Locked out of computer due to bad boot menu

[noel54]

Hi all,

I goofed and messed up my dual boot menu, so now I can't boot into either my XP or Windows 7 drive.

My start-up screen tells me to insert my Windows 7 install disc and choose "Repair." Turns out it won't do that for some reason, so I'm up a tree...

Is there any solution short of re-installing one of my OS's?

Thanks for any help, noel54

 

[Zillatech]

What exactly do you mean by "Locked Out"? Is it a password issue or file corruption?

 

[noel54]

Zillatech,

When I boot up, instead of getting a boot menu, I get an admonition to insert my installation disc to do a repair, and then it can't, for some reason, do the repair. So I have no way to boot either my XP or my 7 OS... at least I can't think of any.

Right now I'm trying to use an image on my XP partition to see if that will recover my boot menu...

noel54

 

[Zillatech]

You can't even enter the "Recovery Console" with the Windows 7 Disc?

 

[noel54]

Villatech,

The XP image worked and now I'm booting into XP!! But my boot menu still doesn't show Windows 7, and I don't have an image for 7, so I may need to re-install it, otherwise I have no way to get to Windows - no boot menu with 7 on it

I may try to edit the boot menu, but that's what got me into trouble the first time :hmm:

If you can tell me how I can open an OS without a boot menu, I would be very pleased for your advice,

noel54

 

[Zillatech]

Might this article apply?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529

 

[Zillatech]

Or better yet, this one:

http://windows7forums.com/windows-7-support/2950-windows-7-boot-ini-file.html

 

[noel54]

Villatech,

Thanks for all the help. Seems from what I read, I'll have to do a re-install of Windows 7 to get my boot menu back, so that's where I'll go. I had hoped to get out of that, but sometime there ain't a choice :thumbsdown:

Appreciate your tries to help me, though,

noel54