boot.ini file

First post, was referred over to you by BHowett in the /Malware/Hijack This! forum. What should the proper config be on my boot.ini file? I went into a modified safe mode on startup during a cleanup process and I want to be set properly. Right now my general screen is re-set to normal, and boot.ini is set to line item "C\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT= . . . " with the timer at 3 seconds. Great site! thx, paultpa

Hi

What should the proper config be on my boot.ini file?

That depends. Like, do you have more than one operating system on the machine? Is it acting as a server?


Default Boot.ini file for XP Pro, looks like this:

[boot loader]
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

Before going ahead altering anything in the Boot.ini (Now and beyond) its a good idea to make
a simple backup of your known working Boot.ini file. If for some reason your new boot file doesn't
work as intended, you can always use it to reverse the situation.

Save a Backup Copy of Boot.ini

1. Right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
-or-
Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.
2. On the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery.
3. Under System Startup, click Edit. This opens the file in Notepad ready for editing.
4. In Notepad, click File on the Menu bar, and then click Save As.
5. Right click in an empty area of the Save As dialog box, point to New in the context menu, and then click Folder.
6. Type a name for the new folder, for example temp, and then press the ENTER key to create the folder named temp.
7. Double-click the new folder named temp, and then click the Save button to save a backup copy of the Boot.ini file.


All this info is cut from here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/289022

Altho, the above is what is relevant for your situation.

If you for some reason need additional switches
(or just want to learn about them) they can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinte…s/bb963892.aspx

Regards Abydos

Please post a copy of your current boot.ini file using Abydos's directions. Once you have it open in note pad, just press Ctrl+A to select all then Ctrl+C to copy it. Start a post in this thread and do a Ctrl+V to paste it here.

I have the Recovery Console installed on my computer, the same as you do and mine looks like this:

[boot loader]
timeout=3
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" /NoExecute=AlwaysOff /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons

As you can see, the default points to the Windows XP partition and that is what will boot unless I chose the Recovery Partition when the boot menu is presented.

Gentlemen, I have the SAME line item details in my boot.ini as ztruker, with an additional 5th line item: multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect NOTE that line 4 of the config is highlighted every time I open the boot.ini tab, and I can only toggle between that line and the last line, which is re-keyed above. NOTE that I cannot copy my boot.ini info, either using the keystrokes you detailed or my mouse. NOTE that I cannot up arrow above the 4th line of the config, which is the highlighted one, which is C:\CDMCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT= etc. etc. Therefore I have to ask if I have something strange going on with the config here? NOTE that BHowett and I just battled and beat two trojans, sinowal and virtumonde. BHowett took me from the normal config here to a modified safe mode, and when I went back to normal startup perhaps I did NOT re-conf the system files correctly. Plus the timeout stays on 3 seconds, no matter what I key. Maybe this is correct after all. Comments/suggestions? Many thanks. paultpa

It sounds like your boot.ini is corrupted somehow. Pleaase do the following then try editing it agfain

• Press WinKey+R, enter chkdsk c: /r and press Enter
• Respond y when prompted to run on the next boot
• Shutdown and reboot

Allow chkdsk to complete undisturbed. This can take an hour or more so be patient.

Once rebooted, try editing boot.ini again, let me know what it looks like now.

I normally use a little batch file to edit boot.ini instead of doing it through the System Properties dialog. You could give it a try and see what it does for you.

@echo off
c:
cd \
attrib -s -h -r boot.ini

if exist bootbk3.ini goto is321
if exist bootbk2.ini goto is21
if exist bootbk1.ini goto is1

:is321
copy /y bootbk2.ini bootbk1.ini &
copy /y bootbk3.ini bootbk2.ini &
copy /y boot.ini bootbk3.ini
goto edit

:is21
copy boot.ini bootbk3.ini
goto edit

:is1
copy boot.ini bootbk2.ini
goto edit

:is0
copy boot.ini bootbk1.ini

:edit
notepad boot.ini & attrib +s +h +r boot.ini

Copy the data in the code box then paste into notepad. Save the file as "editboot.bat" (double quotes required to prevent notepad from adding .txt). Double click on editboot.bat to run it.

Each time you run it, it copies the current boot.ini to one of the backup files (bootbk1 or 2 or 3) so any changes you make can easily be reversed by restoring one of the backup copies.

Thx Ztruker, am working on that small .bat file. Double clicking does not seem to produce any immediate actions. Will continue to figure it out, or at worst run the chkdsk you suggest. Stay tuned. paultpa

Open a Command Prompt (Start, Run type cmd and press Enter).
Navigate to where you saved the editboot.bat file.
Do a dir editboot* and make sure the response is editboot.bat and not editboot.bat.txt.
Type editboot and press Enter.

That should run the batch file.