Multiple Windows XP on same computer - can't boot second XP

[friedrice4u]

I'm trying to install 2 copies on Windows XP onto different partitions:

first copy will be for applications and general use
second copy will be for games, no Windows graphical enhancements, or other start on bootup applications

I've successfully installed the first copy of windows and it's working fine but the 2nd copy can never boot up. After initial setup (after 2nd restart of setup process where you actually enter Windows) the system will crash and reboot, even in Safe Mode. Under safe mode, the system hangs and reboots after loading Mup.sys. I turned off the reboot after STOP and got the following message: ***STOP:0x0000007B blah blah blah... I looked up this STOP message on the MS website and it refers to problems with the boot sector.

I'm not sure if the following has anything to do with my problem:

I have 2 x 300Gb SATA drives in RAID (mirrored) running the first Win XP (the one that boots up properly). And I have 2 ulta-ATA HDs, one is 160Gb (master) and the other is 40 Gb (slave). I tried to install the 2nd copy of windows onto the master IDE drive (160Gb). By loading up my first copy of WinXP, the system labels the drives in the following way:

C: SATA drive partition 1
D: SATA drive partition 2
E: IDE master partition 1
Y: IDE master partition 2
Z: IDE slave

However, when I boot into Windows XP setup for the 2nd installation and load the RAID drivers, I get the following order:

C: SATA drive partition 1
D: IDE master partition 1
E: SATA drive partition 2
F: IDE master partition 2
G: IDE slave


does that matter? is there a problem with a system using a SATA RAID / UATA hybrid?

help?

 

[acole1]

Um.. check your boot.ini files and make sure they are pointing to the right places. Thats all I have for now. :\

 

[Smilin]

drop to recovery console run these:

type c:\boot.ini
map arc

compare the output of the two to be sure you are truly booting to the right place.

After that, be sure the drivers for your raid are present in the problem system. If needed you can copy the .sys file for the driver from one system32\drivers folder over to the other.

A stop 7B is only a boot sector problem if it happens immediately. If you get a ways into the boot process then it's due to the OS (ntldr or ntoskrnl depending on when) not being able to find the right driver, or possibly loading a bad filter driver. Your boot.ini pointing to the wrong place could be one culprit.

As a brute force approach you can also boot with your setup CD (provide f6 drivers of course) then repair the second install.

 

[friedrice4u]

ok i tried the above and it didn't do anything. my windows will still hang and restart. i even uninstalled both Windows XP and tried to install XP on the IDE partition first (while loading the RAID drivers still), but after install WinXP still hangs and reboots - so a fresh install did nothing. it seems as long as my WinXP is installed on my RAID SATA drive, it's happy, on an IDE drive, it crashes.

i've checked that the boot.ini is pointing in the right place by typing the two lines you suggested. also, if the locations WERE mismatched, would I even get a Windows logo to begin with?

oh well, i'm just gonna use 1 copy of windows for now, unless there's a real fix for this.