Deleting "Previous Windows Operating System on C:"

[Boris]

While trying to do a clean install of XP, my system locked up in the middle
of the first phase of Setup (copying files), and I had to power off with
the on/off button.

I started the clean install process from the beginning, and was able to
complete the install. But, I now have a system that starts up with a dual
boot choice:

Previous Windows Operating System on C:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this one is the default and is alwasy
highlighted)

I have 30 seconds to decide.

If I hit Previous Windows Operating System on C:, the screen goes black
with nothing but a blinking cursor, and remains like this.

If I let the system boot to Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this one is
the default and is alwasy highlighted), all is well.

I'd like to get rid of the failed XP install on C: But, when I go into
Disk Management, and do a Properties on C:, there are two partitions, C and
D. D is very small, but it shows that it is the MBR.

Is there any way to get rid of D, without harming the successful install on
C? Can I put an MBR on D? If so, how do I later get rid of D?

The only other workaround, I guess, is to set the timeout for the dual boot
decision to 3 seconds, the minimum allowed, and let the system boot to
Microsoft Windows XP Professional, by default, in 3 seconds.

Another thought is to modify the boot.ini file and eliminate the line that
says "Previous Windows Operating System on C:". But, I'm afraid to do this
for fear the system may not boot, and, I'll still have partition D.

I have read 8 different articles, some by Microsoft, on how to fix this,
but none seems like it will work.

Any ideas?

 

[Daave]

While trying to do a clean install of XP, my system locked up in the
middle of the first phase of Setup (copying files), and I had to
power off with the on/off button.

I started the clean install process from the beginning, and was able
to complete the install. But, I now have a system that starts up
with a dual boot choice:

Previous Windows Operating System on C:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this one is the default and is
alwasy highlighted)

I have 30 seconds to decide.

If I hit Previous Windows Operating System on C:, the screen goes
black with nothing but a blinking cursor, and remains like this.

If I let the system boot to Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this
one is the default and is alwasy highlighted), all is well.

I'd like to get rid of the failed XP install on C: But, when I go
into Disk Management, and do a Properties on C:, there are two
partitions, C and D. D is very small, but it shows that it is the
MBR.

Is there any way to get rid of D, without harming the successful
install on C? Can I put an MBR on D? If so, how do I later get rid
of D?

The only other workaround, I guess, is to set the timeout for the
dual boot decision to 3 seconds, the minimum allowed, and let the
system boot to Microsoft Windows XP Professional, by default, in 3
seconds.

Another thought is to modify the boot.ini file and eliminate the line
that says "Previous Windows Operating System on C:". But, I'm afraid
to do this for fear the system may not boot, and, I'll still have
partition D.

I have read 8 different articles, some by Microsoft, on how to fix
this, but none seems like it will work.

Any ideas?

The easiest way (normally) is to perform the clean install once more --
the proper way. That means deleting all the partitions and creating a
brand new partition. But I did see your other post and realize you
thought you needed to do this in a very convoluted way because of your
inability to boot off the XP installation CD. I would still be inclined
to address the problem of not being able to boot off the CD. Perhaps you
do need to clear your CMOS or upgrade to a newer BIOS veresion (assuming
everything is connected properly).

 

[Boris]

The easiest way (normally) is to perform the clean install once more --
the proper way. That means deleting all the partitions and creating a
brand new partition. But I did see your other post and realize you
thought you needed to do this in a very convoluted way because of your
inability to boot off the XP installation CD. I would still be inclined
to address the problem of not being able to boot off the CD. Perhaps you
do need to clear your CMOS or upgrade to a newer BIOS veresion (assuming
everything is connected properly).

Hi, Dave,

Yes, as you can see from my other post, I finally did get a single boot
install of XP done, and things are running fine.

The machine that I did this on is just an extra one hanging around the
house that I wanted to play with, and put in the garage. I've got 5 other
machines, desktops/laptops on two networks, wired and wireless, running XP,
MCE, and Vista (soon to be Win7). Little did I know that when I started
this, it would turn into a real project.

This machine will be used primarily for browsing for radio control plane
parts and playing music, and some email.

But, last night, I thought I'd do a clean install of XP on another hard
drive (because I really wanted the drive in the P4 for something else - for
a slave elsewhere), so away I went. You see what happened.

To me, the easiest thing to do is to see if a CMOS reset would get the CD-
ROM bootable, and do another clean install. But, I'd hate to render the
machine gone for good...decisions, decisions

 

[Richard]

While trying to do a clean install of XP, my system locked up in the
middle of the first phase of Setup (copying files), and I had to power
off with the on/off button.

I started the clean install process from the beginning, and was able to
complete the install. But, I now have a system that starts up with a dual
boot choice:

Previous Windows Operating System on C:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this one is the default and is alwasy
highlighted)

I have 30 seconds to decide.

If I hit Previous Windows Operating System on C:, the screen goes black
with nothing but a blinking cursor, and remains like this.

If I let the system boot to Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this one is
the default and is alwasy highlighted), all is well.

I'd like to get rid of the failed XP install on C: But, when I go into
Disk Management, and do a Properties on C:, there are two partitions,
C and D. D is very small, but it shows that it is the MBR.

Is there any way to get rid of D, without harming the successful install
on C? Can I put an MBR on D? If so, how do I later get rid of D?

The only other workaround, I guess, is to set the timeout for the dual
boot decision to 3 seconds, the minimum allowed, and let the system boot
to Microsoft Windows XP Professional, by default, in 3 seconds.

Another thought is to modify the boot.ini file and eliminate the line that
says "Previous Windows Operating System on C:". But, I'm afraid to do
this for fear the system may not boot, and, I'll still have partition D.

