How to make a dual-boot with Vista/XP

Prost264 · January 22nd, 2008, 12:41 AM

I have a machine with XP pro, I want to install Vista on a second hard drive and make it a dual-boot system.

I will be using a .iso Vista with a disk emulator. Will there be an option to make this dual boot during installation?

ESPNSTI · January 22nd, 2008, 01:42 AM

When I installed Vista, on the same hard drive with XP on it, it either gave me a dual boot option, or installed dual boot automatically (don't remember exactly, it was January last year).
I installed on 1 hdd though, and I had created a second partition with Partition Magic before running the install.

Prost264 · January 22nd, 2008, 01:48 AM

Ok

I had previously partitioned the hdd when I was going to install Linux but it didn't go right. It was a 100gb hdd but now its only 37.2 (dont know how that number happened) and the other partition is not visible. I tried to format the drive but it says I can't because something is using the hdd, but there isn't. Is there any 3rd party software I can use to get the full hdd back?

ESPNSTI · January 22nd, 2008, 02:51 AM

Partition Magic has always worked for me, but anything you do with partitions is not without risk, make sure you have backups of important stuff just in case.

Prost264 · January 22nd, 2008, 02:52 AM

Thanks, there's maybe 200mb of data on the hdd, its all backed up images/smilies/wink.gif

johns13193 · January 22nd, 2008, 03:29 AM

Yeah, partition magic FTW. Even if that way doesn't work, you can just format it from a command prompt (format X: ) when x is your drive. If you happen to have a windows 98 bootdisk lying around, you can boot from that, and at a command prompt, type fdisk. After confirming that NTFS partitions are large, and some other things like that, you can delete partitions from that program.

Speedtouch · January 22nd, 2008, 09:38 PM

I did that on a partition. I just installed Vista through the BIOS system, not through XP, to sort out another partition.

Prost264 · January 23rd, 2008, 08:23 PM

I have it all up and running, thanks everyone.

Any gadgets you recommend?

ESPNSTI · January 23rd, 2008, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prost264

Any gadgets you recommend?

My favorite is the daily Dilbert.

Prost264 · January 23rd, 2008, 11:02 PM

Now that I finally got everything settled with Vista (drivers, programs, etc) I just realized my machine is crap because I can't run Aero Glass. images/smilies/mad.gif

I just have a slightly better looking XP now.

cvrefugee · January 24th, 2008, 01:27 AM

What are your system specs?

Prost264 · January 24th, 2008, 01:56 AM

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 2ghz with 512mb memory

I don't know what type of graphics card it is (this computer was given to me) but I'm assuming its crap because the machine is pretty old.

edit: this is what I got off HPs website when I typed in the tower's model number- Integrated nVidia GeForce4 MX graphics with up to 64 MB allocated video memory

FATMOUSE · January 24th, 2008, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prost264

Now that I finally got everything settled with Vista (drivers, programs, etc) I just realized my machine is crap because I can't run Aero Glass. images/smilies/mad.gif

I just have a slightly better looking XP now.

My old ass laptop, meanwhile, runs Compiz Fusion just fine...
I'm pretty sure the GF4MX would have no problem running it too. And 512MB Ram shouldn't be a problem either.

Prost264 · January 24th, 2008, 04:34 AM

Well I've read that while doing in the install Vista detects your hardware and decides whether your machine can handle it.

I then found a way to manually enable it, but even that didn't work for me. Honestly, if I can't get that to work I may just get rid of Vista. Its nice to look at I suppose but not worth keeping when XP pro runs so much better/faster.

cvrefugee · January 24th, 2008, 07:42 AM

You need at least 1GB+ to get Vista to run nicely. Also, that "video card" is complete crap too (no offense images/smilies/tongue.gif

)

powah · January 24th, 2008, 08:21 AM

I just did what you did. I installed Vista on a second hard drive.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prost264

Honestly, if I can't get that to work I may just get rid of Vista. Its nice to look at I suppose but not worth keeping when XP pro runs so much better/faster.

Do it. If Vista's being a bitch then ditch her. I learnt my lesson with it quickly, and lost all of my stuff in the process. Currently Vista is going OK, I installed the SP1 update, haven't noticed anything new or amazing though images/smilies/dry.gif

Prost264 · January 24th, 2008, 04:07 PM

^ I figured once I did all the updates it would get better, but nothing changed.

Even with Aero Glass I dont think it would make much difference, just a somewhat better looking XP with a few new features that don't really matter to me. Oh well, at least my experiment worked, for the most part.

FATMOUSE · January 24th, 2008, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prost264

Oh well, at least my experiment worked, for the most part.

HIGH FIVE!

Prost264 · January 24th, 2008, 04:37 PM

Thanks

btw I don't see what everyone's problem is with Vista.The installation went smoothly, it ran well, and finding drivers was never an issue. I don't get it.

January 22nd, 2008, 12:41 AM	#1
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	How to make a dual-boot with Vista/XP I have a machine with XP pro, I want to install Vista on a second hard drive and make it a dual-boot system. I will be using a .iso Vista with a disk emulator. Will there be an option to make this dual boot during installation? Last edited by Prost264; January 22nd, 2008 at 12:48 AM..

