Still looking for help on this......reposting here

[radar_1_2000]

I first posted this under hard drives and storage, but only recieved a little help. I'm hoping someone might be able to guide me more......

When I start my computer and it is booting, I want it to stop and ask me which hard drive/operating system to boot into.

I know this is possible because it used to do this with my old computer. I had a drive with WXP Pro, and a drive with 98SE on it. I was able to go into the XP PRO and select how many seconds it gave me to choose which drive to boot into.

I now have the same WXP Pro drive, and a new WXP Home on an SATA serial drive. I can go into my BIOS and change which drive to boot into, but, I can not get it to stop at a screen and let me select which drive/OS to boot into.

Is it not possible to set this up to do this?

I know on my old computer, it just did this automatically after I installed the second Hard Drive with XP PRO. This second hard drive was installed with the other drive disconnected. It was after I connected them that it started giving me the screen with the boot option.

I've been told it has to do with the " boot loader"
Can you or anyone tell me how I can get it to create a boot loader to allow me the boot option?

I know that if I go into "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced", "Start up and Recovery", this is where I should be able to select the "Default Operating System". Right now the only operating system it has listed in the drop down is the one I'm am currently booted into.

It has a "Edit" tab. When I click on it, it opens up a notepad showing this:

boot loader]
timeout=5
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" /fastdetect

Is there something I can type in to get it to give me the option of the other system?


RADAR

[Statica]

Where is the other XP located? If you are switching around your drives in your BIOS, then as far as windows is concerned the drives may not have changed.
Post your boot.ini from both your XP Home and your XP Pro.

[radar_1_2000]

Statica,

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous, so excuse my dumb questions.

What do you mean where is the other XP located?
I have two hard drives. The serial drive is a Seagate 160GB with XP Home version on it. The IDE drive is a WD 120GB with XP Pro on it.

You wrote:
Post your boot.ini from both your XP Home and your XP Pro.

I have now idea what you mean? What do you want me to do here?

Thanks,

[Statica]

Hi Radar:

The way I understand it -
you have the following:
1) XP Home on Seagate
2) XP Pro on WD
you want the following:
1) The ability to dual boot as in be offered a choice of whether you want XP Home or XP Pro when you start your computer

Correct?

If so, what would be helpful is to get the boot.ini from XP home and XP Pro. To get this; please go to the exact same place as you went -

Originally Posted by radar_1_2000 I know that if I go into "Control Panel", "System", "Advanced", "Start up and Recovery", this is where I should be able to select the "Default Operating System". Right now the only operating system it has listed in the drop down is the one I'm am currently booted into. It has a "Edit" tab. When I click on it, it opens up a notepad showing this: boot loader] timeout=5 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" /fastdetect

Do this for both, on XP home and XP Pro and post what you see there.

[radar_1_2000]

Statica,

OK, I understand you want me to fine the "boot.ini" correct?

I went to the same place, to the system recovery options.

But where is this boot.ini? I've already posted everything I see in that window. The 'default operating system is listed as:
"Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

If I click the "edit", I get what I posted before:

[boot loader]
timeout=5
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" /fastdetect

I'm looking for something that reads...."boot.ini" I can't find that? The above is on the XP Pro. Do you want me to find this on the XP Home? What is the boot.ini? What is the extension ".ini"?

[davit80]

boot.ini is the file that tells your computer where the windows folder is so it can boot from it. When you go to Startup and Recovery and then click Edit...what you're doing is opening up the boot.ini file

The Purpose of the Boot.ini File in WinXP

Basically, for your situation....you'll need to add another sentence under the Operating System section of the boot.ini file. But you'll probably have to change the disk number from 0 to 1 in the second sentence to tell windows to also boot from the second hard drive. When you add this second sentence to your boot.ini file, it'll automatically start giving you the option for which version of Windows you wanna use each time you start up.


multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP

[radar_1_2000]

I will give that a try....

Thanks I will let you know if successful.

[radar_1_2000]

Davit80, you are a genius!![/

Thanks to Statica and you, I now have the choice of which system to boot into without messing with the bios.

I was on the right track, but didn't know what I had to do in the boot.ini.


[Thanks for your help guys!!