I have read 8 different articles, some by Microsoft, on how to fix this,
but none seems like it will work.

Any ideas?

Hi Boris,

First, I was following your other thread, so am aware of the CD problem. To
be sure what you ended up with, while logged onto the good installation,
Click Start, click Run, type or paste next line and press Enter:
%windir%

That should open up your workable Windows folder. Is it called Windows, or
something else, like Windows.0?

Second, right-click My Computer, click Properties, click Advanced tab. Under
Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Click Edit. That will open boot.ini
in NotePad. Select All and Copy that information, (close NotePad and
dialog,) and Paste a copy into a reply, so we can verify what you have.

BTW: My timer is set for 5 seconds, but when the boot screen first appears
and I can see the timer counting down, it is already down 3 seconds.

HTH. (Hope This Helps.
--Richard

 

[Boris]

The easiest way (normally) is to perform the clean install once more
-- the proper way. That means deleting all the partitions and
creating a brand new partition. But I did see your other post and
realize you thought you needed to do this in a very convoluted way
because of your inability to boot off the XP installation CD. I would
still be inclined to address the problem of not being able to boot off
the CD. Perhaps you do need to clear your CMOS or upgrade to a newer
BIOS veresion (assuming everything is connected properly).

Hi,

I went into the BIOS and read the event log. There was one listing that
said CMOS battery failure, but just one. There were a lot keyboard
failure listings. I don't know why, because the keyboard always came up
fine on the POST screen, and operated properly all the time when in
Windows. But, since the CMOS battery was probably the original battery
from circa 2001, I replaced it, thinking that that might cure my
inability to boot from CD. Nope.

Curiosity got to me, and I decided to clear the BIOS. I did, by
removing the motherboard BIOS jumper, but still no boot from CD.

Finally, I found the BIOS update on the Gateway site. I was running
with version P12, and the newest version was P13, dated August 2001. I
had to put it on a FAT floppy (not NT), and the instructions said to
boot from this floppy. When I tried, I got invalid BOOT diskette,
insert proper diskette in A. Oh, no. I used the Win98SE floppy to boot
up the machine into DOS, and then removed the Win98SE floppy, and
inserted the BIOS 'boot' disk. I logged on to it, and clicked on the
autoexec.bat on the floppy. The BIOS update program came up, and I
installed the update successfully. When the update was completed, the
instructions on screen were to remove the floppy and press enter, and
the machine was supposed to reboot. I'm not sure how this was supposed
to happen, since the machine was set to boot from floppy, and there
would be no floppy in the machine. But I removed the boot floppy, and
pressed enter. The screen said no operating system found on C (normally
it would say invalid BOOT diskette if there's no floppy in A, and set to
boot from floppy). I had to press the power button off, and restart
into the BIOS (keeping my fingers crossed the BIOS upgrade worked -- it
did report BIOS versin P13), and set to boot from the hard drive. I
did, and it booted up just fine. I then restarted and set to boot from
CD, but it still wouldn't boot from the XP CD. Oh, well. I tried. I'm
calling it quits trying to solve this. It may be a hardware problem
that I just can't diagnose, and it's not all the important. The only
time I'd need to start from CD is if I was going to do a clean install.
Maybe I'll just make an image of the system before I gunk it up too
much. Oh, wonder if I have to be able to boot from CD to install an
image.

By the way, I just installed a Linksys WMP54G wireless adapter card in
the machine. I didn't use the Linksys install CD, but instead let
Windows install it's native drivers and networking interface. It works
just fine, with excellent signal strength. Previously, I had it
connected to a D-link wireless router, but sitting right next to the
router connected with an ethernet cable. I was going to run ethernet
into the garage, which is the final destination for this machine, but I
thought I'd try a wireless card. I hope the signal is still good when I
move it into the gargage, about 30' away. We'll see. If not, I'll run
ethernet. (I don't mind running the cable, I just hate putting the
connectors on. My eyes aren't what they used to be <g>.)

Here are the items that the update addressed, per the readme.txt file
within the update folder:

Reason for Update

Option to enable or disable the ISA Enable Bit on PCI bridges.
Adds D-stepping core support for latest generation processors.
Adds WFM 2.0 Remote Lockout support.
Adds support for the Security Freeze Lock command on resume from S3 to
IDE devices that support the Security feature set. Adds workaround for
Windows 98 SE issue where ATAPI devices are not reprogrammed on resume
from Suspend-to-RAM (S3). Implements Force Network Boot feature that
allows users to force the computer to start to network by pressing a hot
key. Fixes issue where the computer was always reporting 80-conductor
IDE cable type (regardless of actual cable type) when certain ATAPI
devices were connected as the slave device on an IDE channel. Adds
support for PCI IDE Bus Mastering (DMA) for BIOS INT 13h hard disk reads
and writes on IDE devices that support IDE Bus Mastering. Adds Mode 5
(UDMA/100) option to the IDE UDMA Mode. Corrects functionality of IDE
PIO Mode. Fixes issue where BIOS was incorrectly reporting UDMA modes on
IDE devices that do not support UDMA. Sets ISA ENABLE bits on PCI
bridges that do not have VGA behind them. Adds support for doing 32-bit
IDE PIO mode data transfers inside BIOS INT 13h. Fixes issue where ATAPI
Removable Devices that support UDMA modes were not getting programmed
for UDMA mode. Updates the display of the processor BIOS update
information to account for the new naming convention. Adds the display
of UDMA mode for ARMD. Sets Wake on Modem Ring default to Power On.
Fixes an issue where the Fault Tolerant Boot Block Test would fail and
not be able to boot if ECC was enabled during the test. Fixes the
incorrect display of hard disk drive capacity for larger hard disk
drives.

Thanks for the ideas, encouragement.

