problems with Win XP SP3 Booting

  • Thread starter Thread starter jim
  • Start date Start date
Paul said:
Sorry. My monitor is motorized, and moves left to right while I type.
When I hit carriage return, the monitor is slammed over to one side
again, so I can type the next line :-) :-) /sarcasm (in honor of
typewriters)
Click to expand...

You "HIT carriage return"... , do you have a chrome, L-shaped lever on the
right side of the screen ?
 
jim said:
On Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:25:35 -0500, in


Same for two, different for one

none do.


3 in each case. Xp was installed on "C" each time.


At the time, the drive on which each was installed was known as C (HDD0)


Not quite sure what you mean here.


HDD0, HDD2, HDD1 <-- the boot.ini's i listed, which may not be what you
mean.

IDE

Thanks,

jim
Click to expand...
Sorry if too confusing. From your first reply:

"There is a problem. I have 3 drives. Each has a boot.ini.
The problem has been that the preferred C disk has a tendency to become
disabled, so i have installed a fully featured OS on the next drive on the
ribbon which boots when that happens. Both OS's are XP.
I have found that the "fix" for the disabled disk is to unplug it, start
the computer, shut it down, and replug it. So far, that sequence of
actions has had the effect of re-enabling the preferred disk.

jim"
I can't tell how things ARe NOW and how they were when you built each OS.
Each might be called C but what is/was the config?
What I was expecting was info like this.

'Using store-bought XP CD' ,or 'Dell Restore CD' etc, then

"3 drives: 2 are IDE, 1 SATA
XP#1 is IDE cable - 0
XP#2 is IDE cable -1
XP #3 is Sata
I have problems booting XP#2"

and then I wanted to get into the boot.ini file ON each drive ( seems like
you've been all over BIOS). Also, when you install XP, is it froma RESTORE
DISK or a store-bought version ?

because IF ( in my example) XP#2 was the only drive or primary at the time,
then it's boot.ini points to the PRIMARY IDE port. So when connected to port
#1 the boot.ini STILL tells it to boot to 0.

See
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022
as example of boot.ini parameters, how to specify which drive to boot.

Or if factory restore CD, on two drives , both installs might have same code
so XP disables one ??
 
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:46:06 -0500, in
Let me check...

Paul
Click to expand...

More a case of 'slapping' it for a line feed and carriage return.........

I am sure you have heard the joke of the woman returning to the work force
after being absent since the early seventies and after typing a line on
the office computer, slapped the monitor off of her desk.

jim
 
On Thu, 19 Jan 2012 19:37:38 -0500, in
Sorry if too confusing. From your first reply:

"There is a problem. I have 3 drives. Each has a boot.ini.
The problem has been that the preferred C disk has a tendency to become
disabled, so i have installed a fully featured OS on the next drive on the
ribbon which boots when that happens. Both OS's are XP.
I have found that the "fix" for the disabled disk is to unplug it, start
the computer, shut it down, and replug it. So far, that sequence of
actions has had the effect of re-enabling the preferred disk.

jim"
I can't tell how things ARe NOW and how they were when you built each OS.
Each might be called C but what is/was the config?
What I was expecting was info like this.

'Using store-bought XP CD' ,or 'Dell Restore CD' etc, then

"3 drives: 2 are IDE, 1 SATA
XP#1 is IDE cable - 0
XP#2 is IDE cable -1
XP #3 is Sata
I have problems booting XP#2"

and then I wanted to get into the boot.ini file ON each drive ( seems like
you've been all over BIOS). Also, when you install XP, is it froma RESTORE
DISK or a store-bought version ?

because IF ( in my example) XP#2 was the only drive or primary at the time,
then it's boot.ini points to the PRIMARY IDE port. So when connected to port
#1 the boot.ini STILL tells it to boot to 0.

See
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022
as example of boot.ini parameters, how to specify which drive to boot.
Click to expand...

I read the article. Thanks. i use a file manager named ZTREE and have
easy access to the boot.ini files. (I also use Ztree for mass-copies,
duplicating paths, and selective copies, duplicating paths....and many
other things.)

This is a copy of my boot.ini currently being used, it is cut'n'paste,not
a retype:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
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" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
Or if factory restore CD, on two drives , both installs might have same code
so XP disables one ??
Click to expand...

At various times over the last 5 years, all 3 disks have been the primary
master. All 3 were installed from the same full install disk.

