Dual boot XP/ME problem after reinstall of ME

[Peter Gloor]

I have a PC with two HD in a multi boot configuration as follows:

1st HD, 60 GB, 1 FAT32 partition configured as active partition, drive
letter C:, Windows/ME.
2nd HD, 60 GB, 1 NTFS partition, drive letter D:, Windows/XP Professional.

So far, on startup I've got the menu where I could choose the OS to start.
Windows/ME was configured to start by default after 30 seconds.

Now I had a big crash on Windows/ME and I needed to reinstall Windows/ME.
Doing this I lost the dual boot configuration and Windows/ME started without
showing the boot menue.

After searching the web for a possible solution I started the Windows/XP
recovery console (using R option) from the CD and entered the following
commands.
FIXMBR
FIXBOOT C:

This brought the menue back! Now, if I choose Windows/XP it will boot, but
if I choose Windows/ME it doesn't boot. All I get is a blackscreen with a
blinking cursor in the top left corner.

I can get Windows/ME back if I boot from my Windows/ME boot floppy and enter
SYS C: and the reboot the system. But then I loose the menue again.

How do I get a working dual boot configuration back again (without having to
reinstall Windows/XP)?

Peter

 

[Jim]

You need/needed to do an XP "Repair" install, I believe that would have
re-detected the existing WinME installation and properly fixed up the
configuration. Instead, you isolated your "fix" by executing the individual
utilties, thus fixing only XP (these tools are not, by themselves, aware of
the presence of WinME, the XP installer *is*!). So now each time you get
one or the other running, it's replacing its own boot loader over the other
(that's what the SYS command did, you killed the XP boot loader, replacing
it w/ the WinME boot loader, which in turn, doesn't know about XP!), and
back and forth you go! So just run the XP install and choose repair this
time.

HTH

Jim

 

[Peter Gloor]

Thank you Jim for your fast response.

Murphy's law has really hit me. Just tried to follow your suggestion, but...
....cannot read the diskette.

I always wanted to replace this diskette, because I had problems with 50% of
the diskettes from the same order, but haven't done so.

What now? Isn't it just some file or so that needs to be replaced?

Anyway, thanks for your hint.

Peter

 

[Peter Gloor]

Problem solved! BOOTSECT.DOS was corrupted.

Following some instructions I recreated BOOTSECT.DOS, run FIXBOOT C: and is
o.k. now.

Peter