Audra - print this out. The following is much less complicated than it
may seem.
Assuming the Win2000 system you want to keep is on your C: drive and is
in the \WINNT directory, you want your boot.ini file to look like this:
[Boot Loader]
Timeout=5
Default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[Operating Systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional" /fastdetect
If your preferred Win2000 system is in a directory with a different
name, substitute that name for \WINNT in the 2 places above. If the
parenthetical numbers (0) or (1) are different in the boot.ini line
pointing to your preferred system, change the above numbers correspondingly.
If your current system, after boot menu timeout, boots automatically to
your preferred system, then the Default= line points to that system, and
all you have to do is remove whichever of the 2 lines below [Operating
Systems] refers to the other directory.
Change nothing else; the boot menu will not show again. With only one
system referred to below in boot.ini, the default timeout period is
skipped entirely.
Boot.ini is a hidden read-only system file in the root directory of your
C: drive, if those assumptions are correct. To see/print/edit that file,
you must remove those attributes. You can then use Notepad to edit the
file and save the corrected version.
To find out how to change file attributes, at a command prompt type
attrib /?
This will display the syntax of the ATTRIB command.
Be very careful. A bad boot.ini makes your system unbootable.
When you have succeeded in eliminating the boot-time menu that gives you
the choice you don't want, you can then erase the system directory and
all its subdirectories of the W2000 installation you don't want. This is
merely a space saver; you don't have to erase that system. In fact, if
it's a working W2000, it might be handy to have around. In which case:
- format a diskette under Win2000,
- copy the old boot.ini and
- the file "ntldr" and
- the file "NTDETECT.COM" to that diskette, and
- put that diskette in a safe place.
That is a bootable diskette that will present the boot menu you're
trying to get rid of. IT WILL ALSO HELP YOU RECOVER YOUR SYSTEM IF YOU
MAKE ANY MISTAKES WITH THE NEW BOOT.INI! DO IT FIRST!
Hope this helps.
