No dual boot option?

[CDC Mail Guy]

Simply put...500GB hard drive with 3 partitions

C: Windows XP
E: Windows 7RC
F: Storage

When I turn on the computer, after the BIOS does it's stuff, shouldn't I be getting an option of what OS I want to get into? I'm not, and for whatever reason, the PC boots into the E partition with Windows 7RC. This wouldn't be that big of a deal, but I have no access to any of my files on C (I am being denied access)

I have a second hard drive that is backed up monthly with Acronis, but the only option I have is in the BIOS, and that is which hard drive I want to boot from.

Motherboard is a Gigabyte P35 DS3L with 4GB RAM.

 

[Zensal]

Sounds like your boot sector was overwritten by windows 7, instead of modified. Sadly I don't know how to fix it.

There is an MS article about accessing files on a XP partition that are protected. Lemme see if I can find it.

 

[Zolty]

boot sectors are kind of a bitch, you could install linux on a new partition and let grub do your selection. Not the best solution but it works. I would check with microsoft to see what they say, RC1 is supposed to give you options when booting.

 

[starfireone]

Did you check your Computer Properites/ Advance System Settings/Advance/Startup and Recovery/Settings? Does it show more than one OS and does it allow you to change your default OS Boot Up?

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Originally posted by: starfireone
Did you check your Computer Properites/ Advance System Settings/Advance/Startup and Recovery/Settings? Does it show more than one OS and does it allow you to change your default OS Boot Up?

I did as "asked" and got the following message:

The C:\boot.ini file can not be opened. Operating System and Timeout settings can not be changed.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Did you load XP first? ( I am guessing you did or Win7 wouldn't show up).

Never saw a boot.ini file that couldn't be edited. Which partition is it on?

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

XP loaded first a couple years ago, and is on C (the first partition on HD)
W7 is on E (the second partition)

I guess I should have said this from the beginning, but when I first turn the PC on, after the BIOS loads, I get the message of

"invalid boot.ini
loading from c:\windows"

The machine then boots into XP, and I get yet another error of "lsdelete not found, skipping autocheck" which was from Adaware that no longer resides on my hard drive...it was late paying the rent, so I evicted it!

At any rate...It's been well over 2 years since I built this machine, and maybe it's time to suck it up and do a clean install. I should have no problems as I have saved all the install downloads on a third partition (as well as all other media and games), and I have my disks for everything else.

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Just fixed the lsdelete problem with a simple registry change, so that's ONE problem down...but 2 to go.

 

[Dahak]

Get EasyBCD and run it, click on the left for add/remove entries, on the windows tab select windows xp, add the name, select the drive letter that windows is on(that windows 7 see the xp drive as) save the changes and it should bring back the boot menu

 

[CDC Mail Guy]

Okay, I downloaded and installed, but it won't let me run for XP...only Vista (which I don't have)

 

[Dahak]

Ahh, I read that you where able to only boot into win7rc which that program will run under. If not you would probably have to boot off the win7rc install dvd and just after selecting the language have to hit at the lower left, repair my computer and do the startup repair which should fix that as well