Skipping user choice screen in WinXP

[dazed woman]

I have pulled my computer out of storage after two years and cannot remember how to do this. XP Home was installed on a new seocnd HD since original XP managed to get corrupted. :confused:

So...I seem to remember there was a way to skip the log-in screen if you are the only user in Windows XP. I would like to boot straight to my desktop. How???

And another question for advice...I still have XP installed on the original hard drive but it boots from the new one. I would like to reformat the old drive and am copying docs and stuff over to the new one drive. Will copying drag any problematic files over to the new install?

Thanks for any help.

[dazed woman]

I found my answer to the user question at:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;282866&Product=winxp
for anyone that looks at this post. Still would like an answer to the second part about multiple XP installs.

[John0904]

Copying docs and stuff over to the drive shouldn't be a problem.

If a particular program that you copied to the new drive has any problems, just reinstall that program.

[rond36]

I am glad that you found the answer to your first question.

The answer to your second question depends on what caused the corruption in your original XP on C:

If it was a virus I wouldn't copy any files without scanning them first with a good virus scanner.

If it was missing or corrupt Windows files I would say it should be safe to copy the files but I would still scan them for viruses.

Have you tried to fix your original copy of XP?

If you format C: you will remove the boot loader from the MBR of your first hard drive and delete the boot files from C:\ that redirect the boot process to your second copy of XP.

When you try to boot from your hard drive after you format C: all you will get is a non system disk error!!!

The files that must be in C:\ are:

ntldr(no extension)(The operating system loader)

ntdetect.com(The file that passes information about the hardware configuration to Ntldr.)

boot.ini(A file that specifies the paths to Windows XP installations. For multiple-boot systems, Boot.ini contains the operating system choices that display on the startup menu)

bootsect.dos(A hidden system file that Ntldr loads for a Windows XP multiple-boot configuration that includes MS-DOS, Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me. Bootsect.dos contains the boot sector for these operating systems)This file will only be present if you have MS-DOS, Win 9X, or ME installed on C drive, you don't so it isn't needed

Also needed are:
autoexec.bat
config.sys
io.sys
msdos.sys
The last four make the drive bootable.
All of these files are hidden system files so you will need to change your view settings so you can see them.

If you are wanting to use the first drive for storage you could delete all files and folders except the seven files listed above.

Caution: If you have any programs that you installed on the second copy of XP that installed to C drive(sometimes the default install drive)they will be lost along with any user data that is stored in that programs folder and will need to be re-installed

If you don't want to get a boot menu asking which operating system to boot:
in the second copy of XP
right click on "My Computer"
choose "Properties"
select the "Advanced" tab
in the startup and recovery box choose "Settings"
in the system startup box
for the default operating system select your other copy of XP and un-tick "Time to display list of operating systems:" or set the time to 0 seconds.

Another option would be to format C: and do a repair install of your other copy of XP.

Caution: The last time I tried this it did not work. I didn't get the option to repair the copy on drive E: it would only let me install a new copy

[Paul Komski]

Just a couple of areas to be cautious about.

With a couple of installations of WinXP involved don't take it as gospel that the C drive will be your boot drive.

Be aware that the drive that boots the system up does not have to be the drive that the system is installed on. The drive that boots the system up can, for example, even be a floppy drive.

You also need to be aware of and know:-
(a) which HDD is master and which one is the slave and which installation is installed on which partition.
(b) what boot order is set in the BIOS setup - especially which HDD has been selected as the priority to boot from.

There will be a boot.ini file on one or both HDDs; usually on the first or only partiton on the drives. If you unsure about what is where post the contents of it or them here and say which drive it or they were situated on.

This covers the same area the Rond was talking about but comes at it from another angle. If only WinXP was involved and you dont have a scsi HDD then you only need to be really careful about deleting ntldr, netdetect.com and boot.ini (noting that these could be hidden system files). You can format a floppy from WinXP and then copy these three files to it - you then have them backed up and can even use that floppy to boot up your system.

