

Instead, it stupidly just installs itself anyway. So, in my opinion, that is a bug.
It ought to be allowing install for only 2 OSes: Vista and Win-7, and reject all others.

[Thanks for the quick response.]

Cheers...
 
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It isnt stupid. Cause you CAN use the program from within XP to multiboot with Vista/Win7. If you install XP AFTER your install of Vista or Win7 how do you expect to fix the BCD if you dont install it within XP? Imagine that. A reason for allowing it to install within XP.

In your opinion it is a bug, in reality it is a feature.

Cause you know not everyone knows or understands how to fix the BCD by inserting the media and allowing EasyBCD to install within XP and giving the options to install the BCD or Repair it so that you can multiboot is a neat little feature so that you dont have to go through all the trouble of finding your media, if you even have it, and restarting the machine to insert the media to use the repair feature.

Strange we try to actually help people and all you can do is troll and talk junk about a FREE program. If you dont like how it works, create one yourself. Easy fix.
 
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cookdav, I appreciate your feedback.

However, as Alex points out, it's not that clear-cut. EasyBCD _sometimes_ runs on Windows XP, and even when it doesn't it still provides some basic functionality (MBR repair, etc.). So we can't just code the installer not to install on XP, though I do understand where your suggestion is coming from.

EasyBCD's documentation at EasyBCD Documentation Home - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki should clear some things up and we always recommend that people check it out before installing EasyBCD.
 
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