 

[Boris]

Hi Boris,

First, I was following your other thread, so am aware of the CD
problem. To be sure what you ended up with, while logged onto the good
installation, Click Start, click Run, type or paste next line and
press Enter: %windir%

That should open up your workable Windows folder. Is it called
Windows, or something else, like Windows.0?

Second, right-click My Computer, click Properties, click Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Click Edit. That will open
boot.ini in NotePad. Select All and Copy that information, (close
NotePad and dialog,) and Paste a copy into a reply, so we can verify
what you have.

BTW: My timer is set for 5 seconds, but when the boot screen first
appears and I can see the timer counting down, it is already down 3
seconds.

HTH. (Hope This Helps.
--Richard

Hi, Richard,

I have printed out your instructions and will report back.

Thanks.

 

[Daave]

Hi,

I went into the BIOS and read the event log. There was one listing
that said CMOS battery failure, but just one. There were a lot
keyboard failure listings. I don't know why, because the keyboard
always came up fine on the POST screen, and operated properly all the
time when in Windows. But, since the CMOS battery was probably the
original battery from circa 2001, I replaced it, thinking that that
might cure my inability to boot from CD. Nope.

Curiosity got to me, and I decided to clear the BIOS. I did, by
removing the motherboard BIOS jumper, but still no boot from CD.

Finally, I found the BIOS update on the Gateway site. I was running
with version P12, and the newest version was P13, dated August 2001.
I had to put it on a FAT floppy (not NT), and the instructions said to
boot from this floppy. When I tried, I got invalid BOOT diskette,
insert proper diskette in A. Oh, no. I used the Win98SE floppy to
boot up the machine into DOS, and then removed the Win98SE floppy, and
inserted the BIOS 'boot' disk. I logged on to it, and clicked on the
autoexec.bat on the floppy. The BIOS update program came up, and I
installed the update successfully. When the update was completed, the
instructions on screen were to remove the floppy and press enter, and
the machine was supposed to reboot. I'm not sure how this was
supposed to happen, since the machine was set to boot from floppy,
and there would be no floppy in the machine. But I removed the boot
floppy, and pressed enter. The screen said no operating system found
on C (normally it would say invalid BOOT diskette if there's no
floppy in A, and set to boot from floppy). I had to press the power
button off, and restart into the BIOS (keeping my fingers crossed the
BIOS upgrade worked -- it did report BIOS versin P13), and set to
boot from the hard drive. I did, and it booted up just fine. I then
restarted and set to boot from CD, but it still wouldn't boot from
the XP CD. Oh, well. I tried. I'm calling it quits trying to solve
this. It may be a hardware problem that I just can't diagnose, and
it's not all the important. The only time I'd need to start from CD
is if I was going to do a clean install. Maybe I'll just make an
image of the system before I gunk it up too much. Oh, wonder if I
have to be able to boot from CD to install an image.

By the way, I just installed a Linksys WMP54G wireless adapter card in
the machine. I didn't use the Linksys install CD, but instead let
Windows install it's native drivers and networking interface. It
works just fine, with excellent signal strength. Previously, I had it
connected to a D-link wireless router, but sitting right next to the
router connected with an ethernet cable. I was going to run ethernet
into the garage, which is the final destination for this machine, but
I thought I'd try a wireless card. I hope the signal is still good
when I move it into the gargage, about 30' away. We'll see. If not,
I'll run ethernet. (I don't mind running the cable, I just hate
putting the connectors on. My eyes aren't what they used to be <g>.)

Here are the items that the update addressed, per the readme.txt file
within the update folder:

Reason for Update

Option to enable or disable the ISA Enable Bit on PCI bridges.
Adds D-stepping core support for latest generation processors.
Adds WFM 2.0 Remote Lockout support.
Adds support for the Security Freeze Lock command on resume from S3 to
IDE devices that support the Security feature set. Adds workaround for
Windows 98 SE issue where ATAPI devices are not reprogrammed on resume
from Suspend-to-RAM (S3). Implements Force Network Boot feature that
allows users to force the computer to start to network by pressing a
hot key. Fixes issue where the computer was always reporting
80-conductor IDE cable type (regardless of actual cable type) when
certain ATAPI devices were connected as the slave device on an IDE
channel. Adds support for PCI IDE Bus Mastering (DMA) for BIOS INT
13h hard disk reads and writes on IDE devices that support IDE Bus
Mastering. Adds Mode 5 (UDMA/100) option to the IDE UDMA Mode.
Corrects functionality of IDE PIO Mode. Fixes issue where BIOS was
incorrectly reporting UDMA modes on IDE devices that do not support
UDMA. Sets ISA ENABLE bits on PCI bridges that do not have VGA behind
them. Adds support for doing 32-bit IDE PIO mode data transfers
inside BIOS INT 13h. Fixes issue where ATAPI Removable Devices that
support UDMA modes were not getting programmed for UDMA mode. Updates
the display of the processor BIOS update information to account for
the new naming convention. Adds the display of UDMA mode for ARMD.
Sets Wake on Modem Ring default to Power On. Fixes an issue where the
Fault Tolerant Boot Block Test would fail and not be able to boot if
ECC was enabled during the test. Fixes the incorrect display of hard
disk drive capacity for larger hard disk drives.

Thanks for the ideas, encouragement.

Wow! You have certainly given it the ol' college try, Boris!

Yes, it's gotta be hardware, motherboard perhaps.

I like the image idea, but it might make more sense to make a clone.
Otherwise, you're back to square one if you would need to boot off the
CD to restore the image! (Then again, you could always remove the hard
drive and attach it as a slave in another PC, perform the restore
operation to the slaved hard drive and place it back in your original
PC...)

