Dual boot XP and Vista - how to?

[philmar]

Originally Posted by Lima

I used EasyBCD to set up my dual boot Vista and XP.

I installed each OS on it's own HDD, I then plugged them both onto my motherboard (plugging my Vista HDD into SATA connector 0 and XP HDD into connector 1 so that my machine boots up from my Vista HDD) and edited in XP onto Vista's boot menu using EasyBCD.

*You will also need XP files boot.ini, ntdetect and ntldr that are found in your XP's C: folder (you will have to use Tools/Folder Options/View and add a tick in "Show hidden files and folders" and maybe also untick "Hide protected operating system files" to be able to view those files), just copy them into Vista's C: folder and you will be ready to edit XP onto Vista's boot menu and boot in successfully thereafter!

Turns out Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 won't work with 64 bit Vista - I'll see if EasyBCD does, though the process you described seems fraught with danger for a non-techie like me. I was hoping for install-and-play easy, not having to connect and disconnect wires, or even looking for specific files.
Maybe it's time for a Mac -

[Lima]

Originally Posted by philmar

Turns out Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 won't work with 64 bit Vista - I'll see if EasyBCD does, though the process you described seems fraught with danger for a non-techie like me. I was hoping for install-and-play easy, not having to connect and disconnect wires, or even looking for specific files.
Maybe it's time for a Mac -

Yeah, I thought it might sound a little confusing. What I would suggest is to follow the guide that ipaine posted a link to.

Originally Posted by ipaine

Ok, lets see.

First thing, when it comes to actually setting up the dual boot I highly suggest you read this:

How to dual boot Vista with XP (with XP installed first)

That is basically the best guide out there and should help alot.

[philmar]

Thanks everyone!!!

It IS possible to install a new OS on another hard drive according to MicroSoft:


http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/... ...-8580-49f7-9719-b3a4c42749fe1033.mspx
Note - you have to have the OLDEST OS installed first and the disk where you plan to install the new version of Windows must be formatted with the NTFS file system.
And YES you DO have to install all the programs on to the disk of each OS.

Seems so simple according to MS. They don't talk about using other software or looking for boot files in XP. Am I missing something?

[Lima]

I have tried that method and was not able to install Vista 64 through XP because XP was a 32 bit OS. If you know how to set up your BIOS to boot from ODD you will not have any problem at all installing Vista 64 on a partition or separate HDD. The only catch is that you will have to set up your boot menu manually afterwards. So, like I said... follow the instructions ipaine posted and if you run into any problems, which might be those files I mentioned... I will send them to you.