boot options

Is there no longer a text file that will allow me to specify which OS to default?
Right now I'm dual-booting from two layers of boot screens. The first layer is the Windows Vista layer that offers "Vista" (or "Longhorn", don't recall), or a "Legacy" operating system. I choose "Legacy" and then I'm offered my regular boot.ini options of Windows XP or Windows Vista.
The problem is that somehow in during the Beta 1 release this whole boot thing refused to let me to choose a startup OS in the System control panel because even though it showed multiple OSs they were all blank. In the December CTP I was able to select XP as the default OS in the System control panel, but it had no effect. In fact, the whole boot screen completely disappeared when I formatted the secondary hard disk on which Vista was installed and installed the December CTP.
Until I reinstalled XP (which reset the boot sector to boot with the so-called "legacy" bootstrap), I was able to boot to XP by disabling the spare hard drive from the BIOS. But none of this hassle should have happened.
I know this product is still very much in early Beta but I'm very concerned about this new bootstrap. If the default boot OS cannot be edited with Notepad then that could be a killer for advanced users and IT personnel who, like me, need to be assured outside of editing Vista's System control panel that a "Legacy" operating system can boot unattended if there is a system reboot (cold or otherwise). The "Legacy" operating system must have access to this default boot option!
Jon

On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:23:52 -0700, Jon Davis wrote:

Is there no longer a text file that will allow me to specify which OS to default?
Right now I'm dual-booting from two layers of boot screens. The first layer is the Windows Vista layer that offers "Vista" (or "Longhorn", don't recall), or a "Legacy" operating system. I choose "Legacy" and then I'm offered my regular boot.ini options of Windows XP or Windows Vista.
The problem is that somehow in during the Beta 1 release this whole boot thing refused to let me to choose a startup OS in the System control panel because even though it showed multiple OSs they were all blank. In the December CTP I was able to select XP as the default OS in the System control panel, but it had no effect. In fact, the whole boot screen completely disappeared when I formatted the secondary hard disk on which Vista was installed and installed the December CTP.
Until I reinstalled XP (which reset the boot sector to boot with the so-called "legacy" bootstrap), I was able to boot to XP by disabling the spare hard drive from the BIOS. But none of this hassle should have happened.
I know this product is still very much in early Beta but I'm very concerned about this new bootstrap. If the default boot OS cannot be edited with Notepad then that could be a killer for advanced users and IT personnel who, like me, need to be assured outside of editing Vista's System control panel that a "Legacy" operating system can boot unattended if there is a system reboot (cold or otherwise). The "Legacy" operating system must have access to this default boot option!
Jon

You can use BCDedit to designate the default operating system. The new boot loader can manage this for you. See previous reference for more info: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/library/85cd5efe-c349-427c-b035-c2719d4af778.mspx
-- Sharon F MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

bcd is one way you can go, tried it and it worked. but my favorite boot loaders are those that come with linux, you can use them to load into windows and or linux or other os you have installed, they work much better than the boot loader that comes with windows because they dont block out any operating systems, this is a serious problem with instaling windows, it will only detect windows, if you have linux installed on your system, it erases the boot loader and does not allow you to access it. i hate that, every time i want windows on my syste i need to re install a bootloader for linux afterwards to get full use of my system.
its odd that the linux loaders can load mac, windows, unix, linux, ect... , but all the windows one can load is windows. hopefully microsoft will change this soon.

Additional info on BCDEdit: BCD FAQ http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/library/85cd5efe-c349-427c-b035-c2719d4af778.mspx
BCD WDK help http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/tips/debug_vista.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/tips/drv-tools.mspx
BCD WMI provider http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/BCD/bcd/portal.asp

-- Andre Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm
"Sharon F" wrote in message

On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:23:52 -0700, Jon Davis wrote:
Is there no longer a text file that will allow me to specify which OS to default?
Right now I'm dual-booting from two layers of boot screens. The first layer is the Windows Vista layer that offers "Vista" (or "Longhorn", don't recall), or a "Legacy" operating system. I choose "Legacy" and then I'm offered my regular boot.ini options of Windows XP or Windows Vista.
The problem is that somehow in during the Beta 1 release this whole boot thing refused to let me to choose a startup OS in the System control panel because even though it showed multiple OSs they were all blank. In the December CTP I was able to select XP as the default OS in the System control panel, but it had no effect. In fact, the whole boot screen completely disappeared when I formatted the secondary hard disk on which Vista was installed and installed the December CTP.
Until I reinstalled XP (which reset the boot sector to boot with the so-called "legacy" bootstrap), I was able to boot to XP by disabling the spare hard drive from the BIOS. But none of this hassle should have happened.
I know this product is still very much in early Beta but I'm very concerned about this new bootstrap. If the default boot OS cannot be edited with Notepad then that could be a killer for advanced users and IT personnel who, like me, need to be assured outside of editing Vista's System control panel that a "Legacy" operating system can boot unattended if there is a system reboot (cold or otherwise). The "Legacy" operating system must have access to this default boot option!
Jon
You can use BCDedit to designate the default operating system. The new boot loader can manage this for you. See previous reference for more info: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/library/85cd5efe-c349-427c-b035-c2719d4af778.mspx
-- Sharon F MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

