Member Avatar for buddyb

On my machine 2M Pro skips the screen that gives you the choice of 2M or another Win op sys, but I just installed 2M on another computer and when it gets to that screen it counts down 25 secs I believe before it loads Windows. Is there a way to disable that. I do not remember if I did anything special on mine to make it skip that segment. Any ideas?

Thanks, BuddyB

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Good pointers from and — they cover the two common ways people change how long the boot menu waits. For a clearer picture of what that countdown actually sits inside, here’s a short, practical overview of the Windows 2000 boot chain and what typically causes slow boots, plus safe troubleshooting steps.

The boot breaks into a few stages: firmware POST and device enumeration; the disk boot code/boot loader and its menu; hardware detection and the kernel handoff; then drivers, system services and user logon/startup programs. Delays can come from any stage: firmware checking unused devices, the loader waiting for an input or extra entry, slow or failing device drivers, services that time out, or lots of startup apps. Hardware differences (extra USB devices, different NICs, CD/floppy in drive) often explain why one PC boots faster than another.

Practical troubleshooting (safe, reversible):

  • Measure a baseline (stopwatch or enable boot logging) so changes can be compared.
  • Enable boot logging and inspect the log for drivers that load slowly or fail.
  • Use a clean-boot approach to isolate startup programs and non-Microsoft services, then re-enable items one group at a time.
  • Check Device Manager for problem drivers and update or remove unnecessary devices.
  • Review firmware (BIOS) boot order and disable unused boot devices or long device scans.
  • Keep drivers and BIOS up to date, scan for malware, and avoid disabling services you don’t recognize without research.
    Always have backups and recovery media before changing low-level settings. For deeper reading, search Microsoft documentation for “Windows 2000 boot process”, “NTLDR/ntoskrnl boot sequence”, and “boot logging ntbtlog.txt” — those queries point to authoritative explanations and troubleshooting steps.

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Member Avatar for kc0arf

Hello,

There is a way to disable the countdown, but you should make sure you have your data backed up before you make this modification. While it isn't a serious mod, if you do something wrong, you might not be able to boot properly, and that can be costly.

On your C:\ there is a file called boot.ini Inside it, you will see a value called Timeout=xx where xx will be the number of seconds hat the computer will wait before booting.

I would suggest that you place it down to 5 seconds. WHile you may want to have it be "immediate", there may come a time and place that you need that delay, and wish you had it in there.

UNLESS YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING, do not adjust any other parameters. You will find definitions for other boot partitions within this file. Leave them alone.

Enjoy,

Christian

Member Avatar for buddyb

Thanks Christian, that is good information. I will probably play with that some. They wrote the song, "Fools Rush In" just for me. I've screwed up a lot in my life, but I usually manage to get a problem worked out. Appreciate you.

BuddyB

Member Avatar for bentkey

Also, if you want to be safe, you can Right Click on My Computer and select Properties the on the Advanced tab select Startup and Recovery and change the setting for Display list of Operating systems. You can change the timer or turn it on and off. That way you don't have to worry about mucking too much. :)

Member Avatar for buddyb

Again, thank you guys for helping to make life easier.
BuddyB

Member Avatar for buddyb

Also, if you want to be safe, you can Right Click on My Computer and select Properties the on the Advanced tab select Startup and Recovery and change the setting for Display list of Operating systems. You can change the timer or turn it on and off. That way you don't have to worry about mucking too much. :)

:D I did and it did. Great input thanks.
BuddyB

P.S.: I appreciate everyone's input.

Member Avatar for buddyb

Not being familiar with the boot-up sequence, and why it does what it does, I'm wondering if there is anything else that I might shortcut while I'm at it. Is there some reading that might draw this guy a picture of the boot sequence and the necessities of it? Thanks.

BuddyB

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