Edit or create a startup menu that lets you choose which operating system to boot into in multiboot systems, or create a menu that lets you choose different startup options for your single operating system if you have only XP installed . If you've installed another operating system (in addition to XP) on your system, your PC starts up with a multiboot menu, which allows you to choose which operating system you want to run. The menu stays live for 30 seconds, and a screen countdown tells you how long you have to make a choice from the menu. After the 30 seconds elapse, it boots into your default operating system, which is generally the last operating system you installed. You can customize that multiboot menu and how your PC starts by editing the boot.ini file, a hidden system file, to control a variety of startup options, including how long to display the menu, which operating system should be the default, whether to use the XP splash screen when XP starts, and similar features. And as you'll see later in this hack, you can also use the file to create a startup menu that will allow you to choose from different versions of your operating systemfor example, one that you'll use for tracking down startup problems, and another for starting in Safe Mode. The boot.ini file is a plain text file found in your root C:\ folder. You might not be able to see it, because it's a system file, and if you can see it, you might not be able to edit it, because it's a read-only file. To make it visible, launch Windows Explorer, choose View Tools Folder Options View and select the radio button "Show Hidden Files and Folders." To make it a file you can edit, right-click on it in Windows Explorer, choose Properties, uncheck the Read-Only box, and click OK. 1.2.1 Editing FilesTo edit the file, open it with a text editor such as Notepad. Following is a typical boot.ini file for a PC that has two operating systems installed on itWindows XP Home Edition and Windows Me: [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 Home Edition" /fastdetect multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" / fastdetect As you can see, there are two sections in the file: [boot loader] and [operating systems] . To customize your menu and startup options, edit the entries in each section. Before editing boot.ini , make a copy of it and save it under a different name (such as boot.ini.old ), so that you can revert to it if you cause problems when you edit the file. Following are details about how to edit the entries in each section:
Table 1-1. Switches for boot.ini
When you've finished editing the boot.ini file, save it. The next time you start your computer, its settings will go into effect. In our example, if we want the menu to appear for 45 seconds, the default operating system to be Windows 2000, and the XP splash screen to be turned off when we choose to load XP, the boot.ini file should look like this: [boot loader] timeout=45 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /noguiboot multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" / fastdetect 1.2.2 Create a Startup Menu Even if You Have Only One Operating SystemEven if you have only one operating system, you can create a boot menu that will let you choose to load your operating system with different parameters. For example, for menu choices, you might have your normal operating system; a mode that lets you trace any startup problems; and Safe Mode. To give yourself the option of operating systems with different parameters, create separate entries for each new operating system choice. For example, for the version of the operating system that traces potential startup problems, you could create this entry: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Trace Problems XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /bootlog /sos This entry creates a startup log and also displays information about the drivers and other operating system information as it loads. For the version of the operating system that loads in Safe Mode but that still allows networking, you could create this entry: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Safe Start XP Home Edition" / fastdetect /safeboot:network The boot.ini file would look like this, assuming that you want the menu to display for 30 seconds and you want normal XP startup to be the default: [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 Home Edition" /fastdetect multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Trace Problems XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /bootlog /sos multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Safe Start XP Home Edition" / fastdetect /safeboot:network
Figure 1-1. The System Configuration Utility1.2.3 See Also
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