Is there no longer a text file that will allow me to specify which OS to default?
Right now I'm dual-booting from two layers of boot screens. The first layer is the Windows Vista layer that offers "Vista" (or "Longhorn", don't recall), or a "Legacy" operating system. I choose "Legacy" and then I'm offered my regular boot.ini options of Windows XP or Windows Vista.
The problem is that somehow in during the Beta 1 release this whole boot thing refused to let me to choose a startup OS in the System control panel because even though it showed multiple OSs they were all blank. In the December CTP I was able to select XP as the default OS in the System control panel, but it had no effect. In fact, the whole boot screen completely disappeared when I formatted the secondary hard disk on which Vista was installed and installed the December CTP.
Until I reinstalled XP (which reset the boot sector to boot with the so-called "legacy" bootstrap), I was able to boot to XP by disabling the spare hard drive from the BIOS. But none of this hassle should have happened.
I know this product is still very much in early Beta but I'm very concerned about this new bootstrap. If the default boot OS cannot be edited with Notepad then that could be a killer for advanced users and IT personnel who, like me, need to be assured outside of editing Vista's System control panel that a "Legacy" operating system can boot unattended if there is a system reboot (cold or otherwise). The "Legacy" operating system must have access to edit this default boot option!
Jon

On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:25:56 -0700, Jon Davis wrote:

Is there no longer a text file that will allow me to specify which OS to default?
Right now I'm dual-booting from two layers of boot screens. The first layer is the Windows Vista layer that offers "Vista" (or "Longhorn", don't recall), or a "Legacy" operating system. I choose "Legacy" and then I'm offered my regular boot.ini options of Windows XP or Windows Vista.
The problem is that somehow in during the Beta 1 release this whole boot thing refused to let me to choose a startup OS in the System control panel because even though it showed multiple OSs they were all blank. In the December CTP I was able to select XP as the default OS in the System control panel, but it had no effect. In fact, the whole boot screen completely disappeared when I formatted the secondary hard disk on which Vista was installed and installed the December CTP.
Until I reinstalled XP (which reset the boot sector to boot with the so-called "legacy" bootstrap), I was able to boot to XP by disabling the spare hard drive from the BIOS. But none of this hassle should have happened.
I know this product is still very much in early Beta but I'm very concerned about this new bootstrap. If the default boot OS cannot be edited with Notepad then that could be a killer for advanced users and IT personnel who, like me, need to be assured outside of editing Vista's System control panel that a "Legacy" operating system can boot unattended if there is a system reboot (cold or otherwise). The "Legacy" operating system must have access to edit this default boot option!
Jon

BCD will replace boot.ini and ntldr - there are some good reasons for this change. As with all new tools, getting accustomed to their usage can be awkward and confusing. Have put in my own time with the new boot config. I'm still learning but am managing not to mess things up too badly.
Anyhow, a few suggestions:
To recover an XP boot, you could use the XP Recovery Console to fixmbr and fixboot. You lose the boot to Vista but will have access to XP again.
Or use BCDedit to restore the boot to XP and keep the existing config for Vista. More info on BCDedit is on the TechNet site here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/library/85cd5efe-c349-427c-b035-c2719d4af778.mspx
-- Sharon F MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

Hey,
Nah it's not boot.ini anymore - it's a seperate file instead.
www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase - Click on System - "How do I change the boot sequence (what OS loads up)?"
Hope this helps!
-- Zack Whittaker Microsoft Beta (Windows Server R2 Beta Mentor) » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: http://msblog.resdev.net » ZackNET Forum: www.zacknet.co.uk/forum » VistaBase: www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, mother or cat. Let's be clear on that one!

Will bcdedit.exe execute in Windows XP?
If not, then, Redmond, we have a problem.
Jon
"Zack Whittaker (R2 Mentor)" wrote in message

Hey,
Nah it's not boot.ini anymore - it's a seperate file instead.
www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase - Click on System - "How do I change the boot sequence (what OS loads up)?"
Hope this helps!
-- Zack Whittaker Microsoft Beta (Windows Server R2 Beta Mentor) » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: http://msblog.resdev.net » ZackNET Forum: www.zacknet.co.uk/forum » VistaBase: www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, mother or cat. Let's be clear on that one!

