Edit the Boot.ini file in Windows XP

Windows XP has just been updated but after restarting, the error message " Invalid Boot.ini " or " Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: WindowsSystem32Hall.dll ", what will you do? Do you want to re-select the first boot-up operating system in your "multi-operating system" system? All of these actions require a small impact on the Windows XP Boot.ini file system, which is completely manageable. This article will tell you how to view and configure manually the Windows XP Boot.ini file from within the Startup and Recovery dialog box.

In Windows XP, you can quickly and easily find the location of the Boot.ini file so you can check or edit this file system.

Before having any modifications to the file system you should back up the file, in which case you need to backup the Boot.ini file before editing . The first task to do is to remove the option to hide the file system and then back up the Boot.ini file.

Remove the option to hide system files

1. Right-click Start and select Explore .

3. Go to Tools and select Folder Options .

4. In the Folder Options dialog box, select the View tab

5. In the Advanced Settings section, click Show hidden files and folders , remove the Hide extensions for known files types and Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) . Click Yes to confirm that you want to display the entire file system, and then click OK .

Back up the Boot.ini file

1. Right-click My Computer then select Properties .
or
Click Start, click Run , type sysdm.cpl and then click OK

2. On the Advanced tab, select Settings under Startup and Recovery .

3. Under System Startup , click Edit . The Notepad program will open the system Boot.ini file for editing.

4. In Notepad, click File on the menu bar and select Save As

5. Right-click an empty area of ​​the Save As dialog box, select New -> Folder

6. Enter a name for the new folder (for example Luu ) and press Enter to create a new archive folder for the Boot.ini file

7. Double-click the newly created folder, then click the Save button to save a copy of the Boot.ini file to the new folder.

Edit the Boot.ini file

Close the recently opened Notepad file window. Follow the steps 1-3 above to reopen the Boot.ini file.

Sample Boot.ini file

This is the default sample content of the Boot.ini file in a Windows Xp Professional computer:

[boot loader]
timeout = 30
default = multi (0) disk (0) rdisk (0) partition (1) WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi (0) disk (0) rdisk (0) partition (1) WINDOWS = "Microsoft Windows XP Professional" / fastdetect

Here is the sample file of the Boot.ini file of the computer, but the Windows 2000 operating system is installed on another drive:

[boot loader]
timeout = 30
default = multi (0) disk (0) rdisk (0) partition (1) WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi (0) disk (0) rdisk (0) partition (1) WINDOWS = "Windows XP Professional" / fastdetect
multi (0) disk (0) rdisk (0) partition (2) WINNT = "Windows 2000 Professional" / fastdetect

Edit the Boot.ini file

When editing the Boot.ini file using Startup and Recovery, you can select the default operating system to boot first, change the timeout value or edit the file manually using the command-line Bootcfg.exe utility .

Note : The Bootcfg.exe utility is only available in Windows XP Professional, which is not available in Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition. Therefore, this section does not apply to Windows XP Home Edition.

1. Click Start to select Run

2. In the Open box, type cmd and press Enter

3. At the command prompt , enter bootcfg /?

4. Help and parameters of BOOTCFG.exe will be displayed

Add an operating system

Note : This is not a complete installation of an operating system. At the command window enter:

bootcfg / copy / d Operating System Description / ID #

In which Operating System Description is the description of the operating system (eg Windows XP Home Edition) and # is to specify the boot ID of the operating system segment in BOOT.INI file from the created copy .

Erase an operating system

At the input window:

bootcfg / delete / ID #

In which # is to specify the boot ID that you want to delete from the operating system segment in the BOOT.INI file (for example, 2 for the second operating system listed)

Set the default operating system

At the input window:

bootcfg / default / ID #

In which # to specify the boot input ID of the operating system segment in the BOOT.INI file that you need to set as the default operating system.

Set timeout

At the command window enter the command bootcfg / timeout # in which # to specify the time (in seconds) so that the default operating system will be loaded

After editing the necessary content, go to File and choose Save .

Click OK to exit Startup and Recovery and then click OK .

Restart the computer to see the change before starting Windows

Safe method

The instructions above apply to those who are interested in learning about the edit commands in the Boot.ini file, if you are not proficient, but also need to edit the necessary parameters (such as waiting time, resetting the system. default operating .) you can use the options in the Startup and Recovery dialog box.

The components are as follows:

- Default operating system : select the default operating system first boot.

- Time to display list of operating system : the time to choose which operating system to use (when there are two or more operating systems).

- Time to display recovery options when needed : Time to select recovery options in case of need.

System restore when there is a problem

If after manually editing the Boot.ini file and your computer starts having problems, launch the computer in safe mode (press F8 during the boot process and select Safe Mode ). Then copy the Boot.ini file that you backed up back to the C: drive (this is done when you have displayed all of the hidden system files).