Recently I have been receiving the following when I first boot up my system: Missing Boot.INI File Booting From C:\Windows\ Has anyone else ever experienced this and if so what did you do to correct it? I still have Windows XP Pro, SP3, 32 bit. As always I would appreciate all replies and would thank you in advance. John
How about http://pcsupport.about.com/od/fixtheproblem/ht/repairbootini.htm https://neosmart.net/wiki/invalid-boot-ini-file/ http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-Boot.Ini
Removed Off Topic Post. Assistance is Needed for Specific OS: Windows XP Pro, SP3, 32 bit. Let's Focus On That. Thank You!
Before doing anything make a system restore point or another backup of your system. boot.ini is a protected system file. It should be in the root directory C:\. You can see if it's there: 1. Open C:\ 2. Tools>Folder Options>View>Uncheck "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)." 3. Click Yes at the warning. Just remember to recheck the box when you're done working. If you now see boot.ini, then it's probably gotten corrupted somehow. There should be a boot.ini.backup on your system. On my XP Home Edition it's C:\Windows\pss. You might have to search your system but it's not hidden or protected so it shouldn't be too hard to find. Make a copy of it and rename it boot.ini, then copy to C:\.
Thank you zapjb I will print the instructions first and then try to find my Windows XP Pro set up disc. According to what I read this doesn't look to difficult to do. Thanks again for your assistance. John
Allizomeniz, When I, as you suggested, opened C:\ went to Tools>Folder Options>View the "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" it was already unchecked. I looked for the boot.ini file in my C:\ directory but it was not there. I could not find the boot.ini file anywhere on my computer I even used the search function with no results. But I did find the boot.ini backup file in the C:\Windows\pss directory. Before I do as you suggest, rename the file and copy it to C:\, I wondered how safe this is. Looks to me to be pretty harmless but I would like to know for sure. I suppose if it doesn't work I can delete it and I would think it would just be as it was. What do you think? John
Hey John. Since there's no boot.ini file in C:\, or anywhere else for that matter, you might want to do more research to find out exactly where it belongs. Mine's in C:\, but I've got XP Home Edition. If you put it in the wrong directory it could have unintended consequences. Also, make a copy of boot.ini.backup and rename the copy, don't use the backup itself. It's fairly common sense, but I forgot to mention it in my original post and went back and edited it. If you can't find out where boot.ini goes, you might start a new thread with something about that in the title. Surely there's someone here with XP Pro who can tell ya.
John, Can you post a screenshot of Disk Management? This will allow us to create a new boot.ini. You mentioned "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" it was already unchecked. Can you also put a dot in "Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives". Can you see boot.ini in the C: drive root?
Brian K, Please don't forget I am still using Windows XP Pro, SP3, 32 bit As previously posted I cannot find boot.ini anywhere on my computer. I even used the search function in Windows and while it found the boot.ini backup it did not find boot.ini. When I look in my C:\ directory, comprised mostly of various folders plus a few files it is not there. While there is no dot in "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" there is a dot in "Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives". Brian I know just enough about computers to get myself in trouble. So when you say post a screenshot of Disk Management I want to be sure we are on the same page. I would go to Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Storage>Disk Management and make a copy of that? I can make a copy using SnagIt if that would be okay. I appreciate very much the offer of assistance and will wait for your reply before I attempt to do anything else. John
Allizomeniz, I sure do appreciate the assistance you have given me. Before I go any further I am doing as Brian K suggested in the hopes he can help me also. Thanks again John
John, That is the correct Disk Management. I'm mainly interested in the partition rectangles. You have no tick in "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)" and a dot in "Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives" so if you can't see boot.ini in the C: root, it isn't there. You should be able to see pagefile.sys in the C: drive root. Correct? Can you copy/paste the text from your boot.ini backup to your next post? Edit.... In C: drive root, WinXP should have..... autoexec.bat boot.ini config.sys io.sys msdos.sys ntdetect.com ntldr pagefile.sys
John, Copy boot.ini.backup to a document folder and rename it to boot.ini. You should now be able to right click it, click Edit and see the contents.
Brian, In my C:\ drive, I have: io.sys msdos.sys ntdetect.com ntldr pagefile.sys hiberfil.sys Log.txt mbam3.txt. I do not have: autoexec.bat boot.ini config.sys I copied the boot.ini.backup file to a folder and renamed it boot.ini; and I believe this is the contents you were looking to see. [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="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /noexecute=optin I have not made a copy of the partition rectangles I can but there doesn't appear to be anything out of the ordinary. Should you need anything else please advise. And again, thanks for all of the assistance you are giving me. John
John, can you tell me about the rectangles? How many partitions? What are they, in order from left to right?
boot.ini file in root C:\ Go to Start > Run > type in: msconfig > BOOT.INI tab Should see contents (same info as a C:\boot.ini file) Click on Check All Boot Paths and read the system configuration popup message. Also located in System Properties Right click on My Computer > Properties > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery - Settings button > System startup > Edit button (should see same boot.ini contents as well) Your backup boot.ini file looks typical and nothing out of the ordinary Your NoExecute=OptIn setting limits DEP to Windows system binaries NoExecute=OptOut Turns on DEP for all programs and services.
Removed Off Topic Post and Reply. Again, There's No Need For Opinions, When a Member Asks For Specific Help.
Brian K, Row across the top of the Rectangle: Volume Drive_C (C Layout Partition Type Basic File System NTFS Status Healthy (System) Capacity 74.53 GB Free Space 31.50 GB %Free 42% Fault Tolerance Overhead No Overhead % Column to the left: Disk 0 Basic 74.53 GB Online CD-ROM 0 CD-ROM (D No Media CD-ROM 1 DVD (E No Media I hope this is the information you asked for. Thank You! PS The Smiley Faces are the closing bracket I cannot edit them out!
John, thanks. Straight forward single partition so W is 1. See below. This web page explains the relevant boot.ini parameters. Note, the relative primary partition order in the partition table is what matters, not the partition order seen in Disk Management. They usually match but not always. http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=159 In a Dell WinXP computer, W is usually 2 but can be 1. You have several files missing from the C: drive root. Maybe malware did this. Weird. Copy boot.ini to the C: drive root. Open a Command Prompt, type the following and press Enter. attrib +h +s C:\boot.ini You won't see any messages. It just goes back to the prompt. Now put a tick in "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)". Leave the dot in "Show Hidden Files, Folders and Drives". Restart the computer. Fixed? Thanks to allizomeniz for information on the backup.
Brian K, Thank you so very much for instructing me on how to resolve my problem. I followed your instructions and now the system seems to be booting up properly. Only thing I have left to do is to put a tick in "Hide protected operating system files (Recommended)". Again, thanks very much I certainly do appreciate it. John
JRViejo, I apologize for causing you to have to delete a couple of posts of members replying to my request for assistance. I am happy to say my problem has now been resolved. John
John, no need to apologize! I was trying to keep the thread focused on your issue, without distractions, so others could help you. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, however, NOT when fixing a specific problem, as detailed by you. Congrats on the fix, and kudos to those members who were willing to help you. That's what Wilders is all about. Take care.
