How to recover lost Xp boot partition ?

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  1. Posts : 8
    Win7
       #1

    How to recover lost Xp boot partition ?


    Hi!

    I had both Xp and in7 on my comp. Unfortunately something got messed up, and suddenly both could not boot, it said that there was something wrong with the BCD and i had to insert the Win7 installer DVD. I did so, and it repaired the error, but due to a side effect i lost my Xp entry in the MBR ( i think the whole boot configuration was rewritten by win7 ), so my Xp does not boot now. How could i make it boot again?
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 313
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1 clean install
       #2

    Hi VinoBob!

    Take a look at Dual Boot Installation with Windows 7 and XP.
    Hope it can helps.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 1,031
    Windows 7 x64
       #3

    The referenced tutorial shows how to do many things, but to make it easier, if you loaded XP last, then the boot files were in the Win 7 partition along with the XP boot files.

    You need to add the XP entry back into the BCD store so it shows up in the boot menu. You can do this in two ways I know of.

    The first and easiest is to use EasyBCD. This is referenced in the tutorial and you need to join their forum to get the beta 2.0 version.

    Or you could use bcdedit.exe, which is a utility built into Win 7 you can run from an administrative command prompt. If you enter the commands below, one at a time and followed by enter, it should add the entry to the BCD Store. I got this from a microsoft website so you can check there also if you wish.

    Create a BCD entry for the older operating system by specifying the following. Bcdedit.exe is located in the \Windows\System32 directory of the Windows Vista partition. Description is the description of the new entry for the older operating system.

    Bcdedit /create {legacy} /d “Description
    Bcdedit /set {legacy} device boot
    Bcdedit /set {legacy} path \ntldr
    Bcdedit /displayorder {legacy} /addlast
    Boot Configuration Data Editor Frequently Asked Questions
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  4. Posts : 59
    WIN,XP,7,VISTA,SERVER
       #4

    VinoBob said:
    Hi!

    I had both Xp and in7 on my comp. Unfortunately something got messed up, and suddenly both could not boot, it said that there was something wrong with the BCD and i had to insert the Win7 installer DVD. I did so, and it repaired the error, but due to a side effect i lost my Xp entry in the MBR ( i think the whole boot configuration was rewritten by win7 ), so my Xp does not boot now. How could i make it boot again?

    Read this pdf file,and use the command lines:DUALLBOOT XP_7.pdf
      My Computer

  5.    #5

    Use EasyBCD to Add XP back to dual boot: EasyBCD 2.0 Beta Builds - The NeoSmart Forums
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 8
    Win7
    Thread Starter
       #6

    no use guys. I have done the BCD thingybut no use...i created the entry of the Xp and so it appeared again in the boo menu, but after i want to let it boot, it said it could not find the ntldr :/. So i inserted the Xp CD, and tried to fix it from the command line, tried FIXMBR, FIXBOOT, CHCKDSK, neither helped ... i had to insert the Win7 DVD again, and repair the strartup, cause the XP repair deleted the Win7 entry from the MBR. So currently the NT loader is missing or it cant be found when i launch the boot sequence of Xp. What should i do ?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 1,031
    Windows 7 x64
       #7

    Try looking for hidden, system files ntldr, ntdetect, and boot.ini. They should now be in the Win 7 partition. If not, they need to be added and EasyBCD will do that for you. Or you may be able to just copy them from the XP partition to the System partition.

    Since it appears the install was not as I had guessed, possibly now post a snipping tool picture of your disk management window.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 8
    Win7
    Thread Starter
       #8

    i did not find the required files, tho i searched among the hidden ones too. How to add these with Easy BCD ?
      My Computer

  9.    #9

    Use the Easy BCD build which I linked you to yesterday.

    On the Add/Remove tab, Add XP by Name and type (XP). It will ask you if you want the boot files added. Agree and it will autocomplete the drive letter.

    When you restart there should be a Dual Boot menu. If not, or if either OS does not start then post back a screenshot of your full Disk Mgmt drive map using Snipping Tools in Start Menu, attach file using paper clip in Reply Box.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 8
    Win7
    Thread Starter
       #10

    I did what you said but did not work, still did not find ntldr. It created a new drive and put the missing files of Xp on the drive G ( my Xp drive is D win7 is C ) :/. Then i edited the entries and assigned the Xp to D and put the missing files ( ntldr, boot.ini etc. ) there. Then after trying to boot on Xp the computer just simply restarted, without any error messages. So i copied the files to every hard drive now, and it says that my hal.dll is issing or damaged. I guess now it tries to use the Win7-s hal.dll. Here iare my settings:

    There are a total of 2 entries listed in the bootloader.

    Default: Windows 7 Ultimate (recovered)
    Timeout: 30 seconds.
    Boot Drive: F:\

    Entry #1
    Name: Windows 7 Ultimate (recovered)
    BCD ID: {current}
    Drive: C:\
    Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe

    Entry #2
    Name: Microsoft Windows XP
    BCD ID: {56ec5813-37d4-11df-8e58-d9b6b97f8c41}
    Device: boot
    Bootloader Path: \NTLDR

    And here is the disk management window:

      My Computer


 
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