Read on full site | Join TechSpot! (it's free) | Bookmark / Share this



Multiple OS's on separate hard drives, boot selections?

Annorax
01-16-2005, 05:26 PM
Hello, my current hard drive setup is the following:

300gig with Windows XP: The main hard drive
80gig with Windows 2000: A slave drive, was once my primary drive
20gig with Windows XP: another slave, was once my primary a while ago

Both slaves have the OS intact. How can I allow myself to choose to boot either Windows XP (from the 300) or 2000 (from the 80)? Thanks for any help.

RealBlackStuff
01-17-2005, 08:30 AM
Edit the C:\boot.ini file by adding the bold line.
Change the timeout from 0 to 10 (seconds) or however many seconds you want to see the menu.
If the directory is "Windows", change \WINNT accordingly



timeout=10
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="C-drive Windows XP" /fastdetect
[b]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINNT="X-drive Windows 2000 Pro" /fastdetect


The numbers behind multi and disk are normally (0)
rdisk(0) is master HD on primary IDE, (rdisk always starts at (0))
rdisk(1) is slave HD on primary IDE
rdisk(2) is master HD on sec. IDE
rdisk(3) is slave HD on sec. IDE

partition(1) is first partition of that disk, (partition always starts at (1))
partition(2) = second, etc.

Ad
01-17-2005, 08:30 AM
  

Annorax
01-18-2005, 08:16 PM
Thanks for the reply.

I heard that messing with boot.ini can cause many problems if done wrong. So adding this would give me the option to run either 2000 or XP? Just by adding that line, if it doesn't work would I still be able to start my main OS, XP on the 300?

Edit: Well I just tried it, and it worked fine, except 2000 on the 80gig doesn't detect my new 300gig master. Is that normal?

And also, these 2 hard drives are on a controller card, both on the same channel. My 20gig is connected to a motherboard IDE channel. How would I add that to the boot menu to?

RealBlackStuff
01-19-2005, 06:32 AM
The first controller is the parameter multi(0)
the second would be multi(1) etc.

I assume that the first controller is the mobo-controller, and the second would be the PCI-controller. But it could be the other way around.
the disk(0) never changes.
See here for more info:
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmc_str_masc.asp

One more thing, with W2K also being in a primary active partition, W2K is probably a C-drive. It would not recognize another C-drive (with XP) I think, but this is technically beyond my knowledge.
You could always try to change that W2K primary partition into an extended partition, using Partition Magic, but I am not sure of the impact this may have on your system.

Post a reply, see related topics & more

Tip: Download Advanced SystemCare 3 Free - Clean, Repair, Protect & Optimize your PC.



 Top Technology News

TechSpot Blog: Disable Windows automatic check for solutions after a program crashes

Tech Tip of the Week: Unearth Region-Specific Windows 7 Themes

Samsung intros 2TB, eSATA-packing Story Station Plus external HDD

Gartner: PC shipments to grow 2.8% in 2009, revenue down 11%

Microsoft issues warning for IE6, IE7 security hole

LG X120 netbook to launch in the US for $180 with two-year AT&T contract

Intel's six-core Gulftown processor benchmarked months early

Another iPhone worm spotted, this time it's dangerous

More Tech News

  
 Software Downloads

FlashGot 1.2.0.9

RemoveIT Pro XT - SE 23.11.2009

Vuze (Formerly Azureus) 4.3.0.4

RemoveIT Pro v7 Enterprise 23.11.2009

Aloaha PDF Suite 3.9.172

Blindwrite Suite 6.3.1.5

RemoveIT Pro v7 Ultra 23.11.2009

More Downloads



Copyright © 1998-2009 TechSpot.com. TechSpot is a registered trademark. All Rights Reserved.