WinXP dual boot install to separate HD breaks Win2k

[Rebus]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

I have an Abit AN7 system with integrated SATA controller. C: drive
with the Win2kSP4 installation is a SATA drive. I added an IDE drive
and installed Win2KSP4 on it originally in a dual boot configuration.
That worked well for many months until this second installation became
corrupt. So I installed WinXPSP2 to this second drive, selecting the
delete partition and quick format options. Install went fine, but
afterwards the C:boot.ini shows both the original Win2k and the new
WinXP boot options at bootup and WinXP boots and operates fine on drive
D:, but now the main Win2k bootup reports, "Windows 2000 could not start
because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM". This occurs immediately after
selecting that boot option, not after the horizontal progress bar
appears like when this file is really corrupt. Replacing the reg hives
on C: from a backup set doesn't change anything either. This seems to be
a boot file problem rather than a registry problem. It appears the
WinXP install overwrote the Win2K ntldr and ntdetect.com files on C:
drive, as it's supposed to (dates and filesize match the CD files). I'm
not sure what else gets overwritten. I did find one old newsgroup post
reporting this problem with a WinXPSP1 install and the solution was to
replace these two files with original WinXP versions; that the SP1
versions were not compatible with Win2k. Is this an issue with SP2 also?

Scott

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

"Rebus" <snoga@excite.com> wrote in message
news:BHtPe.12104$1g2.9246@fe05.lga...
> I have an Abit AN7 system with integrated SATA controller. C: drive
> with the Win2kSP4 installation is a SATA drive. I added an IDE drive
> and installed Win2KSP4 on it originally in a dual boot configuration.
> That worked well for many months until this second installation became
> corrupt. So I installed WinXPSP2 to this second drive, selecting the
> delete partition and quick format options. Install went fine, but
> afterwards the C:boot.ini shows both the original Win2k and the new
> WinXP boot options at bootup and WinXP boots and operates fine on drive
> D:, but now the main Win2k bootup reports, "Windows 2000 could not start
> because the following file is missing or corrupt:
> \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM". This occurs immediately after
> selecting that boot option, not after the horizontal progress bar
> appears like when this file is really corrupt. Replacing the reg hives
> on C: from a backup set doesn't change anything either. This seems to be
> a boot file problem rather than a registry problem. It appears the
> WinXP install overwrote the Win2K ntldr and ntdetect.com files on C:
> drive, as it's supposed to (dates and filesize match the CD files). I'm
> not sure what else gets overwritten. I did find one old newsgroup post
> reporting this problem with a WinXPSP1 install and the solution was to
> replace these two files with original WinXP versions; that the SP1
> versions were not compatible with Win2k. Is this an issue with SP2 also?
>
> Scott

The message you saw usually means that the partition(x) number
in boot.ini is incorrect. Using different numbers (1, 2 or 3) will
usually fix the problem.

The WinXP versions of c:\ntldr and c:\ntdetect.com work
perfectly well with Win2000. However, the Win2000 versions
will NOT work with WinXP.

 

[Rebus]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:

>
> The message you saw usually means that the partition(x) number
> in boot.ini is incorrect. Using different numbers (1, 2 or 3) will
> usually fix the problem.
>
> The WinXP versions of c:\ntldr and c:\ntdetect.com work
> perfectly well with Win2000. However, the Win2000 versions
> will NOT work with WinXP.
>
>

Both HD's have only one partition. I did try different disk and rdisk
values, to no avail.

Scott

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

"Rebus" <snoga@excite.com> wrote in message
news:xXvPe.12852$1g2.7398@fe05.lga...
> Pegasus (MVP) wrote:
>
> >
> > The message you saw usually means that the partition(x) number
> > in boot.ini is incorrect. Using different numbers (1, 2 or 3) will
> > usually fix the problem.
> >
> > The WinXP versions of c:\ntldr and c:\ntdetect.com work
> > perfectly well with Win2000. However, the Win2000 versions
> > will NOT work with WinXP.
> >
> >
>
> Both HD's have only one partition. I did try different disk and rdisk
> values, to no avail.
>
> Scott

Let's have a look at your boot.ini! In the lines

default=multi(0)disk(x)rdiskpartition(z)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(x)rdiskpartition(z)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
Professional"

x should be 0,
y should be 0 or 1
z could be anything larger than 0

 

[Rebus]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:

> Let's have a look at your boot.ini! In the lines
>
> default=multi(0)disk(x)rdiskpartition(z)\WINNT
> [operating systems]
> multi(0)disk(x)rdiskpartition(z)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
> Professional"
>
> x should be 0,
> y should be 0 or 1
> z could be anything larger than 0
>
>

Well, I've made some progress. It's apparently not the boot.ini file.
What I did was to create a boot floppy and copied ntldr and ntdetect.com
from one of my backup sets from the Win2k installation prior to the
WinXP install. I also copied the boot.ini file to the diskette. With
that on A: it does indeed boot Win2k fine (but not unexpectedly does not
boot XP, giving the same error for it as it does for Win2k with the XP
files). I also tried the pair of files from a WinXPSP1 CD with the same
results as the WinXPSP2 files -- only booting XP. I'd like to try an
original XP set to see if they will boot both Win2k and XP, but now
can't find my original XP CD. It's probably somewhere safe... I'm still
looking.

