Quoting Chris Dennis <cgdennis@???>:
> m.nuttall@??? wrote:
> > Quoting Chris Dennis <cgdennis@???>:
> > 
> >> m.nuttall@??? wrote:
> >>> Hello,
> >>>
> >>> Sorry for sticking a windows problem in here but i have tried all the
> >> windows 
> >>> email groups i am on and so I am hoping for a different perspectice to
> >> solve 
> >>> this problem.
> >>>
> >>> I have been quad (w2k,xp suse and syllable )booting windows 2000 and
> >> windows xp 
> >>> professional for 3 years but in the last 3 days 
> >>> it decided to not work.
> >>>
> >>> The problem I narrowed down to the ntldr (ntloader) file. If i take
> >>> the windows 2000 ntldr created by a repair install and then back it up.
> >> Then 
> >>> repair install xp pro and backup the Xntldr file. I have discovered that
> i
> >> can 
> >>> get either os to boot up by restoring its own version of the ntldr file.
> >>>
> >>> I however cannot have one ntldr file boot both systems. ie it only boots
> >>> with its own ntldr file.
> >>>
> >>> I would expect windows 2000 ntldr to not boot xp pro but ntldr for xp
> >>> pro has in the past booted both systems until now.
> >> Yes, ntldr should be able to boot anything, including Linux.  Do both 
> >> W2000 and WXP have the same idea of which partition is C: ?
> > 
> > yes i have checked that c is the same partition in both oses.
> > 
> >>  And what's 
> >> in C:\boot.ini
> > 
> > I don thave to touch boot.ini to get anything to work so i would of thought
> that
> > would suggest that its correct. 
> 
> OK, so what is actually giving you the choice of OS?  Grub, or LILO, or 
> the Windows boot mechanism?
I am using boot.ini but since i can change ntldr to get success i would think 
the boot.ini is correct
> You also mentioned that it worked until a few days ago.  What changed?
I dont know to be honest,  which is what puzzles me.
> Just in case though:
> > 
> > 
> > [boot loader]
> > timeout=7
> > default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(2)\WINDOWS
> > [operating systems]
> > multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
> Professional
> > s:" /fastdetect
> > multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(4)\WINDOWS="PATA Windows XP Professional
> F:"
> > /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
> > C:\="Microsoft Windows ME"
> 
> The default entry doesn't match any of the others, which must be wrong, 
> but that would only matter if you're actually using boot.ini.
Yes i realised that after sending it.
I was trying to edit out the default option to make it more clear/simple and 
made it more difficult :(
Anyhow i have suceeded with Alex phillips suggestion of different ntldr in each 
os partition and using grub to point to c for xp and hda1 for w2k.
So thanks for the suggest alex and to you chris for the response.
Martin N
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