Dual Booting...

[Nick]

So I've installed XP on a 30GB partition, problem is I can't access it. I've got easyBCD but when I add an entry I can't change the drive letter and the option is greyed out.

My drive layout is:

Disk 0:
C: Vista
D: Programs
E: Documents
F: XP

Disk 1:
I: Backup and storage

As I said I can't change the drive letter on easyBCD to allow me to boot into XP. When I chose XP it gives an error message however I can boot into Vista fine.

Any Suggestions?

 

[KSoD]

Troubleshooting Windows XP - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

Did you move over XP's boot files to the appropriate drive. Most likely the Vista drive?

 

[Nick]

So if i was to put NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM, and BOOT.INI onto my C drive where abouts would I put them?

 

[KSoD]

The link i gave says it right under #1.

Make sure EasyBCD's Windows XP entry points to the boot drive and that the boot drive has NTLDR, NTDETECT.COM, BOOT.INI in the root directory. You can grab those files here.

That means in no folders at all. Just the root of the drive. Just double click the C:\ Drive. That is the root.

 

[Nick]

I put them onto the drive where XP was installed (F) and it's fine, a guy over at the easyBCD site helped me out.

 

[KSoD]

Yeah Terry is a good guy. He knows his stuff. Of course when you work for IBM for years you would.

 

[Nick]

Yeah I just don't get all this pointing the BOOt.INI file here and there lark, I will do though as I'm looking at a career in IT...

Yes it would be hilarious

 

[KSoD]

The reason for that is because Windows XP uses those files to boot. It starts of with the NTLDR then to NTDETECT and finally the boot.ini which contains the drive and partition of your Windows install.

In Vista the boot process was simplified into the BCD.

Windows XP - NeoSmart Technologies Wiki

The previous page to the one i linked before explains the XP Boot process and all that.

 

[Nick]

I don't understand why they just dissapeated though

 

[KSoD]

They didnt just disappear. You had Vista installed first. Then you installed XP. So Vista was not setup from the start to dual boot with XP. So in order to get them to work as a dual boot system you have to copy the boot files from XP over to Vista in order for the boot to work.

Now if you had installed XP first and then installed Vista that would have been done automatically. But since you did the opposite you had to manually do it. Cause the 2 systems use 2 different boot laoders.