Any ideas why the XPSP1/2 versions of these files do not load Win2k?

Scott

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

"Rebus" <snoga@excite.com> wrote in message
news:r4xPe.13055$ih4.10339@fe02.lga...
> Pegasus (MVP) wrote:
>
> > Let's have a look at your boot.ini! In the lines
> >
> > default=multi(0)disk(x)rdiskpartition(z)\WINNT
> > [operating systems]
> > multi(0)disk(x)rdiskpartition(z)\WINNT="Microsoft Windows 2000
> > Professional"
> >
> > x should be 0,
> > y should be 0 or 1
> > z could be anything larger than 0
> >
> >
>
> Well, I've made some progress. It's apparently not the boot.ini file.
> What I did was to create a boot floppy and copied ntldr and ntdetect.com
> from one of my backup sets from the Win2k installation prior to the
> WinXP install. I also copied the boot.ini file to the diskette. With
> that on A: it does indeed boot Win2k fine (but not unexpectedly does not
> boot XP, giving the same error for it as it does for Win2k with the XP
> files). I also tried the pair of files from a WinXPSP1 CD with the same
> results as the WinXPSP2 files -- only booting XP. I'd like to try an
> original XP set to see if they will boot both Win2k and XP, but now
> can't find my original XP CD. It's probably somewhere safe... I'm still
> looking.
>
> Any ideas why the XPSP1/2 versions of these files do not load Win2k?
>
> Scott

Your post is a little too vague to provide any useful information.
Statements such as
- I copied the boot.ini file (which file? what does it look like?)
- giving the same error (what error might that be?)
may mean a lot to you but they mean nothing to the reader.

Let's have a look at your current boot.ini! Tell us where
exactly Win2000 and WinXP reside (drive and directory)!

As I said before, the WinXP versions ntldr and ntdetect.com
are perfectly OK for Win2000, regardless of the service pack.

 

[Rebus]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:

> Your post is a little too vague to provide any useful information.
> Statements such as
> - I copied the boot.ini file (which file? what does it look like?)
> - giving the same error (what error might that be?)
> may mean a lot to you but they mean nothing to the reader.
>
> Let's have a look at your current boot.ini! Tell us where
> exactly Win2000 and WinXP reside (drive and directory)!
>
> As I said before, the WinXP versions ntldr and ntdetect.com
> are perfectly OK for Win2000, regardless of the service pack.
>
>

Well, I've already provided that information earlier in this thread.
I've been trimming the replies to keep the individual messages brief
(good etiquette). A click of a button on your newsgroup reader should
sort the messages by thread.

To repeat, in summary:

Win2KSP4 on C:/WINNT (SATA) (clean install)
Then WinXPSP2 installed to D:/WINDOWS (IDE) (clean install)
Win2K will no longer boot, with error "Windows 2000 could not start
because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" immediately after boot selection (no
progress bar).
Making a boot diskette A: with the same new boot.ini on C: after the
WinXP install but using the ntldr and ntdetect.com files from prior to
the WinXP install (retrieved from backup), allows Win2k to boot fine
(but WinXP won't).
Using ntldr and ntdetect.com files from a WinXPSP1 CD behaves the same
as the WinXPSP2 files. I still need to try original XP files (as soon
as I find them). I can also try just the prior ntldr file with the new
ntdetect file (and vice versa), as it likely is just one of the two
causing the problem, but I'm not sure if a mismatch in their versions
would cause a different problem.

boot.ini:

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional"
/fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows 2000 Recovery Console" /cmdcons

 

[Rebus]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

Completed Test Results

First, to summarize:

Win2KSP4 on C:/WINNT (SATA) (clean install of Win2K with SP's applied as
released)

Then WinXPSP2 installed to D:/WINDOWS (IDE) (clean install)

Win2K will no longer boot, with error "Windows 2000 could not start
because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" immediately after boot selection (no
progress bar).

Making a boot diskette A: with the same new boot.ini on C: after the XP
install but using the 2K ntldr and ntdetect.com files from prior to the
XP install (retrieved from backup), allows 2K to boot fine (but XP won't).

