OS boot problem

Calibretto · 04-02-2007, 03:31 AM

ok so I have a 40GB with XP Home on it. I then installed XP Pro Corp. on a 120GB but the computer won't read the OS upon boot if the 40GB isn't hooked up. The 40GB has to be hooked up in order for the PC to boot the 120GB. If not it says "Error reading OS" and thats it. Any ideas on what the problem could be?

The Purple Champ · 04-02-2007, 03:33 AM

you might need to write a bootrecord to the 120.

**The_Other_One** · 04-02-2007, 03:43 AM

Assuming the drives are IDE, do you have the master/slave settings correct?

PC eye · 04-02-2007, 03:52 AM

What happened there is the boot.ini file was changed on the 40gb drive. Pro added itself to the Home mbr there for the dual boot option. To have Pro boot as a stand alone drive you will need to boot upto the recovery console and type in the two commands with the 40gb unplugged. These are "Fixboot" and "Fixmbr" there. Once done you then replug the 40gb back in and edit the boot.ini file to remove the entry for XP Pro.

First you would have to go into the folder options and uncheck the "hide protected system files" option to make that visible in an explorer window so you can right click on it to uncheck the hidden or read only box and click apply. From there double click on the file to see it open in notepad. It's a quick fix there. You simply forgot to unplug the 40gb when installing Pro onto the 120gb. But you will then need to set the boot order to that drive if the F8 boot menu option isn't seen at post time or you intend to keep the 40gb plugged in.

Calibretto · 04-02-2007, 04:03 AM

are you talking about the boot.ini file that I should be messing with? Could you give a in depth tutorial on how to do this? You kinda lost me on your last post. heheh.

BTW, the 40GB is IDE and the 120GB is SATA.

PC eye · 04-02-2007, 04:32 AM

The process is so easy once you do it once you'll have it down fast. The copy+paste here is what the default XP Home or substitute Pro for that with the rest being the same.

[boot loader]
timeout=30

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP home" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT

With the Pro version installed and becoming the default OS automatically despite being on the sata the boot.ini file would look like the second copy+paste with that line being above the Home line.

[boot loader]
timeout=30

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="micro soft windows XP Professional" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP home" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT

You will note the "timeout=30" is the 30 second delay before the default OS starts to load. If for some reason Pro is seen under the Home there you can reverse the order and overwrite the original to set it that way or use the msconfig utility. It now depends if you want the XP Pro as default and dual boot with the Home version or as a stand alone with the 40gb removed from the boot.ini file. The current boot.ini file used is on the 40gb drive. For a stand alone with Windows already installed on the sata simply unplug the 40gb and boot to the recovery console with the XP installation disk to use the two commands for writing a new mbr and boot sector.

With Home on the 250gb ide primary here and Pro on the 500gb sata drive I simply set Home as the default while Vista now enjoys the default with the option to choose between the Home or Pro version. That's a different boot loader there however. Pro had to be installed on the sata when Vista failed to install to a second partition on the second 250gb ide here.

(Note: You will have to excuse the WINDOW S letter being separated when copy+pastes are made. Two screen shots would be a little..?)

Calibretto · 04-02-2007, 04:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PC eye

For a stand alone with Windows already installed on the sata simply unplug the 40gb and boot to the recovery console with the XP installation disk to use the two commands for writing a new mbr and boot sector.

but with the 40gb unplugged it won't bring up anything except "Error Loading OS"

and also Windows XP Pro is on top and then this "Whistler Personal" thing is below the XP Pro.

keddy_rocks · 04-02-2007, 12:12 PM

If you want to boot windows xp pro from your 120 GB HDD,
Do the Jumper Settings as a 120 GB MASTER & 40 GB as SLAVE
IT WILL BOOT OS(XP) FROM 120 GB HDD.

http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/di..._settings.html
This link will help you for this Jumper Settings.

Calibretto · 04-02-2007, 01:31 PM

The 120GB is a SATA. Do SATA drives have jumpers? cause mine doesn't have a jumper on it.

subtle · 04-02-2007, 03:10 PM

No, SATA doesn't have jumpers.
Do as PCeye said. Boot into the recovery console (with 120 only pluged in) and run Fixboot and Fixmbr commands.

04-02-2007, 03:31 AM	#1 (permalink)
Calibretto Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana, USA Age: 19 Posts: 2,117	OS boot problem ok so I have a 40GB with XP Home on it. I then installed XP Pro Corp. on a 120GB but the computer won't read the OS upon boot if the 40GB isn't hooked up. The 40GB has to be hooked up in order for the PC to boot the 120GB. If not it says "Error reading OS" and thats it. Any ideas on what the problem could be? __________________ Desktop: Gigabyte GA-P35-S3G Mobo \| Intel C2Q Q6600 @ 2.40GHz \| OCZ Platinum 4GB DDR2 800 \| PNY GeForce 8800GT - Best 3DMark06 Score: 14397 Laptop: HP DV6700TSE \| Intel C2D T5750 2.0GHz \| 3GB DDR2 667 \| 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - Best 3DMark06 Score: 1533 Winner of Photo Comp: Computer Peripherals CoD4 [CF]Clan Member - [CF]Calibretto

