Dual Boot Problem

Hello, I currently use a dual boot configuration

Partition #1 - 74GB devoted to XP Professional 32-Bit (Raptor)
Partition #2 - 74GB devoted to Vista Ultimate 32-Bit (Seagate)
Partition #3 - 301GB for backups and other uses (Seagate)

Partition 2 & 3 are the same 7200RPM drive just split into seperate partitions.

The problem, that I would like a workaround to:
- When I am away from my PC while the dual boot menu comes up it defaults into vista. When I come back to the PC, I am in the wrong OS for 80% of my programs.

Is there anyway to make it boot into XP Professional vs Vista whenever I am not around to select it? Its easy enough to reboot, but a workaround would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

In XP Windows Explorer:
Tools -> Folder Options -> View and select "Show Hidden Files and Folders" and de-select "Hide Protected Operating System Files".
Navigate to your C:\ directory, Copy the boot.ini file to another folder location for safety backup "just in case" and rename it boot_old.ini (or whatever you want).
Open boot.ini in the C:\ directory with Notepad, and place the XP line entry above the Vista entry (swap places, in other words), then Save. That's it. Reboot.
After rebooting, go back into Explorer and undo the changes from Step 1 and delete the boot_old.ini file that you backed up.

 

I don't see a boot.ini file

Here is what I see:
RECYCLER
$RECYCLE.BIN
Config.Msi
System Volume Information
Autoexec
Config
IO
MSDOS
pagefile

under the root of C:

 

Are you currently in XP?

 

You can also make the changes while in Vista:

1. Press the Windows + R keystrokes to open the Run command.
2. Type ‘msconfig’ and click OK.
3. Click the Boot tab to make changes to the file as outlined - highlight the XP line entry and select the "move up" button to place it above the Vista line entry.

Hope that helps.

 

There is no XP option, here is exactly what I see:

http://img01.picoodle.com/img/img01/8/6/4/t_noxpm_5a583e0.jpg

You'll probably have to right click and save the image somewhere to view it at its original size.

I thank you for your help, but I need a different way of doing it. The image above shows you that I don't see what you are describing.

 

Hello Mike.

Vista no longer uses boot.ini file. It was used by Longhorn and beta versions, but the final version introduces completely new boot loader. All boot.ini fiiles are ignored and you cannot change the boot order from within XP. Unfortunately/luckily I don't use Vista, so I cannot try this option, but I've been googling for a while and found this suggestion, which sounds viable to me. You could try it, but carefully read the instructions first.

Good luck...

 

That did it, thank you both for the assist.

XP now logs in always and the timeout is 08 instead of 30

Thanks again

 

Glad that helped. You're most welcome.