 

[Boris]

Hi Boris,

First, I was following your other thread, so am aware of the CD
problem. To be sure what you ended up with, while logged onto the good
installation, Click Start, click Run, type or paste next line and
press Enter: %windir%

That should open up your workable Windows folder. Is it called
Windows, or something else, like Windows.0?

%windir% gives C:\WINDOWS

Second, right-click My Computer, click Properties, click Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Click Edit. That will open
boot.ini in NotePad. Select All and Copy that information, (close
NotePad and dialog,) and Paste a copy into a reply, so we can verify
what you have.

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect
C:\="Previous Operating System on C:"

BTW: My timer is set for 5 seconds, but when the boot screen first
appears and I can see the timer counting down, it is already down 3
seconds.

HTH. (Hope This Helps.
--Richard

Some other readings:

My Computer\System Properties\System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional, version 2002, Service Pack 1

Accessories\System Tools\System Information:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
5.1.2600 Service Pack 1 Build 2600
Windows Directory: C:\Windows
System Directory: C:\Windows\System32
Boot Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume1

Disk Management:
C: Partition, Basic, NTFS, Healthy System, 128GB Capacity, 126.19GB Free

The graphic in Disk Management for Disk 0 is broken up into three blocks:

Left Block: Disk 0, Basic, 149.05GB, Online

Middle Block, (C Primary, Location 0(0), 128GB NTFS, Healthy (System)

Right Block, 21.05GB Unallocated, Locataion 0(0), Volume shows: Partition
style is Master Boot Record [MBR}, Capacity 152625MB, Unallocated space
21556MB, Reserved space 0MB

Thanks, and HTH.

 

[Richard]

[inline and bottom replies]
Boris answer:

%windir% gives C:\WINDOWS

Boris answer:

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect
C:\="Previous Operating System on C:"

BTW: My timer is set for 5 seconds, but when the boot screen first
appears and I can see the timer counting down, it is already down 3
seconds.

HTH. (Hope This Helps.
--Richard

Boris answer:

Some other readings:

My Computer\System Properties\System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional, version 2002, Service Pack 1

Accessories\System Tools\System Information:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
5.1.2600 Service Pack 1 Build 2600
Windows Directory: C:\Windows
System Directory: C:\Windows\System32
Boot Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume1

Disk Management:
C: Partition, Basic, NTFS, Healthy System, 128GB Capacity, 126.19GB Free

The graphic in Disk Management for Disk 0 is broken up into three blocks:

Left Block: Disk 0, Basic, 149.05GB, Online

Middle Block, (C Primary, Location 0(0), 128GB NTFS, Healthy (System)

Right Block, 21.05GB Unallocated, Locataion 0(0), Volume shows: Partition
style is Master Boot Record [MBR}, Capacity 152625MB, Unallocated space
21556MB, Reserved space 0MB

Thanks, and HTH.

Hi again Boris,

Yes, that helps, especially the extra information you provided. It looks
like you have a good installation in C:\WINDOWS, so you can do this:

Right-click My Computer, click Properties, click Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Click Edit. That will open
boot.ini in NotePad, as you did before. On the menubar, click File, click
Save As, and in the Filename box, name that BOOT_BAD.TXT and click Save.
Then close Notepad, and click the Edit button again to open Boot.ini, and
delete the C:\="Previous Operating System on C:" line, and click Save. That
will get rid of the extra boot option. You can leave timeout=10 for now.

This next is optional, but since you cannot boot from CD, I think it would
be a good idea to install the Recovery Console onto your C: drive:

To install the Recovery Console as a startup option:
With Windows running, insert the Setup CD into your CD-ROM drive.
If the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen appears, click Exit.
Click Start, click Run, (and if the CD-ROM is D:\) type the following:
D:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
Press Enter, and Follow the instructions on the screen.
Do not restart the computer yet. (Remove CD now.

That will add a super hidden "cmdcons" folder in (C root, and add a second
option to the boot.ini file:
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

You can go back to the Startup and Recovery dialog and click Edit again, to
verify boot.ini, and change timeout to 5. The Recovery Console setup will
leave your C:\WINDOWS as the default boot option. Regardless of how short
the timeout is, you can stop the countdown by pressing an arrow key. Also,
Pause/Break key to pause, and Ctrl+Pause (or Enter) to resume. The nice
thing about a boot menu: More time to press F8 for Safe Mode.

Make a floppy copy of a good boot.ini in case you have future problems.

Whether you add that optional Console or not, you should be able to restart
your computer now with no problems. Keep in mind that if you ever get a
startup message telling you that HAL.DLL is missing or corrupt, that is
usually a false error message due to a faulty boot.ini file, not HAL
(Hardware Abstraction Layer). The cure is to use the Recovery Console to
access the C: root folder, Use the "type boot.ini" command to view it and if
you need to change it, first use the "copy boot.ini boot2.ini" command
(without quotes of course) before copying the extra copy from floppy to C,
with the "copy A:\boot.ini C:\boot.ini" command (without quotes.)

In the last message in your other thread, before the setup completed,
you said you had this:

C showed:
$LDR$ 245,920
$WIN_NT$ ~BT <DIR>
$WIN_NT$ ~LS <DIR>
COMMAND COM 93,880
NTDETECT COM 47,580
NTLDR 233,632
TXTSETUP SIF 454,830

When setup completed it probably deleted the $*$ files, and TXTSETUP.SIF
also. You still need NTDETECT.COM, NTLDR, and BOOT.INI - Command.com is
optional, since you have that in C:\WINDOWS\system32 also. It looks like the
only thing left behind by the first failed setup was an extra boot option.

