whenever i boot my computer i get the "invalid BOOT.INI file" message on the screen. how do i correct this?

Question

Is this an error that comes due to a potential virus attack???

Answer 1

"Invalid Boot.ini" or "Windows could not start" error messages when you start your computer





1. Configure the computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. For information about how to do this, see your computer documentation, or contact your computer manufacturer.

2. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.

3. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.

4. When you receive the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R to start the Recovery Console.

5. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.

6. When you are prompted, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.

7. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press ENTER. The entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen.

8. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER. This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then displays the results. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file. For example, follow these steps to add a Windows XP installation to the Boot.ini file:

1. When you receive a message that is similar to the following message, press Y:

Total Identified Windows Installs: 1



[1] C:\Windows

Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)

2. You receive a message that is similar to the following message:

Enter Load Identifier

This is the name of the operating system. When you receive this message, type the name of your operating system, and then press ENTER. This is either Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.

3. You receive a message that is similar to the following:

Enter OS Load options

When you receive this message, type /fastdetect, and then press ENTER.



Note The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.

9. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console. Your computer restarts, and the updated boot list appears when you receive the "Please select the operating system to start" message.

Answer 2

if you are unable to use a recovery console (I can't because I never installed one, I wanted the ability to do a rebuild), you can do a rebuild when you boot your OS media. that's a little extreme, so I am going to recommend instead that you use a linux cd to access your windows partition and get your hands dirty with UNIX.





make your boot.ini file in /mnt/c containing the following (this is for a Dell partition with a 4GB Eisa config partition as the first partition [1] and 960GB C: is the second partition [2] there is a 3rd 32GB partition I don't know what it is, possibly system restore stuff, but we will ignore that now):



I don't recommend gparted for vista/7 systems, but the system rescue cd should work great.



follow the directions to mount your partition.

use vi or emacs (I like vi since it's simpler)to edit boot.ini.

vi /mnt/c/boot.ini

hit i type the following (modify it as necessary), then hit Esc then type ZZ to save the file and exit.



[boot loader]

timeout=30

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



full directions without yahoo's scrunching are on my web page (last link)

Answer 3

Start your computer with the Windows Installation CD/DVD and enter setup when prompted.



From the Screen press R.



You will be directed to the Recovery Console.





Type bootcfg /list

Type bootcfg /rebuild



Detailed instructions here:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330184

Answer 4

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Answer 5

You need to repair your os.