win XP SP2 Changed Default Boot

Hello,

I have purchased two hard disk one is of 40 GB and another one is also is of 40 GB, I have decided to keep the dual boot for my PC and hence when i select second HD for win XP SP2 but the boot order automatically changes.

When i checked in the boot.ini but the only thing that changed was the addition of:"/NoExecute=OptIn"; the boot order was the same, but second HD became the default, where i had selected for the first one.Now i wanted to make it for second HD, does i need to do any changes in the BIOS.

How this has happened I became nook at this, please help.

To edit the file go to the boot.ini File then check for the further options /boot/grub/menu.lst. There will be a line that says.

Quote:

---

default 0

---

and to do the necessary changes you have to first decide which HD you wanted to make it '0' and '1' and so on. Simply change '0' to the number of your install. For example, if your grub has three entries and your second HD will be third, change default to 2 (0 is the first entry, not 1).

can think of is using the Windows bootloader to select which OS to boot. As far as I know, within XP, you can change the boot order depending on which OS you want as the default one to load.

If you're using two seperate HDs you can use this method.

1.Configure in BIOS the Second HD at first, the first HD as second boot HD.

2.You need to copy from C:\ the file CHAIN0. It's 512 bytes long and you'll find it on the Windows side of your WinOS Install DVD.

3. Edit boot.ini. Normally it's hidden and write-protected.you need to unhide that and check off the write protected box.

To boot Windows first add this line to boot.ini (backup first):

C:\chain0="MacOS X x86 10.4.x my personal system"

Tips: enter /noexecute=alwaysoff and Windows will disable the file execution thing. You may set the timeout period there, as you may set the timeout to 5 or so and change the timeout as per your need.
And at next reboot it should show off with the Windows boot selector and you may select which OS you want on each HD.

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
   -or-
   Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.
2. On the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery.
3. Under System Startup, click Edit. This opens the file in Notepad ready for editing.
4. In Notepad, click File on the Menu bar, and then click Save As.
5. Right click in an empty area of the Save As dialog box, point to New in the context menu, and then click Folder.
6. Type a name for the new folder, for example temp, and then press the ENTER key to create the folder named temp.
7. Double-click the new folder named temp, and then click the Save button to save a backup copy of the Boot.ini file.