Dual Boot Problem.. 1

[roseusa]

I had dual boot working fine since many months, now i am getting error like winload.exe missing.

Here is configration
i have 2 different drives

Drive -1 ATA ==>> C:\XP Pro then partion D:\ and E:\
Drive -2 SATA ==> F:\Vista then partions G:\ and H:\

On C i installed xp pro, after that i installed vista on F:\ (Vista installed through boot from dvd)

it installed but when computer restart it shows both windows in selection to boot, xp boot is ok but if i choose vista it says "winload.exe missing" repair the vista etc etc

i did repair too but same problem, even i format vista hard drive and installed fresh but same problem. Also i tried as format both xp vista hard drives and installed fresh copies of xp then vista, but same problem.

Can any body help me how can i fix this problem and what steps i am doing wrong...?

Thannks

 

[linney]

The booting files for Vista are probably on the C: Drive, they will be Hidden and System files, so to see them you must set your options accordingly in Folder Options.

This is a handy program to use when having Boot problems in Vista dual booting with XP. It can be run from XP and may correct the booting problem.

VistaBootPRO

http://www.vistabootpro.org/

Used EasyBCD

http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1

What is the exact message concerning Winload.exe. "winload.exe is the operating system boot loader. It is invoked by the Windows Boot Manager in order to load the operating system kernel (ntoskrnl.exe) and (boot-class) device drivers,[1] and is in that respect functionally equivalent to (the operating system loader functionality of) NTLDR in prior versions of Windows NT".

http://www.google.com/search?q=winload.exe+vista&rls=com.microsoft:

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=winload.exe+vista&rls=com.microsoft:

These are the basic details of my file (SP1)

Vista Partition:\Windows\System32\Winload.exe

Version 6.0.6001.18027, Size 1.01 MB

From XP see if you can copy the file into the above location to replace the missing or corrupt version you have there now.
It may be on your DVD, or on another Vista install that you have access to, or in one of the other folders such as Winsxs when searched for from XP, but the versions in Winsxs may be earlier ones and might not be suitable, or they might work long enough to get to Windows Updates, I just don't know.

 

[roseusa]

Thanks for reply linney, Before your post i was trying different way, and at the end i got problem and both windows stop working.

Now the latest infos are

I format both hard drives and installed XP Pro again.

Now i am going to install Vista on other drive, so what you sugest for that,

a. do i install vista through xp or
b. do i boot from vista dvd and install vista on
2nd. drive.....?

Thanks

 

[linney]

Either method is suggested by Microsoft, if you read the first article.

You must make sure that you point the Vista install to the correct drive by following the Setup prompts carefully.

If it was me installing Vista I would prefer booting from the DVD as that ensures that things like running programs such as virus scanners do not interfere with the early stages of the install.

How to install Windows Vista

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918884/#appliesto

Installing and reinstalling Windows

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Wi...978-464c-953e-eba44f0522671033.mspx#section_2

XP Pro and Vista dual boot?
thread779-1376301

 

[firewolfrl]

I prefer the third party bootmanagers. My current favorite is Bootit NG.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootit-next-generation.htm

I think that the one thing that has not changed through the years is the poor boot management that Microsoft uses to boot multiple OS's.
with a third party boot manager...Each OS retains its own boot sector and each harddrive is bootable individually. This means you can pull a drive and still have the OS boot and see itself as C:\ ....that is a great feature in itself

Something else... Vista repair features still works and work great with the above mentioned boot manager.

I use Bootit NG now and really like it. I have it on my mom's computer and I split her harddrive then cloned the OS to the second partition and made both OS's bootable. Then I used the boot manager so the one partition could not be accessible by my nephew and made the other OS open so my nephew could load his games. This worked great as he crashed that OS in a week and the other one is working fine and he cannot access that...lol
just to note he was in a game and he listened to someone in the game to delete his system32 file...as you can tell that is not a good thing

 

[roseusa]

thanks for all replies and help. i tried every thing but no success, yesterday night istart getting problem... as soon as more than half windows installation done, i start getting error "Memory management" i tried different hard drives i tried 4 different memory sticks, i tried to install different windws like win2000, xp, vista and all gave me same memory management error. Today i called ASUS for this problem, they gave me RMA for repair or replace the MB.

i will post here as soon as i get back MB.

Thanks for both of your help.

 

[firewolfrl]

ah! that does make things a bit tricky.
if the new MB starts to give you issues kick the voltage to the ram to 2.0 to see if it is a voltage issue
sometimes you will have to change the voltage up to 2.2 to achieve stability.

good luck

 

[linney]

Let's hope you get up and running very soon. Also do post back with the outcome.

 

[roseusa]

i will post bak as soon as i get back MB

 

[roseusa]

ok. i got motherboard back from ASUS with different serial number (may be they sent me other repaired board "same model"). Now when i turned on PC for installing OS, first of all i got message "System failed due to CPU over clocking". I did not touch any thing in BIOS, i called ASUS again and they said i have to update latest BIOS... so i did but same message again, then they suggest it might be DVD ROM problem, luckily i had extra new DVD-ROM so i replaced but same problem, then ASUS said might be its vedio card problem, i bought new card but again.... after that they said may be its RAM problem and they gave me manufacturer and model number i have to put this RAM so i did that too.... and same problem. After all this yesterday night i called ASUS again and talked with senior teck level 2, he sugested me to send back board again and we will replace it with other one. So today i sent it back, lets see what i get back again.

i tried to install 2-3 times XP and even i got above overclocking problem, but it failed all the time,it gave me error and quit wit blue screen.

