can't boot Win2k partition

[tlviewer]

Hello,

Previous (triple boot) working system:
-----------------------
Drive0:
Win2k(C | WinXP(D | Data(E <- all primary partitions ( I know, I
know, never again)

Drive1
Junk1(I | SuSE Swap(unkwn) | SuSe Boot(unkwn) | Junk2(J |
Junk3(K
with Junk1 primary

while in Win2k I formatted D:, planning to reinstall WinXP as before.
However,
when I booted into the WinXP setup disk the drive letters changed, but I
went
through with the reinstall anyway. When done, I had this:

broken system
------------
Drive0:
Win2k(G | WinXP(C | Data(F
C: is now the System partition

Drive1
same as before, except Linux SuSE no longer is found.

Now the Win2k can't boot, even from the setup CD. The Grub boot loader is
broken too. Booting from the hard disk goes straight into WinXP, unlike
before where I had a triple boot option.

When I boot into WinXP and look over the D: root, the Win2k partition seems
unchanged! How can I restore the old Win2k partition as C and boot it?

tia,
tlviewer

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hello,

Previous (triple boot) working system:
-----------------------
Drive0:
Win2k(C | WinXP(D | Data(E <- all primary partitions ( I know, I
know, never again)

Drive1
Junk1(I | SuSE Swap(unkwn) | SuSe Boot(unkwn) | Junk2(J |
Junk3(K
with Junk1 primary

while in Win2k I formatted D:, planning to reinstall WinXP as before.
However,
when I booted into the WinXP setup disk the drive letters changed, but I
went
through with the reinstall anyway. When done, I had this:

broken system
------------
Drive0:
Win2k(G | WinXP(C | Data(F
C: is now the System partition

Drive1
same as before, except Linux SuSE no longer is found.

Now the Win2k can't boot, even from the setup CD. The Grub boot loader is
broken too. Booting from the hard disk goes straight into WinXP, unlike
before where I had a triple boot option.

When I boot into WinXP and look over the D: root, the Win2k partition seems
unchanged! How can I restore the old Win2k partition as C and boot it?

tia,
tlviewer

As a first step, see if you Win2000 installation is intact, by booting
from a Win2000 boot disk. Here is how to make one:

- Format a floppy disk under Win2000/XP.
Don't do it on a Win9x PC - it won't work.
- Copy these hidden files from drive c:\ to A:\
ntldr
ntdetect.com
boot.ini
- Ensure that the partition number for Win2000 is correct in a:\boot.ini.
(1) is the first partition, (2) the next partition etc.

What do you get?

 

[tlviewer]

seems unchanged! How can I restore the old Win2k partition as C and boot it?

As a first step, see if you Win2000 installation is intact, by booting
from a Win2000 boot disk. Here is how to make one:

- Format a floppy disk under Win2000/XP.
Don't do it on a Win9x PC - it won't work.
- Copy these hidden files from drive c:\ to A:\
ntldr
ntdetect.com
boot.ini
- Ensure that the partition number for Win2000 is correct in a:\boot.ini.
(1) is the first partition, (2) the next partition etc.

What do you get?

So far, so good. I'm at the Win2k login right now. What about
the drive letter? I'm posting from a backup machine so I can
cycle mail very quickly if possible.

I thought I was toast till I read your reply!
tlviewer
--

 

[tlviewer]

So far, so good. I'm at the Win2k login right now. What about
the drive letter? I'm posting from a backup machine so I can
cycle mail very quickly if possible.

I thought I was toast till I read your reply!
tlviewer
--

Update:
within Win2k, the drive letters are right. What I saw in WinXP had
me frazzled out of my mind. I had edited
the old boot.ini to remove the WinXP option after I formatted
over it's partition.

Looking at My Computer\Properties\Manage\Disk Management

I see that Win2k(C is marked 'boot', but
WinXP(D is marked 'active'. Should I change anything
there? To restore the Windows Dual option I will re-add the
WinXP line to boot.ini.
regards,
tlviewer
--

 

[tlviewer]

So far, so good. I'm at the Win2k login right now. What about
the drive letter? I'm posting from a backup machine so I can
cycle mail very quickly if possible.

Changing Partition (1) to (active) was all that was needed. Then
Windows labeled it 'System' -- no longer are boot and active
seperate, they are both in (1)

Now off to restore the Grub loader for SuSE 9.1 and have
the triple boot restored.

Thanks again Pegasus! You're a life saver.
tlviewer
--

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

So far, so good. I'm at the Win2k login right now. What about
the drive letter? I'm posting from a backup machine so I can
cycle mail very quickly if possible.

I thought I was toast till I read your reply!
tlviewer
--

Update:
within Win2k, the drive letters are right. What I saw in WinXP had
me frazzled out of my mind. I had edited
the old boot.ini to remove the WinXP option after I formatted
over it's partition.

Looking at My Computer\Properties\Manage\Disk Management

I see that Win2k(C is marked 'boot', but
WinXP(D is marked 'active'. Should I change anything
there? To restore the Windows Dual option I will re-add the
WinXP line to boot.ini.
regards,
tlviewer
--
=======================
A quick review of the boot process may be in order.
When you boot a machine, this is what happens:

1. The machine runs through the BIOS boot process.
2. The BIOS boot process passes control to the first
boot device mentioned in the CMOS. If it is a hard
disk then the code in the Master Boot Record of the
primary master disk is executed.
3. The MBR code executes the code in the boot sector
of the active partition.
4. The code in the boot sector executes ntldr (if this is
a WinNT/2000/XP PC).
5. ntldr processes c:\boot.ini, which invokes the selected
OS.

I assume that you are still booting from your floppy disk.
This means that you can control the boot process easily
by modifying the floppy disk on a different PC. When
you have things just right, you can tune the hard disk
boot environment accordingly.

I now suggest that you insert a WinXP selection line into
a:\boot.ini, reboot from the floppy disk, then report back
here with the results.