hand editing BOOT.INI

[Patches Forever]

There's situations where it's really handy to be able to hand edit BOOT.INI
but there doesn't seem to be any readily available capability to do it.
Yes, there is a way to access and modify BOOT.INI through a utility in
Recovery console (I don't remember the name) - but that's not the same as
hand editing, which is what I'm looking for. Actually I use BART PE for this
purpose, but I want something simpler - something readily available on the
PC.

One guy told me to just start recovery console and use EDIT but I tried that
and it tells me EDIT isn't supported in recovery console. Another source
says just boot with the boot floppy (actually that's a Win98 system floppy)
and then edit BOOT.INI. I don't know what they are talking about. If you
boot with the floppy you can't access the NTFS volume - which is where
BOOT.INI is.

Can anybody here tell me if there's a simple way to hand edit BOOT.INI with
out booting Win XP ?

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

You can open boot.ini in Notepad and edit it - so long as it has been
'unhidden'.

--


Will Denny

MS MVP Shell/User
Please Reply to the News Groups

 

[Timothy Daniels]

There's situations where it's really handy to be able to hand edit
BOOT.INI but there doesn't seem to be any readily available
capability to do it.... I want something simpler - something readily
available on the PC.

Use Notepad.

Can anybody here tell me if there's a simple way to hand edit
BOOT.INI with out booting Win XP ?

Not that I know of.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi

You can open boot.ini in Notepad and edit it - so long as it has been
'unhidden'.

The default attributes for c:\boot.ini are hidden and system
but not "read-only". The command "notepad c:\boot.ini"
will happily open and save this file - there is no compelling
need to unhide it.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Can anybody here tell me if there's a simple way to hand edit BOOT.INI with
out booting Win XP ?

Here are a couple of options:

a) Make yourself a Bart PE boot CD, boot the machine
with this CD, then edit boot.ini.
b) Boot into Recovery Console mode with our WinXP
CD, then copy boot.ini to a floppy disk, edit it on a
different PC, then copy it back again.

Neither option is particularly simple. With option b) you
might run into permission problems - I haven't tried this
lately.

 

[Ron Sommer]

Download EditBINI.
http://www.bootitng.com/utilities.html
This utility will allow you to edit \BOOT.INI in an NTFS partition from DOS
or Win9x.
--
Ronald Sommer

: There's situations where it's really handy to be able to hand edit
BOOT.INI
: but there doesn't seem to be any readily available capability to do it.
: Yes, there is a way to access and modify BOOT.INI through a utility in
: Recovery console (I don't remember the name) - but that's not the same as
: hand editing, which is what I'm looking for. Actually I use BART PE for
this
: purpose, but I want something simpler - something readily available on the
: PC.
:
: One guy told me to just start recovery console and use EDIT but I tried
that
: and it tells me EDIT isn't supported in recovery console. Another source
: says just boot with the boot floppy (actually that's a Win98 system
floppy)
: and then edit BOOT.INI. I don't know what they are talking about. If you
: boot with the floppy you can't access the NTFS volume - which is where
: BOOT.INI is.
:
: Can anybody here tell me if there's a simple way to hand edit BOOT.INI
with
: out booting Win XP ?
:
:

 

[Patches Forever]

OK. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

There's situations where it's really handy to be able to hand edit BOOT.INI
but there doesn't seem to be any readily available capability to do it.
Yes, there is a way to access and modify BOOT.INI through a utility in
Recovery console (I don't remember the name) - but that's not the same as
hand editing, which is what I'm looking for. Actually I use BART PE for this
purpose, but I want something simpler - something readily available on the
PC.

One guy told me to just start recovery console and use EDIT but I tried that
and it tells me EDIT isn't supported in recovery console. Another source
says just boot with the boot floppy (actually that's a Win98 system floppy)
and then edit BOOT.INI. I don't know what they are talking about. If you
boot with the floppy you can't access the NTFS volume - which is where
BOOT.INI is.

Can anybody here tell me if there's a simple way to hand edit BOOT.INI with
out booting Win XP ?

One edits BOOT.ini in the same manner as one eddits any other text
file: by using Notepad or the text editor of one's choice.