Current installation:

C..Primary Master.......Western Digital 120Gig -- call it wd120
D..CD/DVD RW
E..Primary Slave.........Seagate 250Gig -- call it SEA250
F..Secondary Slave....Western Digital 80Gig -- call it wd80

None are jumpered.

All are IDE and on a single ribbon cable.

WD120 is Win XP, SP2.
SEA250 is Win XP, SP3.
WD80 is Win SP2

There had been no problems since July, 2011 when the WD80 flaked out and i
installed the WD120 as primary master.

A month ago, there was no operating system on the Seagate 250. WD 120
became disabled in early december. I booted the install disk to the
recovery console and through a few DOS commands(and knowing the contents
of each disk) found that the SEA250 was designated C and the WD80 was
designated D.

I installed a rudimentary XP operating system on SEA250.

The SEA250 was then bootable.

However, later, I "fixed" the disabled WD120 simply by unplugging it from
the ribbon cable, booting, shutting down, replugging the WD120 and booting
it.

In early January, WD120 disabled again, SEA250 booted.
I applied SP2 (from CD) and SP3 from third party download.

I made it fully functional from a software standpoint, downloading a few
programs, copying more as standalone apps to SEA250's "Program Files" and
adjusting .lnks and targets of shortcuts as necessary and also
selectively copying pertinent program files and settings from the complete
copy of "Documents & Settings" I had previously mass copied from the WD120
to the WD80. (Yes, i know all of this is heresy.)

For a 'worst case' scenario. I also have a 'full disk' Acronis image
backup of WD120 on my most reliable disk, SEA250. I have an Acronis boot
disk.

(Yes, I understand that I could have restored programs individually to
SEA250 from that backup but I have chosen to do it manually -- more
satisfying that way)

A former Lenovo technician, a friend of mine, says what i have is "cable
select" in the BIOS and that if the computer does not find a bootable OS
on the "red line" of the ribbon cable, it will walk the devices on that
ribbon cable looking for an OS and boot the first one it finds. (Now,
that's just the best thing since sliced bread.) He says it would not have
worked with jumpered drives. The SEA250 is right after the Red Line
position WD120.

The way i see it, the Win Xp installations other than the WD120 are just
files when it is Primary Master. I could wrong.

That's the size of things, sorry if there are superflous parts or if
pertinent parts are left out..........

Here is a weird happening: After the second WD120 disabling, i was happily
puttering in my new system on the SEA250, about 10 hours into a session,
not doing any system work (I was probably in email or something) when i
get a ballon message from Systray saying "new hardware found WD12000JB",
which then changed in a few seconds to "new hardware Disk" which then
changed in a few seconds to "new hardware ready for use". That
mid-session enabling of WD120 points me to a bad ribbon cable, or if not
that, a bad IDE socket, or..... Hardware problem in any event. Through
no overt action of my own, it had enabled and accessed the WD120 and
assigned it a drive letter and shown in "My Computer" and accessible as
R/W by ZTREE.

jim
 
Here is a weird happening: After the second WD120 disabling, i was happily
puttering in my new system on the SEA250, about 10 hours into a session,
not doing any system work (I was probably in email or something) when i
get a ballon message from Systray saying "new hardware found WD12000JB",
which then changed in a few seconds to "new hardware Disk" which then
changed in a few seconds to "new hardware ready for use". That
mid-session enabling of WD120 points me to a bad ribbon cable, or if not
that, a bad IDE socket, or..... Hardware problem in any event. Through
no overt action of my own, it had enabled and accessed the WD120 and
assigned it a drive letter and shown in "My Computer" and accessible as
R/W by ZTREE.
Click to expand...

The weakest link is the cable, so I would replace it as a first step.
IDE and/or SATA drives shouldn't be coming and going mid-session,
especially whenever they feel like it.

In addition to the possibility of a broken wire in that IDE cable,
there could be a bad connection at any of the 3 connectors or any of
the connectors could have a bent or "pushed" pin that doesn't make
reliable contact.

I haven't seen a motherboard be the cause for symptoms like this, so I
would really look at and replace the cable first.
 
The weakest link is the cable, so I would replace it as a first step.
IDE and/or SATA drives shouldn't be coming and going mid-session,
especially whenever they feel like it.

In addition to the possibility of a broken wire in that IDE cable,
there could be a bad connection at any of the 3 connectors or any of
the connectors could have a bent or "pushed" pin that doesn't make
reliable contact.

