Secondaryl NT4 not getting past boot menu

  • Thread starter Thread starter Knack
  • Start date Start date
K

Knack

Have WinNT4W(SP6) installed on the first partition of the
system's 2nd internal IDE HDD (on the secondary master channel) for use
in an emergency to repair the primary Win2000 Pro OS. The file
<boot.ini> was modified to accomodate the (secondary) WinNT4W OS and is
properly located on the first partition of the other HDD (of the primary
master channel, which contains Win2000 Pro).

After this OS is selected from the boot menu screen, the next screen is
again black and reads:
"Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
configuration problem. Could not read from selected boot disk. Check
boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows documentation
about hardware didk configuration and your hardware reference manuals
for additional information."

Perhaps a clue to the problem is that BIOS assigns the drive
designations as follows:
Fixed Disk 0 (HDD containing the primary Win2000 Pro OS)
ATAPI CD-ROM
Fixed Disk 2 (HDD containing the secondary WinNT4W OS)

Notice that there is no HDD designated by BIOS as Fixed Disk 1. So the
file <boot.ini> has been edited with the following ARC path for the
WinNT4W boot:

multi(2)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation
Version 4.00" /noserialmice

My gut feeling is that I don't have the ARC path right. I've also
tried the numeral '1' instead of '2', and have also tried the '2'
following the word 'disk' instead of before it.

The same WinNT4W installation used to boot without a hitch when it was
the only HDD in the system and was cabled as primary master (instead of
the current secondary master).

Any suggestions?
 
Knack said:
Have WinNT4W(SP6) installed on the first partition of the
system's 2nd internal IDE HDD (on the secondary master channel) for use
in an emergency to repair the primary Win2000 Pro OS. The file
<boot.ini> was modified to accomodate the (secondary) WinNT4W OS and is
properly located on the first partition of the other HDD (of the primary
master channel, which contains Win2000 Pro).

After this OS is selected from the boot menu screen, the next screen is
again black and reads:
"Windows could not start because of a computer disk hardware
configuration problem. Could not read from selected boot disk. Check
boot path and disk hardware. Please check the Windows documentation
about hardware didk configuration and your hardware reference manuals
for additional information."

Perhaps a clue to the problem is that BIOS assigns the drive
designations as follows:
Fixed Disk 0 (HDD containing the primary Win2000 Pro OS)
ATAPI CD-ROM
Fixed Disk 2 (HDD containing the secondary WinNT4W OS)

Notice that there is no HDD designated by BIOS as Fixed Disk 1. So the
file <boot.ini> has been edited with the following ARC path for the
WinNT4W boot:

multi(2)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT="Windows NT Workstation
Version 4.00" /noserialmice

My gut feeling is that I don't have the ARC path right. I've also
tried the numeral '1' instead of '2', and have also tried the '2'
following the word 'disk' instead of before it.

The same WinNT4W installation used to boot without a hitch when it was
the only HDD in the system and was cabled as primary master (instead of
the current secondary master).

Any suggestions?
Click to expand...


What happens if you try this:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINNT=

Using the MAP command (map arc) in a Recovery Console session might
shed some light on the issue.

John

PS: Were these 2 operating systems installed independent of each other?
If so you will probably need a third party boot manager to make this
work, or you will have to toggle the boot drives in the BIOS.
 
John said:
What happens if you try this:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(2)partition(1)\WINNT=

Using the MAP command (map arc) in a Recovery Console session might
shed some light on the issue.
Click to expand...
BINGO !! Your revised ARC path did the trick. Can't thank you enough.

Now it begins the WinNT4 boot process, but a BSOD appears before the
login screen. Will post this new problem in a separate thread in the
microsoft.public.windowsnt.general newsgroup.

And oh, darn. With regards to the Recovery Console, I just discovered
that myy Win2000 Pro CD is cracked and won't run. Does Win200 Pro have a
feature that can create a new setup/recoveryconsole CD; similar to the
way that WinNT4 has a feature to create the 3 setup floppy diskettes?
 
Knack said:
And oh, darn. With regards to the Recovery Console, I just discovered
that myy Win2000 Pro CD is cracked and won't run. Does Win200 Pro have a
feature that can create a new setup/recoveryconsole CD; similar to the
way that WinNT4 has a feature to create the 3 setup floppy diskettes?
Click to expand...

Yes, you can create a set of startup floppies (4 floppies) to launch the
Recovery Console or to initiate the setup process. See here:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windows2000serv/reskit/core/fndb_con_wkeh.mspx?mfr=true

I think you might also be able to download them from Bootdisk.com

John
 
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