Hi all, ok I got this little issue I havent been able to get over. I got a client PC at work with three partition C, D & E. The guy setup XP Unlimited on C but had compatibility issues with his Modem so I decide to setup a parallel installation of Win XP Pro on a different partition (D) so as to avoid losing all his data. It gets stuck somewhere in the installation for no apparent reason, so I abandon it and install in on another partition (E) which installs fine. I also format the D partition to remove the aborted Windows installation.

Everything's fine now except it now shows 3 (instead of 2) OS options to boot into upon startup. How do I remove the option of the botched installation? Why does it still show up there anyway? 

Thanks in anticipation.

boot.ini?

You got it! Go on in there and edit the boot file. Remember to back it up before you do any editing.

You need to fix your MBR (Master boot record).

[list]
[li]Option One: Open Start-Run and enter msconfig Click the tab "BOOT.INI" The contents of the boot.ini file are shown and a number of configuration settings are available. Under Operating systems, delete the one you don't want. Be careful not to delete the wrong one. [/li]

[li]Option Two: Right-click on "My Computer" and choose "Properties" from the context menu. The System Properties dialog box will open. In the section "Startup and Recovery" click the button "Settings". To delete the unwanted operating system from the boot display menu, use the "Edit" button on the right of the entry.
[/li]
[li]Option Three: If the OS is Windows XP Professional, it has a command line utility for manipulating boot.ini called bootcfg.exe.
Click start, type CMD, click OK and you are presented with the command prompt. Type bootcfg /? It will list the description and parameter list. Once again, you can delete the unwanted OS.
[/li]
[/list]

The option you choose depends on your preference but they all do same thing. But before you decide to mess with boot.ini, try this: Boot the system with windows CD, select the option to repair windows, type the password, type fixmbr. After that type fixboot. Restart the system and hopefully it will fix the problem without tinkering with boot.ini

If you have more question, let me know.

By the way, you can re-install a new copy of windows XP on a partition without erasing the data or previously installed programs/software.

Thanks, youve all been helpful, super-appreciate it! Ynot I know its possible to install the XP on the same partition but the guy had installed XP Unlimited which isnt a Microsoft product, looked like some guy tried souping up XP somehow, looked more colorful but it wasnt working with the clients modem.
Cheers.

men u guys down here are good, now  i kow we truely have gurus.keep it up guys!

I have a similar problem.
I had installed Win 7 on a 2nd hard drive a couple of times which I have now replaced.
When I boot I now have multiple boot entries but NOT in the boot.ini.
These choices:

Previous version of Windows
Win 7
Win 7

It comes up Win 7 , I then have to select Previous version of Windows.
Then I get :

Windows (default)
Windows(default)

Only the first Windows(default) will work.

The boot.ini only has 1 entry.
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(0)\WINDOWS

So where is it getting all the other operating systems from and how can I get rid of all the rest?

thanks

I trust my bois here, no matter how big the problem looks to you, for hia, them go pieces am down to nothing!

Please translate

the best idea is d last option by ynot,

let windows fix your boot loader for you.

use yor installation cd and repair instead of reinstall,

den use the following commands he started.

fixmbr ----- would fix your Master Boot Record.
and
fixboot -------would fix Boot.ini.

but if u dont have ur boot cd,

use msconfig, go to the boot tab, then restore to default, bam
se fini

thank u I will try it.

good post

Read; How to disable multiboot on windows PC.