I haven't seen a motherboard be the cause for symptoms like this, so I
would really look at and replace the cable first.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I am thinking the problem is the cable itself, though that has
gotten more and more complicated since i just read an article on cable
select. I am not sure how to tell the difference between a standard
IDE/ATA cable and a specifically Cable Select ready cable.

Computer management ->System Tools->Event Viewer->System shows my last
boot this morning was clean. That is not the case with boots after
10/27/11 -- they show Disk and ATAPI errors. The few boots prior to 10/27
were clean.


jim
 
Thanks. I am thinking the problem is the cable itself, though that has
gotten more and more complicated since i just read an article on cable
select. I am not sure how to tell the difference between a standard
IDE/ATA cable and a specifically Cable Select ready cable.
Click to expand...

Where are you reading that? There's no such thing as a "standard
cable" and a "cable select" cable.

There are two common kinds of IDE cables, the older 40-pin cables and
the newer (but still many years old) 80-pin cable. Both will work, but
the 80-pin is preferred. There's also a variation where the cable is
flat versus round, and I've seen IDE cables that only have a single
drive connector. None of that is useful info to you. You'll simply
want an 80-pin cable, either flat or round, with two drive connectors
and a motherboard connector.

With that in mind, the choice between "standard" (master/slave) and
"cable select" comes down to how the drives are jumpered and has
nothing to do with the cable itself. If you go with cable select, both
drives have to be configured for cable select. If you go with
master/slave, then one drive has to be configured as the master and
one drive has to be configured as the slave.

You mentioned earlier that both drives are currently not jumpered, but
that's not useful information. Each drive has a small label on it that
shows how it needs to be configured, so you'll need to follow that. In
some cases no jumper may mean cable select, while in other cases no
jumper may mean master or even slave. Use the info printed on the
drive.

More info here:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_select#Cable_select>
 
Char said:
There are two common kinds of IDE cables, the older 40-pin cables and
the newer (but still many years old) 80-pin cable. Both will work, but
the 80-pin is preferred. There's also a variation where the cable is
flat versus round, and I've seen IDE cables that only have a single
drive connector. None of that is useful info to you. You'll simply
want an 80-pin cable, either flat or round, with two drive connectors
and a motherboard connector.
Click to expand...

I've never seen (or heard of) a *round* IDE cable. How is it done?
 
I've never seen (or heard of) a *round* IDE cable. How is it done?
Click to expand...

Here's a sample listing for the older style flat ribbon cables that
you're probably used to seeing:
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200416>

And here's a sample for a round cable. Functionally, they are
identical, but the round cable might not block as much air flow as the
flat cable.
<http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200097>

In both cases, click on the image to see a larger version.
 
Where are you reading that? There's no such thing as a "standard
cable" and a "cable select" cable.
Click to expand...

I think that may have been the problem -- where i read it. this was
where, but i am thinking it might be as old as 2001 --
http://www.pchell.com/hardware/masterslaveorcableselect.shtml

(I could not find a specific date of the article but the HTML compiler was
from 2001.)
There are two common kinds of IDE cables, the older 40-pin cables and
the newer (but still many years old) 80-pin cable. Both will work, but
the 80-pin is preferred. There's also a variation where the cable is
flat versus round, and I've seen IDE cables that only have a single
drive connector. None of that is useful info to you. You'll simply
want an 80-pin cable, either flat or round, with two drive connectors
and a motherboard connector.
Click to expand...

I just looked at an unused drive (same as the used ones) and it has 40
pins on the male side. The ribbon cable is flat. Otherwise, i seem to
need 4 connections on the ribbon itself to handle 3 drives and a cd/dvd rw
drive.
With that in mind, the choice between "standard" (master/slave) and
"cable select" comes down to how the drives are jumpered and has
nothing to do with the cable itself. If you go with cable select, both
drives have to be configured for cable select. If you go with
master/slave, then one drive has to be configured as the master and
one drive has to be configured as the slave.
Understood.


You mentioned earlier that both drives are currently not jumpered, but
that's not useful information. Each drive has a small label on it that
shows how it needs to be configured, so you'll need to follow that. In
some cases no jumper may mean cable select, while in other cases no
jumper may mean master or even slave. Use the info printed on the
drive.

More info here:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_select#Cable_select>
Click to expand...


Thanks.

I am curious and I am asking here and will in a fresh message -- is there
a place to extend the size of the event history/system log? Whatever
happened, happened on 10/26/11 and it is about to roll off.

jim
 
On Fri, 20 Jan 2012 18:51:11 -0600, in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general, edfair
but that carriage return was introduced to computing as a
familiar metaphor
Click to expand...

