Two copies of Windows

[* C H R I S *]

I bought a used computer off a friend - laptop, works
great, runs Win XP Home. One annoying problem - when it
boots and runs thru the initial BIOS bits, it says CHOOSE
THE OPERATING SYSTEM TO USE, with the choices of WINDOWS
XP HOME and WINDOWS XP HOME. I asked him about that and
he said he once reinstalled Windows for some vague
reason, and since then he had this problem. He must have
chosen to install a completely new version, as there are
2 "Windows" folders (one "Windows" and one "WinXP"). The
latter one is the one that he's running off, as it has
newer files. QUESTION: Is there a way to remove the
intial Windows folder efficiently, so that this "choice"
doesn't come up on booting? If it was a completely new
install, simple deletion would be safe, I'm sure, but I
don't know if that would clear up this booting problem.
Ideas?

 

[Me Myself and I]

Nevermind - I figured it out. For those of you
interested, I edited the boot.ini file (article #289022)
to negate the effects of the previous install. Microsoft
is cool.

 

[Mike DeLeonardis]

you can also do this via right clicking my computer and going to properties.
then ADVANCED tab
then click settings for STARTUP AND RECOVERY

 

[Alex Nichol]

I bought a used computer off a friend - laptop, works
great, runs Win XP Home. One annoying problem - when it
boots and runs thru the initial BIOS bits, it says CHOOSE
THE OPERATING SYSTEM TO USE, with the choices of WINDOWS
XP HOME and WINDOWS XP HOME. I asked him about that and
he said he once reinstalled Windows for some vague
reason, and since then he had this problem.

Control Panel - System - Advanced. In the 'Startup and Error' section
at the bottom, click Settings, then click Edit. That will load boot.ini
into Notepad and you can delete the superfluous line from each section
(if there is any difference, be sure to retain the one in [boot loader]
that has default=, and the one in [operating systems] that matches

 

[Peter Hutchison]

I bought a used computer off a friend - laptop, works
great, runs Win XP Home. One annoying problem - when it
boots and runs thru the initial BIOS bits, it says CHOOSE
THE OPERATING SYSTEM TO USE, with the choices of WINDOWS
XP HOME and WINDOWS XP HOME. I asked him about that and
he said he once reinstalled Windows for some vague
reason, and since then he had this problem. He must have
chosen to install a completely new version, as there are
2 "Windows" folders (one "Windows" and one "WinXP"). The
latter one is the one that he's running off, as it has
newer files. QUESTION: Is there a way to remove the
intial Windows folder efficiently, so that this "choice"
doesn't come up on booting? If it was a completely new
install, simple deletion would be safe, I'm sure, but I
don't know if that would clear up this booting problem.
Ideas?

The two choices will appear on c:\boot.ini. You can use MSConfig
to fix it or edit it manually with notepad.

Peter Hutchison
Windows FAQ
http://www.pcguru.plus.com/