FS9.1 / XP Sp3Iºve been running the 4Gb switch since for ever but following my latest re-sinstall I have two problems:I have edited the boot.ini, leaving only my entry but when the boot screen comes up:- it shows - highlighted - "Windows default" underneath my entry- my Logitech G15 is still "off" (no backlight, no screen, no key resposnse) anfd I cant make my boot choice, so I get the "Windoes default" (which I dont even want there) When the boot has run its timeout the keyboard comes on line.Any help much apreciated.

Have you tried the F8 key to access the boot menu as windows starts up - black screen / white text - same menu as where you would start in safe mode. At the bottom is OS CHOICES or something like that. Navigate to that / highlite and hit enter. See what choices are listed there. Or after the OS has finished booting you could go this route, click start / run / type in "msconfig" hit enter and examine the BOOT.INI section from there. The problem almost certainly is with the Boot ini file. I assume the boot ini is in the default location etc. ?Reinstall of FS9.1 or reinstall of OS? A FS9.1 reinstall obviously should not affect the boot.ini configuration.Here is a text copy of the default boot.ini for XP Pro you can use if you need a clean start point. (If you don't have Pro just edit out "Professional")[boot loader]timeout=5default=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=optin /fastdetectHere is what is happening;[boot loader]timeout=5default=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=optin /fastdetect <=== problem(s) here revert to:default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWSWhich is what you are seeing as WINDOW DEFAULTI hope this gets you fixed. If not, respond with: XP 64 bit? Amount of RAM?BTW Here is the boot I actually use for my system / 3 Gigabyte fix ( 4G RAM ) and large address aware (FS9.1) on a XP Pro 32Bit system.[boot loader]timeout=5default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional 3G" /fastdetect /3GB /Userva=2304 /NoExecute=OptInBest regards,Mel

Sorry Mel - seems like you missed the bit where I said that my keyboard is dead until the boot completes.So - what I want is no choice - no default - I want it to boot straight into my 3Gb setup.I had it that way before and cant see what Im doing wrong.BTW - 32bit.

You are correct, sorry I missed the keyboard inactive bit. Please open your boot.ini file and post the text for me. As per the last example I posted above, I am also setup to boot straight into the 3Gig OS. A further thought. Is what you used the executable patch version. Or, like mine, did you manually edit the boot.ini and use Explorer Suite to make FS9 large address aware? If you used the last method I suggest you copy your boot.ini to your desktop then open your original and copy and paste;[boot loader]timeout=5default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional 3G" /fastdetect /3GB /Userva=2304 /NoExecute=OptIninto place removing the current existing text. Save and reboot. If it works as you wish then you may only need to adjust Userva=xxxx according to your graphics card RAM (mine is 1G) and remove the word Professional if you chose, although it really doesn't matter, you can have whatever you chose between the quoate marks.If your OS is installed on the default C: drive / partition then yor path to the ini file should be C: boot. or at least in the same drive / partition as the windows OS folder. Make sure you don't have a duplicate or a backup in the same location. (I'm not sure how Windows would respond to a copy/ duplicate but just to elimanate the possibility, . . . ) I will look into why your keyboard is unresponsive post BIOS load.Mel

This is mine as it stands - and I wonder if the " and the / and the repeated 3gb are causing the problem.Im copying mine from a saved text file - which I may have written wrongly.[boot loader]timeout=15default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with /3GB" /3GB /NoExecute=OptIn /fastdetect /userva=2900

Hello again. I notice that in your text;default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)WINDOWS . . . . . . . . . . note the part - partition(2)where in the next section;[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with /3GB" /3GB /NoExecute=OptIn /fastdetect /userva=2900 . . . . . . . . . . ,it reads partition(1)This could be the source of your problem, if the boot is looking in the wrong or non existent partition for the OS. So If Windows Xp is indeed on partition 2 as in the default section (which does work) then in the operating systems section, partition(1) should read partition(2). You probably should check - Adminastrative Tools / Computer Management, Disk Management to verify what partitions exist. Especially if you installed XP into a seperate partition. In any case one section or the other is incorrect. Partition(x) should be the same in both references.What is inside the quoates shouldn't matter but you could remove the slash just incase."Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with 3GB"Regards,Mel

You wont believe this! (Or maybe you will).I was just about to send you the good news, saying that everything you said about a "phantom patition" made sense and that it now boots strauight to my "3Gb" when .....................it refuses to boot saying that the file System32 hal.dll is missing or corrupted.The pc was on all night running a defrag of an external drive and was working ok when I woke to find your latest. I edited the boot.ini and rebboted - to the error screen.I am truly ******** . I rang my techshop and they said that it "might have been" a power surge/failure but I run the hugest stabiliser there is, and this kind of thing has never happened before.I hope to goodness that I am not infected again with something that randomly eats files, only a week after a re-install.I will get back when I can.Regards.

