I need to get into Win XP and edit my boot.ini file. I installed Win 2000 Pro as a dual boot, and now can't get XP to load. Will DOS 7.1 do it?

If you installed windows 2000 with xp all ready installed you will never get it to work properly.

Other than with windows Vista operating system (because it is a completely new system), any dual booting requires that the oldest operating system be installed first....there is no true way to get around this without the use of a third party boot manager that hides the MBR from each operating system installed.

Try to save what files you need saving and start over with installing the W2000 first then installing XP second.

Thanks, it's probably just as well. I was thinking about reinstalling XP anyway. It's been slowing down and some problems there anyway, I've wondered if it wasn't about time to do that. Thanks for the help! And I'll save everything I can before I go this route. I can get in, in 2000 so all is not lost in that respect.

Hey lurkswithin, you actually helped me more than you know and I didn't lose a file.

I got to thinking about what you said here. When I installed Win2000, it overwrote the MBR and would default to that Boot Record. (I had forgotten about the MBR). So, I installed Win XP "again" in another folder so now I have basically a triple boot or multi-boot with 3 separate copies of an OS on the same partition. When the install of XP finished and I could get back into the original boot.ini file and remove the reference to Win2000. I deleted the folder WinNT. Then restarted and got rid of the last install of Win XP that I put in the folder "xphome" instead of "windows". I'm back to the original install that I was trying to repair.

I do however, think I'm going to do a complete format and start over, but this allows me to use the installed software such as CD burning software to save what I want to save before I do this.

I just wanted to let you know that you can repair this without losing any files, it just takes a little time (the new installation of XP in the folder "xphome" since starting this thread). Patience doesn't hurt either.

Glad to be of service...lol

I know some people that have been able to use the repair option for repairing the MBR on some issues. I have never had any luck at it...Sometimes it seems to work but then after the fith or sixth reboot things go squirelly again

As you installed another copy of the operating system, it may be that you could boot to that one and then open the other as I never went that far...to me it is less bothersome to just save and start over swap the saved files and back in business in just about 15 minutes