Yet another XP / Windows 7 issue

J

jfritz001

Member
Im hoping someone out here can assist... here is where Im at.

I had a fresh hard drive which I installed Windows7 on....
up and running all is well... I then created a partition and installed XP on that partition .. ( same drive )
Trying to get the computer to Dual Boot...
I do get the option at start up between the two, but when I select XP
I get the following error:

Windows could not start ...
Windows Root> \ system32 \ ntoskrnl.exe
reinstall a copy of the above

anyone with thoughts on how to resolve.?!?!?

I am booting into windows 7 fine... its running... just cant get XP up ...
Thanks,
John
 
Hi John, welcome to NeoSmart Technologies.

Please download a copy of EasyBCD 2.0 beta and add an XP entry from there.

You have an incorrectly configured boot.ini file, and EasyBCD 2.0 has a new feature to automate the process.
 
Terry60 said:
CG, Does adding an entry create a boot.ini too, or just the Tools dropdown ?
Click to expand...

Yeah, like CG said, adding an entry for XP prompts the auto-configurator of boot.ini, which will create its own boot.ini if it detects one does not exist in the "system" partition. :wink: I tested that one out yesterday, and learned that it creates its own boot.ini if one does not already exist in the root of the "system" partition, and configures it correctly, automatically.

Cheers,

-Coolname007
 
I know. :joy: That new boot.ini configurator makes it a cinch to dual-boot Vista (in this case, Win 7) with XP, and you need little know-how (if any) in order to get it to work. :grinning:

Just a few simple clicks, and you're done! :??

-Coolname007
 
Yep.

Besides the boot.ini automater, the latest build of EasyBCD has a bootsect.dos generator for dual-booting 9x/ME with Vista/7 without having to manually create bootsect.dos (a real PITA), rewritten OS X support via 2 new modes (EFI and MBR, both fully supported and tested by the OSx86 Community), new Linux support via NST's new BootGrabber utility & an improved NeoGrub, and will soon have support for Windows' 7 new boot screen.... and then there's more stuff planned that I'll have to sit down and work out :smile:
 
Used Easy BCD ... and had no luck with the change !
still getting the same error upon trying to boot XP

Here is a list of entires shown in EBCD

There are a total of 2 entries listed in the Vista Bootloader.
Bootloader Timeout: 30 seconds.
Default OS: Windows 7 Ultimate

Entry #1

Name: Windows 7 Ultimate
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Windows Directory: \Windows

Entry #2

Name: Windows XP
BCD ID: {38c6878f-fcab-11dd-97f6-a5febeae7ef5}
Drive: F:\
Bootloader Path: \NTLDR
 
Sure you have the entry pointed at the right place? :wink: Try Drive C: instead for the XP entry.

-Coolname007

EDIT: Also, please post a screenshot (Prnt Scrn button on the keyboard) of your Disk Management screen.
 
Last edited:
I changed it to C and still the same issue....
Windows 7 is on my C: partition
XP is on the F: Partition
tried it both ways and still no luck !
 
jfritz001 said:
I changed it to C and still the same issue....
Windows 7 is on my C: partition
XP is on the F: Partition
tried it both ways and still no luck !
Click to expand...

Your XP entry needs to pointed at the "system" partition (as shown in Disk Management), whichever one that is, and your XP boot files (boot.ini, ntldr, and NTDETECT.COM) need to be in the root of that partition. The reason I was suggesting pointing it at C is because I thought it likely that your Win 7 partition might have been "system". But regardless, it needs to be pointed at the "system" partition, and your XP boot files need to be in the root of that partition.

Cheers,

-Coolname007
 
Ok...that's what I thought. Your Win 7 partition (C) is indeed your "system" partition, which means you need to point the XP entry there, and make sure the XP boot files are in the root of that partition.

-Coolname007

EDIT: You may have to check "Show hidden folders" and uncheck "Hide protected system files" in the Folder Options in the Control Panel, before you will be able to see them. Also, you need to copy (not move) them over (from the XP (F) partition's root) to your C: partition's root if they prove to not be already in that partition's root.
 
Last edited:
John, please follow the links and read the notes in the sticky (3-6) for all the detailed info on what needs to be where, and why.
 
I have tried all of the things listed above and seem to still be getting the same error!
What would be the best way to start from scratch !??
 
When you installed XP after W7, it would have replaced the W7 boot with XP's and you would have had a system on which only XP booted. You would then have needed to repair the W7 boot.
Did you do that ?
Was there ever a time when XP booted OK after you installed it ?
If you didn't have to go through a W7 repair after installing XP, then the XP install couldn't have completed properly.
If it did complete and booted OK, and you did repair the W7 boot afterwards, then you just need to copy the 3 XP boot files to W7's root and point the copy of boot.ini back to XP.
 
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