Q: I installed Windows XP Professional into my computer. Now when ever I first boot up it has a menu for me to select Windows XP Professional OR Computer Recovery. How do I get the computer to boot without this menu?
To prevent the Startup options from being displayed when starting the computer, you need to edit the Boot.ini file and set the Timeout value to 0. Follow these steps:
1. Click Start, Run. Type MSConfig and press ENTER.
2. Select the Boot.ini tab
3. Set the Timeout value accordingly. If the Timeout period (in seconds) exceeds, the default Operating System will start.
Note that the System Configuration Utility (MSConfig) allows you enter a value between 3 and 999 seconds. It does not accept the 0 as the Timeout value.
4. Click OK.
The Timeout value will be saved in the Boot.ini file automatically.
If you want to set the Timeout value to 0, use these steps:
1. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties
2. Click the Advanced tab
3. Under Startup and Recovery, click the Settings button
4. In the Startup and Recovery dialog box, click the Edit button
5. In the Boot.ini file that opens, set the Timeout value to 0
6. Close Notepad
7. Click OK, OK to close the dialog boxes.
Note: If you need to access the Startup menu at some stage, press the F8 key once, immediately after the BIOS screen (POST) passes. In my opinion, setting the timeout value to a lower value (such as 3 or 4) would be ideal.
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