If you Google: System32 hal.dll you will find that this error message can be directly related to a improperly constructed boot.ini file.Here is one quick link: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerrormessage/a/missinghaldll.htmIf you have the original default boot.ini stored somewhere, I would replace the one you have been using with that - make sure the "System32 hal.dll is missing or corrupted" message goes away and then start over with the 3G patch from there.Also I noticed that in:[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with /3GB" /3GB /NoExecute=OptIn /fastdetect /userva=2900your order is different then mine:[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional 3G" /fastdetect /3GB /Userva=2304 /NoExecute=OptInIt is worth noteing that the ordering may be necessary for the system to boot properly. That I don't know, but it is worth a try.On a much more sour note; I also lost a file during defrag a couple of years ago which required a reinstall. However from what I have found I tend to think it is the boot.ini file.Best regards,Mel

Ho - you are right again, Mel.I went straight to the tech (before seeing your reply) and they tried everything you said but ended up having to reinstall.When I got back I read the MSoft page you linked to: the way its worded actually hints all the way that a reinstall is the most likely option to work.Last night I got FS9 to work from its untouched partition, but havent messed with the boot .ini yet.This morning the first boot gave a blanl white screen which gave ma a hell of a scare but a reboot came up normal. Theres no doubt that my rig is nearing its end: it was once a Ferrari but is now mostly Fiat and my resources do not allow me to do much more. It really suffers when it rains and my techs have said to leave it on all the time.I have been on the Tech Support Guy site since 05 of this month trying to sanitize my netwroked laptop. They are great guys there and really seem to know what theyre doing, but by golly theyre overworked and understaffed and often take more that two days to respond with the next step.However, it will be worth it in the end.Truly grateful for your input, and Ill let you know what mess I make when I try to edit the .ini.regardsNicholas

Hi Nicholas,White screen? That would make me gasp too, new to me, but may be a BIOS image if the BIOS did not boot properly. The humidity issue is interesting. I will assume the the inside of you case is clean a dust and lint free. If it isn't give it a real good cleaning, taking all of the necessary precautions to safeguard the hardware and so forth. Also while the power is disconneced you might try removing and reseating any cards or devices attached to the mobo and disconnecting and reconnecting each contact one at a time. What is happening is that when you shut down and as the computer cools it attracts moisture. The first to attract this moisture is the dust particals and any contaminants on connection points such as corrosion, that can cause a bridged circuit. Improper voltage or amperage then would make the computer act "flakey" until it warmed back up and the moisture was driven away. So the advice to leave it on all the time is sound even though it is simly a work around. Some type of desiccant or dehumidifer might help if you have a unusually high humidity level where you live.Regards,Mel

Hey MelI am on the coast of NE Brasil, a stones throw from the sea. The wind is always off the sea and we are currently in the short but intense "rainy season" - usually dawn or early morning. My flat has poor through-ventilation and the only place my rig can be is either in line with the rain or in the other, hottest corner. I have a big case with two suckers-in and three blowers-out, but with the humidity all year dust is a huge problem Luckily my tech support is really good and they are fanatical about keeping it clean. Unfortunately I have become less fanatical about taking it to be serviced every few months - silly, as it now needs more TLC than ever. Do you recall I said that my keyboard is disabled until the boot has completed?This is a strange because for a long while, when I was first using the 3Gb switch, the keyboard was active and I was able to choose the boot. With my previous OS/FS install I trusted the ·3Gb switch enough to leave it as the only boot, and never had any problems.If I edit the .ini to show just the 3Gb boot, and I get it wrong, there will be no boot at all and I will get the "hal.dll" warning and will have to reinstall all over again.But as I cant use my keyboard to choose the boot...............Whats your take on this?regardsNicholas