[dazed woman]

Umm...sorry still a bit confused here. I guess I do not understand why I need those boot.ini files from the original version if it isn't on the C drive. I am not being dense I am still quite a newbie at this trying to understand.

The "new" drive is a Seagate and is designated as the C: drive. This is where the new XP operating system is installed. I believe it is the master. I didn't actually hook up the cables. I became very frustrated and took it to a shop to find the problem. He installed XP to the new drive and hooked up the cables when he found the operating system was corrupted. I am pretty sure he told me he set it as the master. I had just gone thru 3 motherboard RMA's and was sure the problem wasn't the motherboard! I don't believe it was a virus since the thing worked just fine when I stored it and I had an antivirus (up to date) installed and working on it when I stored it. The original motherboard's 1st RAM slot had gone "bad". When it was switched, the problem was a freezing keyboard and monitor boot sequence. The second RMA'd MB's IDE slot was "bad" Now this is from a different shop that was helping me after I gave up trying to find the problem.

Neither drive is SCSI.

The boot sequence is floppy, CD, C: (Seagate HDD)

My "old" drive, a WD is partitioned and is now designated F:,G:,H:,& I:. The F: partition use to be the C: & boot only drive. Didn't have anything else saved on that partition. I did copy a few things like favorites and a few stray things that ended up in My Documents. Now does all this information still apply? Do I still need to keep those Win XP files from the F: drive?

Thank you for the help.

PS. And my first question's answer didn't fix the problem. I googled the question and found a different way to turn off the welcome screen. It was under control userpasswords2 and I uncheck'd the password box. I won't know if this worked until I reboot tomorrow morn.

[Paul Komski]

If you have any problems organising autologon then get TweakUI for WinXP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx) and use the autologon tab under the logon section.

From the way the drive letters are organised it seems almost certain that the new drive is the master as well as C being the system drive. The boot.ini on C should only have one line under [operating systems] and that line should start
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1).....

If the F drive was the original system partition it should have the same entry in it. If by any chance it is still the system partition it would have one or two lines under operating systems and one of which would start
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1).....

The rdisk(1) value indicating that booting should take place from a second or slave drive. Hope you see what I mean - the system partition and the boot partition need not be one and the the same.

It thus looks quite safe to delete the F partition (or any of the other partitions on the slave) when you have copied any files to your C drive or onto other media altogether.

Having multiple partitions on one drive does help to distinguish them. RClick MyComputer, choose Manage and Highlight Disk Management under Storage. This should confirm things with a single partition on Disk0 and FGHI on Disk1. It is also the place where you can delete and create new partitions and format them. You can also change the drive lettering (excepting the boot/system partition(s)). Thus there is another way of checking the F drive is not an important system partition. If windows lets you change its drive letter then it is safe to delete it; should have thought of that earlier - he he. ;) Highlight each drive letter and RClick on it to see the various options open to you.

[rond36]

Originally posted by dazed woman
Umm...sorry still a bit confused here. I guess I do not understand why I need those boot.ini files from the original version if it isn't on the C drive. I am not being dense I am still quite a newbie at this trying to understand.

The "new" drive is a Seagate and is designated as the C: drive. This is where the new XP operating system is installed. I believe it is the master. I didn't actually hook up the cables. I became very frustrated and took it to a shop to find the problem. He installed XP to the new drive and hooked up the cables when he found the operating system was corrupted. I am pretty sure he told me he set it as the master. I had just gone thru 3 motherboard RMA's and was sure the problem wasn't the motherboard! I don't believe it was a virus since the thing worked just fine when I stored it and I had an antivirus (up to date) installed and working on it when I stored it. The original motherboard's 1st RAM slot had gone "bad". When it was switched, the problem was a freezing keyboard and monitor boot sequence. The second RMA'd MB's IDE slot was "bad" Now this is from a different shop that was helping me after I gave up trying to find the problem.

