Member Avatar for AVRay

Dell Inspiron 6000 xp SP3 2 partition XP on both.
Use 2nd Part for music software only clean install.
Was working fine but is seams after I installed Cakewalk Pyro it worked till I rebooted. Now it wont boot from cd or to 2nd part and just gives black screen after dispaying "windows is checking your.......Installed Recovery Console on c: and ran fixmbr and fixboot chkdsk reported no errors. Will boot vista cd although vista not on machine.
XP cd will boot if I remove Harddrive

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Dani AI

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Quick diagnostic summary: the main XP partition boots but selecting the second XP entry drops to a black screen after the “Windows is checking your…” message; the XP setup disc will only boot with the HDD removed while a Vista disc will boot with the drive present; Recovery Console was installed on C: and fixmbr/fixboot have already been run (as noted). This pattern most often points to one of three things — boot-loader configuration (boot.ini), missing/corrupt boot files (ntldr/ntdetect.com), or a problem inside the offline Windows install (drivers/registry) that prevents initialization once the loader hands off to that install.

From the working XP install, make a safe backup and then inspect the system boot configuration. Back up C:\boot.ini first (for example copy to C:\boot.ini.bak), then confirm each entry points at the correct partition number and Windows folder name. Example entries for a two-partition disk:

[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="XP - Main" /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="XP - Music" /fastdetect

If boot files are suspects, reinstall ntldr and ntdetect.com to the active/system partition from the XP source (Recovery Console or mounted i386). In Recovery Console the CD drive letter can vary; typical commands are:

copy D:\i386\ntldr C:\
copy D:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\
fixboot C:
fixmbr  (only if necessary)

If safe mode (F8) for the second entry fails (as suggested), treat the second Windows install as an offline system: from the working XP, browse the second partition’s Windows\System32\drivers and temporarily rename recently added or suspicious drivers to .old (after backing them up). Audio/burn apps like Cakewalk/Pyro can add filters or drivers that block boot. Also confirm partition flags in Disk Management and the BIOS CD-boot behavior (use F12/boot-menu to force the CD). If repair efforts stall, image or copy user data from the second partition (as advised) and rebuild that partition or perform a clean reinstall.

Recommended Answers

All 10 Replies

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
I do not understand, "will boot to Vista CD" "XP cd will boot if I remove Harddrive".
How are you booting windows, only from a boot CD?
How are you able to work on "C" if the CD will not work?

Member Avatar for caperjack

try safe mode ,f8 on bootup .if you get in uninstall cakewalk

Member Avatar for AVRay

Its a 2 partition disk boyh have xp sp3.
It will not boot to 2nd partition
Windows xp set up disk SP 3 will not boot but Vista cd will
If I pull HD xp cd will boot

Member Avatar for AVRay

Its a 2 partition disk both have xp sp3.
It will not boot to 2nd partition
Windows xp set up disk SP 3 will not boot but Vista cd will
If I pull HD xp cd will boot

Member Avatar for AVRay

Once I select 2nd partition Im dead just stays as black screen. Main partition boots fin and so does recovery console for c drive since I cant run from CD

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
Have you checked your CD/DVD in "Device Manager'?
Try updating the driver or even disable it and let windows reinstall it on reboot.
Have you checked your hard drive in "Computer Management"? ("START" right click "MY COMPUTER" click "Disk Management")

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

My last post, that should read.. uninstall not disable...Sorry

Member Avatar for Adamsappleone

Sounds like a dual boot gone bad.
Why would you put the same OS on 2 partitions on the same drive?
It's a wonder you didn't run into problems sooner.
If the main partition boots ok, can you access the 2nd from "My Computer", if so, copy the files you need to disc or to a USB drive and delete that partition. Create a new partition and just use it for storing your files and such.
Really not an ideal situation to install more than one OS per drive, even if it's the same OS. Get a 2nd HDD for that.

Member Avatar for Bob_180_Bob

Hi,
I have been running an extra partition with an extra XP (A clone of the first) just to keep in case anything really bad happened to my first. It is now not up to date but there in case I need. I think it is a good idea. But I do not use the 2nd windows partition. I also have a partition for all programs and another with Acronis just to run new programs in to try them (Part of Acronis).

Member Avatar for AVRay

I have been running dual boot for years with no issues. I need it for a clean install of xp for my music creation software. No antivirus, no net cards etc. should I reinstall ntldr and ntdetect ????

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