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 to remove the extraneous line, change the "Default,"
and 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

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Ron Sommer]

: Patches Forever wrote:
: > There's situations where it's really handy to be able to hand edit
BOOT.INI
: > but there doesn't seem to be any readily available capability to do it.
: > Yes, there is a way to access and modify BOOT.INI through a utility in
: > Recovery console (I don't remember the name) - but that's not the same
as
: > hand editing, which is what I'm looking for. Actually I use BART PE for
this
: > purpose, but I want something simpler - something readily available on
the
: > PC.
: >
: > One guy told me to just start recovery console and use EDIT but I tried
that
: > and it tells me EDIT isn't supported in recovery console. Another source
: > says just boot with the boot floppy (actually that's a Win98 system
floppy)
: > and then edit BOOT.INI. I don't know what they are talking about. If you
: > boot with the floppy you can't access the NTFS volume - which is where
: > BOOT.INI is.
: >
: > Can anybody here tell me if there's a simple way to hand edit BOOT.INI
with
: > out booting Win XP ?
: >
: >
:
:
: One edits BOOT.ini in the same manner as one eddits any other text
: file: by using Notepad or the text editor of one's choice.
:
:
: 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 to remove the extraneous line, change the "Default,"
: and 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
:
: Help us help you:
:
:
:
: They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
: safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin
:
: Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand
Russell

How does using Notepad answer the question on how to edit boot.ini without
booting into Windows?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

How does using Notepad answer the question on how to edit boot.ini without
booting into Windows?

I don't suppose it does. Missed that condition. One would therefore
need to use a text editor installed on some sort of bootable media.



--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Download EditBINI.
http://www.bootitng.com/utilities.html
This utility will allow you to edit \BOOT.INI in an NTFS partition from DOS
or Win9x.

This is a nifty little tool!

 

[witan]

I don't suppose it does. Missed that condition. One would therefore
need to use a text editor installed on some sort of bootable media.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htmhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

I suppose one can use something like: "copy con boot.ini" to make a
new boot.ini file. AFAIK, "copy" is an internal command, and not a
"text editor".

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

you:http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htmhttp://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questio
ns.html Russell

I suppose one can use something like: "copy con boot.ini" to make a
new boot.ini file. AFAIK, "copy" is an internal command, and not a
"text editor".

Not really. The OP's problem is due to his inability to access
his NTFS system partition without launching Windows. A command
such as "copy con" is valid within the context of the Windows
Command Prompt (which he does not have) or under a DOS
boot (which cannot access NTFS partitions). It does not work
under the Recovery Console.

Have a look at EditBINI, suggested by Ron Sommer. It gets
around these problems in a very neat way.

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

TeraByte has lots neat stuff & a great Knowledge Base.

IMHO Booting to DOS & running this is no more readily available on
the PC or simpler than BartPE. I put DOS in same category as the
dinosaurs.

//print* 'Just my 2//¢ worth//. Larry *// ;-)

Download EditBINI.
http://www.bootitng.com/utilities.html
This utility will allow you to edit \BOOT.INI in an NTFS partition from DOS
or Win9x.

Any advice is my attempt to contribute more than I have received but I can only assure you that it works on my PC. GOOD LUCK.

 

[Larry(LJL269)]

I beg to disagree. Creating a Bart PE CD is a considerable
challenge that takes the unititated two or three hours. Creating
a bootable DOS diskette from www.bootdisk.com is a five
minute affair.

He's already got BartPE so I assume he meant easier to use.

Took me 3 wks to make BartPE but I added plugins so I no longer need
boot CDs 4 Imaging, PMagic,... & I can open PDF, HTM, JPG,... & use
Opera to surf.

I think I'll upload plugins & make them available with link in this
News Gp. No use everyone duplicating what I did! I just found site
where I can store 250MB 4 30 days free.

IMHO writing DOS code is worse that waterboarding

Comments/suggestions/corrections appreciated.
Just my 2¢ worth. Larry

Any advice is my attempt to contribute more than I have received but I can only assure you that it works on my PC. GOOD LUCK.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

TeraByte has lots neat stuff & a great Knowledge Base.

IMHO Booting to DOS & running this is no more readily available on
the PC or simpler than BartPE.

I beg to disagree. Creating a Bart PE CD is a considerable
challenge that takes the unititated two or three hours. Creating
a bootable DOS diskette from www.bootdisk.com is a five
minute affair.

The Bart PE boot CD is, of course, vastly more powerful
than a DOS boot diskette. On the other hand it's a bit of
an overkill when the sole aim is to modify boot.ini on an
NTFS partition.