Neither drive is SCSI.

The boot sequence is floppy, CD, C: (Seagate HDD)

My "old" drive, a WD is partitioned and is now designated F:,G:,H:,& I:. The F: partition use to be the C: & boot only drive. Didn't have anything else saved on that partition. I did copy a few things like favorites and a few stray things that ended up in My Documents. Now does all this information still apply? Do I still need to keep those Win XP files from the F: drive?

Thank you for the help.

PS. And my first question's answer didn't fix the problem. I googled the question and found a different way to turn off the welcome screen. It was under control userpasswords2 and I uncheck'd the password box. I won't know if this worked until I reboot tomorrow morn.

It would have been nice to have this in formation in the first post!!!

[dazed woman]

Paul,

Thanks for the information. That really helped.
I went through the process (you suggested) to change the drive letter.
You can also change the drive lettering (excepting the boot/system partition(s)). Thus there is another way of checking the F drive is not an important system partition. If windows lets you change its drive letter then it is safe to delete it
It let me change the drive letter but the last window gave me this warning message...
"Changing the drive letter of a volume might cause programs to no longer run."
Is this just a general warning message or is it what you are talking about? It doen't look like it won't let me change the drive letter but I didn't actual finish the process. I stopped at that point just in case.


Rond36,
The question about reformatting the drive was kind of an aside question. I didn't realize it was so complicated. Your post was full of good infromation that helps my understanding. I very much appreciate the help I receive on this forum and try to not to write long posts. I never know how much information to give. I even put my system specs under my profile link so if it is pertinent, it is available. I make every effort to let others know I am still learning. Sorry if it made you angry.


As for the log-in issue, looks like I will have to install Tweak UI for the log-in bypass. I have 3 users on the system: Administrator, Owner, and ASP.NET which I understand may cause problems if I delete it since it deals with drivers and such.

[Paul Komski]

Yes its just a general warning since the various paths to programs and files on your system could mean certain things might no longer work. There are "remapping" utilities that can correct such paths. If you had tried the C drive it would have given you a different warning and not even get that far.

[rond36]

To remove ASP.NET user account uninstall the .net framework update from add and remove programs if you don't have any programs that need it installed.

[dazed woman]

To remove ASP.NET user account uninstall the .net framework update from add and remove programs if you don't have any programs that need it installed.

Now that I do not know. (Any programs that use it) I called the shop because they left the CD in my drive. They tried to "deactivate" the ASP.NET account but since I am using XP Home the option they were looking for wasn't there. I think it actually was there because when I went to a different view (and can't remember how I did that) more options appeared. So as it stands, I am thinking about re-formatting the old drive with my desired partitions. I am not sure if I will reinstall Windows XP on the old drive. I like having one whole drive NTFS for my video transfers. And a separate partition for the operating system & programs. I guess the only way to do that will be to reinstall it after formatting. I am assuming you cannot partition a drive AFTER the operating system is already installed on it.

Thank you for your help.

[Paul Komski]

I am assuming you cannot partition a drive AFTER the operating system is already installed on it.

You can do it with Partition Magic and some of the other better partition utilities without losing the existing data or corrupting the Operating System - though it is always advisable to have backed up any important data before using any such partition utilities. I have done this very many times using PM and the only problems have arisen when the drive being manipulated was already very full. It is generally better to resize and move partitions individually than use the splitting and merging options - well IMHO anyways.

Couple of provisos: dont create any new partitions "in front of" either the active partition or the windows partition if this is different. If you do then the boot processes may no longer find windows and require you to run a repair of the installation or of the boot.ini file.

[dazed woman]

Thanks Paul,

I don't feel like messing with partitioning a drive already half full. It probably isn't a good idea. Maybe in a few months when I have installed, uninstalled and generally created a mess of this hard drive learning the best way to convert these VHS's to DVD's. Then I will just totally reformat and start over. Thanks for your help. Have a good one.