Start-Up Error: 'Please Select Operating System...'

Question

For unknown reason, every start-up now generates a black screen which requires that I select Windows XP or Windows XP (recovery). This happens in Safe Mode as well. Virus Scan turned up one 'Win32-Trojan' that was removed. Norton Disk Doctor and WinDoctor found nothing major. Every reference to this issue that I've found connects it to a double OS installation or partitions... I haven't done anything to the hard drive.

tgsmith · Answer

Jdolnick,   Does the second choice read 'Microsoft Windows Recovery Console'? If so, somehow or other the Recovery Console option has been added to your boot.ini file.  Right click on Start.  Left click on Explore.  Click Tools|Folder Options.  In the Folder Options window, click on the View tab.  Scroll down to the 'Hidden files and folders' option.  Make sure the 'Show hidden files and folders' has a tic in it.  Click Apply.  Now, navigate to the root directory of your C: drive.  Scroll down the list of files until you see the boot.ini file.  Right click on it.  Left click on Open.  If the Recovery Console is installed as a boot option, you will see the last line of text reads:   C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT='Microsoft Windows Recovery Console' /cmdcons   If you do not see this line, then Recovery Console is not installed.  Also, if the Recovery Console is installed, there will be a subdirectory named cmdcons in the root directory of the C: drive.  Personally,  if the Recovery Console is installed, I would leave it alone.  Saves the hassle of booting from the Windows XP CD if you need to use Recovery Console to repair your Windows XP installation.   You can delete the line that contains the second boot choice.  However, keep in mind that an incorrect edit of the boot.ini file will prevent Windows from booting at all.   Safer method of checking the boot.ini file would be to click on Start|Run.  Type msconfig.  Press Enter.  Click on the Boot.ini tab.  Click on the 'Check all boot paths' button.  It will notify you if the second boot choice refers to a valid boot path and give you the option to remove it.   Hope this info helps.   Tony

jmwills · Answer

While you are in the msconfig console hit the button that says 'Check All Boot Paths'.  This will edit and correct that issue.

jdolnick · Answer

Tony:
Here is what appears in the boot.ini file:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (RECOVER) " /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

I also tried the msconfig fix; the reply was that all boot.ini lines are ok.

Message Edited by jdolnick on 06-07-2007 05:09 AM

jmwills · Answer

Did you delete the existing partitions when you reinstalled the new OS?  If not, then you indeed do have two copies of XP installed.

tgsmith · Answer

Jdolnick,

The two lines essentially are referring to the same Windows installation. That is, they both point to to the same disk, same partition and \Windows as the systemroot directory. Why one has (Recover) on the end of it is beyond me, unless that line has some form of hidden script (an old hacker trick from way back whereby you write an instruction then do a non-destructive backspace over a portion of it so that what you see is not what you're getting).

I would simply open boot.ini with notepad. Save it as boot.bak. Then remove the entire line that has (Recover) in it. Save the edited file as boot.ini. This is necessary since you previously saved it as boot.bak. If you simply Save the edited file after saving it as boot.bak, then it would simply overwrite the boot.bak and you would not have a boot.ini file. A boot.ini file is required to boot Windows.

Tony

Message Edited by tgsmith on 06-09-2007 02:58 PM

jdolnick · Answer

I haven't reinstalled the OS; didn't do anything like that.

jdolnick · Answer

Tony, my previous reply didn't get processed, so I'll try again. I just want to make sure about this so I don't really cause some damage. I'm to save the boot.ini as boot.bak. Then I edit the original boot.ini as you instructed? Also, is this of any significance to this problem? Looking at Disk Management, the hard drive shows 31mb FAT (EISA Configuration) and 11.72GB NTFS (System).

tgsmith · Answer

Jdolnick,   Reviewing my previous post, I see where my instructions might be confusing to some.  Basically, what you need to do is to make a backup copy of the boot.ini file.  Then you open the boot.ini file with Notepad.  Remove the entire line of text that has the (RECOVER) at the end of it.  Save the boot.ini file as boot.ini.  I've edited my prior post to be a little more clearer.   The 31Mb FAT (EISA configuration) partition is the Dell Diagnostics Utility partition.  The 11.2Gb NTFS (System) partition is your operating system partition.  There is a third, hidden, Dell PC Restore by Symantec partition which contains an image of the original as-shipped configuration of your system.    If you will review the two lines in your boot.ini, you will note that both of them reference the Windows directory on the second partition.   That's why I recommend just deleting that second line.  It's pointing to the same Windows directory and has the same parameters.  It's just a duplicate entry of the first line with (RECOVER) added to it.   Hope this clarifies things.   Tony

jdolnick · Answer

That did the trick. Thanks.

tgsmith · Answer

Jdolnick,   You're welcome.  Thanks for posting back with resolution to problem.  Helps everyone reading these posts.   Tony

Windows General

Start-Up Error: "Please Select Operating System..."

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