Guest thricipio Posted August 25, 2008 Posted August 25, 2008 I know this is a bit of an odd question... but... If I wanted to make an XP computer temporarily unusable by, say, *renaming* <boot.ini>, could I subsequently (in order to restore its usability) gain access to the renamed file by tapping on the (F8)-key during startup? Or, would I have to do something more involved... like booting from a CD or memory stick? Thanks, —Thri
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted August 25, 2008 Posted August 25, 2008 Re: boot.ini - Renaming "thricipio" <thricipio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:89BA33C7-DD1C-447A-90BE-F766B4ACC6A5@microsoft.com... >I know this is a bit of an odd question... but... > > If I wanted to make an XP computer temporarily unusable by, say, > *renaming* > <boot.ini>, could I subsequently (in order to restore its usability) gain > access to the renamed file by tapping on the (F8)-key during startup? Or, > would I have to do something more involved... like booting from a CD or > memory stick? > > Thanks, > -Thri Renaming boot.ini will most likely keep the PC bootable - Windows will use the default directory of C:\Windows. A more effective method would be to have a boot.ini file like so: [boot loader] timeout=1 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /noexecute=optin multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect /noexecute=optin Windows will now attempt to boot of partition 2, which does not exist, hence it won't load. To select partition 1 you have exactly 1 second, which is quite difficult to achieve. Note that neither method will stop a determined person.
Guest thricipio Posted August 25, 2008 Posted August 25, 2008 Re: boot.ini - Renaming Pegasus- Thanks for the quick and useful reply. Follow-on question... If I do as you suggest, would I still be able to gain (a more "relaxed") access to <boot.ini> by (as mentioned before) tapping on the (F8)-key during startup? Thanks again for the help. —Thri PS - regarding a determined person not being stopped by the measures we're discussing... that's okay... the relevant party, though possibly determined, would lack the skills to forge ahead... I think. "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote: ————————————— > Renaming boot.ini will most likely keep the PC bootable - Windows > will use the default directory of C:\Windows. A more effective method > would be to have a boot.ini file like so: > : > [snip] > : > Windows will now attempt to boot of partition 2, which does not > exist, hence it won't load. To select partition 1 you have exactly > 1 second, which is quite difficult to achieve. Note that neither > method will stop a determined person.
Guest AJR Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 Re: boot.ini - Renaming These comments may or may not apply, however No boot.ini - no XP boot. Windows may not permit renaming the file and it does create boot.ini backups. If the optional menu (F8) is available "The Last Known Good Configuration" may work - more likely a boot from the XP CD and use of the Repair Console would be in order. BTW - the assumption is that any person attempting to boot the computer does not "know" about F8!! Anyway - please post back your results. "thricipio" <thricipio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:89BA33C7-DD1C-447A-90BE-F766B4ACC6A5@microsoft.com... >I know this is a bit of an odd question... but... > > If I wanted to make an XP computer temporarily unusable by, say, > *renaming* > <boot.ini>, could I subsequently (in order to restore its usability) gain > access to the renamed file by tapping on the (F8)-key during startup? Or, > would I have to do something more involved... like booting from a CD or > memory stick? > > Thanks, > -Thri
Guest thricipio Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 Re: boot.ini - Renaming I followed the suggestions from Pegasus. And yes, (F8) is still an option. Pegasus is also correct, I'm sure: this little attempt at obfuscation regarding the startup process would be easily circumvented by anyone with a little techno-savvy. But for my purposes, this approach is more than sufficient. I didn't test what would happen if I'd tried to just rename <boot.ini> (as was my initial idea)—I take Pegasus' word: that XP would manage to boot the system anyway, with an alternate version of <boot.ini> or other files designed to accomplish the same objective. I used a slightly modified version of the code provided by Pegasus. You can view this alternate version here: ________________________________________________________ http://coppertop.dyndns.org/public/techstuff/helpme/boot.ini-alt.txt ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ "AJR" wrote: ——————— > These comments may or may not apply, however No boot.ini - no XP boot. > Windows may not permit renaming the file and it does create boot.ini > backups. > > If the optional menu (F8) is available "The Last Known Good Configuration" > may work - more likely a boot from the XP CD and use of the Repair Console > would be in order. > > BTW - the assumption is that any person attempting to boot the computer does > not "know" about F8!! > > Anyway - please post back your results.
Guest Pegasus \(MVP\) Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 Re: boot.ini - Renaming AFAIK you're still subject to boot.ini when tapping F8. "thricipio" <thricipio@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:08A104A9-FE1F-4DD2-A28C-C302E9818F9C@microsoft.com... > Pegasus- > > Thanks for the quick and useful reply. > > Follow-on question... > > If I do as you suggest, would I still be able to gain (a more "relaxed") > access to <boot.ini> by (as mentioned before) tapping on the (F8)-key > during > startup? > > Thanks again for the help. > -Thri > > PS - regarding a determined person not being stopped by the measures we're > discussing... that's okay... the relevant party, though possibly > determined, > would lack the skills to forge ahead... I think. > > > "Pegasus (MVP)" wrote: > ------------- >> Renaming boot.ini will most likely keep the PC bootable - Windows >> will use the default directory of C:\Windows. A more effective method >> would be to have a boot.ini file like so: >> : >> [snip] >> : >> Windows will now attempt to boot of partition 2, which does not >> exist, hence it won't load. To select partition 1 you have exactly >> 1 second, which is quite difficult to achieve. Note that neither >> method will stop a determined person.
Guest dadiOH Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 Re: boot.ini - Renaming thricipio wrote: > I used a slightly modified version of the code provided by Pegasus. > You can view this alternate version here: > ________________________________________________________ > http://coppertop.dyndns.org/public/techstuff/helpme/boot.ini-alt.txt Making it into a banner was a clever touch :) -- dadiOH ____________________________ dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
Guest thricipio Posted August 26, 2008 Posted August 26, 2008 Re: boot.ini - Renaming Thanks, dadiOH. Perhaps this is a version of what magicians do: try to redirect the audience's eyeballs away from the real action! ;-] "dadiOH" wrote: > ____________________________ > Making it into a banner was a clever touch :)
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