In your latest information above, I did not see a D partition, but
unallocated space. Did you delete the partition? I have no particular advice
concerning the unallocated space on your disk(0) after the C: partition,
which probably has plenty of space for your current needs. If the drive has
2 platters, and 4 heads, that unallocated space would be physically located
on the bottom side of the 2nd platter, between the middle track and
innermost track, which is the slowest part of the disk. I would not use a
slow partition for anything but data storage.

If 2 platters, each surface is 25% of whole drive space.
21.05GB / 149.05GB = about 14% / 25% = 0.56
If 1 platter, each surface is 50% of whole drive space.
14% / 50% = 0.28 - last partition would begin even closer to inner track.

Free Partition Master (can change existing partitions)
http://www.partition-tool.com/personal.htm

Windows XP Prefetch monitors the startup of boot files and other
applications and creates *.pf files to speed up the loading of programs.
Every 3 days, during idle time, it will also SECRETLY use the built-in Disk
Defragmenter to move frequently used program files to what it thinks is the
outermost fastest edge of the disk to "optimize" disk access time. Windows
is ignorant of the actual physical location on platters of the beginning of
the partition. (Of course middle tracks are faster than innermost.

The last thing I noticed is that, in your other thread, you mentioned
installing SP3, but your System Information above says your new installation
is Service Pack 1, I assume SP1a, which does not include Windows Firewall,
so it is not a good idea to connect to the internet before SP3 is installed.
After SP3 is installed, and Windows Firewall is active, you should connect
to the Windows Update site only, choose custom, and get up to date on all
critical patches, a few at a time and restart the computer between times.
If you wait until the computer is updated before installing your antivirus,
or disable it, the update process will be a lot faster. (Of course you need
active antivirus/antispyware before going to other web sites.)

Windows Update website:
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx

Optional: If you want to provide more complete System Information, there
might be some other things you can do to optimize your new installation
further. While the System Summary is displayed in System Information, Select
All, and then hold Ctrl-key and click the System Name and User Name lines to
de-select those two, and then copy and paste in a reply. On the tree on the
left, expand Components, expand Storage, click Drives, SelectAll, copy, and
paste that here. Then click Disks, SelectAll, copy and paste that also.
(Notice the "offset" before the beginning of the first partition.)

That is all I can think of for now. Thanks.

(Triple-click here, to be of good cheer.
--Richard

 

[Boris]

[inline and bottom replies]
Boris answer:

%windir% gives C:\WINDOWS

Boris answer:

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect
C:\="Previous Operating System on C:"

BTW: My timer is set for 5 seconds, but when the boot screen first
appears and I can see the timer counting down, it is already down 3
seconds.

HTH. (Hope This Helps.
--Richard

Boris answer:

Some other readings:

My Computer\System Properties\System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional, version 2002, Service Pack 1

Accessories\System Tools\System Information:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
5.1.2600 Service Pack 1 Build 2600
Windows Directory: C:\Windows
System Directory: C:\Windows\System32
Boot Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume1

Disk Management:
C: Partition, Basic, NTFS, Healthy System, 128GB Capacity, 126.19GB
Free

The graphic in Disk Management for Disk 0 is broken up into three
blocks:

Left Block: Disk 0, Basic, 149.05GB, Online

Middle Block, (C Primary, Location 0(0), 128GB NTFS, Healthy
(System)

Right Block, 21.05GB Unallocated, Locataion 0(0), Volume shows:
Partition style is Master Boot Record [MBR}, Capacity 152625MB,
Unallocated space 21556MB, Reserved space 0MB

Thanks, and HTH.

Hi again Boris,

Yes, that helps, especially the extra information you provided. It
looks like you have a good installation in C:\WINDOWS, so you can do
this:

I do.

Right-click My Computer, click Properties, click Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Click Edit. That will open
boot.ini in NotePad, as you did before. On the menubar, click File,
click Save As, and in the Filename box, name that BOOT_BAD.TXT and
click Save. Then close Notepad, and click the Edit button again to
open Boot.ini, and delete the C:\="Previous Operating System on C:"
line, and click Save. That will get rid of the extra boot option. You
can leave timeout=10 for now.

I performed all these steps, and the results were exactly as you described.
I now boot the machine, and there's no dual boot screen! It boot directly
to my Windows desktop.

This next is optional, but since you cannot boot from CD, I think it
would be a good idea to install the Recovery Console onto your C:
drive:

I think this is a good idea, too. I'd never have thought of it, but...read
on.

To install the Recovery Console as a startup option:
With Windows running, insert the Setup CD into your CD-ROM drive.
If the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen appears, click Exit.

I did.

Click Start, click Run, (and if the CD-ROM is D:\) type the following:
D:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
Press Enter, and Follow the instructions on the screen.

I did, and I got "Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on
your computer is newer than the version on the CD. I think this is because
I installed XPSP3 a few days ago, after I wrote. If you had known this,
you probably would have predicted this result. I guess I could do one of
three things:

1) remove XPSP3 and try again
2) slipstream the XPSP1a install CD and XPSP3 onto a single CD (but I'm not
sure this would work)
3) make an image of my system for future use, if needed (I realize this
would only be a snapshot in time, with only the applications and data files
that are on the system now

Do not restart the computer yet. (Remove CD now.

That will add a super hidden "cmdcons" folder in (C root, and add a
second option to the boot.ini file:
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

You can go back to the Startup and Recovery dialog and click Edit
again, to verify boot.ini, and change timeout to 5. The Recovery
Console setup will leave your C:\WINDOWS as the default boot option.
Regardless of how short the timeout is, you can stop the countdown by
pressing an arrow key. Also, Pause/Break key to pause, and Ctrl+Pause
(or Enter) to resume. The nice thing about a boot menu: More time to
press F8 for Safe Mode.

