You are the desktop administrator for your company. You install Windows XP Professional on a new portable computer that will be used by one of the company’s software developers. You test the computer after you complete the installation and find out that the computer functions properly. The computer contains a 6-GB hard disk and a removable 4-GB hard disk. The 6-GB hard disk is configured as drive C, and the removable hard disk is configured as drive D. You install Windows 98 on drive D and deliver the computer to the software developer. The software developer reports that the computer does not start when drive D is not connected. Instead, the computer briefly displays an operating system menu, and then it displays an error message stating that an operating system could not be found. When drive D is connected, the computer starts Windows 98. You need to configure the computer so that it starts Windows XP Professional whether or not drive D is connected.
What should you do?
A.
Modify the computer’s BIOS so that it automatically detects whether drive D is connected.
B.
Modify the computer’s BIOS so that drive C is first in the computer’s boot order.
C.
Modify the Boot.ini file on the computer by changing the default= entry to the following value:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
D.
Modify the Boot.ini file on the computer by changing the entry for Windows 98 to the following value:
D: "Microsoft Windows 98" /fastdetect
Explanation:
The scenario indicates that the computer always tries to start from the second disk:
1. When the second disk is connected it starts from it.
2. When only the first disk is connected it fails to start.
We must change the default start entry to the first disk. This is achieved by changing the default entry to:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /fastdetect
Incorrect Answers
A: This is not a feature that can be configured in BIOS. Furthermore, the BIOS always detects if any drives are connected in the first place.
B: The C drive is already the drive which the computer boots from. It is just that disk 2 is the default boot disk.
D: This is not the format of boot.ini entries.
Press, Redmond, 2002, Chapter 2, Lesson 5