xp pro not booting after changes to boot.ini

Anonymous
2012-06-29T08:25:26+00:00

The problem is my C: partition has Windows 7

D: Has XP Pro

These should be seen as partition 1 and 2 resp. right?

I wanted XP pro to boot first as the default partition.

A few days ago I made a change to the boot.ini file. But since then XP Pro has not been booting at all.

I wanted XP Pro to boot first as the default partition.

Since XP Pro and my D: drive have not been booting, I accessed the boot.ini file through the C: partition, that is Windows 7 and I changed the order (i.e. partition no.) in the boot.ini file and saved it to the necessary location, i.e. D:/WINDOWS/pss/

through my working C: drive, i.e. the Windows 7 partition, but it is still not working because apparently even though I am saving it here, the actual values and partition paths are not actually being changed on the system. I confirmed this by going into the CMD shell switching to D: and running the command D:>bootcfg.

Apparently no matter what values I am saving in the boot.ini file which I am saving as a text file or "All files" in D:/WINDOWS/pss/  it is not actually changing in the system because whenever I run the bootfg command the values are remaining just the same and not being able to be changed, because apparently it is not being saved in XP Pro and the D: partition. No matter what I do and what values I put into the boot.ini file accessed through the windows 7 partition, the values which bootcfg returns to me are always the same and it refuses to change the path name or anything else. Regardless of what commands I put into bootcfg itself also.

These are the values that bootcfg is giving me:

default:multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

Boot entries:

Boot entry ID: 1

OS friendly Name: MS Windows XP Professional

Path: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

OS Load options: /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN/FASTDETECT /USEPMTIMER

My XP Pro partition is just not booting and it is my primary partition and has all my work. It is imperative that it boots.

My Windows CD is also not booting because apparently my DVD drive is not working properly, I had the anti malware program threatfire (threatfire.com) installed on my D:Windows XP drive but have uninstalled just it in case it was blocking my changes to the system.

On C:Win7 I set the default OS option in the advanced tab to Win7 and on the D:XP Pro to XP Pro , when it was booting and working. Now I can only access my D:XP Pro files thru the C:Win7 drive. But XP just isnt booting. What shd I do? Thks.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2012-07-08T13:06:35+00:00

I do have a windows CD handy but my CD/DVD drive is not reading it and not working properly.

Seems like your initial post stated your cd/dvd isn't working.

With all due respect, you're gonna keep on with these hap hazard fixes and your computer isn't going to boot at all. I am going to try to help you one more time. Please follow closely.

Start your computer by loading Windows 7. Click HERE and download EasyBCD. Install the the software in the trial version. After the installation has completed open EasyBCD. You will see an interface like the image below. Click on Add a new entry.

A new screen will appear as in the image below. Use the drop down menu to select Windows NT/2k/XP/2k3 as shown below. Type the name of the operating system in the field below. Of course this will be Windows Xp (you can add Home or Pro to the name if you want). Now make sure there is a check mark in the box to "Automatically detect correct drive". Once you have completed those steps click "Add Entry". That's it!! You're done. If all went well, and if you followed these instructions carefully it will have, you now have a dual boot system.

You can now begin working on your cd/dvd issue.

Was this answer helpful?

0 comments

43 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2012-07-06T21:21:12+00:00

    Im sorry but both these links dont work because they are meant for an XP environment and I am working in a Windows 7 environment. These links work only in XP. My XP is not booting. Only Windows 7 is.

    What should I do now?

    Thanks.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2012-07-06T10:55:41+00:00

    Hello,

    Run the fixit mentioned below and then try to edit the boot.ini file.

    Your CD drive or DVD drive is missing or is not recognized by Windows or other programs(Fixit) 

    How to edit the Boot.ini file in Windows XP 

    Hope this information helps.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2012-07-06T08:06:19+00:00

    Unfortunately the software download from the link you gave http://support.microsoft.com/mats/cd\_dvd\_drive\_problems/en-us does not work. It says: "Were sorry but the program encountered an error and cannot continue. Pls try again later."

    What should one do now? Can you pls tell me what I should write (give me the default values that I should put in it) in the boot.ini file so that I can try one more time to save it and try booting from it?

    Thank you very much.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2012-06-30T12:19:39+00:00

    Hello,

    You have to boot from the Windows XP disc to rebuild the boot.ini.

    "Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows could not start" error messages when you start your computer 

    Fix problems with CD or DVD drives that can’t read or write media 

    Hope this information helps.

    Was this answer helpful?

    0 comments