Solve : System Boot Options?

1.	Solve : System Boot Options?
Answer» BC_Programmer, as usual you write an Odyssey when a limerick would do. Here is a short answer: Once they did with with MBR. So you edit the BOOT. But MS left out htat labor. 'Twas Never perfect anyway, So that both Vista and 7 do not boot from XP today! Easy WORKAROUND: Use the F8 to bring up the BIOS boot menu. Long Answer: Quote Windows Vista introduces a new boot loader architecture; a new firmware-independent boot configuration and storage system called Boot Configuration Data (BCD); and a new boot option editing tool, BCDEdit (BCDEdit.exe). These components are designed to load Windows more quickly and more securely. The traditional Windows NT boot loader, Ntldr, is replaced by Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe) and a set of system-specific boot loaders. In the new configuration, Windows Boot Manager is generic and unaware of the specific requirements for each operating system, and each system-specific boot loader is optimized for the system that it loads. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/tips/Debug_Vista.mspx Reply to Patio: I can't/wont install Windows 7 with any other hard drives present. Otherwise 7 puts the boot information on the other disc and thus becomes dependant on the presence of that other hard drive. Which is stupid really, why would you want to have your boot record on a separate hard disc? Reply to BC_Programmer: Are you saying that if I INSTALLED DOS I could set that to boot the two operating systems? Or would I have to wipe the whole system and start from DOS? Reply to Geek-9pm: That's what I use at the moment (F8). Call me strange but I like my computer to be useable by other people.No, the DOS MBR only looks for the certain DOS boot files, usually IO.SYS. This is why you need to install from oldest to newest- each MBR is looking for something different, and acts differently. Let's look at the following scenario; you have Windows Vista Installed. If you install Windows XP to a separate hard drive, it will still rewrite the Vista MBR with it's own; you will get a selected menu that contains only XP and Vista will be seemingly unbootable. (this scenario is fixed using the Vista boot repair tool by booting from it's Disc). When you install a newer MS operating System over a older one, it "recognizes" that operating system, and knows how to set it up to dual boot. In most cases, what it does is copy that older operating systems MBR into a file, it then executes that Boot sector when you select that OS.Quote Which is stupid really, why would you want to have your boot record on a separate hard disc? If you don't understand it by how i've explained i don't know what ELSE to say...Perhaps someone could recommend third party software that accomplishes his objective. SOUNDS like Accessless wants/needs a "boot loader" that displays operating system selection menu the user may select from. ("Free" would be nice too.) Remember, his operating systems are independently installed to separate hard drives and it sounds like they want to (and should) MAINTAIN that independence.Quote from: dahlarbear on November 12, 2009, 09:34:42 AM Perhaps someone could recommend third party software that accomplishes his objective. Sounds like Accessless wants/needs a "boot loader" that displays operating system selection menu the user may select from. ("Free" would be nice too.) Remember, his operating systems are independently installed to separate hard drives and it sounds like they want to (and should) maintain that independence. Yes. It is being done by others. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

Answer» BC_Programmer,
as usual you write an Odyssey when a limerick would do.
Here is a short answer:

Once they did with with MBR.
So you edit the BOOT.
But MS left out htat labor.

'Twas Never perfect anyway,
So that both Vista and 7
do not boot from XP today!

Easy WORKAROUND:
Use the F8 to bring up the BIOS boot menu.

Long Answer:
Quote

Windows Vista introduces a new boot loader architecture; a new firmware-independent boot configuration and storage system called Boot Configuration Data (BCD); and a new boot option editing tool, BCDEdit (BCDEdit.exe). These components are designed to load Windows more quickly and more securely.

The traditional Windows NT boot loader, Ntldr, is replaced by Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe) and a set of system-specific boot loaders. In the new configuration, Windows Boot Manager is generic and unaware of the specific requirements for each operating system, and each system-specific boot loader is optimized for the system that it loads.

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/driver/tips/Debug_Vista.mspx
Reply to Patio:

I can't/wont install Windows 7 with any other hard drives present. Otherwise 7 puts the boot information on the other disc and thus becomes dependant on the presence of that other hard drive. Which is stupid really, why would you want to have your boot record on a separate hard disc?

Reply to BC_Programmer:

Are you saying that if I INSTALLED DOS I could set that to boot the two operating systems? Or would I have to wipe the whole system and start from DOS?

Reply to Geek-9pm:

That's what I use at the moment (F8). Call me strange but I like my computer to be useable by other people.No, the DOS MBR only looks for the certain DOS boot files, usually IO.SYS.

This is why you need to install from oldest to newest- each MBR is looking for something different, and acts differently. Let's look at the following scenario; you have Windows Vista Installed. If you install Windows XP to a separate hard drive, it will still rewrite the Vista MBR with it's own; you will get a selected menu that contains only XP and Vista will be seemingly unbootable. (this scenario is fixed using the Vista boot repair tool by booting from it's Disc).

When you install a newer MS operating System over a older one, it "recognizes" that operating system, and knows how to set it up to dual boot. In most cases, what it does is copy that older operating systems MBR into a file, it then executes that Boot sector when you select that OS.Quote

Which is stupid really, why would you want to have your boot record on a separate hard disc?

If you don't understand it by how i've explained i don't know what ELSE to say...Perhaps someone could recommend third party software that accomplishes his objective. SOUNDS like Accessless wants/needs a "boot loader" that displays operating system selection menu the user may select from. ("Free" would be nice too.)

Remember, his operating systems are independently installed to separate hard drives and it sounds like they want to (and should) MAINTAIN that independence.Quote from: dahlarbear on November 12, 2009, 09:34:42 AM

Perhaps someone could recommend third party software that accomplishes his objective. Sounds like Accessless wants/needs a "boot loader" that displays operating system selection menu the user may select from. ("Free" would be nice too.)

Remember, his operating systems are independently installed to separate hard drives and it sounds like they want to (and should) maintain that independence.

Yes. It is being done by others.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WindowsDualBoot

Solve : System Boot Options?

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