Member Avatar for jtf27

Hi What is the name of the file that replaced config.sys in win 2000

I would like to edit the boot choices as I have a un finished install of Win 2000 that got there when I was trying to format a disk in my computer by starting the install process on the other hdd.

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Short expert summary and a practical recovery path (builds on the pointers from , , and ).

If the multi-boot menu is present but the expected boot configuration file cannot be seen from inside Windows, use the Windows 2000 Recovery Console to locate the system/active partition and either rebuild or restore the boot configuration. The Recovery Console exposes simple tools to map partitions, copy missing boot files from the install media, and rebuild the boot menu; the sequence below is the least-destructive first step. (learn.microsoft.com)

Boot from the Windows 2000 CD, press R for Repair/Recovery Console and log on as Administrator. Run these commands to identify devices, check roots, and attempt an automatic rebuild:

map
dir c:\boot.ini
dir d:\boot.ini
bootcfg /rebuild
fixboot c:
fixmbr

When bootcfg /rebuild finds installations it will prompt to add them; accept and give the usual load identifier. map (or diskpart) helps find which partition the CD and the system partition are mapped to. (learn.microsoft.com)

If required boot files are missing, copy them from the CD (replace X: with the CD drive letter found by map), then re-run the rebuild:

copy X:\i386\ntldr C:\
copy X:\i386\ntdetect.com C:\
type c:\boot.ini

If Boot.ini is missing you can create it on floppy or on another machine and copy it down; Recovery Console examples for these steps are documented by Microsoft. (learn.microsoft.com)

Notes and cautions: back up any existing Boot.ini (rename to boot.ini.bak) before edits; fixmbr will overwrite non-Windows MBRs (so avoid it on machines with a Linux bootloader unless that is intended). If Recovery Console access is blocked, attach the drive to another machine or use a WinPE/live environment to inspect and repair files offline. (flylib.com)

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Member Avatar for Catweazle

There is no 'replacement' for config.sys in Windows 2000, or in any of the Windows NT based operating systems. 'config.sys' is a DOS system file, which the earlier Windows versions created because they are 'piggy-backed' over the top of the 16 bit DOD operating system. The NT based OS's are 32 bit OS's, and don't need it.

BHy far the best course of action you could take would be to clean it up by deleting the existing drive partitions, create new ones in their place, and run the Windows 2000 install again, fresh and clean.

Windows XP contains the facility to do all this in its 'Setup' routine when you boot from the Windows CD. I'm pretty sure that the Windows 2000 CD will do the same, but perhaps one of the Windows 2000 users here can verify this?

Member Avatar for DMR

I would like to edit the boot choices...

If by that you mean that you now have a menu giving you 2 choices of Windows to boot into, but you need to delete the bogus one, the file you want to edit is "boot.ini" (located in C:\).

Member Avatar for Master Browser

The unfinished boot entry should be in c:\boot.ini

Member Avatar for jtf27

Hi

Thanks that was what I was looking for .............but I did a search and there is no file called boot.ini on the system anywhere.

That is what I thought it was called but I can not find it.

could it have got temporarily renamed during the install process.

Member Avatar for DMR

It's a hidden system file; you need to have Windows Explorer's view options set to display all files.

Member Avatar for jtf27

Hi

I have it set on that .the file is just not there yet I still get the milti boot screen but I can not figure where it is drawing the file from.

could it be renamed during the aborted install process

Member Avatar for DMR

How many partitions are on the disk, and/or how many drives are in the system?
I've seen Windows install boot.ini on the wrong drive/partition in the course of a bad install.

Member Avatar for jtf27

Hi

i have one drive two partitions....I have checked everywhere I am baffled.

What would happen if there was no boot.ini would windows default to some other file.

Member Avatar for qt 3.14159

Have you tried just typing C:\boot.ini into the address bar on explorer? If it's there, it should just pop up. I know when I tried looking for it on my computer I had trouble seeing it as well.

Member Avatar for DMR

What would happen if there was no boot.ini would windows default to some other file.

The NTLDR program is the file which is run before boot.ini during the Windows startup process. NTLDR looks for boot.ini and will process that file if found (including the multiple boot options which might be contained in boot.ini). I believe that if boot,ini really doesn't exist, ntldr may bypass it and try to boot from the active partition (I could be wrong about that though).

Do the ntldr and NTDETCT.COM files exist on you system?

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