Make a floppy copy of a good boot.ini in case you have future
problems.

I did. I guess if I need it, I would copy it to C:\ ?
I forget my DOS syntax. Would that be:
A:\copy destination filename source filename
i.e. A:\copy C:\boot.ini A:\boot.ini ?

Whether you add that optional Console or not, you should be able to
restart your computer now with no problems. Keep in mind that if you
ever get a startup message telling you that HAL.DLL is missing or
corrupt, that is usually a false error message due to a faulty
boot.ini file, not HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer). The cure is to
use the Recovery Console to access the C: root folder, Use the "type
boot.ini" command to view it and if you need to change it, first use
the "copy boot.ini boot2.ini" command (without quotes of course)
before copying the extra copy from floppy to C, with the "copy
A:\boot.ini C:\boot.ini" command (without quotes.)

In the last message in your other thread, before the setup completed,
you said you had this:


When setup completed it probably deleted the $*$ files, and
TXTSETUP.SIF also. You still need NTDETECT.COM, NTLDR, and BOOT.INI -
Command.com is optional, since you have that in C:\WINDOWS\system32
also. It looks like the only thing left behind by the first failed
setup was an extra boot option.

Yes, a dir of C:\ gives:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\>dir
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 5890-4ED5

Directory of C:\

10/01/2009 09:03 PM 0 AUTOEXEC.BAT
10/06/2009 07:54 PM 251 bad_boot.txt
10/01/2009 09:03 PM 0 CONFIG.SYS
10/01/2009 10:57 PM <DIR> Documents and Settings
10/06/2009 11:27 PM <DIR> Downloads
10/01/2009 01:23 PM 431,278 INF000.SWP
10/01/2009 01:23 PM 154,693 INF001.SWP
10/07/2009 10:30 PM <DIR> Program Files
07/16/2003 04:41 AM 71,189 Sunset.jpg
10/07/2009 11:32 PM <DIR> WINDOWS
10/04/2009 09:38 PM <DIR> WUTemp
6 File(s) 657,411 bytes
5 Dir(s) 133,029,691,392 bytes free

C:\>

In your latest information above, I did not see a D partition, but
unallocated space. Did you delete the partition?

I don't believe I ever had a D partition. At this point, I can't remember.
Currently, as shown in Disk Management, I only have C with two sections
(128GB NTFS Healthy System, and 21.05GB unallocated, that shows it's the
MBR).

I have no particular
advice concerning the unallocated space on your disk(0) after the C:
partition, which probably has plenty of space for your current needs.
If the drive has 2 platters, and 4 heads, that unallocated space would
be physically located on the bottom side of the 2nd platter, between
the middle track and innermost track, which is the slowest part of the
disk. I would not use a slow partition for anything but data storage.

If 2 platters, each surface is 25% of whole drive space.
21.05GB / 149.05GB = about 14% / 25% = 0.56
If 1 platter, each surface is 50% of whole drive space.
14% / 50% = 0.28 - last partition would begin even closer to inner
track.

Free Partition Master (can change existing partitions)
http://www.partition-tool.com/personal.htm

Windows XP Prefetch monitors the startup of boot files and other
applications and creates *.pf files to speed up the loading of
programs. Every 3 days, during idle time, it will also SECRETLY use
the built-in Disk Defragmenter to move frequently used program files
to what it thinks is the outermost fastest edge of the disk to
"optimize" disk access time. Windows is ignorant of the actual
physical location on platters of the beginning of the partition. (Of
course middle tracks are faster than innermost.

The last thing I noticed is that, in your other thread, you mentioned
installing SP3, but your System Information above says your new
installation is Service Pack 1, I assume SP1a, which does not include
Windows Firewall, so it is not a good idea to connect to the internet
before SP3 is installed. After SP3 is installed, and Windows Firewall
is active, you should connect to the Windows Update site only, choose
custom, and get up to date on all critical patches, a few at a time
and restart the computer between times. If you wait until the computer
is updated before installing your antivirus, or disable it, the update
process will be a lot faster. (Of course you need active
antivirus/antispyware before going to other web sites.)

Windows Update website:
http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx

Optional: If you want to provide more complete System Information,
there might be some other things you can do to optimize your new
installation further. While the System Summary is displayed in System
Information, Select All, and then hold Ctrl-key and click the System
Name and User Name lines to de-select those two, and then copy and
paste in a reply.

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
Activation Status Activation Pending (28 days remaining)
System Manufacturer Gateway
System Model E-4600
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 0 Stepping 10 GenuineIntel ~1596 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Intel Corp. GB85010A.15A.0046.P13.0108201551,
8/20/2001
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 337.14 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

C:\>On the tree on the left, expand Components, expand

Storage, click Drives, SelectAll, copy, and paste that here. Then
click Disks, SelectAll, copy and paste that also. (Notice the "offset"
before the beginning of the first partition.)

Drive A:
Description 3 1/2 Inch Floppy Drive

Drive C:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 128.00 GB (137,436,168,192 bytes)
Free Space 123.90 GB (133,034,168,320 bytes)
Volume Name
Volume Serial Number 58904ED5

Drive D:
Description CD-ROM Disc

Drive E:
Description CD-ROM Disc

That is all I can think of for now. Thanks.

(Triple-click here, to be of good cheer.
--Richard

Thanks for all the help. This has been very informative.

Boris

 

[Richard]

[inline and bottom replies]

While trying to do a clean install of XP, my system locked up in
the middle of the first phase of Setup (copying files), and I had
to power off with the on/off button.

I started the clean install process from the beginning, and was
able to complete the install. But, I now have a system that starts
up with a dual boot choice:

Previous Windows Operating System on C:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this one is the default and is
alwasy highlighted)

I have 30 seconds to decide.

