Two copies of XP on boot up?

Question

I hope this isn't a common question I have looked...really.   I have just re-installed XP Home on my laptop. Got through the CD boot-up, then deleted all partitions, re-created a new partition (just one), then installed XP.   My problem started on the first sucessful reboot as I got to a screen asking which operating system to load - 1. XP Home or 2. XP Home. It does time out after 30 seconds but it is a pain. How can I resolve this?   I hope it does not need another installation as I carried on and reloaded all drivers, antivirus and XP updates (some 150-200MB downloads to catch up!). But any option would be considered.   Thanks.

Kiwiphil · Answer

Thanks a lot Denny that was easy. I did try the solution of run "cmd" "bootcfg etc etc but got an error message every time.

What hurts is that I do know about the boot.ini but just assumed it was a bigger problem than just a stupid stray line.

Think twice, do once, think once look a dunce.

Denny Denham · Answer

Kiwiphil, Go to Start|Run, enter msconfig and click OK. On the BOOT.INI tab click the 'Check all boot paths' button. One of the paths will be designated as not valid and you will be able to delete it at that time.

Z_Ghost · Answer

I had the same problem and did what Denny said to do and that fixed it but now the computer starts up in Selective Startup mode. Is that going to be a problem?

Kiwiphil · Answer

When you first boot up after the change you will get the dialogue box letting you know you have chosen selective start-up. There is a check box (bottom left I think) to prevent the box showing again which will stop it showing up every time.   Selective start-up is not a problem; in the msconfig start-up tab you can check each program which will load during start-up. If you don't want some of them to run you can simply uncheck them. This removes unwanted system tray icons showing up and stops unecessary programs running in the background. You can still run them with the programs (eg OCR, scanning or printers) as once the program is used they use the excuse to start running and then continue running 'in case you need them'. So mostly it is not a problem to run without them.   However be warned if you don't know what you are stopping either leave them alone or at least check what happens next boot up, as you can also prevent antivirus and more essential programs running.   What you have done so far is basically chosen not to run one thing but it still drops you into the selective start-up catagory.

Z_Ghost · Answer

Thanks Kiwiphil

I did check the box so the warning does not show up.

I tried to set it to normal startup but then I get the screen with 2 XPs showing up again so I just went back and killed the extra boot ini again and left it in selective start-up.

It does seem to be running better with the clean install and well I know I am no expert but with the help you can find on line it sure is a lot easier to learn how to do stuff.

XP was easier to format and install then 98 is and I was able to do 98 and did it 4 times, at least it was easier once I figured it out.

Windows General

Two copies of XP on boot up?

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