Test creation of NTLDR, NTDETECT with EasyBCD 2.0 Beta Build 63

mqudsi

mqudsi

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Hi,

The latest build of EasyBCD 2.0 has automated creation of NTLDR and NDETECT along with the auto-configuration of Boot.ini.

As you all know, Windows 7 defaults to a hidden boot partition and that's given a lot of users some grief here, being unable to easily modify its contents or even realize it's there in the first place....

EasyBCD 2.0b63 should fix this problem by copying NTLDR and NTDETECT to the correct location automatically when using the auto-configure XP mode.

Can you guys please test this feature as extensively as possible? I had to use a number of crazy workarounds to get it working properly with hidden partitions and detecting the correct location, etc. and would appreciate some feedback before I mark the issue as closed and move on to something else with EasyBCD 2.0.....


Cheers!
 
Updated to latest build, but unable to test the W7 hidden partition code (don't have one), and of course I don't even use BCD to boot XP these days (HnS custom build).
I ran it anyway to see if you'd changed it to check for BCD in "system" rather than "active", but I see not.
I still can't run Easy from Vista or XP (they're both on the HDD with an "active" "non-system" Boot partition), though it should still work on W7 which is "active" "system" on the other HDD.

Of course all of my WIndows are Vanilla independent installs that don't need intervention from Easy.

I only ever see my HnS grub screen at boot, and I'm doing all my boot-file management courtesy of Ubuntu, which circumvents all of the Windows permissions which make it so d*mn difficult to do from inside Windows.
 
I would test this feature myself, but I don't have a hidden "system" partition for Win 7, since I installed it to a VHD. :wink: But I'm sure they'll be lots of people who do have one that will test it! :grinning:
EasyBCD is getting better and better! :??
I imagine we'll be seeing fewer posts about boot problems here, as more and more features are added to make the multiboot process even easier. It'll be great when we can just tell someone to add an XP entry in EasyBCD (no extra steps needed), and it'll work right off the bat. :joy:
 
Cool, you can still test this with a non-hidden system partition.. if it works for that, it'll work for the Windows 7 hidden one.

Would you let me know how it goes?
 
Thanks.

Using the auto-configure option should create a valid boot.ini and create NTLDR and NTDETECT on the boot drive... so you should probably back them up and delete them first.
 
It worked flawlessly...:grinning:
I moved my NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM and boot.ini out of the root of the "system" partition, and moved it into a new directory, and then I used EasyBCD>Tools>Auto-configure boot.ini, and it recreated boot.ini, and placed a copy of NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM into the root of the system partition.
Just curious, but does EasyBCD recreate NTLDR and NTDETECT.COM too, or does it search all partitions for those files, and copies them over into the system partition?
 
No, it re-creates them manually. I was going to have some logic to search and move, but figured many cases would see people without NTLDR and NTDETECT in the first place and figured I might as well do it right the first time for once and have it do everything.

Thanks a bunch for testing this, Jake. I can move on to another issue now :grinning:
 
I was going to ask that same question Cool, cause on my system i've got the files on both my Vista and XP partitions. Great job CG having EasyBCD recreate the files. I think you've just about covered all of the troubleshooting steps automatically from Terry's sticky about now :smile:
 
...On the Windows side, that is.. Thanks :smile:

Now I've only got the new Windows 7-exclusive features & some improvements to the OS X scene left along with a couple of other new features before 2.0 can be RC'd...

:grinning:
 
Yes I'm going to have to go back through the sticky and remove most of the old confusing manual steps it was put there for.
I'll give it a major overhaul when I have a few hours to rethink it.
 
OK.
As promised.
Sunday afternoon, should have been mowing the lawn but it was raining, so did a bit of tidying up on the sticky and the wiki, and they now both refer to the auto configuration capability of 2.0.

I've removed most of the outdated pre 2.0 manual blurb from the sticky completely, but left it for historical completeness in the wiki, whilst promoting the benefits of using 2.0 to avoid the pain.
 
Great program. Had a heck of a time trying to get my XP / 7 dual boot system up and running until I tried this latest build. Worked like a charm. Thanks.
 
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