BOOT.INI

Boot.ini is the Windows Boot Configuration file, called by NTLDR (NT Loader). It is surpassed by the Windows Boot Configuration Data Store in Windows Vista and later. The boot.ini file can be edited using MSConfig (System Configuration), which contains options such as timout, safe mode and No GUI Boot.

Example

An example of a boot.ini file:

[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

If the boot loader timeout option in boot.ini is set to 0, the NTLDR boot menu does not appear, and insted defaults to the first OS listed.