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Anonymous Posted on May 06, 2010

Multiboot computer, Second OS unavailable after reinstall of XP

I reinstalled Windows XP on a computer with two different operating systems. It seems that the master boot record was wiped of any record of the second operating system. Is there some way to restore the second operating system so that I can boot to it, besides reinstalling it again? This is the way in which I have solved this problem in the past. I cannot alter the boot.ini file to recognize the second partition as it is now. How can I fix this without reinstalled OS #2?

  • Anonymous May 07, 2010

    I appreciate the suggestion, however it did not solve my problem. I attempted to run the bootcfg /rebuild command to get my pc to recognize the second OS, Server 2003, two different times, once with no options and second time with the /Fastdetect option set. Any other suggestions?

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  • Posted on May 07, 2010
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The problem can be solved easily if the second operating system was a windows based operating system.If it was a windows operating ,the following steps will give you a solution
In order to regain the boot path for old operating system
follow the following steps
1.Insert the Microsoft windows xp installation cd into a cd drive and boot the computer from the cd
2.In the microsoft setup page select the option of R ie recovery console
3.Select the operating system in the recovery console by selecting the operating system NO eg 1 and type the administrator password
4.Type the following command in command prompt
bootcfg /rebuild it will search for existing operating system in the hard disk and prompt you to add select yes .
5.once you completed type exit

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If under various circumstances you had to install a second Windows OS on the same system, you should have already met the dual boot option. It will pop up before booting the system permitting the user to select which OS will boot.

Boot.ini, the house of the dual boot option Boot.ini is a system file found in the system root. Because it has a major importance for the booting process.so we have to edit this boot.ini file to remove multiboot popups.

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1.Go to Start Click on Run
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Once the system configuration window pops up, you will notice that Boot.ini has its own tab. Select that tab and where you see "timeout," set it to a lower or higher value. Remove/Add Operating Systems in the dual boot menuThis is the main issue.

Step 1:Right click on My Computer icon and select Properties.

Step 2:From the properties window go to Advanced > Startup and Recovery > Settings.

Here, you can both edit the timeout value and modify the Boot.ini file by clicking Edit. If you remove the second operating system from Boot.ini, the dual boot option won't appear before booting.

For more details information visit How to Remove Multiboot Option in Windows XP
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