04-02-2007, 03:43 AM	#3 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,368	Assuming the drives are IDE, do you have the master/slave settings correct? __________________ Desktop * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT Laptop1 * C2D T5550 \| 3G RAM \| 120G HD \| Intel x3100 Laptop2 * C2D T5250 \| 2G RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100

04-02-2007, 03:52 AM	#4 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,279	What happened there is the boot.ini file was changed on the 40gb drive. Pro added itself to the Home mbr there for the dual boot option. To have Pro boot as a stand alone drive you will need to boot upto the recovery console and type in the two commands with the 40gb unplugged. These are "Fixboot" and "Fixmbr" there. Once done you then replug the 40gb back in and edit the boot.ini file to remove the entry for XP Pro. First you would have to go into the folder options and uncheck the "hide protected system files" option to make that visible in an explorer window so you can right click on it to uncheck the hidden or read only box and click apply. From there double click on the file to see it open in notepad. It's a quick fix there. You simply forgot to unplug the 40gb when installing Pro onto the 120gb. But you will then need to set the boot order to that drive if the F8 boot menu option isn't seen at post time or you intend to keep the 40gb plugged in. __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 Is EBay going out of the Auction Business? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5626840&page=1

04-02-2007, 04:03 AM	#5 (permalink)
Calibretto Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana, USA Age: 19 Posts: 2,117	are you talking about the boot.ini file that I should be messing with? Could you give a in depth tutorial on how to do this? You kinda lost me on your last post. heheh. BTW, the 40GB is IDE and the 120GB is SATA. __________________ Desktop: Gigabyte GA-P35-S3G Mobo \| Intel C2Q Q6600 @ 2.40GHz \| OCZ Platinum 4GB DDR2 800 \| PNY GeForce 8800GT - Best 3DMark06 Score: 14397 Laptop: HP DV6700TSE \| Intel C2D T5750 2.0GHz \| 3GB DDR2 667 \| 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - Best 3DMark06 Score: 1533 Winner of Photo Comp: Computer Peripherals CoD4 [CF]Clan Member - [CF]Calibretto Last edited by Calibretto; 04-02-2007 at 04:07 AM.

04-02-2007, 04:32 AM	#6 (permalink)
PC eye Diamond Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Inside a pc Posts: 19,279	The process is so easy once you do it once you'll have it down fast. The copy+paste here is what the default XP Home or substitute Pro for that with the rest being the same. [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP home" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT With the Pro version installed and becoming the default OS automatically despite being on the sata the boot.ini file would look like the second copy+paste with that line being above the Home line. [boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="micro soft windows XP Professional" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP home" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT You will note the "timeout=30" is the 30 second delay before the default OS starts to load. If for some reason Pro is seen under the Home there you can reverse the order and overwrite the original to set it that way or use the msconfig utility. It now depends if you want the XP Pro as default and dual boot with the Home version or as a stand alone with the 40gb removed from the boot.ini file. The current boot.ini file used is on the 40gb drive. For a stand alone with Windows already installed on the sata simply unplug the 40gb and boot to the recovery console with the XP installation disk to use the two commands for writing a new mbr and boot sector. With Home on the 250gb ide primary here and Pro on the 500gb sata drive I simply set Home as the default while Vista now enjoys the default with the option to choose between the Home or Pro version. That's a different boot loader there however. Pro had to be installed on the sata when Vista failed to install to a second partition on the second 250gb ide here. (Note: You will have to excuse the WINDOW S letter being separated when copy+pastes are made. Two screen shots would be a little..?) __________________ Turning the Tongue into a Device Controller http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Sma...ory?id=5647175 Is EBay going out of the Auction Business? http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=5626840&page=1

04-02-2007, 03:33 AM	#2 (permalink)
The Purple Champ banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 131	you might need to write a bootrecord to the 120.

04-02-2007, 12:12 PM	#8 (permalink)
keddy_rocks Bronze Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 27	Jumper Settings If you want to boot windows xp pro from your 120 GB HDD, Do the Jumper Settings as a 120 GB MASTER & 40 GB as SLAVE IT WILL BOOT OS(XP) FROM 120 GB HDD. http://www.seagate.com/support/kb/di..._settings.html This link will help you for this Jumper Settings.

04-02-2007, 01:31 PM	#9 (permalink)
Calibretto Diamond Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Indiana, USA Age: 19 Posts: 2,117	The 120GB is a SATA. Do SATA drives have jumpers? cause mine doesn't have a jumper on it. __________________ Desktop: Gigabyte GA-P35-S3G Mobo \| Intel C2Q Q6600 @ 2.40GHz \| OCZ Platinum 4GB DDR2 800 \| PNY GeForce 8800GT - Best 3DMark06 Score: 14397 Laptop: HP DV6700TSE \| Intel C2D T5750 2.0GHz \| 3GB DDR2 667 \| 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS - Best 3DMark06 Score: 1533 Winner of Photo Comp: Computer Peripherals CoD4 [CF]Clan Member - [CF]Calibretto

04-02-2007, 03:10 PM	#10 (permalink)
subtle Platinum Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 699	No, SATA doesn't have jumpers. Do as PCeye said. Boot into the recovery console (with 120 only pluged in) and run Fixboot and Fixmbr commands.

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