January 22nd, 2008, 01:42 AM	#2
ESPNSTI Your Guide to TG/FG Joined: Dec 9th, 2003 Last Online: January 5th, 2009 Location: Decorah, IA Age: 36 Posts: 4,299 Car: 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI (USDM) LFS Status: Rep Power: 35	When I installed Vista, on the same hard drive with XP on it, it either gave me a dual boot option, or installed dual boot automatically (don't remember exactly, it was January last year). I installed on 1 hdd though, and I had created a second partition with Partition Magic before running the install. __________________ Top Gear Episode Guide (Excel) \| Top Gear Episode Guide (HTML) \| Top Gear Classic Episode Guide (HTML) Other Top Gear Guides \| Fifth Gear Guides \| Clarkson's TV/Video List \| Tiff Needell's TV/Video List

January 22nd, 2008, 02:51 AM	#4
ESPNSTI Your Guide to TG/FG Joined: Dec 9th, 2003 Last Online: January 5th, 2009 Location: Decorah, IA Age: 36 Posts: 4,299 Car: 2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI (USDM) LFS Status: Rep Power: 35	Partition Magic has always worked for me, but anything you do with partitions is not without risk, make sure you have backups of important stuff just in case. __________________ Top Gear Episode Guide (Excel) \| Top Gear Episode Guide (HTML) \| Top Gear Classic Episode Guide (HTML) Other Top Gear Guides \| Fifth Gear Guides \| Clarkson's TV/Video List \| Tiff Needell's TV/Video List

January 22nd, 2008, 03:29 AM	#6
johns13193 Joined: Aug 15th, 2007 Last Online: 11:49 PM Location: Well, it's near Philadelphia, PA Age: 15 Posts: 209 Car: Dad's '06 Civic EX (in about 2 months...) Rep Power: 6	Yeah, partition magic FTW. Even if that way doesn't work, you can just format it from a command prompt (format X: ) when x is your drive. If you happen to have a windows 98 bootdisk lying around, you can boot from that, and at a command prompt, type fdisk. After confirming that NTFS partitions are large, and some other things like that, you can delete partitions from that program. __________________ my rig: e6750 @ 3ghz, GA-P35-DS3R, 3gb DDR2-800, 8600GT (702/1800 mem), 1tb storage (500gb 7200.11, 500gb Hitachi external)

January 22nd, 2008, 09:38 PM	#7
Speedtouch Joined: Jul 30th, 2006 Last Online: 10:39 PM Location: Kent, England Age: 16 Posts: 2,855 Rep Power: 34	I did that on a partition. I just installed Vista through the BIOS system, not through XP, to sort out another partition. __________________ Eyre Photography

January 22nd, 2008, 01:48 AM	#3
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	Ok I had previously partitioned the hdd when I was going to install Linux but it didn't go right. It was a 100gb hdd but now its only 37.2 (dont know how that number happened) and the other partition is not visible. I tried to format the drive but it says I can't because something is using the hdd, but there isn't. Is there any 3rd party software I can use to get the full hdd back?

January 22nd, 2008, 02:52 AM	#5
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	Thanks, there's maybe 200mb of data on the hdd, its all backed up

January 23rd, 2008, 08:23 PM	#8
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	I have it all up and running, thanks everyone. Any gadgets you recommend?

January 23rd, 2008, 11:02 PM	#10
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	Now that I finally got everything settled with Vista (drivers, programs, etc) I just realized my machine is crap because I can't run Aero Glass. I just have a slightly better looking XP now.

January 24th, 2008, 01:27 AM	#11
cvrefugee Joined: Aug 16th, 2004 Last Online: 09:49 PM Location: Corona, CA Age: 28 Posts: 3,449 Car: 2005 Scion xB Rep Power: 60	What are your system specs?

January 24th, 2008, 01:56 AM	#12
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	AMD Athlon XP 2400+ 2ghz with 512mb memory I don't know what type of graphics card it is (this computer was given to me) but I'm assuming its crap because the machine is pretty old. edit: this is what I got off HPs website when I typed in the tower's model number- Integrated nVidia GeForce4 MX graphics with up to 64 MB allocated video memory Last edited by Prost264; January 24th, 2008 at 02:48 AM..

January 24th, 2008, 04:34 AM	#14
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	Well I've read that while doing in the install Vista detects your hardware and decides whether your machine can handle it. I then found a way to manually enable it, but even that didn't work for me. Honestly, if I can't get that to work I may just get rid of Vista. Its nice to look at I suppose but not worth keeping when XP pro runs so much better/faster.

January 24th, 2008, 07:42 AM	#15
cvrefugee Joined: Aug 16th, 2004 Last Online: 09:49 PM Location: Corona, CA Age: 28 Posts: 3,449 Car: 2005 Scion xB Rep Power: 60	You need at least 1GB+ to get Vista to run nicely. Also, that "video card" is complete crap too (no offense )

January 24th, 2008, 04:07 PM	#17
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	^ I figured once I did all the updates it would get better, but nothing changed. Even with Aero Glass I dont think it would make much difference, just a somewhat better looking XP with a few new features that don't really matter to me. Oh well, at least my experiment worked, for the most part.

January 24th, 2008, 04:37 PM	#19
Prost264 Joined: Jun 30th, 2006 Last Online: 11:15 PM Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Age: 21 Posts: 2,246 Car: 1995 Subaru Legacy Rep Power: 30	Thanks btw I don't see what everyone's problem is with Vista.The installation went smoothly, it ran well, and finding drivers was never an issue. I don't get it. Last edited by Prost264; January 24th, 2008 at 04:41 PM..

January 24th, 2008, 04:51 PM	#20
johns13193 Joined: Aug 15th, 2007 Last Online: 11:49 PM Location: Well, it's near Philadelphia, PA Age: 15 Posts: 209 Car: Dad's '06 Civic EX (in about 2 months...) Rep Power: 6