 

[linney]

I admire your patience if not your luck.

 

[roseusa]

ok here is update,now my computer is back to work, what was wrong....!

i changed RAM, Vidio Card, PSU, DVD Burner but probem was still there. Then i sent 3 times motherboard to ASUS and they sent me back and told me MB is fine. The only thing left is CPU, so i called Intel, they check in the system and i still have 2-months left in warranty so they they gave me RMA# i sent old CPU with fan back to them and within 10 days i received back new packed CPU with fan. As soon as i installed new CPU, system starts perfectly.

So the problem was CPU.

Thanks for every body who spend their valuable time to help me.

Thanks

 

[linney]

Thank you for the feedback. Sounds like you ended up with a different computer (via replacement bits of it) to the computer that had the original problem.

 

[mikeQA]

For my dual boot I did the following:

1) set up RAID 0 on 2 500Gb drives and installed XP Pro SP2
2) Purchased Vista Ultimate 64
3) Used partitioning tool (I think partition magic) to split my 1Tb into 2 partitions roughly 49xGb each.
4) Install Vista 64 to 2nd partition so it sets up the boot manager properly. There are some article on dual/triple booting with XP/Vista/Linux (I think) on the net that are good/insightful/helpful.

My question is why was he creating so many partitions when he could do it later with a 3rd party app or possibly within Vista's tools? That could screw up your drive lettering and cause part of the issue of not finding winload.exe (my opinion here). Keep it simple.

Drives are huge enough and cheap enough now that you don't need to partition it out. I do understand wanting to do so for keeping the OS boot drive as clean as possible and load apps from a secondary drive. But doing so would require maintaining backups regularly of BOTH partitions/drives = more HD space needed externally for this. Just thinking disk management here.

I use Acronis and backup my systems at least bi-monthly as I don't use one system as often as my main work system. Other one is my DAW system. but they get backed up to external USB 500Gb's and I keep 2-3 of the most recent backups on them. I should have gone TB for the dual boot system as I can only keep current + 2 previous backups on it. One thing I haven't tried is univeral restore to a different chipset/CPU to see if that works with little tweaks needed after the restore. A test for another day!

Also noticed that when I booted Vista it's partition becomes C drive and my XP main partition changes to I think D and my 3rd 500Gb in the system non-raid stays at E.

Mike

 

[BadBigBen]

1) set up RAID 0 on 2 500Gb drives and installed XP Pro SP2

and

3) Used partitioning tool (I think partition magic) to split my 1Tb into 2 partitions roughly 49xGb each.

and

4) Install Vista 64 to 2nd partition

why? if you loose one drive in that RAID 0, both OS's are defunct...

I too have a tripple boot system, with XP, Vista and Linux... all three reside on their seperate drives... if one of the drives dies, oh well, then one OS is defunct and I can access the other two without much hassle... XP through the Recovery Console with two commands... Vista through it's Boot repair... and Linux, with a Boot CD...
Grub is the Boot Manager for this scenario...

oh, btw. Vista is Drive C: when booted and so is XP when it is booted...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[firewolfrl]

Alright now!
Here is a great explanation of what is required for Vista and multi boot of Vista. Vista's new partitioning rules are explained in this first link:

http://www.multibooters.co.uk/partitions.html

Understanding the Multiboot Process is this link:

http://www.multibooters.co.uk/multiboot.html

this is the best Clone info for Vista I have seen (install or clone)

http://www.multibooters.co.uk/cloning.html

this is the entire Web site

http://www.multibooters.co.uk/

I used the Clone link for my mom's hp machine I created a second primary partition then cloned the original first partition with the original OS to the new second partition
then I followed the instructions on the Clone link I gave and made the partition bootable. I did have to change the BCD in that partition and it was easy and painless. To note, I did use Bootit NG as my boot manager as I detest the windows boot manager.
the reason I did this is because of my then 12 y/o nephew that is a gamer...his second partition can not see my mom's OS and he can tweak OS for the games...also he is 12 and susceptible to influences of other gamers. one gamer told him that if he deleted the System 32 files in Windows he would reduce his lag. as you know the outcome was not pretty and his partition was not bootable. it was an easy fix to re clone and make the partition changes so it booted as C:\ drive again he did have to reinstall all his games.
the benefit was my mom never had any issues booting into her partition and do what she does when she is on the computer. my nephew I let sit for a month or two before I fixed it. I was a touch irritated with him...lol

Linney, I don't know if you have seen these links before but I thought you would like them a lot.

roseusa, good luck and I hope this helps you out a lot too.

If your motherboard can handle it I would get another drive and go raid5 if not then use the other drive as your backup clone so you can boot to that if the raid0 dies. don't keep anything on the raid0 drive that you can't afford to loose.

 

[wolluf]

firewolfrl - great links. I'm only a part time multi-booter nowadays and tend to use whole drives rather than partitions. Also always use boot-us (which is my preferred boot manager) as also no fan of windows boot manager, so haven't taken a great interest in Vista's foibles (just install it then let boot-us pick it up). But did vaguely wonder why boot-us was reporting warnings about partitions not starting on cylinder boundary. Now I know! Thanks.

 

[linney]

Thank you for your links "firewolfrl", much appreciated.