Ah yes, such as we refer to 'rewind', 'fast forward', etc., with digital
video and audio files -- IOW, 'as if' they were tapes.

jim
 
I think that may have been the problem -- where i read it. this was
where, but i am thinking it might be as old as 2001 --
http://www.pchell.com/hardware/masterslaveorcableselect.shtml

(I could not find a specific date of the article but the HTML compiler was
from 2001.)
Click to expand...

I agree with most of what that article says, but he ends by saying
that his boot time was reduced by 2 minutes as a result of switching
away from master/Slave to Cable Select. In general, that's hogwash.
I just looked at an unused drive (same as the used ones) and it has 40
pins on the male side. The ribbon cable is flat. Otherwise, i seem to
need 4 connections on the ribbon itself to handle 3 drives and a cd/dvd rw
drive.
Click to expand...

Sorry, no such thing as an IDE cable with 4 connectors, or an IDE
controller than can handle 4 devices on a single channel. What you
have is 2 IDE channels, probably labeled IDE0 and IDE1, with two
drives per channel.

As I mentioned above, You'll simply want an 80-pin cable, either flat
or round, with two drive connectors and a motherboard connector. Note
that they come in various lengths. Try to somewhat match the length of
the cable to the distance you need to cover so you don't have tons of
cable laying around, especially if you go with the boring flat stuff
since it tends to block air flow. On the other hand, if you get a
cable that's too short it won't work at all, obviously.
 
In retrospect, I think it should be called an 80 conductor, 40 pin, IDE
cable. And maybe (hopefully) it was. That would avoid any possible
confusion.
Click to expand...

I fully agree. That would be more technically correct.
 
Where are you reading that? There's no such thing as a "standard
cable" and a "cable select" cable.

There are two common kinds of IDE cables, the older 40-pin cables and
the newer (but still many years old) 80-pin cable. Both will work, but
the 80-pin is preferred. There's also a variation where the cable is
flat versus round, and I've seen IDE cables that only have a single
drive connector. None of that is useful info to you. You'll simply
want an 80-pin cable, either flat or round, with two drive connectors
and a motherboard connector.

With that in mind, the choice between "standard" (master/slave) and
"cable select" comes down to how the drives are jumpered and has
nothing to do with the cable itself. If you go with cable select, both
drives have to be configured for cable select. If you go with
master/slave, then one drive has to be configured as the master and
one drive has to be configured as the slave.

You mentioned earlier that both drives are currently not jumpered, but
that's not useful information. Each drive has a small label on it that
shows how it needs to be configured, so you'll need to follow that. In
some cases no jumper may mean cable select, while in other cases no
jumper may mean master or even slave. Use the info printed on the
drive.

More info here:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cable_select#Cable_select>
Click to expand...

Actually, there *are* standard and cable select cables - see
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confCS-c.html

The difference is that on a standard cable, the wire for pin 28 goes
straight through and connects all three connectors. In a cable select
cable, the wire for pin 28 is punched/broken between the two drive
connectors so that the motherboard only connects to one drive on that
pin.

Many old IDE cables did not break pin 28 and so do not work properly
with cable select. Most, if not all, new IDE cables do.

On the cables I've used, if you look carefully you can see the gap
where the wire is separated between the two connectors. That the the
only 100% reliable way I know to tell. However, most standard cables
do not color code the connectors, while most cable select cables do
color code the connectors.
 
Actually, there *are* standard and cable select cables - see
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/confCS-c.html

The difference is that on a standard cable, the wire for pin 28 goes
straight through and connects all three connectors. In a cable select
cable, the wire for pin 28 is punched/broken between the two drive
connectors so that the motherboard only connects to one drive on that
pin.

Many old IDE cables did not break pin 28 and so do not work properly
with cable select. Most, if not all, new IDE cables do.

On the cables I've used, if you look carefully you can see the gap
where the wire is separated between the two connectors. That the the
only 100% reliable way I know to tell. However, most standard cables
do not color code the connectors, while most cable select cables do
color code the connectors.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks, I assumed the 'broken wire' approach was pretty short
lived and that manufacturers had quickly moved to simply omitting pin
28 from the slave connector. I looked through my dozen-plus IDE cables
from my junk box just now and didn't see any where the wire was
physically cut, but all of them are missing pin 28 on the slave
connector. Naturally, the ones I looked at are 80-cable, so they also
have the color coded connectors that have become common.

