Chetan,
I assume by D drive you mean another partition on the same hard disk. But even if that's not the case, you can modify the
disk(#) and/or
rdisk(#) option below and get it to work.
Yes, you will have to modify boot.ini to get back the dual boot menu. Here is the procedure:
- In windows xp, click on Start > Run and type cmd. on the c prompt, type cd\, this will take you to the root of the c partition( C:\> ).
- Now you need to modify boot.ini. In order to do that, you will have to change the boot.ini file attributes. On the C prompt, type:
- Now type
this will open the windows inbuilt file editor and you should see some like this:
Code:
[bootloader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
here you need to copy the last line and then paste it at the end of file, you may use Edit > Copy and then Edit > Paste. Your modified file should look like this:
Code:
[bootloader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
- Now you need to modify the last line as follows ( assuming your windows 98 installation is on another partition on the same hardisk ):
Code:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows 98"
please note that \WINDOWS represents your windows 98 directory, modify it if your windows 98 installation directory is different. The default installation directory is WINDOWS and if you didn't modify it during Win 98 installation then you are good.
Also note that this line contains the modified partition(2) option which basically means D drive.
- Now save the file, File > Save and close the editor, File > Exit
- On the C prompt type:
this is to change the file attributes back. Now exit from the command prompt by typing exit
- That's it! Now you should see dual boot menu when you restart, select the second Windows 98 option whenever you want to boot to Windows 98. By default, it will automatically boot Windows XP because the default option says so. You can also modify the timeout value from 30 seconds to some smaller like 5 or 10
Additional details about the switches/options:
multi(x) - This option is used with IDE and ESDI drives and is also used with SCSI drives for computers using Windows NT. The number used in the above example is "0", this number is the adapter's number and should always be "0" for computers that rely on the BIOS to load system files.
In a computer using only IDE this option will work with up to four hard disk drives.
In a computer using only SCSI this option will work with the first two drives on the primary SCSI controller.
Finally, if a computer is using IDE and SCSI this option will work with the IDE drives on the first controller.
scsi(x) - If the computer has a SCSI controller and is not using BIOS to load the system files, the boot.ini may have "scsi(x)" instead of "multi(x).
disk(x) The disk on the controller. If "multi(x)" is used used, this value will always be "0". However, if "scsi(x)" is defined, this value will be SCSI address.
rdisk(x) - Which disk on the controller is being used. In the above example we are using an rdisk of "1", which indicates the second disk on the primary controller is being used. This value may be between "0" and "3" and is always set to "0" when "scsi(x)" is being used.
paritions(x) - Which partition the operating system is on. In the above example, the operating system is on the first partition of the drive.
\WINDOWS="..." - Finally, the last portion of this line defines the directory of where windows is located and what the boot menu should display as the operating system. In the above example, the boot menu would display "Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" as a selection.
Let me know if you face any problems or if this doesn't work.
