Dual OS installation question

I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?

see my answer in administration_accounts_passwords

--
Peter
Toronto, Canada
XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD

"Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2C629127-037A-44BD-9E38-74112E3CC376@microsoft.com...
>I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
> reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?

They can be on the same hard drive, but must be in separate NTFS partitions,
or two hard drive. I've had both set ups.
XP must be installed before Vista and I recommend you Google for either
EasyBCD or VistaBootPro to make booting between systems easier.


--
Peter
Toronto, Canada
XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD

"Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2C629127-037A-44BD-9E38-74112E3CC376@microsoft.com...
>I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
> reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?

So if I have a system that is already loaded with Vista, I can't install XP
on it without removing Vista first?

"Peter" wrote:

> They can be on the same hard drive, but must be in separate NTFS partitions,
> or two hard drive. I've had both set ups.
> XP must be installed before Vista and I recommend you Google for either
> EasyBCD or VistaBootPro to make booting between systems easier.
>
>
> --
> Peter
> Toronto, Canada
> XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
> P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD
>
> "Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:2C629127-037A-44BD-9E38-74112E3CC376@microsoft.com...
> >I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
> > reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?
>

It would overwrite the Vista bootloader. However, I would consult with the
experts first. Go to either http://neosmart.net/forums/ or
http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/index.php (or both, but please note: never
refer to the one in the other group as they don't speak to each other...why?
It's a long story!)

--
Peter
Toronto, Canada
XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD

"Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A3F475A5-F6B8-43E3-8C03-95748431045D@microsoft.com...
> So if I have a system that is already loaded with Vista, I can't install
> XP
> on it without removing Vista first?
>
> "Peter" wrote:
>
>> They can be on the same hard drive, but must be in separate NTFS
>> partitions,
>> or two hard drive. I've had both set ups.
>> XP must be installed before Vista and I recommend you Google for either
>> EasyBCD or VistaBootPro to make booting between systems easier.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Peter
>> Toronto, Canada
>> XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
>> P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD
>>
>> "Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:2C629127-037A-44BD-9E38-74112E3CC376@microsoft.com...
>> >I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
>> > reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?
>>
>

Pete in NM wrote:
> So if I have a system that is already loaded with Vista, I can't install XP
> on it without removing Vista first?

The problem is that XP will overwrite the Master Boot Record of your
boot disk, so the next time you boot you will see only XP.

The fix is to restore Vista's boot files with the fixboot repair
facility on your Vista install DVD. (If you have an OEM version of
Vista then the problem is not so easy.)

Pete in NM wrote:
> So if I have a system that is already loaded with Vista, I can't
> install XP on it without removing Vista first?
===========================
Not impossible but complicated:

How to dual boot Vista and XP (with Vista installed first)
-- the step-by-step guide
http://www.apcstart.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

--
John Inzer
MS Picture It! -
Digital Image MVP

Digital Image
Highlights and FAQs
http://tinyurl.com/aczzp

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

Hi Pete in NM--

The rule is to always install the legacy (XP in your case) OS first--because
if you don't you can have the bootloader overwrite problem outlined by the
other posters.

These KB may inform your question:

Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529/en-us

You cannot start Windows XP after you install Windows Vista in a dual-boot
configuration together with Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927817/en-us

Windows XP does not start on a computer that is configured for dual booting
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315233/en-us

How to create a multiple-boot system in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306559/en-us

There are some threads close to this on dual booting that answer your
question on putting XP on one partition and Vista on another as a dual boot,
but it is much safer to install XP first.

CH

"Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A3F475A5-F6B8-43E3-8C03-95748431045D@microsoft.com...
> So if I have a system that is already loaded with Vista, I can't install
> XP
> on it without removing Vista first?
>
> "Peter" wrote:
>
>> They can be on the same hard drive, but must be in separate NTFS
>> partitions,
>> or two hard drive. I've had both set ups.
>> XP must be installed before Vista and I recommend you Google for either
>> EasyBCD or VistaBootPro to make booting between systems easier.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Peter
>> Toronto, Canada
>> XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
>> P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD
>>
>> "Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:2C629127-037A-44BD-9E38-74112E3CC376@microsoft.com...
>> >I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
>> > reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?
>>
>

NOT TRUE.
you can install VistaBootPro on the XP side and fix the Vista boot loader.
VistaBootPro works on both xp and vista.



mikeyhsd@comcast.net



"Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:A3F475A5-F6B8-43E3-8C03-95748431045D@microsoft.com...
So if I have a system that is already loaded with Vista, I can't install XP
on it without removing Vista first?

"Peter" wrote:

> They can be on the same hard drive, but must be in separate NTFS partitions,
> or two hard drive. I've had both set ups.
> XP must be installed before Vista and I recommend you Google for either
> EasyBCD or VistaBootPro to make booting between systems easier.
>
>
> --
> Peter
> Toronto, Canada
> XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
> P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD
>
> "Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:2C629127-037A-44BD-9E38-74112E3CC376@microsoft.com...
> >I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
> > reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?
>

You can have the best of both worlds . I have xp and vista on two seperate
hard drives independent of each other. I have two sata drives. I had one
with xp installed on it and I added another one then rebooted went into
bios and turned off the xp hard drive and turned on the new sata hard drive
and installed vista clean install. Now all I have to do is reboot go into
setup and turn off the vista sata hard drive from the bios and turn on xp
sata hard drive and whala!!!! two serperate version in one compter working
independently of each other.Switch from xp to vista and visa versa...




"Chad Harris" <vistaneedsmuchowork.net> wrote in message
news:upI6sekfHHA.588@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
Hi Pete in NM--

The rule is to always install the legacy (XP in your case) OS first--because
if you don't you can have the bootloader overwrite problem outlined by the
other posters.

These KB may inform your question:

Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of the
Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529/en-us

You cannot start Windows XP after you install Windows Vista in a dual-boot
configuration together with Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927817/en-us

Windows XP does not start on a computer that is configured for dual booting
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315233/en-us

How to create a multiple-boot system in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306559/en-us

There are some threads close to this on dual booting that answer your
question on putting XP on one partition and Vista on another as a dual boot,
but it is much safer to install XP first.

CH

"Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:A3F475A5-F6B8-43E3-8C03-95748431045D@microsoft.com...
> So if I have a system that is already loaded with Vista, I can't install
> XP
> on it without removing Vista first?
>
> "Peter" wrote:
>
>> They can be on the same hard drive, but must be in separate NTFS
>> partitions,
>> or two hard drive. I've had both set ups.
>> XP must be installed before Vista and I recommend you Google for either
>> EasyBCD or VistaBootPro to make booting between systems easier.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Peter
>> Toronto, Canada
>> XP Pro SP2 x 2 + Vista Ultimate
>> P4 HT @ 3.00ghz, 4.0gb RAM, 700gb HDD
>>
>> "Pete in NM" <PeteinNM@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:2C629127-037A-44BD-9E38-74112E3CC376@microsoft.com...
>> >I want to set up my PC with both Vista and XP on it. Do both OS have to
>> > reside on the same hard drive or can they be on separate drives?
>>
>