In short, I agree with you although I don't have any samples on hand
to look at. Thanks for the clarification.

For the OP, though, if he's going to buy a new IDE cable, I think
there's no longer such a thing as a cable select cable and a standard
cable. I think they've all been standardized by now, right? As for me,
I always use the master/slave jumpers and avoid cable select.
 
Cool, thanks, I assumed the 'broken wire' approach was pretty short
lived and that manufacturers had quickly moved to simply omitting pin
28 from the slave connector. I looked through my dozen-plus IDE cables
from my junk box just now and didn't see any where the wire was
physically cut, but all of them are missing pin 28 on the slave
connector.
Click to expand...

I guess my cables are from that era, I must have migrated to SATA
pretty early in the game.
Naturally, the ones I looked at are 80-cable, so they also
have the color coded connectors that have become common.

In short, I agree with you although I don't have any samples on hand
to look at. Thanks for the clarification.

For the OP, though, if he's going to buy a new IDE cable, I think
there's no longer such a thing as a cable select cable and a standard
cable. I think they've all been standardized by now, right?
Click to expand...

If not, I'd be surprised.
As for me, I always use the master/slave jumpers and avoid cable
select.
Click to expand...

Likewise. I've never understood the "let the computer figure it out
for me" approach. Especially since there are times where it is better
from a cabling approach to have the master and slave on the "wrong"
connectors - wrong from a cable select approach, of course.

The only exception to that is with the Dell PCs I've encountered. I've
had issues attempting to force a master / slave setup with drive
jumpers, and have had to relent and use cable select. Fortunately, I
don't have to deal with many of those.
 
For the OP, though, if he's going to buy a new IDE cable, I think
there's no longer such a thing as a cable select cable and a standard
cable. I think they've all been standardized by now, right? As for me,
I always use the master/slave jumpers and avoid cable select.
Click to expand...

For me, cable select has been a panacea.

Usually, when the computer will not boot to preferred "C", it is first
thing in the morning and I am sleepy and bleary-eyed.

Having largely cloned my preferred C onto another system disk, I am back
in operation mode when it walks the cable looking for an OS, and can deal
with the preferred "C" problem at a later time.

On the cable, though I have not had the disk disabled status for about 10
days or more, I was having hard freezes every few hours and in
exasperation simply smoothed out the cable to the extent that i could with
my fingers -- which are crossed now -- but have had no hard freezes since
i smoothed it out 5 days ago.

I checked a spare hard drive and *it* has a missing pin. Holding the
drive, label up and counting left to right with pin 1 on first upper row,
pin 2 on first second row, it appears to be pin 19. (Not sure if i
counted that in the correct way.) The pin is not broken or "pushed" it is
purposefully not there.

jim
 
jim said:
I checked a spare hard drive and *it* has a missing pin. Holding the
drive, label up and counting left to right with pin 1 on first upper row,
pin 2 on first second row, it appears to be pin 19. (Not sure if i
counted that in the correct way.) The pin is not broken or "pushed" it is
purposefully not there.

jim
Click to expand...

That is called "keying". The hard drive is missing a pin, roughly
in the center. The cable, has a plastic square peg shoved into
the matching hole. If you rotated the cable connector and tried to
put it on wrong, the square peg would crush and ruin any pin
that got in its way. If you mate the connector the right way,
the plastic peg doesn't hit anything (because it sits where
the "gap" is of the missing pin).

http://johnkingworld.com/aplus/images/ide-pins.jpg

Note that not all cables have the plastic peg installed. I have
older cables that lack that particular keying feature. The cables
have other tricks to help when that happens. For example, the
cable has a red mark on pin 1. And you can look at the drive
for a hint as to which corner pin is pin 1 (the PCB layout
sometimes uses a different shape for pin 1). So there
are sometimes clues there, to reduce the risk of putting it
on wrong when using ancient cables.

On the floppy cable, they made that one so it could be
safely reversed (rotated 180). The floppy drive light comes on
and stays on, if you put the cable on that one wrong.
And because of that special design, they don't need to
provide keying on the floppy. I've not tried reversing
an IDE on purpose, and I can't predict what would happen
(some logic signals would get shorted).

The IDE connectors also have a "bump" (labeled cable key
in the diagram), but I'm not sure that one is universal
either. I may have examples around here, that are missing
that feature. But there are enough clues, that you should
be able to figure out what is the right way. Of the
three features (red mark, blocked pin, keying "bump"),
you should have at least one of those working for you.

