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Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

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Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby shantd » Wed May 13, 2009 8:26 pm

Hello all, quite a forum you've got here. Here's my issue. I've done all the steps, installed Vista (clean install) then XP (via ghost backup) on one hard drive. Vista is on partition C:, XP is on F:. I installed VistaBootPro and did everything I was supposed to but before I commit to restarting to see if it works I want to be sure everything is in order and have found 2 potential issues:

1- I noticed that boot.ini is present in the XP partition, but in the Vista partition there is a file labeled boot.ini.saved, but no boot.ini. Does boot.ini need to be in both drives? Will boot.ini.saved suffice in C:?


2- The contents of boot.ini on F and boot.ini.saved are not the same. One references partition(1) and the other partition(2)

Here is the contents of boot.ini from F:


[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect



Here is the contents of the boot.ini.saved file from Vista drive C:

;
;Warning: Boot.ini is used on Windows XP and earlier operating systems.
;Warning: Use BCDEDIT.exe to modify Windows Vista boot options.
;
[boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT


Shouldn't they both read the same? If so, which one is right? Thanks a million in advance!

:geek:
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Re: Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby yeshuas » Wed May 13, 2009 9:15 pm

It depends on which partition of your harddrive that has XP on it as to which boot.ini is correct, if you have only two partitons and XP is on the 1st partion from the left in disk management then the boot.ini should have (1) and if it is on the 2nd partition from the left then it should be (2) and they should be the same on both partitions or harddrives
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Re: Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby shantd » Wed May 13, 2009 11:19 pm

Ok so you're saying boot.ini does not need to be on both XP and Vista, right?

The hard drive has 3 partitions. C: (Vista), F:(XP), and H: (extra storage). In disk management C: is on the left, F: in the middle, and H: on the right. C: is the active partition.

So which of these does boot.ini need to be on?
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Re: Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby yeshuas » Wed May 13, 2009 11:47 pm

shantd wrote:Ok so you're saying boot.ini does not need to be on both XP and Vista, right?

The hard drive has 3 partitions. C: (Vista), F:(XP), and H: (extra storage). In disk management C: is on the left, F: in the middle, and H: on the right. C: is the active partition.

So which of these does boot.ini need to be on?

The boot.ini can be on both Vista and XP it won't hurt anything, I would have it on both myself and it should look like this

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
Game Over!!!!!!!!
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Re: Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby yeshuas » Wed May 13, 2009 11:54 pm

I almost forgot, there are two other files that need to be on Vista and XP partitions; NTDETECT and ntldr, like I said along with boot.ini, I would have these on both Vista and XP, but they need to be at least on the partition marked system, boot drive in disk management
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Re: Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby shantd » Thu May 14, 2009 12:03 am

Beautiful, thanks man. If you don't hear from me in an hour or two then you'll know it didn't work... :silly:
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Re: Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby shantd » Sat May 16, 2009 4:37 am

Well, just thought I'd let you all know that, utilizing Ghost v14.0 & VistaBootPro, everything is working again. Better than before in fact, as my Vista OS wasn't working right before all this happened. Now it runs like a dream . I'm actually glad this happened. And I have to stress something which is a pet peeve of mine: everyone should be using Ghost or similar backup/restore program. If you go through your computer life without using Ghost or something like it, you are really missing out. Not only does it save your a$$ in situations like this, but it also completely irradicates the threat of catching a virus. I haven't used an antivirus program in years and my system is clean as a whistle. If you do catch a virus, you simply restore your last backup and presto: every trace of that virus is gauranteed gone. No antivirus software running in the background means you have resources freed up & make no mistake, antivirus solutions use up a lot of resources. If you've ever found yourself on these forums worried about your system or your data, get Ghost, an extra hard drive, and make life easy on yourself.

I'd just like to extend a final thank you to you, yeshuas. There's no better man than he who goes out of his way to help a stranger. It's nice to know that people have your back in times like this.

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Re: Dual Boot Issue - One Final Step

Postby yeshuas » Sat May 16, 2009 12:30 pm

I am glad that you got your system back and straightened out.'

I also agree that it is a very good idea to use backups, and that some people don't find that out until it is to late.

Finally I want to thank you for you kind words directed towards me.
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