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Thread ID: 105514 2009-12-05 05:06:00 2x O/S during bootup - how do I delete one straka01 (310) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
836644 2009-12-05 05:06:00 I had quite a lot of trouble yesterday loading an XP pro O/S onto a HDD. Finally I got it loaded up. It's running well and I've updated it completely with SP 1,2,3 as well as the Windows updates.
However, in the process of loading the system I've now got this issue where, when the PC boots up it stops for 15sec while it waits for me to choose either Windows XP PRO or Windows XP PRO?
Of course, if I do nothing it boots up fine but I'd really like to rid myself of the secondary (imaginary) O/S which is probably just a few files.

Can someone tell me if there's a utility to delete one (non-functional) O/S or whether I just need to delete some Windows files / Registry keys?

Not a critical problem - just annoying.
straka01 (310)
836645 2009-12-05 05:22:00 You need to edit the boot.ini file

support.microsoft.com

remove the entry you don't want.
snoopy (74)
836646 2009-12-05 05:39:00 OK, I see the two entries. Which one do I delete? straka01 (310)
836647 2009-12-05 05:42:00 Delete the one that is not highlighted when you boot. snoopy (74)
836648 2009-12-05 20:03:00 How do I delete the faulty entry in BOOT.INI? Pressing delete when it's highlighted doesn't do it, not does right-clicking work? straka01 (310)
836649 2009-12-05 20:13:00 Right click My Computer / properties / Advanced Tab /(Down the bottom in startup and recovery) Settings Button / edit button -- remove the invalid entry / save -- Just a word of warning, remove only the invalid entry, screw it up and the system wont boot.

Look at the linked article in previous post - it shows a default boot.ini

Sample Boot.ini File
This is a sample of a default Boot.ini file from a Windows XP Professional computer.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect

The cheats way - if you are not sure about which one to remove, where it says "time to display list of Operating systems" drop that time right down.
wainuitech (129)
836650 2009-12-05 21:06:00 In BOOT.INI it shows 2x boot lines:

1/ ........MS Windows XP Pro" /fastdetect
2/ ........MS Windows XP Pro" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

Which one do I remove?
straka01 (310)
836651 2009-12-05 21:18:00 Post back the Complete boot ini as per that sample please. wainuitech (129)
836652 2009-12-05 21:27:00 [boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOW S
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
straka01 (310)
836653 2009-12-05 23:06:00 I suspect it is the 2nd entry, rename it to

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Micro soft Windows XP Professional 2 " /fastdetect

save & reboot see which one is being used
snoopy (74)
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