Win2K/WinXP dual boot

[darqi]

Hi, I'm looking for help restoring my dual boot installation.

Here's the situation. My primary HD is a 40GB IBM drive that was partitioned down the middle, with Win2K on the first partition (C and WinXP on the second (D. Over time my Win2K installation became corrupted, and I decided to reinstall it. I did this by reformatting the C: partition, then installing Win2K fresh. Since then, Win2K boots automatically, and I can't seem to find away for the system to acknowledge the WinXP installation on the D: partition. The drive is visible from Windows Explorer in W2K, but I can't find a way for it to be recognized as a bootable partition.

I realize now that when I reformatted the C: partition I wiped out my boot records and did the initial damage. Still, though, when I set my D: drive Active, bootup doesn't work. Partition Magic shows an Error 1516: Partition Improperly Dismounted, but I can't find a way to fix it.

Stuff I've tried:
* Chckdsk on both partitions - doesn't make a difference
* fdisk /mbr - doesn't work because it tells me it can't make backup of the old mbr
* Win2K install CD, repair installation - doesn't make a difference
* WinXP install CD, repair installation - doesn't work because it doesn't recognize the existing WinXP installation
* Copy ntldr and ntdetect from D: to C:

At this point I don't know what else to try. Any suggestions would be VERY appreciated

 

[bacillus]

sorry but don't have any solutions but can you say if your win2k install had sp3 installed!

 

[darqi]

I assume you mean my *previous* Win2K install that I replaced? If so, the answer is "I don't think so". I think I was only updated as far as SP2. On the new install, I haven't taken the time to install the service packs. Would this make any difference???

 

[Basie]

Maybe you can try to install the Recovery Console from Win2k. Then from there you may be able to fix
the mbr. Also try here.

http://www.dougknox.com/xp/tips/xp_repair_2k.htm

 

[darqi]

Thanks for the tips. I tried the dougknox procedure last night, and then modified my boot.ini file to include an extra entry for my WinXP partition, and Yippee! I made some progress.

I get my dual boot option screen, and if I choose my new entry, WinXP actually starts to boot...I get through the WinXP logo screen, then there's a brief screen with two messages about xmnt2001 and autocheck programs not being found, then the dreaded bsod saying:

Stop:c000021a{Fatal System Error}...
....
Terminated with status 0xc00003a

Anyone have any experience with this one???

 

[CougarsLair]

I dont what the error message is but have you tried to repair your XP again from CD? (I know it wasnt being picked up before but have you tried since fixing the boot up)

Dont choose the repair console option but proceed as if you want to install XP. The installer will then detetct your installlation of XP and give you the option to repair it. This will 'reinstall' XP whilst retaining all your settings and programs etc.


Obviously if your XP CD doesnt recognise your XP install the above will not help.

BTW what version of Pmagic are you using?? Have you tried chkdsk /f as recommended by powerquest??

 

[darqi]

Great tip about the WinXP Install/Repair process. I've always chosen the Repair option on the first screen, and been dumped into the console. This is different than the way things worked on the Win2000 install that I was used to. I'll try choosing install and repairing that way, as it seems to be recognizing my installation now.

I have pqmagic7, so I think it works properly with my NTFS drives and WinXP.

I did a chkdsk /p last night, but no change. Will chkdsk /f do something different?

Thanks so much for the tips.

 

[CougarsLair]

CHKDSK /F - this tells chkdsk to actually fix any errors.


If your XP install CD detects the XP installation I'd certainly recommend trying the repair as I said - its worked for me previously and leaves all your programs/preferences intact which is good.