Windows Forum

Ask something
Discussion Locked

XP Upgrade unable to access c:\boot.ini

0 helpful
10 replies

by kiddosmom2005

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I am attempting to upgrade from XP Home to Pro so I can use remote desktop. When the upgrade starts I get the following error: Setup was unable to access you existing boot configuration file, C:\BOOT.INI
It then tells me to go into the Recovery Console and choose the option to repair/recover my boot & configuration files. Since I'm not an advanced user I'm leary of going in there and making any changes. How can I be sure that I'm not changing anything that will keep my system from opening as it says it might MS help? Can anyone give me the steps I should take to get this ini file open or installed so the upgrade can go forward?

10 replies

by ptreadway

Try this web site-www.jsinc.com/SUBA/tip0000/rh0055.htm
Or go to windows Help and Support and try KB 163914 or KB 827180 one of these will give you what you need.

Hope this helps.

by rewrite

Upgrading is always a risk. There is no sure way to guarantee success but in the majority of situations it will go as expected. XP home can be upgraded to XP pro but if you have applied any service packs to the xp home installation then if the pro version you are using to upgrade with does not include at least that upgrade you will not be able to do a successful upgrade. Example: if you have applied sp1 to the home installation the pro cd you are using must either include sp1 or sp2. If you have applied the sp2 update to the home installation then the pro cd must have sp2 included.

Cheers.

RW

by kiddosmom2005

Both my Home and the upgrade Pro have SP2 loaded. I actually thought it might be something that happened when I loaded SP2 but since the upgrade has it too it shouldn't be the problem.

by dmiles

How to Edit the bootfile Boot.ini in XP Home and XP Pro.
Windows (specifically Ntldr) uses the Boot.ini file to determine the operating system options to display during the startup (boot) process. Boot.ini is a Read-only, Hidden, System file (Attributes +r +h +s) in the root of the system (boot) partition (usually C:).

Making changes (all methods) - read Edit Boot.ini in Windows or MS-DOS.
Never edit Boot.ini until you have created a backup first.
Always create a Rescue Bootdisk for your current situation (1 floppy disk).
If there's a problem (typing error!), rename the backup to Boot.ini (from Windows or DOS).

BOOT.INI
[boot loader]
? If only one OS will remain, TIMEOUT= is ignored.
? Confirm that the Default= line points to the correct Windows installation.
[operating systems]
? Delete (or edit) the XP/2K/NT line that's not correct.
? If removing Win9x/Me, delete the line [C:\="Microsoft Windows 9x"].

This discussion is closed to new replies.