Hi, whudunitt.
Yes, as the others have said, you can add 32-bit WinXP to 64-bit Vista on
your 64-bit hardware. It's kind of like carrying just one gallon of water
in a 2-gallon bucket. You obviously can't carry 2 gallons in a 1-gallon
bucket, and you can't install a 64-bit OS on 32-bit hardware - but you knew
that. :^}
Your problem is not with the ability to do what you want, but with the
difficulty of getting it done. The Golden Rule of dual-booting is to always
install the newest OS last. When you add Vista to a WinXP installation,
Vista Setup knows just how to handle WinXP and will create the dual-boot
menu automatically, after adding the Vista startup files alongside WinXP's.
But WinXP never heard of Vista, so its Setup program has no idea of what to
do when you try to add it to a computer that has Vista already installed.
You will have to "clean up" the boot-up files after adding WinXP, probably
by booting from the Vista DVD-ROM and having it Repair the startup files.
The usual dual-boot rules apply, of course, so you will need to have a
separate partition - or enough room to let Setup create one.
Now that your "can I" question is answered, if you need "how-to"
instructions, please post back.
RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64 7000
"whudunitt" <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote in message
news:0a79804be624627b32ca08c84c8638b4@nntp-gateway.com...
>
> I recently purchased a Laptop which has the Vista Home Premium 64bit OS
> Pre-Installed.
>
> Can I install the XP Pro 32 bit OS on my Laptop or does it have to be a
> 64 bit XP OS?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
> --
> whudunitt