Invalid boot.ini file

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ron Hirsch
  • Start date Start date
R

Ron Hirsch

I'm running a high end machine with XP - SP2, and noted the following.

When I boot up, there is momentary text screen that flashes by, noting
"Invalid boot.ini file, booting from C:\WINNT". But, the machine then boots
normally.

I checked the WINNT folder, and the root of C;\ and there is no boot.ini
file in there. Somehow, it must have gotten "lost, strayed, or stolen". So I
did a search of the full C:\drive, and found two copies in other paths. One
was in the Partition Msgic folder created when I got the machine, and the
other was in the WinPatrol folder, created a few months ago. It does of
course have the RHSA attributes, as it should.

The file in the WinPatrol file is

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows XP Media Center Edition"
/fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

In the Partition Magic folder from several years ago, the same file exists,
without last statement "/Execute=OptIn"

Rather than go through a lengthy process of using the recovery console, it
would seem that I could just copy the boot.ini file shown above, probably
without the "/Execute=OptIn", and put in to its proper place. I assume that
place is the root of C:\, is it not. Will this approach solve the problem?

Ron Hirsch
 
You don't have a problem to solve. Boot.ini is optional if you installed to XP defaults. Copy the file with optin.
 
C:\WINNT? Are you using Windows 2000 by any chance. Or did you upgrade from W2K to XP
 
My desktop still installed XP into WINNT - this was 3+ years ago. I see that
my newer laptop, from 9/04, stopped using the WINNT folder, and now shows
Windows.

Ron

++++++++++++++++++++

C:\WINNT? Are you using Windows 2000 by any chance. Or did you upgrade from
W2K to XP
 
Hi David,

Thanks for the reply. It may be optional, but I want to kill that error
message. When you state to copy the file wih "optin" - I'm afraid I don't
know what you mean. Can you elaborate.

Ron

++++++++++++++++++

"David Candy" <.> wrote in message
You don't have a problem to solve. Boot.ini is optional if you installed to
XP defaults. Copy the file with optin.
 
If you want to know internals of Partitons, File System and Data
Recovery etc you may go for the Book "Data Recovery with & without
Programming"

You can Find the Details and Contents of the book on following Link:

http://www.DataDoctor.biz/author.htm


The Book Also has a Free CD with it, which has all the Source Codes of
the Programs, described within the Book

Regards

TT
 
TT,

Thanks for the link. It does look like an interesting book.

Fortunately, my backup and archiving of most of everything is very
extensive. I use a shareware program called folder FolderSync by Funduc. It
is a very comprehensive program where one can write plain text scripts to
backup and archive, using any file variable you can think of. I actually
backup to 4 different hard drives, one in my machine, 2 USB 2 drives which
are left in place, and a traveling USB 2 drive which I use to sync my other
machines and laptop. The main script is written to backup files from my main
desktop, and then a "traveling" USB drive has scripts for it to then convey
all this material to my other machines.

My typical script has 50 different actions in it.

I also use Acronis True Image to image all the C & D hard drive partitions
in my machines. These images are usually alternated between several of the
external USB drives, and also the E drive inside my main machine. Aronis
allows users to load a saved image as a drive letter. Then file recovery
becomes very simple indeed. This is a lot easier than using a tape backup,
which I used for many years. To get back a small file used to take forever,
depending upon where it was on the tape.

If you are indeed a "Data Recovery Expert", you might want to consider using
FolderSync. The best way to recover data is to get it back from a drive
which has not failed. And if you are doing this service for others, automate
the data backups to external USB drives, so that the customer won't have
anything complicated to do.

Ron

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
Read your post, you have two - one with and one without the optin switch (introduced in SP2)..

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://webdiary.smh.com.au/archives/_comment/001075.html
=================================================
Ron Hirsch said:
Hi David,

Thanks for the reply. It may be optional, but I want to kill that error
message. When you state to copy the file wih "optin" - I'm afraid I don't
know what you mean. Can you elaborate.

Ron

++++++++++++++++++

"David Candy" <.> wrote in message
You don't have a problem to solve. Boot.ini is optional if you installed to
XP defaults. Copy the file with optin.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://webdiary.smh.com.au/archives/_comment/001075.html
=================================================
Ron Hirsch said:
I'm running a high end machine with XP - SP2, and noted the following.

When I boot up, there is momentary text screen that flashes by, noting
"Invalid boot.ini file, booting from C:\WINNT". But, the machine then
boots
normally.

I checked the WINNT folder, and the root of C;\ and there is no boot.ini
file in there. Somehow, it must have gotten "lost, strayed, or stolen". So
I
did a search of the full C:\drive, and found two copies in other paths.
One
was in the Partition Msgic folder created when I got the machine, and the
other was in the WinPatrol folder, created a few months ago. It does of
course have the RHSA attributes, as it should.

The file in the WinPatrol file is

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows XP Media Center
Edition"
/fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

In the Partition Magic folder from several years ago, the same file
exists,
without last statement "/Execute=OptIn"

Rather than go through a lengthy process of using the recovery console, it
would seem that I could just copy the boot.ini file shown above, probably
without the "/Execute=OptIn", and put in to its proper place. I assume
that
place is the root of C:\, is it not. Will this approach solve the problem?

Ron Hirsch
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Back
Top