Need to undo Vista/XP dual boot

I need some help.

I have a dual boot setup that has Vista on one sata hard drive and Windows
XP on another sata hard drive. If I remember correctly, I installed XP 1st
and than Vista.

I now want to keep the current system running with XP and remove the Vista
hard drive and install it in a new computer I am building.

I'm guessing I will have bootup issues on boot on both pc's once I remove
the Vista hard drive.

Thanks

Set the XP drive as first in boot priority (probably already is). Download
and install on the XP os either EasyBCD or VistaBootPro. Use the function
to restore the XP boot. Reboot into XP and you should be set to remove the
Vista drive.


"JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0EA2A53B-E983-40D9-950C-F4FCB6B15CB1@microsoft.com...
>I need some help.
>
> I have a dual boot setup that has Vista on one sata hard drive and Windows
> XP on another sata hard drive. If I remember correctly, I installed XP
> 1st
> and than Vista.
>
> I now want to keep the current system running with XP and remove the Vista
> hard drive and install it in a new computer I am building.
>
> I'm guessing I will have bootup issues on boot on both pc's once I remove
> the Vista hard drive.
>
> Thanks
>

Thanks for the response John.

Actually Vista is the first boot priority. I'm not at the machine right
now, how do I go about making the XP drive 1st priority?

Once that is down and run EasyBCD or VistaBP I can install the Vista drivein
the new pc and should boot right up?


"John Barnes" wrote:

> Set the XP drive as first in boot priority (probably already is). Download
> and install on the XP os either EasyBCD or VistaBootPro. Use the function
> to restore the XP boot. Reboot into XP and you should be set to remove the
> Vista drive.
>
>
> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:0EA2A53B-E983-40D9-950C-F4FCB6B15CB1@microsoft.com...
> >I need some help.
> >
> > I have a dual boot setup that has Vista on one sata hard drive and Windows
> > XP on another sata hard drive. If I remember correctly, I installed XP
> > 1st
> > and than Vista.
> >
> > I now want to keep the current system running with XP and remove the Vista
> > hard drive and install it in a new computer I am building.
> >
> > I'm guessing I will have bootup issues on boot on both pc's once I remove
> > the Vista hard drive.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
>
>

So there is no misunderstanding, first in boot priority would be the drive
which shows up in Disk Management as your 'system drive'. It has nothing to
do with boot menu or default boot os.

If your Vista drive is the system drive, check your XP drive and make sure
you have 3 files on it. You will need the ntldr NTDETECT.COM and boot.ini
files on your XP drive. They may be hidden files on the root of the drive.
Either search with system and hidden files or set them to show.
It probably would be best if you checked the exact status of your drives,
these files, which drive is the 'system' drive and which drive (0 or 1) has
Vista and XP on them and check back for specific instructions. Use drive 0
and drive 1 and not letters. My original answer was based on the normal
install you suggested where you set up your drives, install XP on the first
drive, and then without changing the BIOS you install Vista second. In that
case all boot files would be on the XP drive, both XP and Vista and you
would boot thru the Vista boot menu.

As to your second question, if you have an OEM version of Vista it is tied
to the original machine and can't be moved. If it is a full retail, you
will be able to install on the second machine, but you will have to activate
by telephone and stay on line for an operator since it is currently active
on the old machine. An upgrade version would not be in compliance with the
licensing agreement as your XP license becomes subsumed within the Vista
license when Vista is installed.

"JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:7D3F4869-E068-4AE4-BC39-78DB8543C95E@microsoft.com...
> Thanks for the response John.
>
> Actually Vista is the first boot priority. I'm not at the machine right
> now, how do I go about making the XP drive 1st priority?
>
> Once that is down and run EasyBCD or VistaBP I can install the Vista
> drivein
> the new pc and should boot right up?
>
>
> "John Barnes" wrote:
>
>> Set the XP drive as first in boot priority (probably already is).
>> Download
>> and install on the XP os either EasyBCD or VistaBootPro. Use the
>> function
>> to restore the XP boot. Reboot into XP and you should be set to remove
>> the
>> Vista drive.
>>
>>
>> "JimB" <JimB@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:0EA2A53B-E983-40D9-950C-F4FCB6B15CB1@microsoft.com...
>> >I need some help.
>> >
>> > I have a dual boot setup that has Vista on one sata hard drive and
>> > Windows
>> > XP on another sata hard drive. If I remember correctly, I installed
>> > XP
>> > 1st
>> > and than Vista.
>> >
>> > I now want to keep the current system running with XP and remove the
>> > Vista
>> > hard drive and install it in a new computer I am building.
>> >
>> > I'm guessing I will have bootup issues on boot on both pc's once I
>> > remove
>> > the Vista hard drive.
>> >
>> > Thanks
>> >
>>
>>

If XP was installed first then you can restore the XP bootloader by
running the bootsect.exe utility (found in the "boot" folder on your
Vista install media).

Insert your Vista CD/DVD then open a command prompt (cmd.exe). Change
directories and navigate to the "boot" folder mentioned above. From
there (assuming XP is installed on the C:\ drive) the command you would
run is as follows:

bootsect.exe /nt52 C:

Be aware that once you run this you will no longer be able to dual-boot
to Vista on that machine, but you should be free to remove the drive
with Vista and move it to the other PC.

You should be able to do a "repair install" on that machine by booting
it from the Vista install disk. You will probably have to reactivate
Vista on the new hardware, so you will need to have your key handy, and
as the previous reply indicated, all bets are off if you are using an
OEM copy of Vista that came pre-installed on the old machine.


--
mkprilliman

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