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Now I'm getting back into it, I decided to configure my PC with two XP OS's again. I've done this before with complete success. However this time I'm not getting the menu asking which OS to boot. I was wondering if there was a way to get the PC to detect 2 healthy OSs.
If you view the attached image I have one OS on drive C, and one (which I can't detect) on drive G.
what do I need to change?

DO you have to edit the boot.ini file ?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022

Check what it has now and make sure it has 2 lines where it lists the operating systems.

Right Click "My Computer" > Properties > Advanced

Then Click the "Edit" button (To edit startup options file manually)

That will open up a boot init file. You need to edit the text.

[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin

Duplicate the multi... line. Depending on if you split a drive into multiple partitions for the second install, or put it in another disk, you need to edit the second entry's "disk" to be 1, or "partition" to be 1.

Then select your default to match the one you want to boot if the time-out countdown during boot expires.

Oh yeah, you can edit the "Windows XP Professional" part, so it could be "Audio Only" or "Windows - Internet".

I found the OS but it wouldn't boot due to a fault with the hal.dll file in system32 folder. It asks that I reinstall this file. I don't know how to do this. May be it will be easier to re install the OS?
BTW even though the OS is on a separate HDD the disk no.was the same in the boot ini. command line, just a different partition no. Don't know what is happening there, except that when I installed the new OS some of the drive labels were different to what appears now in XP. any thoughts anyone?

The HAL is the Hardware Abstraction Layer that is created at initial install time. It's based on the hardware available on your motherboard, memory maps etc. There isn't really a way to replace it without reinstalling. However, sometimes the HAL is not loaded properly if there is a slight change such as having a USB memory stick plugged in while booting.

I'm not a big fan of dual-booting using the boot.ini method because if the primary hard drive fails the Master Boot Record won't be available so the computer won't boot at all, even if there is a Windows installation on a second disk. What I've done recently is use a free application called Easeus Disk Copy - http://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/ - to clone the Windows partition to my second drive and make the new partition active. Then I can go into the bios and choose to boot from the secondary disk instead. It's not as elegant as the Windows Boot Menu but if my primary drive goes pop I'll still be able to work.

Stratt

I've used the Aeseus partition master. It's pretty good. at present it offers me the option of making my second OS partition as active. Should I have done this?
If I do as you have explained will I have a second fully usable and independant OS? In the past I have always had the second OS to fall back on, so no dramas. The problem here is that I want a clean install not a stripped back one, purely for audio. My new Os on C: was to be just that, until I couldn't boot the original on G: I'm guessing a clean reinstall is the best for this, but it's also good to learn all this new stuff.

BTW Stratt, I'm originally from just down the A428 from you: sunny Bedford

Thanks for your tips.

It is indeed a small world. All things considered I think I'd rather be in Oz than Northampton.

Using the bios to switch boot drives you would have two separate independent OS's. Cloning would make both OS installations identical so if you need to have a stripped down install and a full install you would need to install twice rather than cloning, switching the boot drive in bios before installing the second OS.

One benefit of using the bios to switch boot drives is that you can have XP on one partition and Windows 7 on another both with their own MBRs. It makes it possible to reinstall XP on the XP partition without breaking the Windows 7 MBR. This is not possible if you use Windows 7's boot menu to do the OS switch. Much recovery kerfuffle ensues!

Stratt

Strattosphere wrote:so if you need to have a stripped down install and a full install you would need to install twice rather than cloning, switching the boot drive in bios before installing the second OS.

Stratt

just to clarify in my only slightly tech brain.....Before installing a second OS, I must go to the boot menu in the BIOS and change the physical boot disk to the one on which I am about to reinstall to? i.e. from the Seagate to the Maxtor. (my current OS is on the Seagate) Do i change it in the boot priority list as well?

Before installing the OS on the second disk I would change the boot disk in the bios then try to boot from it. It should fail to boot because there is no OS. This will verify that when you install the OS it will actually write the new MBR to the second disk and not just overwrite the primary.

Does that make sense?

Stratt

just a question: why don't you use removable bays ?
it's simple with SATA disks, as you don't need the enclosure anymore - I found this most convenient.

cheers, Tom

astroman wrote:just a question: why don't you use removable bays ?
it's simple with SATA disks, as you don't need the enclosure anymore - I found this most convenient.

cheers, Tom

Two reasons for me - 1. My hard drives are in silent enclosures in my rack mount PC and b. My primary OS is on one hard drive and my audio store is on another so there's never a reason to take them out.

My ideal scenario would be to have an internal permanently installed massive audio store and a couple of SSD drives with different OS's that I could insert into a bay. Kind of like an 80's game console.

Stratt

just to round off this string:
I ended up setting the second partition as 'active' as suggested for the clone scenario, then did a clean install. Now I have two independant XP OS, one on each HDD.
Thanks to all for your help.