BOOT.INI - Examples of boot.ini files

To edit your boot.ini file, open the root partition of your hard drive (normally C:\) and find the file called "BOOT.INI".
You may need to enable hidden files as follows:

Folder > Options. Right-click on the file, select Properties and uncheck "Read-only" then click OK.
You may like to make a backup of the file at this point to allow you to restore if you experience problems.

Open the file in Notepad and under the [operating systems] section you will find a list of all the installed operating systems.

If partitions have changed or you edited the boot.ini and the line defining the default has an error in it, you will get the existings options and an option labelled default. Correct the faulty "default" line and the extra faulty default option will disappear. It is something you cannot ignore because NT will boot using the info in the faulty default line until the error is corrected.

Microsoft's multi-boot support is very simple. It can not handle more than one non-NT/W2K operating system and it is limited to 10 entries in the menu. You will only see the 1st 10 entries displayed.:

NOTE:
If you just need to set the default operating system to boot, the easiest and safest approach is to click
Start > Control Panel > System icon > Startup/Shutdown dropdown > Select default

Here are some sample boot.ini files to help you edit yours.

This is a boot.ini file from 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

This is a boot.ini file from a Windows 2000 Professional computer.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect

This shows a boot.ini file for a dual boot PC with Windows XP Professional and Windows 2000 Professional
installed in two different partitions on the same hard drive (i.e. the first hard drive on primary IDE).

NOTE: The default OS is Windows XP Professional

[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

This is the same boot.ini file as above but the default OS is Windows 2000 Professional
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINNT
[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

This is a boot.ini file for a triple boot PC with Win98SE, WinXP Pro and Win2k Pro installed
in three different partitions on the same hard drive (i.e. the first hard drive on primary IDE).

NOTE: The default OS is Windows XP Professional

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional" /fastdetect
C:\="Microsoft Windows 98se"

This is a boot.ini file for a PC with WinXP Pro installed in 2 partitions on the same hard 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="Microsoft Windows XP Professional in Partition 1" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional in Partition 2" /fastdetect

This is a boot.ini file for a PC with WinXP Pro installed in partition 1 on different hard drives.
[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 in Hard Drive 1" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional in Hard Drive 2" /fastdetect

My boot.ini file - Win98SE in HDD:0-0 (master), WinXP PRo & Linux in different partitions in HDD:0-1 (Slave).

NOTE: The default OS is Microsoft Windows 98se

[boot loader]
timeout=15
default=C:\
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
C:\="Microsoft Windows 98se"
C:\man100.bin="Linux Mandrake 10.0"

This shows a Boot.ini file for a PC with 2 copies of WinXP Pro, Win2k Pro and Win98SE installed in four different partitions on the same hard drive (i.e. the first hard drive on primary IDE).
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional in Partition 2" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINNT="Windows 2000 Professional in Partition 3" /fastdetect
C:\="Microsoft Windows 98se"
[any text]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(4)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional in Partition 4" /fastdetect

In the above example, the [any text] section hides the bottom selections.
You can use the [any text] header to keep the boot options but make them unavailable at boot time.
If you wish, you can use other descriptive text (e.g. "hidden options") instead of "any text".
Note: In the examples above Windows XP calls its install directory WINDOWS whereas Win2K calls it WINNT

© MAK 2004
End of Document