boot.ini

[mb26]

A while back i installed XP, but it booted using the boot record of the HDD which i still had ME on..

anyway i formatted the HDD and ditched XP, but my boot record thing always comes up and XP is set as default

ME is on my primary master (C... this is my boot.ini now (i played around with it a little but this one works (well it loads XP default etc still)

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XP"
C:\="Microsoft Windows ME"


So what would i need to get it to load ME automatically, and not bring up the options thing ?

[mikeL]

Have you tried fdisk /mbr
that will rewrite your Master boot record

[mb26]

tried that, and it didn't change anything.. ?

if anyone reading this has window ME (or even 98), and it is on the primary master HDD (as most are), and it is the only operating system on the computer.. then could you open C:\boot.ini (in notepad) and copy the contents into here please?

[EzyStvy]

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="XP"
C:\="Microsoft Windows ME"


Remove the \WINDOWS="XP" section.



But, just incase, go into the properties and uncheck the hidden and read only options and then make a copy of the file and call it boot.xxx.

[mb26]

i removed the \WINDOWS="XP" part, and now it says 'windows (default)' along with Ms Win ME.. and the first is the defaulted one of course.

so what now?

[DragonNOA1]

i didn't think that 9x machines needed a boot.ini. Try deleting it and if it gives you problems then use a bootdisk to "fdisk /mbr", that should fix everything.

EDIT* Before you do that, on your root drive (C: ) do you have a file called NTLDR.sys? It's hidden by default.

[mb26]

yess i do have ntldr.sys in C: is this the problem, or are u checking that it is there?

i think i tried before deleting the boot.ini, and then doing FDISK /mbr .. i think it gave me something like and error saying i need C:\Windows\System32\hal.dll .. which is what it said previously when i selected 'windows XP' on the startup thing.. so i assumed it was to do with windows XP, as i could not find it on my ME cd (in the .cab's).

[DragonNOA1]

Let's go over the boot process.

When POST is done, it reads the MBR for instructions on what to load. MBR on a NT machine (2K and XP) points to a NTLDR. NTLDR consults the boot.ini and if you pick an NT-based OS, it loads NTDETECT. After that it starts the GUI, HAL.dll being a GUI file, loads it up. You deleted XP, so bye bye HAL.dll. But you still have the pre-GUI files on the system drive (C: ).

If you select a 9x OS, it loads bootsect.dos, which locates the IO.sys file (which starts the 98 boot process). So what you have to do is get the NTLDR out of the MBR and have it point straight to the IO.sys file.

I checked microsoft and they said: If you intend to remove Windows XP and return to Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows NT, or Windows 2000, you must reinstall Windows 95, Windows NT, or Windows 2000. They didnt say anything about 98 though.

OK, now that I said all that, make sure you have a 98 boot disk handy, or just create one via the add/remove programs applet. Once that is done restart your computer with the boot disk in your floppy drive (make sure the floppy drive is set to boot first via BIOS) and go into the DOS prompt.
At the A: prompt, type sys c:, which will hopefully give you the necessary files and over-write the MBR so that it points to those files.

Then boot into win98 and delete the following hidden files:
nt*.*
bootsect.dos
Pagefile.sys
Boot.ini

I didn't think "sys C:" by itself would change what you needed, I thought for sure you would need to fdisk something (lol), but it worked for this guy.

EDIT* Got it. MBR points to the boot record of the primary drive which point to what file to load. Sys C: re-writes the boot sector of the HD, not the MBR, thereby making 98 the sole OS. Write back if it works.

[mb26]

woohoo thanks a lot... just typed sys c: and it worked instantly.. brilliant.. thanks all for the quick replies also

and it gave me a satisfying 'system transferred message'

edit: i deleted all the files, except Pagefile.sys which i didn't seem to have.. and there was only one 'nt*.* file (ntldr.sys), but anyway i restarted after that and it all worked so thats brilliant