Vista & XP Dual Boot Issue

These are the steps I took.
-I reinstalled XP on the drive.
-XP Booted perfectly
-Changed the Boot.ini to the following
Code: 
[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
-Then set it up as the slave to the Vista drive
-I copied the BOOT.ini, ntldr and ntdetect.com to C:\
-I went into EasyDCB -> Add/Remove Entries -> setup the XP to the C:\
-Tried rebooting and get this message.
Code: 
Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware configuration problem. Could not read from the selected boot disk. Check boot path and disk hardware.
 
Why did you change boot.ini?

When you reinstalled XP, boot.ini was recreated to work properly >.<

Switch it back then try :smile:
 
When I reinstalled XP I set it up as the master, but now that I am using Vista I set the XP machine back to the slave so I had to change the BOOT.ini so it knows it is now a slave.
 
Ach....

You should have kept XP as the slave when you installed it. That would have put boot.ini in the right drive with the right numbers and everything. All you would have had to do is then go to "Bootloader Management" and select "Reinstall Vista Bootloader" and everything would have been working great.
 
Ooops... looks like I made it way more complicated that I should have.
So, I will try it again but this time I will use these steps (tell me if these are right)

- reinstall XP, while it is still the slave
- boot into Vista
- launch EasyBCD -> Manage Bootloader -> Reinstall the Vista Bootloader and click Write MBR
 
Not exactly.

When you reinstall XP, it will auto-boot into XP, not Vista.
Then in XP Install & Run EasyBCD, and do the manage bootloader thing :smile:

Anyway, for best results, before you do all that:
1. Delete all XP entries in EasyBCD
2. Delete boot.ini and ntldr from all drives.
3. Then go on ahead and install XP.
4. EasyBCD | Bootloader Management | Reinstall Vista Bootloader
5. EasyBCD | Add/Remove | Windows XP | Add Entry
(this will add an entry with the default options which should work perfectly with a stock XP (re)install)
 
OK, I will follow those steps. Not sure that I will be able to finish it all today but I will post a reply once I have done what you said.
Thank you for all your help.
 
Just wanted to update you and more importantly thank you.
I was able to get the dual boot working by following the steps that you gave me.
Thanks again.
 
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