John's Computer Journal

Vista doesn't use boot.ini to configure the boot loader. Instead it uses bcdedit.exe and msconfig.exe To create a new boot entry that loads Vista in single processor mode follow the following steps:

1. Open cmd in administrator mode (press the windows key, type cmd, and press ctrl+shift+enter)
2. Type the command: bcdedit /copy {current} /d "Vista Single Processor" The command will return something like the following, but with a different number between the {}'s The entry was successfully copied to {68602c25-5097-11da-99de-000802209f1b}.
3. Type the following command and replace the portion that says ID with the number returned from the previous command. bcdedit /displayorder {ID} /addlast
4. Now type msconfig
5. Click the boot tab and check mark the Make all boot settings permanent box.
6. Select the Vista Single Processor entry and the click advanced options button.
7. Put a check next to Number of processors, select 1, and then put a check next to Detect HAL. Click OK.
8. Set the Timeout value to something like 3 secs. Click OK, click Yes, and Restart.
9. Select the Vista Single Processor Entry from the boot menu to boot Vista with one processor.

• Debugging Windows Vista
• Boot Configuration Data Editor Frequently Asked Questions