Old IDE drive:
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Professional x64
Edition" /fastdetect
New SATA Drive
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Old XP Pro on E:"
/FASTDETECT /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN
In just an IDE environment, "rdisk(x)" refers to the disk that
is at position "x" relative to the start of the HD boot order.
The *default* HD boot order is:
Master, IDE ch. 0,
Slave, IDE ch.0,
Master, IDE ch. 1,
Slave, IDE ch. 1.
In this default HD boot order, assuming that all IDE ch. positions
are occupied by a HD, rdisk(0) refers to the Master on IDE ch. 0,
rdisk(1) refers to the Slave on IDE ch. 0, etc. If there is no HD
with an MBR at a particular position, rdisk() just refers to the next
HD in the HD boot order.
Many, if not most, BIOSes allow the user to reset the HD boot
order via keyboard during the POST phase of the boot process.
But the meaning of "rdisk(x)" continues to follow whatever HD
boot order that the user sets up. This can be used to change
which HD controls booting merely by resetting the HD boot order,
and it can be used as a crude (but effective) method of multi-
booting. The only thing it lacks is partition selection to find the OS.
A crude way of selecting the partition to control booting is to
set which Primary partition on a HD is "active" before restarting
the PC. Once a HD is selected for booting, the MBR of that HD
hands off control to the boot sector of the "active" partition, where
ntldr and boot.ini and ntdetect.com are expected to be found.
In WinXP, the "active" setting can be manually controlled with
Disk Management - rt-clk a partition in the GUI, and if "Mark
Partition as Active" is greyed out, it's already "active".
But, of course, the most convenient way of multi-booting is to
use the menu information contained in the entries of the boot.ini
file. There, "rdisk(x)" refers to the HD relative to its position x in
the HD boot order, starting with "0", and "partition()" refers to the
position of the partition within the HD, starting with "1". The
partitions are no'd starting with the Primary partitions, then the
Local Drives on the Extended partition if there is one. Thus, the
OS can be in any partition on any HD in the system. There can
even be more than one OS in each partition since the file name
containing the OS must be given, too, which the installer usually
chooses to be "WINDOWS" unless there is already a "WINDOWS"
folder present. (I don't recommend more than one OS in a
partition, though.)
Now, as you have found, when the SATA HD boot order is
selected, "rdidk(0)" refers to the 1st SATA HD in the HD boot
order, *probably* SATA ch. 0. "rdisk(1)" would *probably* refer
to the 2nd SATA HD in the default SATA HD boot order -
*probably* SATA ch. 1.
Your question is "How does one combine the "rdisk()" spaces
of the IDE and SATA HDs?" I don't know the answer to that,
but the answer is probably *very* BIOS-specific. Since your
ASUS is a Phoenix-based BIOS, it's probably a common
implementation, so the answer would be valuable to a lot of
PC users. Please favor us with an experiment:
Set the BIOS to use the IDE controller first.
In the boot.ini file of an "active" Primary partition of an IDE HD,
place an OS entry that has the "rdisk()" argument set to the
no. of IDE HDs in the system. That is, if there is one IDE HD,
use "rdisk(1)" in the new entry. See if it causes the SATA HD
to control booting. If it does, it would appear that the rdisk()
space of the IDE HD boot order spills over into the SATA HD
boot order. If "rdisk(1)" doesn't work, try "rdisk(5)".
I suspect, though, that the rdisk() spaces don't overlap since
the controllers are so different. But please let us know.
*TimDaniels*
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional E:" /FASTDETECT /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Pro x64 "
/fastdetect ( This would be IDE drive #1 partition #1 ?)
I'll try it now.
"Timothy Daniels" <TDan...@NoSpamDot.com> wrote in message
news:qMadnY-1E9a-NRDZ...@comcast.com...
[boot loader]
timeout=5
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP
Professional" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Pro x64 Edition"
/fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Pro on SATA drive C
" /fastdetect
rebooting now
"- Bobb -" <bo...@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:uXK7Rqkj...@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
That boot.ini worked fine.
IDE drive = rdisk(0) primary drive in BIOS (my X64 boot)
rdisk = 1 for SATA = XP Pro.
So, that will save me an install
I can now install Vista x64 to the IDE drive ( overwrite old copy of XP)
and when done with the beta , remove the IDE to get back to plain old XP
Pro.
Although the drive letters change between OS boots. For X64 one drive =
C , then under XP that drive partition = F:
I'll have to think over how I'd like to have the drives / Os'es
arranged.
I'll let you know how I end up - thanks very much.
( gotta get back to an SBS install for now - same kind of issue.)
back on my PC wrote in message
news:us5QPxkj...@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Thought a second and the X64 box needs to be first drive so I booted
> it and changed boot.ini to be:
>
> [boot loader]
> timeout=5
> default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
> [operating systems]
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Pro x64
> Edition" /fastdetect
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Pro on SATA
> drive C " /fastdetect
>
> the XP install that is on 0-0-0-2 not used for now
*TimDaniels*
"- Bobb -" wrote:
> So - with SATA as first boot - my boot.ini would be :
>
> [boot loader]
> timeout=5
> default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
> [operating systems]
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS=
> "Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
> /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN /FASTDETECT
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS=
> "Microsoft Windows XP Professional"
*TimDaniels*
"RJ" wrote:
> Thought a second and the X64 box needs to be first drive,
Way to go! Thanks!
Bobb
"Timothy Daniels" <TDan...@NoSpamDot.com> wrote in message
news:c-Gdnem9aYFdkBPZ...@comcast.com...
*TimDaniels*
"- Bobb -" wrote:
> I misunderstood your earlier comment. Right - it's NOT the default:
> I scroll down to 3rd entry to boot it. ( I just added the 3rd line - in
> case nothing worked in that config, I could pop out the drive and
> leave boot.ini alone.)
>
> Bobb
>