Using ntldr and ntdetect.com files from a WinXPSP1 CD behaves the same
as the WinXPSP2 files.

Using ntldr and ntdetect.com files from an original XP CD will boot both
2K and XP installations, but 2K will blue screen crash on exit with the
error, "STOP... IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL... Address 80521371 base at
80400000 - ntoskrnl.exe"

Using ntldr from an original WinXP CD and ntdetect.com from WinXPSP2
will boot both 2k and XP, and 2k and XP will exit normally.

Conclusion:

Bottom line is the temporary workaround seems to be to replace the ntldr
file installed to C: by WinXPSP2 with a copy from an original WinXP CD
and leave NTdetect.com alone. Otherwise, I can't dual boot Win2k and
WinXP. The other likely workaround is to avoid the problem altogether
and just dual boot two installations of Win2k or WinXP -- don't mix
them. This would mean reverting my WinXP install to Win2k (wiping it
out and starting over), or performing an upgrade install of WinXPSP2
over Win2kSP4. I've actually been contemplating doing the latter anyway
but haven't had any compelling reason to do so (my testing shows that
Win2k performs better than XP with my applications). I figure I'll have
to eventually just due to the MS forced obsolescence.

I presume this is a WinXPSP1/2 bug. If anyone has any other possible
solutions to this problem I'd like to hear them.

Scott

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

"Rebus" <snoga@excite.com> wrote in message
news:LkKPe.3272$Yh6.1977@fe04.lga...
> Completed Test Results
>
> First, to summarize:
>
> Win2KSP4 on C:/WINNT (SATA) (clean install of Win2K with SP's applied as
> released)
>
> Then WinXPSP2 installed to D:/WINDOWS (IDE) (clean install)
>
> Win2K will no longer boot, with error "Windows 2000 could not start
> because the following file is missing or corrupt:
> \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM" immediately after boot selection (no
> progress bar).
>
> Making a boot diskette A: with the same new boot.ini on C: after the XP
> install but using the 2K ntldr and ntdetect.com files from prior to the
> XP install (retrieved from backup), allows 2K to boot fine (but XP won't).
>
> Using ntldr and ntdetect.com files from a WinXPSP1 CD behaves the same
> as the WinXPSP2 files.
>
> Using ntldr and ntdetect.com files from an original XP CD will boot both
> 2K and XP installations, but 2K will blue screen crash on exit with the
> error, "STOP... IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL... Address 80521371 base at
> 80400000 - ntoskrnl.exe"
>
> Using ntldr from an original WinXP CD and ntdetect.com from WinXPSP2
> will boot both 2k and XP, and 2k and XP will exit normally.
>
> Conclusion:
>
> Bottom line is the temporary workaround seems to be to replace the ntldr
> file installed to C: by WinXPSP2 with a copy from an original WinXP CD
> and leave NTdetect.com alone. Otherwise, I can't dual boot Win2k and
> WinXP. The other likely workaround is to avoid the problem altogether
> and just dual boot two installations of Win2k or WinXP -- don't mix
> them. This would mean reverting my WinXP install to Win2k (wiping it
> out and starting over), or performing an upgrade install of WinXPSP2
> over Win2kSP4. I've actually been contemplating doing the latter anyway
> but haven't had any compelling reason to do so (my testing shows that
> Win2k performs better than XP with my applications). I figure I'll have
> to eventually just due to the MS forced obsolescence.
>
> I presume this is a WinXPSP1/2 bug. If anyone has any other possible
> solutions to this problem I'd like to hear them.
>
> Scott

Thanks for reporting the results of your exhaustive (and probably
exhausting) tests. I was not previously aware that the boot files ntldr
and ntdetect.com are SP-sensitive, as suggested by your results.

I prefer to avoid these hassles by using a proper boot manager for
my multi-boot machines, not the "pretend" version included in WinNT/2000/XP.
XOSL is one of them, and it's free. It keeps your OSs completely
separate, and each OS boots off its own drive C:. There is no
interdependence at all. Its operation is extremely simple: It takes
control at boot time, lets you select the OS, then makes the chosen
disk active and selectively hides all the others. If you damage the
boot files in OS then the damage is completely invisible to all other
OSs.

If you have a partition manager (e.g. Acronis or PowerQuest) that
lets you shrink an existing partition non-destructively then you can
install XOSL without damaging your existing OSs.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.win2000.setup (More info?)

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:

> I prefer to avoid these hassles by using a proper boot manager for
> my multi-boot machines, not the "pretend" version included in WinNT/2000/XP.
> XOSL is one of them, and it's free....

"Pretend" is an accurate description. The OS's are not truly
independent, even when on separate hardware. That sounds like a good
solution -- I hadn't heard of XOSL, but will check it out. Thanks.

Scott