Multiple Operating Systems Question

[Nathan]

I accidentally installed Windows XP Professional on both
my C partition and my D partition. Since I only wanted
Windows XP on my C partition, I formatted my D drive.
However, now every time I boot up my laptop, it prompts
me to choose between the two operating systems (Windows
XP Professional and Windows XP Professional) even though
the second Windows XP Professional operating system does
not work because I formatted the D drive. The prompt
also lasts for 30 seconds before it will automatically
select the first Windows XP Professional operating
system.

Is there a way to get rid of this prompt altogether? If
not, is there a way to shorten the time it gives before
it will automatically select the first operating system
listed (i.e., shorten it from 30 seconds to 1 second)?
If you know, please help me.

Thanks,
Nathan

 

[S.Sengupta]

-----Original Message-----
I accidentally installed Windows XP Professional on both
my C partition and my D partition. Since I only wanted
Windows XP on my C partition, I formatted my D drive.
However, now every time I boot up my laptop, it prompts
me to choose between the two operating systems (Windows
XP Professional and Windows XP Professional) even though
the second Windows XP Professional operating system does
not work because I formatted the D drive. The prompt
also lasts for 30 seconds before it will automatically
select the first Windows XP Professional operating
system.

Is there a way to get rid of this prompt altogether? If
not, is there a way to shorten the time it gives before
it will automatically select the first operating system
listed (i.e., shorten it from 30 seconds to 1 second)?
If you know, please help me.

Thanks,
Nathan

.

Hello!
you have to edit the boot.ini file.Look here:-
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/Q289/0/22.asp&NoWebContent=1
with regards/
ssg/pronetworks.org

 

[CMF]

Hello!
you have to edit the boot.ini file.Look here:-
http://support.microsoft.com/defaul...port/kb/articles/Q289/0/22.asp&NoWebContent=1
with regards/
ssg/pronetworks.org

I have a similar situation on a system where I have Windows XP Home on one
partition and Red Hat Linux on another. The Linux partition boots first if
you do not catch it at reboot time, and I want to change it to the XP
booting first. I went to the link above and found two things, first, the
bootcfg command is not recognized when I try to run it following the
instructions, and second, the linux is not mentioned in the bootini file.
What should I do here?

I plan to eventually move the Linux to another machine and reclaim the
space, but this will get me going now.

Thanks,

Maury
Wylie, TX

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have a similar situation on a system where I have Windows XP Home on one
partition and Red Hat Linux on another. The Linux partition boots first if
you do not catch it at reboot time, and I want to change it to the XP
booting first. I went to the link above and found two things, first, the
bootcfg command is not recognized when I try to run it following the
instructions, and second, the linux is not mentioned in the bootini file.
What should I do here?

You will have the Linux boot loader (lilo or grub) in the initial boot
sector of the disk (MBR). You need to move that into the Linux root,
then use XP's Recovery console mode after booting its CD to 'FixMBR'.
That will get you booting direct to XP - to get a boot to the linux
would then involve adding a pair of entries to the boot.ini to transfer
the load, which would probably be difficult to make work. There is
probably a loadlin program in the Linux distribution that you could put
in the XP partition so as to run it manually from that. Or better, use
a third party boot manager, like BootIT NG, from http://www.BootitNG.com
($35 shareware - 30 day full functional trial)

 

[Joh N.]

Alex Nichol, after spending 3 minutes figuring out which end of the pen to use,
wrote:

You will have the Linux boot loader (lilo or grub) in the initial boot
sector of the disk (MBR). You need to move that into the Linux root,
then use XP's Recovery console mode after booting its CD to 'FixMBR'.
That will get you booting direct to XP - to get a boot to the linux
would then involve adding a pair of entries to the boot.ini to transfer
the load, which would probably be difficult to make work. There is
probably a loadlin program in the Linux distribution that you could put
in the XP partition so as to run it manually from that. Or better, use
a third party boot manager, like BootIT NG, from http://www.BootitNG.com
($35 shareware - 30 day full functional trial)

He doesn't have to go through all that trouble, nor does he have to spend any
money. All he has to do is get into lilo.conf and set the windows partition as
default (or do it through whatever 'manager' app RH has/uses). He can even add
whatever amount of seconds he wants to it before it actually 'boots'. For
example, I have mine set at 600 seconds, giving me more than enough time to
walk off and grab a drink before deciding which partition to boot into.

Joh N.

 

[CMF]

He doesn't have to go through all that trouble, nor does he have to spend any
money. All he has to do is get into lilo.conf and set the windows partition as
default (or do it through whatever 'manager' app RH has/uses). He can even add
whatever amount of seconds he wants to it before it actually 'boots'. For
example, I have mine set at 600 seconds, giving me more than enough time to
walk off and grab a drink before deciding which partition to boot into.

Okay, color me stupid, but how do I get to the lilo.conf file? Is it on the
linux side or the XP side, or either?

funny, I used to be an administrator. Now I am just a stupid user.

Thanks in advance,

Maury