Xp won't boot. Can I get to the boot.ini file?

[stosh]

I was having an issue with a program called ACT and asked my XP Pro VM to do a selective startup. For some reason when it tried to reboot, it found a different boot.ini file. I recognize the new boot options as a boot.ini file I was working on for another computer at the office. I certainly didn't put it in my C:/ drive though. Not sure why it found this file.

I wish I'd taken a snapshot before I went to selective startup, but I didn't.

Is there anyway to access the XP VM's files if I can't boot the OS? If I can get to the files I can change the boot.ini file.

If I create a new XP VM, would I be able to access the old OS files to at least recover my files? or change the boot.ini.

Thanks.

[Beerdy]

You could try to rebuild the boot.ini using this method http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330184 or you could also mount the disk in another virtual machine and change it.

[stosh]

Good thoughts, but no luck. Running Recovery Console said that it found no hard drives (I suppose because they are virtual HDs). I made a fresh install, but I see no way of mounting a second Virtual HD. I also ran through setup with the advanced HD option of using that existing drive, but it tried to boot and hit the same boot.ini file. Thanks for your thoughts anyway.

If anyone knows how to add another HD to a functioning OS I think that would work. When I went to settings and tried to add another HD, it was grayed out.

[WoodyZ · Accepted solution]

If you're using the Recovery Console from the XP CD and your Virtual Machine has SCSI Virtual Hard Disk then you need to load the SCSI Driver from a Virtual Floppy by pressing F6 when prompted.

You can download it from http://www.vmware.com/download/fusion/drivers_tools.html

Have a look at: VMware Fusion menu bar > Help > VMware Fusion Help > Managing Virtual Machines > Configuring a Floppy Device

You can't add devices with the Virtual Machine running or suspended.

[stosh]

Thanks Woody! That worked great. Once I got into Recovery I was able to fix the boot file and now I'm up and running. I also feel like I know a bit more about how my VM works. Thanks!