Boot.ini

[Fernand Thill]

how can I find my boot.ini on a XP Pro system. The folders view options are
correctely set:show hidden: flagged; hide ptrotected: unflagged.
Nevertheless a search does'nt find boot.ini
Fernand THILL

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

Go to Start and type msconfig in the run box and press enter. Go to the
boot.ini tab, this will reveal the contents. If you need to edit the
boot.ini:

Open Control Panel, open System, go to the Advanced tab, click Settings
under Startup and Recovery, click Edit next to "To edit the startup options
file manually, click edit."

For the record, usually the boot.ini file is in the root folder of the boot
drive. If you have a dual boot system, again it's on the boot drive which
might not necessarily by the drive on which XP is installed.

 

[Bitch1ick]

hmmm

 

[Fernand Thill]

????? hmmm ????

hmmm

 

[Fernand Thill]

Michael,
thanks for your valuable help. If I may ask you another tip, can you tell me
why the HELP function is no longer active or responding on my system
f.Thill

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

1) Click Start > Run, Type "Cmd" and then press <Enter>.

2) Type "Cd\" and then press <Enter>

3) Type "Attrib C:\Boot.ini -h -r -s" and then press <Enter>

4) Click Start > Run, Type "Notepad c:\boot.ini" and then press
<Enter>

5) Edit the file as desired, save it, and then exit Notepad.

6) Type "Attrib C:\Boot.ini +h +r +s" and then press <Enter>

7) Close the command console.


Bruce Chambers

--
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having both at once. -- RAH

 

[johnf]

The XP search engine leaves a lot to be desired.

If you just want to view the details, Start/Run/msconfig.
If you want to change it - e.g. the timeout, you can't do it there as it
changes your boot-up to selective startup.

The easiest way to edit it is download AgentRansack, let it search for
boot.ini, open it with Notepad, do your changes there, then Save.
But first, copy boot.ini to your Desktop as a backup.

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP Windows Shell/User\)]

You're welcome.

I don't know the reason why but lets see if we can get it running again. Go
to the following website, scroll to line 235, Restore Help and Support
Service and click it. If that fails to resolve it, try the following:


If this is a relatively recent issue, you might try using System Restore to
take you back to a time when this worked properly. If that doesn't resolve
it, try the information below.

The following assumes you have an actual XP CD as opposed to a restore CD or
restore partition supplied by your PC manufacturer.

Go to Start, type sfc /scannow in the run box and press enter. Note, there
is a space between sfc and the forward slash. You will be asked for your XP
CD. Be aware, upon inserting the CD the XP setup screen may appear, this is
not a part of sfc /scannow, rather it is being invoked by autorun. Simply
minimize the screen and allow sfc to continue.

If the above fails to resolve the issue, try a repair install as follows:



Be sure you are well backed up in case there is a problem from which you are
unable to recover. NOTE, while a repair install should leave your data
files intact, if something goes wrong during the repair install, you may be
forced to start over and do a clean install of XP. If you don't have your
data backed up, you would lose your data should that eventuality occur.



Boot from the CD. If your system is set to be able to boot from the CD, it
should detect the disk and give a brief message, during the boot up, if you
wish to boot from the CD press any key.



Once you have pressed a key, setup should begin. You will see a reference
asking if you need to load special drivers and another notice that if you
wish to begin the ASR (Automatic Recovery Console) depress F2. Just let
setup run past all of that. It will continue to load files and drivers.



Then it will bring you to a screen. Eventually, you will come to a screen
with the option to (1) setup Windows or (2) Repair Windows Installation
using the Recovery console.



The first option, to setup Windows is the one you want and requires you to
press enter. When asked, press F8 to accept the end user agreement. Setup
will then search for previous versions of Windows. Upon finding your
version, it will ask if you wish to Repair your current installation or
install fresh. Press R, that will run a repair installation. From there
on, follow the screens.