mfroeb
asked on
dual boot with 2 hard disks
hello,
i have 2 hard disks. the first one has 2 partitions, both ntfs, and 2 windows 2000 installed. boot.ini worked always fine.
now i added another hard disk, removed the other one, installed windows me, boots also fine. then i re-added the first hard disk. now the ntfs-hard disk (with 2 partitions) is primary master, and the fat32-hard disk is primary slave. now i tried to edit boot.ini to also boot windows me but i won't work. every time i select winme the pc shuts down and starts again. on secondary i also have one dvd and one cd-r drive. in windows 2000, the ntfs-hard disk is lettered c: and d:, the drives e: and f:, and the second hard disk is g:.
now here on ee i have seen many versions of booting into a 9x-opsys, but there must be one right version that works. can anybody help me?
i have 2 hard disks. the first one has 2 partitions, both ntfs, and 2 windows 2000 installed. boot.ini worked always fine.
now i added another hard disk, removed the other one, installed windows me, boots also fine. then i re-added the first hard disk. now the ntfs-hard disk (with 2 partitions) is primary master, and the fat32-hard disk is primary slave. now i tried to edit boot.ini to also boot windows me but i won't work. every time i select winme the pc shuts down and starts again. on secondary i also have one dvd and one cd-r drive. in windows 2000, the ntfs-hard disk is lettered c: and d:, the drives e: and f:, and the second hard disk is g:.
now here on ee i have seen many versions of booting into a 9x-opsys, but there must be one right version that works. can anybody help me?
Jamie McKillop
Well, your problem is that your primary boot partition must be fat in order to boot into ME. What you should do it set your ME disk to be the primary master. Boot off your W2K CD or boot disks and run a repair. When you are presented with repair options, only select the option to inspect the boot sector. This will load the W2K boot loader on the ME partition. Now all you need to do is edit the boot.ini file.
ASKER
Well, but I have heard and read that windows nt can load a boot sector from a hard disk saved as file and then run this file as if it were a real boot sector. and if i did it your way, i had to re-configure every program on my win2k hard disk, and there are about ~250 programs, including programs i don't have as a package to reinstall (web stuff). really hard work.
why can't winme boot if it is primary slave? it's on a fat partition, so why can't it boot from there? the one partition on the fat disk is also marked active, and is ready to boot.
i have also seen solutions where win98 (in that case) was on a extended partition (fat) and winnt on primary partition (ntfs 4). and it worked for this persons. so what?
ps: i don't want to shame or criticize (?) you, but that is no solution for me.
why can't winme boot if it is primary slave? it's on a fat partition, so why can't it boot from there? the one partition on the fat disk is also marked active, and is ready to boot.
i have also seen solutions where win98 (in that case) was on a extended partition (fat) and winnt on primary partition (ntfs 4). and it worked for this persons. so what?
ps: i don't want to shame or criticize (?) you, but that is no solution for me.
>>> re-configure every program on my win2k hard disk, and there are about ~250 programs
Not necessarily. Win2000 would still see itself as being C when it is booted to. If there are some problems then some registry changes may need to be made and this free utility is just the ticket for doing that.
COA2
Change Your Address
http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s=1478&a=4506,00.asp
By Neil J. Rubenking
"When you install a program in Windows, the system builds a web of connections that makes moving the program very difficult. If disk space constraints force a move, or if adding a new device causes drive letters to change, the system can lose track of essential files. References to the program are stored in shortcuts, INI files, and the system Registry. COA2, an update of our Change of Address utility, tracks down all references to the old address and replaces them with the new address. When the changes are complete, the utility presents you with a list of changes and gives you the option to undo any of them. Note that COA2 does not actually move any files. It reports moves and name changes to the system. This new version offers Windows 2000 support and an improved user interface. "
The Crazy One
Not necessarily. Win2000 would still see itself as being C when it is booted to. If there are some problems then some registry changes may need to be made and this free utility is just the ticket for doing that.
COA2
Change Your Address
http://www.pcmag.com/article/0,2997,s=1478&a=4506,00.asp
By Neil J. Rubenking
"When you install a program in Windows, the system builds a web of connections that makes moving the program very difficult. If disk space constraints force a move, or if adding a new device causes drive letters to change, the system can lose track of essential files. References to the program are stored in shortcuts, INI files, and the system Registry. COA2, an update of our Change of Address utility, tracks down all references to the old address and replaces them with the new address. When the changes are complete, the utility presents you with a list of changes and gives you the option to undo any of them. Note that COA2 does not actually move any files. It reports moves and name changes to the system. This new version offers Windows 2000 support and an improved user interface. "
The Crazy One
The problem is that the boot files for ME need to reside on the first volume in the chain. Since you installed ME on the hard disk without the other disk present it put the boot files on that disk so when you boot to it directly as the primary master the files are where they need to be. But now you slave the disk and the boot files aren't on the master where they need to be.
If you had installed ME on that disk while it was the slave then ME wouldn't have installed at all because it needs to place the boot files on a FAT partition and wouldn't be able to because the first volume is NTFS.
>>>i have also seen solutions where win98 (in that case) was on a extended partition (fat) and winnt on primary partition (ntfs 4). and it worked for this persons. so what?
Chances are that Win98 was installed first and then NT. Or the person used a partition manager and/or boot manager to manage the booting sequence. Just making an entry in the boot.ini isn't enough because there are things Win2000 needs to do to configure the booting to other OS's hence the reason why one has to do a Repair after installing another OS especially a Win9x/ME OS.
If you had installed ME on that disk while it was the slave then ME wouldn't have installed at all because it needs to place the boot files on a FAT partition and wouldn't be able to because the first volume is NTFS.
>>>i have also seen solutions where win98 (in that case) was on a extended partition (fat) and winnt on primary partition (ntfs 4). and it worked for this persons. so what?
Chances are that Win98 was installed first and then NT. Or the person used a partition manager and/or boot manager to manage the booting sequence. Just making an entry in the boot.ini isn't enough because there are things Win2000 needs to do to configure the booting to other OS's hence the reason why one has to do a Repair after installing another OS especially a Win9x/ME OS.
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ASKER
thanks for your help. i have installed now a boot manager and everything really works fine.
You are welcome. :>)