Yes, . . . keyboard. The keyboard - at least some keys - should become available as soon as BIOS begins to load so that the user would be able to enter the BIOS to make settings or setup changes. Under most conditions or typically, the Num Lock feature is set to be activated in the BIOS so that Num Lock will be on and ready every time the OS is loaded so the user doesn't need to do that manually after each tiime Windows is loaded. The next time you start your computer watch the behavior of the Num Lock indicator light on your keyboard. Observe whether and / or when that light is on. If, on start, you can access the BIOS menu and navigate (usually arrow,function, and enter keys) then the WIndows loading is at fault. That could be the boot.ini or other issues. If you can not even use the keyboard to access the BIOS then you either have a bad keyboard, a bad USB cable or loose connection or worse, a corrupted BIOS ROM. Corrupted BIOS: as long as it is not hardware related, flashing the BIOS can repair that.I will show you an example of how to set up your boot.ini so that you can test your 3G text. You need to know without doubt the correct drive and partition Windows XP is installed on so you will need to work from a copy of the boot.ini by copying the original to a safe location for backup. Remember that the examples below are from my system and that is why you must work from your fresh install boot.ini.The first thing of course is to make sure Windows XP Home and your keyboard are working properly with the default boot ini. file in place. If it doesn't boot up consistantly with no problems, then you need to tend to that first.[boot loader]timeout=15default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition 3G" /fastdetect /3GB /Userva=2560multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect[boot loader]timeout=15 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------15 seconds to choose which to boot and will default to the non 3G boot yet allow you to test the 3G bootdefault=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS[operating systems]multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect ------------then edit by adding --- 3G" /fastdetect /3GB /Userva=2560 so that it appears similar to the above eg.multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /fastdetect -----------------------use this line from the the stock boot.ini exactly as it is. Copy and past to add the line above.Once everything in the 3G boot is working safely, booting correctly and you have the userva value adjusted according to your video card RAM delete the last line and boot into the 3G directly. Be sure to work from your own boot ini so that; multi(x)disk(x)rdisk(x)partition(x) reflect how you disk(s) and partition(s) are set up.I understand what you wrote about the humidity. No way to control that under those conditions, . . has to be bad for contacts and connections etc. I like your reference to poor through ventilation, that reminds me of a house we used to live in that had old windows. In the dead of winter with temps around -20F the place held heat like a sieve - blow through ventilation.I hope we get you back to enjoying FS soon.Mel

Mel, you are too good to be true.And I am quickly losing faith.Following my laterst OS reinstall I did not mess with the Boot.ini but even so a truncated version of the 3Gb boot appears as an option underneath the default.Watching the boot process the Num Lock light does not come on at all. The keyboard lights up milliseconds after the coloured Windows screen. I cannot do anything before that.I have called my Techshop and asked the boss (25 years in the business, trains youngsters and sends them out into the big world) to call and arrange a home-visit: I refuse to pay for more taxis to lug this damed thing around and then walk for 40 minutes home in order to save $. Rather pay him to come here.And how about this: starting ActiveSky it tells me that my pc is set to the fiuture! and it cannot connect to current databases.And now, for your further delight and amusement, a picture of this mornings first boot desktop:.Hmmmm - no, after all not. I cant even figure out how to attach an image.I give up! Im going tio take up crochet or something.

I know, I know, Im prolly speaking too soon, but it looks as if I might have got things sorted.- The "Set in the future" was just dumb laziness: I had myself in the wrong timezone.- The keyboard (Usb) was disabled in the cmos/bios for some reason. That has never happened before. And no, it wasnt me who knew to check that but someone younger and wiser.- The 3GB boot: I was copying from a previously saved boot, without realising that after the latest reinstall Windows was given as being in Partition 2 and not as I had presumed, (but not actually checked) Partition 1.- All I have to do now is make my FS9.exe "large address aware". I cant mess that up, surely.

Following my laterst OS reinstall I did not mess with the Boot.ini but even so a truncated version of the 3Gb boot appears as an option underneath the default.

That would indicate that when you did your latest reinstall of Windows that it was not into / on a clean drive or partition, Or that you might have Windows XP lurking in two locations.Watch when you start your PC for the BIOS message / text on what key to press to enter the BIOS setup. Quickly start tapping that key every half second while the BIOS is loading. If you gain access to the BIOS setup menu follow the commands to exit without changes - PC will either reboot or load Window. Mother board and keyboard are communicating. Unless you posting here on from a different PC then your keyboard works eventually - duh - so if you can access the BIOS menu that again point to a bad OS installation where XP is not finding things where it expects them to be.Regards,MelP.S. Just recieved your latest post while I was typing: GOOD! I guess you can disregard mine! BTW knitting Nooooooo!