If I hit Previous Windows Operating System on C:, the screen goes
black with nothing but a blinking cursor, and remains like this.

If I let the system boot to Microsoft Windows XP Professional (this
one is the default and is alwasy highlighted), all is well.

I'd like to get rid of the failed XP install on C: But, when I go
into Disk Management, and do a Properties on C:, there are two
partitions, C and D. D is very small, but it shows that it is the
MBR.

Is there any way to get rid of D, without harming the successful
install on C? Can I put an MBR on D? If so, how do I later get
rid of D?

The only other workaround, I guess, is to set the timeout for the
dual boot decision to 3 seconds, the minimum allowed, and let the
system boot to Microsoft Windows XP Professional, by default, in 3
seconds.

Another thought is to modify the boot.ini file and eliminate the
line that says "Previous Windows Operating System on C:". But, I'm
afraid to do this for fear the system may not boot, and, I'll still
have partition D.

I have read 8 different articles, some by Microsoft, on how to fix
this, but none seems like it will work.

Any ideas?

Hi Boris,

First, I was following your other thread, so am aware of the CD
problem. To be sure what you ended up with, while logged onto the
good installation, Click Start, click Run, type or paste next line
and press Enter:
%windir%

That should open up your workable Windows folder. Is it called
Windows, or something else, like Windows.0?

Boris answer:

%windir% gives C:\WINDOWS

Second, right-click My Computer, click Properties, click Advanced
tab. Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Click Edit. That
will open boot.ini in NotePad. Select All and Copy that information,
(close NotePad and dialog,) and Paste a copy into a reply, so we can
verify what you have.

Boris answer:

[boot loader]
timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect
C:\="Previous Operating System on C:"

BTW: My timer is set for 5 seconds, but when the boot screen first
appears and I can see the timer counting down, it is already down 3
seconds.

HTH. (Hope This Helps.
--Richard

Boris answer:

Some other readings:

My Computer\System Properties\System:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional, version 2002, Service Pack 1

Accessories\System Tools\System Information:
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
5.1.2600 Service Pack 1 Build 2600
Windows Directory: C:\Windows
System Directory: C:\Windows\System32
Boot Device: \Device\HarddiskVolume1

Disk Management:
C: Partition, Basic, NTFS, Healthy System, 128GB Capacity, 126.19GB
Free

The graphic in Disk Management for Disk 0 is broken up into three
blocks:

Left Block: Disk 0, Basic, 149.05GB, Online

Middle Block, (C Primary, Location 0(0), 128GB NTFS, Healthy
(System)

Right Block, 21.05GB Unallocated, Locataion 0(0), Volume shows:
Partition style is Master Boot Record [MBR}, Capacity 152625MB,
Unallocated space 21556MB, Reserved space 0MB

Thanks, and HTH.

Hi again Boris,

Yes, that helps, especially the extra information you provided. It
looks like you have a good installation in C:\WINDOWS, so you can do
this:

I do.

Right-click My Computer, click Properties, click Advanced tab.
Under Startup and Recovery, click Settings. Click Edit. That will open
boot.ini in NotePad, as you did before. On the menubar, click File,
click Save As, and in the Filename box, name that BOOT_BAD.TXT and
click Save. Then close Notepad, and click the Edit button again to
open Boot.ini, and delete the C:\="Previous Operating System on C:"
line, and click Save. That will get rid of the extra boot option. You
can leave timeout=10 for now.

I performed all these steps, and the results were exactly as you
described.
I now boot the machine, and there's no dual boot screen! It boot directly
to my Windows desktop.

This next is optional, but since you cannot boot from CD, I think it
would be a good idea to install the Recovery Console onto your C:
drive:

I think this is a good idea, too. I'd never have thought of it,
but...read on.

To install the Recovery Console as a startup option:
With Windows running, insert the Setup CD into your CD-ROM drive.
If the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP screen appears, click Exit.

I did.

Click Start, click Run, (and if the CD-ROM is D:\) type the following:
D:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons
Press Enter, and Follow the instructions on the screen.

I did, and I got "Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on
your computer is newer than the version on the CD. I think this is
because I installed XPSP3 a few days ago, after I wrote. If you had
known this, you probably would have predicted this result. I guess I
could do one of three things:

1) remove XPSP3 and try again
2) slipstream the XPSP1a install CD and XPSP3 onto a single CD (but I'm
not sure this would work)
3) make an image of my system for future use, if needed (I realize this
would only be a snapshot in time, with only the applications and data
files that are on the system now

Oh oh! So much for plan A. I found the reason that didn't work here:
You receive an error message if you try to install the Recovery Console
on a Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/898594/


Plan B. See if you have an i386 folder on your drive, at either:
C:\i386 or C:\Windows\i386

If so, look for winnt32.exe in the i386 folder.

If present, then if you have C:\i386, then:
Start> Run> C:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

or, if you have C:\Windows\i386, then:
Start> Run> C:\Windows\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

Follow instructions. If Plan B doesn't work, then:


Plan C. Integrate SP3 into the Windows XP installation folder.

How to integrate Windows XP Service Pack 2 files into the Windows XP
installation folder
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/900871

The above page has the basic idea, but we will use the SP3 installation
file, instead of SP2, with these modified Method 1 instructions:

Method 1: Use the /integrate switch

1. Create two new folders on the computer:
C:\XPCD\i386 and C:\XPSP3

2. Copy the files and folders in the i386 folder from the original
Windows XP-sp1a CD to C:\XPCD\i386.

3. Download the Windows XP SP3 installation package. Put it in C:\XPSP3.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5b33b5a8-5e76-401f-be08-1e1555d4f3d4
Filename: WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe
(If you already have that file, put it in the C:\XPSP3 folder.)

