xp question and booting question

[zacas]

ok i recently had to reload window onto my computer .. xp pro

to make a long story short ... this is what is happening when my computer boots

on the bios screen .. at boot up ..

1. mother board is first item .. ga-k8nf-9
2. normally next item would be cpu amd 4000+ but it doesn't show up
3. next would normally would be ram 1024 ok but it doesn't show up

sometime i can get 2 and 3 to show if i hit del and go into bios config and exit ..

4. next is cpu clock

then .. a long pause .. a lot longer than it used to be

5. detecting ide drivers ... does all that normally

then i go to screen that says
please select operating system
windows xp
windows xp
with a clock counting down

the top windows xp is a good install but the bottom is messed up and wont boot....

it looks like i have 2 copies of windows xp .. thank you .. i know only few people in this world can screw up a computer like me ..

so if could understand what i just wrote i have 2 questions
1. why does the boot up miss cpu id, ram test and is very slow booting in general
compared to before
2. can i uninstall the bad copy of windows without killing good copy ...
it takes so long to install windows and get computer up and running right i don't
want to do it again ...

the computer works find once its up and running ... bf2 run smooth

thanks

 

[Phoenix86]

1. mother board is first item .. ga-k8nf-9

Hmm... Maybe yes, maybe no... Dont' assume.

2. normally next item would be cpu amd 4000+ but i doesn't show up
3. next would normally would be ram 1024 ok but i doesn't show up
4. next is cpu clock

Reset BIOS via the mobo jumper, update/reflash BIOS. Report back.

then i go to screen that says
please select operating system
windows xp
windows xp
with a clock counting down

the top windows xp is a good install but the bottom is messed up and wont boot....

it looks like i have 2 copies of windows xp .. thank you .. i know only few people in this world can screw up a computer like me ..

Looks like a second copy of XP was installed to a different folder, this is called a parallel install. Post the contents of your c:\boot.ini and we can tell you what to remove. There is also likely a defunct windows directory that's taking up space as well.

 

[zacas]

boot notepad

[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 /NoExecute=OptIn
signature(c56ec56e)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

one copy works and one doesnt

 

[zacas]

when i run msconfig>boot.ini tab

and i check .. check all boot paths ..

it says one of the paths "does not refer to a valid operating system"

would it be safe to remove this path .. i dont want to install xp again

 

[Phoenix86]

Safe the boot.ini file to a new name (like old_boot.ini). Edit the last line to this:
signature(c56ec56e)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="TESTING" /fastdetect

This will changed the title so you can tell the difference between the two.

Try to boot "TESTING".

This should fail.

If so, edit out that last line. The second boot menu options should go away, and it'll boot the only available one.

If not edit out the other line.

 

[zacas]

ok i got rid of the

please select operating system
windows xp
windows xp
with a clock counting down

is there anyway to get the dead xp os of my hard drive ...
its not a big deal .. not running out of space ....

thanks

 

[Phoenix86]

Do you see a c:\windows.000 or some other install directory? From the ARC path it looks like they are pointing to the same directory on another disk.

Linky.
"Signature Syntax

The Signature syntax is equivalent to the SCSI syntax but is used instead to support the Plug and Play architecture in Windows 2000. Because Windows 2000 is a Plug and Play operating system, the SCSI controller number instance might vary each time you start Windows 2000, especially if you add new SCSI controller hardware after Setup.

The Signature syntax instructs Ntldr to locate the drive with a disk signature that matches the value in the parentheses, regardless of which SCSI controller number that the drive is connected to.

The naming format in Boot.ini starts with Signature syntax. For example:

signature(8b467c12)disk(1)rdisk(0)partition(2)\winnt=“description”

The Signature syntax is used only if one of the following conditions exists:

* The partition on which you installed Windows 2000 is larger than 7.8 gigabytes (GB) in size, or the ending cylinder number is higher than 1024 for that partition, and the system BIOS or boot controller BIOS does not support Extended INT13.
* The drive on which you installed Windows 2000 is connected to a SCSI controller whose BIOS is disabled, so INT13 BIOS calls cannot be used during the startup process.

The Signature value is extracted from the MBR. This unique hexadecimal number is either written to the MBR during the text-mode portion of Setup or by a previous installation of Windows NT 4.0 or earlier."