Microsoft KB Archive/160899

= How to Hide Boot.ini Entries from Displaying After Multiple Installations =

Article ID: 160899

Article Last Modified on 2/22/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Edition
 * Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
 * Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.1
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
 * Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
 * Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server 3.1

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This article was previously published under Q160899





SUMMARY
You can hide additional installations of Windows from being displayed in the boot menu, but still gain access to them when you need to.



MORE INFORMATION
To hide menu items from the Boot.ini file, so they will not be accessible:  Remove the read-only attribute from the Boot.ini file. Use an editor to edit the Boot.ini file.  Place the following entry above the lines you want hidden:   [any text]. This will hide all entries below the [any text] heading.  To restore the entry and make it accessible again, remove the [any text] line. Save the file and reapply the read-only attribute. Restart your computer.</li></ol>

For example, the 3 bottom entries below will not be displayed or accessible the next time the system is restarted. Simply remove [any text] to gain access to this installation. <pre class="fixed_text">[boot loader] timeout=30 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\NT351SVR [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\NT351SVR="NT Server 3.51" multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\NT351SVR="NT Server 3.51 [VGA mode]" /basevideo /sos [any text] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT35="NT Wks 3.51" multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT35="NT Wks 3.51 [VGA mode]" /basevideo /sos] C:\="MS-DOS" Another method for hiding the entries but having access to them at another time is to create a boot disk. To do this:
 * 1) Format a floppy disk in Windows.
 * 2) Copy ntldr, Ntdetect.com, and the Boot.ini file to the root of the floppy disk.
 * 3) Edit the Boot.ini file and remove the items that you want to hide.
 * 4) Boot the system with this disk.

This method works well but requires two Boot.ini files. One on the system and one on a floppy disk.

Note: Upgrading the operating system or adding service packs may remove the changes made to the Boot.ini file.

Keywords: kbinfo kbenv KB160899

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