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NTOSKRNL.EXE missing or corrupt after Win 7 install dual boot install

System already running Win XP x64.  Installed Win 7 x64 for dual boot.  Installed fine, Win 7 working wonderful.  Bootloader shows "Windows 7" and "Earlier Version of Windows" at startup.  Selecting "Earlier Version of Windows" results in:

NTOSKRNL.EXE missing or corrupt

File not missing or corrupt.  Replaced it with a new copy.  Can see all the files from the XP partition, but still won't boot into XP.

Used EasyBCD to look at the boot.

Entry #1

Name: Windows 7
BCD ID: {current}
Drive: C:\
Bootloader Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
Windows Directory: \Windows

Entry #2

Name: Earlier Version of Windows
BCD ID: {ntldr}
Drive: E:\
Bootloader Path: \ntldr

Can't find a boot.ini file on the XP partition.  Don't know if it needs one.

Please help me restore booting to XP.
Thanks
Answer
Answer
OK, I solved the error.

In the boot.ini file (not on the XP partition, but on the Win 7 partition), the physical location of the XP partition was wrong.  Changed a "1" to a "2" and all is better.

Found this out in the loading of the Recovery Console from the XP install disk.  The partition I thought was XP wouldn't take the admin password.  Tried the other partition and I was in.  The bootcfg method did not work.  It did not recognize the Win 7 partition on errored out.

So I tried the normal install procedure to see how far I could get without overwriting data.  When it got to the point of choosing the partition to load into, it also listed the partition names.  I had them backwards.  The carved out partition I created for Win 7 became partition 1, not 2.  Went back to Win 7, easyBCD, choose Tools, Edit Legacy Entries, change 1 to 2, save, save, exit.  Reboot, choose Windows XP, wah lah, it's all working again.

Note to self: when you carve out space on a partition for a new partition, make sure you know exactly where the new partitions are located.

Hope this helps someone in the future.

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Question Info

Last updated March 24, 2020 Views 56 Applies to: