What if I want dos to be default

do I put (in C:\boot.ini)
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(0)C:\DOS
or
default=C:\DOS

eg boot.ini:

timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
C:\DOS\;

--
Vasos Panagiotopoulos panix.com/~vjp2/vasos.htm
---{Nothing herein constitutes advice. Everything fully disclaimed.}---

<vjp2.at@at.BioStrategist.dot.dot.com> wrote:

> What if I want dos to be default
>
> do I put (in C:\boot.ini)
> default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(0)C:\DOS
> or
> default=C:\DOS
>
> eg boot.ini:
>
> timeout=30
> default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
> [operating systems]
> multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
> C:\DOS\;

Drives enumerate starting from 0 (zero). Partitions enumerate starting
from 1 (one). There is no partition 0 (zero).

You have a partition (1) on the first drive (0) for Windows XP. Your
DOS partition would be on drive zero in partition 2, or later, or you
mixed up the partition numbers, and partition 1 is where is DOS, and
partition 2 is where is Windows.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/windows-server/deployment/manually-edit-boot-file

Notice in the boot.ini example where two OSes are on the drive that one
is partition 1 (not zero), and the other is partition 2. There is a
drive zero, but there is no partition zero.

Rather than directly editing the boot.ini file, can't you use
msconfig.exe or bootcfg.exe to look at and edit the boot settings?

http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/msconfig_xp.html
https://neosmart.net/wiki/bootcfg/

boot.ini is a system file, so may be hidden in Explorer until you change
its view settings. You also have to remove the read-only file attribute
from the boot.ini file to edit it.

Do you have each OS in its own partition, or did you install Windows in
one partition, and the DOS "partition" is actually a .dat image file to
load that OS from a file (instead of using a boot loader in the boot
sector of the partition)? I ask because your paths in your examples
seem incorrect. There are no drive letters until the OS assigns them.
boot.ini is read before drive letters are assigned, so there is no C:
drive yet (as in your C:\DOS string). You specify the physical
parameters to find the drive, and then a relative path from root to find
the OS system files. The '="<name>" [parms]' are to give a friendly
name to the OS to list in the boot menu, and pass any optional parms to
the OS.

https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/windows-xp-hacks/0596005113/ch01s02.html

Notice no drive letters are specified. Those won't exist until assigned
later by drive manager sometime during the load of Windows, but boot.ini
is used before that. Notice in the above article that 2 OSes are listed
(Windows XP Home and Windows 2000), the physical drive is specified
(happens to be both OSes are in partitions on the same drive), and the
system folder is specified relative to the root of the drive (which
later will get a drive letter assigned).

https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000492.htm

That shows a table of what defines an entry in boot.ini identifying
where to find the OS(es). Although not mentioned, drive numbers start
from zero (0) and partition numbers start from one (1).

Before you start putzing around with boot.ini, make sure you save an
image backup, and have bootable media from which to load the backup
program should you screw up boot.ini to make it impossible for the boot
loader to find an OS you meant to define in boot.ini.