Dual boot w/2 xp's on 2 hdd's

[Dan]

I have a dual boot/dual hdd pc. Was running XP home on one hdd, win2k
on the other. Now it is running 2 installations of XP home, one on each
hdd. In the past, I have simply edited boot.ini to adjust which os is
the default, how long it leaves the selection os menu up at boot, etc,
but after replacing win2k with the 2nd xp, boot.ini is nowhere to be
found (booting now does the new installation as default, which I don't
want, and only allows about 2 seconds for me to select the other
installation, a tad fast... ). How/where do I adjust the boot settings
now that I'm running 2 xp's?

TIA

Dan

 

[Patti MacLeod]

Hi Dan,

There are a few different ways to access and edit the boot.ini file in XP.
Probably the easiest method to adjust the boot settings is via
msconfig>Boot.ini tab. If you want to change the default, click on the
reference to the installation that you want to set as default and then click
on the Set as Default button. To change the Timeout setting, in the Timeout
field (under the Move Down button), change the number of seconds to whatever
is your preference. Click on Apply, then OK. You must restart for the
settings to take effect.



Regards,

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Dan.

As Patti M. says, there are MANY ways to do this. Perhaps even easier than
using msconfig.exe, as she suggests, is System Properties | Advanced |
Startup and Recovery / Settings. The top part of this window is designed
for exactly what you are trying to do, including an Edit button that
automatically opens C:\boot.ini in Notepad for you.

Note that, no matter how many Boot.ini files you may have scattered around
your computer, the only one that matters is the one in C:\, the Root of the
System Partition. I have several versions of the file that I copy to
C:\boot.ini when I want to boot in a particular configuration. Boot.ini, as
well as the other "system files" (C:\NTLDR and C:\NTDETECT.COM), are
normally Hidden, System and Read-only files, so you won't see them unless
you've dealt with those Attributes in one way or another. In Folder Options
| View, you can check the boxes to show these files.

As you probably know, no matter where each copy of Windows is installed is
on your hard drives, the boot process always starts in the Active partition
on the first HD, which is the System Partition (typically C and then
branches to the boot folder of the operating system chosen by you or by
default, which it finds by reading C:\boot.ini.

RC

 

[Dan]

Thanks Patti. I've seen that before in msconfig on other machines, for
some reason that tab does not appear in the version I'm running, only
system.ini & win.ini. I've tried searching for the file & it doesn't
appear in the results, although I have "show hidden files" selected &
"don't show protected system files" UNselected. I finally changed
boot.ini via control panel/system/advanced/startup & recovery, from
where I can also directly edit boot.ini in notepad as I always have in
the past. I have 2 drives & 4 partitions, I could not remember where
the file was located, now I see it listed in plain view when I go to the
location in WE. I wonder why search fails to find the boot.ini file, &
why my msconfig has no tab for it?

Dan

 

[Patti MacLeod]

You're welcome, Dan

I don't know the reason why you don't have the boot.ini tab on your
installations of XP, although I'm glad that you knew of one of the alternate
routes to edit boot.ini (I would have posted that one for you, but I thought
the msconfig route would be easier <g>). The boot.ini file will only exist
on the first system partition, so you won't find it on the root drive of the
XP installation on the second HDD. For the Search utility to find boot.ini,
you would first have to set your folder options to show hidden files and
deselect the don't show protected system files.



Regards,

 

[Dan]

Patti-That's what's weird, folder options ARE set that way. I've edited
it many times across various dual boot configs, never had trouble
searching for it before...

Patti MacLeod wrote:
For the Search utility to find boot.ini,

 

[Patti MacLeod]

When you do the Search>All Files and Folders, in More advanced options, is
Search hidden files and folders selected? I know it's kind of a moot point
now, since you've located and edited the file, but I'm just curious.



Regards,

 

[Dan]

NO! Up until recently, I had been using win2k, which doesn't treat you
like an idiot as much as xp does, I assumed search worked the same way
(you know, it SEARCHES?). I didn't even know that was an option (guess I
should have looked, but I'm doing a SEARCH, for god's sake just
SEARCH!!!). I guess it's protecting me (like the default of hiding such
files) from doing something STUPID. Another thing that peeves me: "What
kind of files are you looking for? Pictures, Music...", like the user
is too dumb to know his butt from a file extension! I think when you
load an os, you should have levels of expertise you can select with
defaults set accordingly: Experienced, So-So, Numbskull...

Thanks for the reply & opportunity to vent. BTW, do I have to TELL the
damned thing EACH TIME to search hidden files, system folders, etc???
What a PITA!

Dan

 

[Walter Clayton]

Set it once and forget it.

BTW: Start->run->c:\boot.ini [enter] also works.

 

[Patti MacLeod]

You're welcome

Once you've set the option to Search hidden files and folders, that option
remains enabled until you disable it.

btw, I like your idea of defaults set according to the level of expertise
that you choose.......perhaps that could be incorporated into "Set Program
Access and Defaults". But then again, it may make it more difficult to
assist someone in performing a function. For example, when you are
explaining a navigation, what you have selected for default level of
expertise may not match theirs, and certain navigations may then be quite
different.

Have a great weekend!



Regards,