What your boot.ini is showing?
Boot.ini is on your root C:\
It may show hidden. Just do a Tools/Folder options/View and unclick the
hidden files and folders to show them up

"Terry Pinnell" wrote:

> Sorry about the length of this, but I reckon it's necessary to provide
> a full picture and hence get some much-needed help please.
>
> Following my previous posts, I have now installed a new 200GB HD to
> replace the 60GB one with 4 bad blocks, as recommended.
>
> However, although I'm sending this from a working 3-drive system, the
> 2-drive configuration I'm trying to achieve resolutely refuses to
> work. That's after slogging at it for 3 days without success. I'd
> hoped to sort it without returning here for more help, but I have to
> admit defeat for the time being!
>
> I won't attempt to describe all the details of the various
> combinations I've tried. Very briefly:
>
> - The original 2 identical 60GB disks both had a partition of about
> 12GB containing my XP Home OS (and around half of my program files),
> and I could boot to either. That gave me a feeling of security, and
> I'd like to continue that. (I also have an *image* of my OS, and I aim
> to update that reasonably often, as another security measure.)
>
> - I eventually succeeded in getting OS copies also into partitions on
> the 2 identical 200GB HDs, using PowerQuest Drive Image. (That's the
> 200GB added a few weeks ago via an extra PCI card; and the latest
> identical 200GB, bought as replacement for the faulty 60GB.)
>
> - I am able to boot up from each of these when that is the only drive
> present, and in various 3-drive configurations, including the one I
> have at present.
>
> - For simplicity, power and noise reasons, I want to get rid of the
> remaining 60GB disk.
>
> - But that doesn't work. I get a variety of errors, depending on which
> one I try to boot, including for example:
> "Press a key to reboot" (then cycling repeatedly)
> "NTLDR is missing..."
> "Some other file or other (HAL.DLL?) is missing..."
> All those are presumably symptomatic of XP not finding a bootable
> partition? Yet, as I said, there *is* one, and it does work in other
> circumstances.
>
> Then, late last night, with only the 200GB disks in place (as disk 0
> and disk 1), I started to get panic-generating messages like:
> "A problem is preventing Windows accurately checking the licence for
> this computer. Error code 0x80090006"
> "Windows cannot load the user's profile but has logged you on with the
> default profile for this system" (But it got no further.)
>
> Here's what my setup is right now
> http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/I...entStatus1.gif
>
> One major source of confusion for me throughout this exercise is:
> which of these OSs am I 'in' right now? I think I have booted to Disk
> 1 Partition 1. That's the default shown in Settings > Startup. It is
> also consistent with what I see in boot.ini. And that's also
> consistent with the XP Disk Management display showing 'boot' in that
> entry. IOW, right now I'm using the OS copy that is in H. BUT then
> why is Disk 0 Partition 1 called C? I thought the boot partition
> automatically got re-labeled by XP to C?
>
> OK, bottom line. I'm sorely tempted to stick with what I have now, and
> just tidy up shortcuts, reorganise files and folders, etc. But it
> would be good to get down to 2 drives. 400 GB should be plenty, even
> with two 12GB OS partitions, and my comprehensive backup precautions.
> Can the experts here suggest a safe way of achieving that please?
>
> --
> Terry, West Sussex, UK
>