No BCD Edit is not compatible with Windows XP. The change is based upon changes in the Computer Industry, with support new standards such as EFI Extended Firmware Interface. Just wait a little more though, some third party tools will be coming out soon that you are gonna love. -- -- Andre Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm "Jon Davis" wrote in message

Will bcdedit.exe execute in Windows XP?
If not, then, Redmond, we have a problem.
Jon
"Zack Whittaker (R2 Mentor)" wrote in message Hey,
Nah it's not boot.ini anymore - it's a seperate file instead.
www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase - Click on System - "How do I change the boot sequence (what OS loads up)?"
Hope this helps!
-- Zack Whittaker Microsoft Beta (Windows Server R2 Beta Mentor) » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: http://msblog.resdev.net » ZackNET Forum: www.zacknet.co.uk/forum » VistaBase: www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, mother or cat. Let's be clear on that one!

"Andre Da Costa" wrote in message

Just wait a little more though, some third party tools will be coming out soon that you are gonna love.

I never *love* paying for new tools when I had ones that worked fine!
-Pete

On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:44:49 -0700, Jon Davis wrote:

Will bcdedit.exe execute in Windows XP?
If not, then, Redmond, we have a problem.
Jon

I've been running a dual boot with XP and Vista. I've successfully used BCDedit from XP to edit the boot menu. It isn't pretty - a command line interface - but it is effective.
-- Sharon F MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

Yes you, but there are a few things you need to do first to run it from XP, if you just open the command window in XP and type in "bcdedit.exe / enum all" its not gonna work, you need to navigate to the directory X:\windows\system 32
So in a way, it is compatible and it is not compatible, it requires a few steps to get up and running under XP.
Thanks to Computer Guru for the helpful information. http://neosmart.net -- -- Andre Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm "Sharon F" wrote in message

On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:44:49 -0700, Jon Davis wrote:
Will bcdedit.exe execute in Windows XP?
If not, then, Redmond, we have a problem.
Jon
I've been running a dual boot with XP and Vista. I've successfully used BCDedit from XP to edit the boot menu. It isn't pretty - a command line interface - but it is effective.
-- Sharon F MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

Just needed to know it runs and works within XP--don't care too much about how ugly it is to use or get to as long as it can be done within the "Legacy" operating system. Thanks for the info!!! That's a relief.
Jon
"Sharon F" wrote in message

On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:44:49 -0700, Jon Davis wrote:
Will bcdedit.exe execute in Windows XP?
If not, then, Redmond, we have a problem.
Jon
I've been running a dual boot with XP and Vista. I've successfully used BCDedit from XP to edit the boot menu. It isn't pretty - a command line interface - but it is effective.
-- Sharon F MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User

The change is based upon changes in the Computer Industry, with support new standards such as EFI Extended Firmware Interface.

That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The computer industry's needs are not unmet when a boot manager elects to scan an optional text file for its user-determined boot OS.
Jon
"Andre Da Costa" wrote in message

No BCD Edit is not compatible with Windows XP. The change is based upon changes in the Computer Industry, with support new standards such as EFI Extended Firmware Interface. Just wait a little more though, some third party tools will be coming out soon that you are gonna love. -- -- Andre Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm "Jon Davis" wrote in message Will bcdedit.exe execute in Windows XP?
If not, then, Redmond, we have a problem.
Jon
"Zack Whittaker (R2 Mentor)" wrote in message Hey,
Nah it's not boot.ini anymore - it's a seperate file instead.
www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase - Click on System - "How do I change the boot sequence (what OS loads up)?"
Hope this helps!
-- Zack Whittaker Microsoft Beta (Windows Server R2 Beta Mentor) » ZackNET Enterprises: www.zacknet.co.uk » MSBlog on ResDev: http://msblog.resdev.net » ZackNET Forum: www.zacknet.co.uk/forum » VistaBase: www.zacknet.co.uk/vistabase » This mailing is provided "as is" with no warranties, and confers no rights. All opinions expressed are those of myself unless stated so, and not of my employer, best friend, mother or cat. Let's be clear on that one!

I would call this "compatible", just "not installed". Try copying Vista's bcdedit.exe file to XP's system32 directory. But if that doesn't work, perhaps some hooks into the various Win32 APIs somehow mapping to the exe's directory might not be compatible.
Jon
"Andre Da Costa" wrote in message

Yes you, but there are a few things you need to do first to run it from XP, if you just open the command window in XP and type in "bcdedit.exe / enum all" its not gonna work, you need to navigate to the directory X:\windows\system 32
So in a way, it is compatible and it is not compatible, it requires a few steps to get up and running under XP.
Thanks to Computer Guru for the helpful information. http://neosmart.net -- -- Andre Extended64 | http://www.extended64.com Blog | http://www.extended64.com/blogs/andre http://spaces.msn.com/members/adacosta FAQ for MS AntiSpy http://www.geocities.com/marfer_mvp/FAQ_MSantispy.htm "Sharon F" wrote in message On Thu, 2 Feb 2006 16:44:49 -0700, Jon Davis wrote:
Will bcdedit.exe execute in Windows XP?
If not, then, Redmond, we have a problem.
Jon
I've been running a dual boot with XP and Vista. I've successfully used BCDedit from XP to edit the boot menu. It isn't pretty - a command line interface - but it is effective.
-- Sharon F MS-MVP ~ Windows Shell/User