4. Click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK.

5. At the command prompt, type next line and press Enter:
CD C:\XPSP3

6. At command prompt, type next line and press Enter:
WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe /integrate:C:\XPCD

7.The Windows Service Pack 3 Setup Wizard starts and notifies you that
Windows XP SP3 files are being integrated into the Windows XP installation
folder. Follow the instructions in the Windows Service Pack 3 Setup Wizard.

8.Click OK when you see the dialog box that indicates that the integrated
installation has completed successfully.

Now, you should be able to install Recovery Console from your drive.
Click Start, click Run, type or paste next line and press Enter:
C:\XPCD\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons

Read my previous instructions quoted below, about verifying boot.ini, and
adjust the countdown timer to 5 seconds.

To avoid endless startup error loops if something goes wrong:
right-click My computer, click Properties, click Advanced (tab)
under Startup and Recovery, click Settings
Under System failure, UN-check Automatically restart

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console for advanced users
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058
- - -

Slipstreaming SP3 into an installation CD is also a good idea.

Here are a few of the many web pages related to SP3 and slipstreaming:

Slipstream Windows XP CD Using SP3 Final
http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp3_cd_final.htm

Slipstreaming Windows XP with Service Pack 3
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xpsp3_slipstream.asp

Create a Slip Stream version of Windows XP
http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/slipstream.htm

Creating Your Own Custom XP Installation CD/DVD
http://techysm.wordpress.com/2007/12/27/creating-your-own-custome-xp-installation-cddvd/

WinXP SP3 Installation Package 316MB
Page:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en
File:
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...2ce3edf42d/WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe

WinXP SP3 ISO CD Image File 545MB
Page:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...CE-B5FB-4488-8C50-FE22559D164E&displaylang=en
File:
http://download.microsoft.com/downl...15/xpsp3_5512.080413-2113_usa_x86fre_spcd.iso

XP ISO Builder 1.45 MB (Freeware)
http://winfuture.de/xpisobuilder3_en

AutoStreamer 844 KB (Freeware)
http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=223562
Other source:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/System-Tweak/Autostreamer.shtml
- - -

I did. I guess if I need it, I would copy it to C:\ ?
I forget my DOS syntax. Would that be:
A:\copy destination filename source filename
i.e. A:\copy C:\boot.ini A:\boot.ini ?

To copy from floppy to C-drive, first rename old:
rename C:\boot.ini boot.old

Then:
copy A:\boot.ini C:\boot.ini

Whether you add that optional Console or not, you should be able to
restart your computer now with no problems. Keep in mind that if you
ever get a startup message telling you that HAL.DLL is missing or
corrupt, that is usually a false error message due to a faulty
boot.ini file, not HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer). The cure is to
use the Recovery Console to access the C: root folder, Use the "type
boot.ini" command to view it and if you need to change it, first use
the "copy boot.ini boot2.ini" command (without quotes of course)
before copying the extra copy from floppy to C, with the
"copy A:\boot.ini C:\boot.ini" command (without quotes.)

In the last message in your other thread, before the setup completed,
you said you had this:


When setup completed it probably deleted the $*$ files, and
TXTSETUP.SIF also. You still need NTDETECT.COM, NTLDR, and BOOT.INI -
Command.com is optional, since you have that in C:\WINDOWS\system32
also. It looks like the only thing left behind by the first failed
setup was an extra boot option.

Yes, a dir of C:\ gives:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\>dir
Volume in drive C has no label.
Volume Serial Number is 5890-4ED5

Directory of C:\

10/01/2009 09:03 PM 0 AUTOEXEC.BAT
10/06/2009 07:54 PM 251 bad_boot.txt
10/01/2009 09:03 PM 0 CONFIG.SYS
10/01/2009 10:57 PM <DIR> Documents and Settings
10/06/2009 11:27 PM <DIR> Downloads
10/01/2009 01:23 PM 431,278 INF000.SWP
10/01/2009 01:23 PM 154,693 INF001.SWP
10/07/2009 10:30 PM <DIR> Program Files
07/16/2003 04:41 AM 71,189 Sunset.jpg
10/07/2009 11:32 PM <DIR> WINDOWS
10/04/2009 09:38 PM <DIR> WUTemp
6 File(s) 657,411 bytes
5 Dir(s) 133,029,691,392 bytes free

C:\>

Your DIR above did not show the hidden files, try again with:
DIR /A

(I don't need a copy.)

I don't believe I ever had a D partition. At this point, I can't
remember.
Currently, as shown in Disk Management, I only have C with two sections
(128GB NTFS Healthy System, and 21.05GB unallocated, that shows it's the
MBR).


OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 3 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
Activation Status Activation Pending (28 days remaining)
System Manufacturer Gateway
System Model E-4600
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 15 Model 0 Stepping 10 GenuineIntel ~1596 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Intel Corp. GB85010A.15A.0046.P13.0108201551,
8/20/2001
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.5512 (xpsp.080413-2111)"
Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 337.14 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

OK. I don't see any problems there.

C:\>On the tree on the left, expand Components, expand

Drive A:
Description 3 1/2 Inch Floppy Drive

Drive C:
Description Local Fixed Disk
Compressed No
File System NTFS
Size 128.00 GB (137,436,168,192 bytes)
Free Space 123.90 GB (133,034,168,320 bytes)
Volume Name
Volume Serial Number 58904ED5

Drive D:
Description CD-ROM Disc

Drive E:
Description CD-ROM Disc


Thanks for all the help. This has been very informative.

Boris

You're welcome. Thanks for letting me share your experience.

(Be happy, be Very happy!
--Richard