Paul
 
jim said:
Sorry if too confusing. From your first reply:

"There is a problem. I have 3 drives. Each has a boot.ini.
The problem has been that the preferred C disk has a tendency to become
disabled, so i have installed a fully featured OS on the next drive on the
ribbon which boots when that happens. Both OS's are XP.
I have found that the "fix" for the disabled disk is to unplug it, start
the computer, shut it down, and replug it. So far, that sequence of
actions has had the effect of re-enabling the preferred disk.

jim"
I can't tell how things ARe NOW and how they were when you built each OS.
Each might be called C but what is/was the config?
What I was expecting was info like this.

'Using store-bought XP CD' ,or 'Dell Restore CD' etc, then

"3 drives: 2 are IDE, 1 SATA
XP#1 is IDE cable - 0
XP#2 is IDE cable -1
XP #3 is Sata
I have problems booting XP#2"

and then I wanted to get into the boot.ini file ON each drive ( seems like
you've been all over BIOS). Also, when you install XP, is it froma RESTORE
DISK or a store-bought version ?

because IF ( in my example) XP#2 was the only drive or primary at the
time,
then it's boot.ini points to the PRIMARY IDE port. So when connected to
port
#1 the boot.ini STILL tells it to boot to 0.

See
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022
as example of boot.ini parameters, how to specify which drive to boot.
Click to expand...

I read the article. Thanks. i use a file manager named ZTREE and have
easy access to the boot.ini files. (I also use Ztree for mass-copies,
duplicating paths, and selective copies, duplicating paths....and many
other things.)

This is a copy of my boot.ini currently being used, it is cut'n'paste,not
a retype:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
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" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
Click to expand...



******************************
Jim - you have 3 bootable disks and 1 boot option ?
"multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS"
Where do you decide which drive to boot ?
WHY do you USE multiboot if all XP ?
This is gonna be confusing so take it a line at a time.

******************************
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)
change the 0 and 1 to reflect each device position (start at cable 0 and
part 1)
I can boot XP from a few drive/partitions. I had XP on an IDE drive and then
I upgraded to a bigger SATA drive years ago. I put away the IDE drive.
When I test software, I add the IDE disk back.

In my BIOS I can change boot order - whichever one is FIRST becomes C.
SO if testing - make IDE first and it is C - testing works fine
Not testing SATA is first - It is C.
When I boot SATA drive first, this is ITS boot.ini:
( I'll number the lines for reference )

[boot loader]
timeout=5
1.default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
2.multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Pro C"
/FASTDETECT /NoExecute=OptIn
3.multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Pro on
IDE1 Part #2" /FASTDETECT=OPTIN
4.multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Pro on
SATA Drive E:" /FASTDETECT
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1,2 = SATA partition 1 = XP (daily) ( C:)
3 = IDE drive (1) , partition 2 = my old XP drive boot (C:)
4 = Test XP environment for SATA drive (E:) ( partition 2)
******************************
At various times over the last 5 years, all 3 disks have been the primary
master. All 3 were installed from the same full install disk.
Click to expand...

They were each C ? , or were they configured as they are as install on each
drive ? I'm gonna stop here to review something that you might know, but
just in case... If I were gonna config the box:
Current installation:

C..Primary Master.......Western Digital 120Gig -- call it wd120
D..CD/DVD RW
E..Primary Slave.........Seagate 250Gig -- call it SEA250
F..Secondary Slave....Western Digital 80Gig -- call it wd80

None are jumpered.

All are IDE and on a single ribbon cable.

WD120 is Win XP, SP2.
SEA250 is Win XP, SP3.
WD80 is Win SP2
Click to expand...

When you install windows it looks at the current config and builds THAT
envionment. So if windows exists on drive 0 (0,0,1) and you install XP on
drive #2, then then new install looks and reasons:
C has windows on it
D is a CD , so the drive lettering for this install could be C,D or E right
?
E it is.
When XP boots boot.ini will have TWO entries
You can boot the new install or boot original disk

Boot original and windows is on C
Boot new install and the drive letter is E

You just can't move the cable / install around AND have Windows work.
Nor can you remove c - then drive E lettering is bad.

You say you use a third party boot app - I've never heard of it, BUT ....
IF each install "sees windows on C" , that would become a problem.
If I boot my IDE 1 drive, Windows lives on drive E, not C.
C still has windows but it's "another install" . When you boot E, C is just
"another drive".

http://vlaurie.com/computers2/Articles/bootini.htm

******************************
<<snipped>>
 
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