Dual booting question

bm23

bm23

Active Member
right now im running XP SP2. i would like to create another partition where i can install vista home premium. is that possible? if the answer is yes, here are a few more questions:
-How do i choose which partition to boot from? and how do i switch?
-would there be any conflict of drivers if i install driver for vista on the partition with vista?
-how big do i need the partition to be if i only want to install vista and drivers?
thanks in advance :D
 
Yes, it's possible. The safest way would be to backup your personal files, then format the entire drive and create new partitions (one for XP, one for Vista). Afterwards, install XP first, then Vista. Or, if you don't want to do that, just defragment XP a few times, then load up Vista and re-partition from there. Be careful doing it that way though; depending on where your XP files are located on the disk, things might be over-written.

As far as choosing which one to boot to, Vista will take care of everything. You may need to tweak one or two things afterwards, but if you need to, it's fairly straight-forward. As far as driver issues, each OS would have it's own driver database, so the only issues would be if there was a faulty driver to begin with.
 
thanks for your answer. i just want to know a bit more about choosing which partition to boot from. the thing is, when i first install xp onto the hdd, i installed it in C drive. after that, i partitioned the hdd to have another drive, D. the next time that i boot, the computer actually booted from D drive so i had to reformat. now, when i want to install vista, i would have to create another drive, say, E. most of the time i would use vista, unless there's an error or compatibility issue. so how do i set the com to boot from E drive?
 
Can you still boot into one of your Windows installations?
If that is the case, Right-click "My Computer" --> Properties --> Advanced --> "Settings" under "Startup and recovery" --> Edit

In the boot.ini file, which you just opened, there should be something like:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

It's probably enough for you to duplicate this line and change the partition(1) to whichever partition you have your other OS on (trial and error will work), and, of course, the name.

So the file should now look something like:

[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Non-MS dream OS" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
 
bm23 said:
thanks for your answer. i just want to know a bit more about choosing which partition to boot from. the thing is, when i first install xp onto the hdd, i installed it in C drive. after that, i partitioned the hdd to have another drive, D. the next time that i boot, the computer actually booted from D drive so i had to reformat. now, when i want to install vista, i would have to create another drive, say, E. most of the time i would use vista, unless there's an error or compatibility issue. so how do i set the com to boot from E drive?
Click to expand...

It all has to do with the Boot Loader. A BL is a program that lists all available bootable operating systems and allows you to choose which one. After you install Vista, it will recognize that XP is there too, and allow you the option to boot into either one.

Again, going back to partitions, it's always best to set them up *before* you install OS's, not resize after the fact. Personally, I'd wipe everything from the Drive, then set up your partitions (say, C D and E). C could be for XP, D for Vista, and E for your personal files so you have less of a risk losing important data if you need to ever do a re-install. But, that's just me, and I'm incredibly OCD:) Here's my partition layout:

Drive 1:
Partition 1 - XP OS
Partition 2 - XP Software
Partition 3 - My personal files

Drive 2:
Partition 1 - Swap
Partition 2 - Ubuntu Root
Partition 3 - Ubuntu Home
Partition 4 - Kubuntu Root
Partition 5 - Kubuntu Home
Partition 6 - Backup of my personal files
 
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thanks guys. i will post again when i install vista, maybe tomorrow, if i have any problem with that.
 
Don't have time to read other Posts at the moment, but why not set up partitions via the XP install CD? It's surprisingly straight-forward and you can do everything before you install XP.
 
i already have XP installed. i think the reason why i cant partition is because of 3 unallocated space which is 0 byte in size. when i run chkdsk in read only mode, it stops at stage 2 of 3 but normal chkdsk is fine. i tried partition logic but it said there is some error with the hdd. here's the screenshot of partition magic.
 
I know you have XP installed. However, the only setback of partitioning from an OS is that the disk is most likely (in your case, it definitely is) being used. Because of that, there will be the occasional snags - one of which you're experiencing. Have you tried Gparted? Just like PM, but easier interface and you can do more with it. The 3 unallocated areas are definitely odd, especially since they're all 0 MB.

Again, you can only do so much via a Partition Editor while running it from an OS - the best/easiest/safest way is to create a partition layout in your mind or on paper, then do so either via a third-party Live CD (like Gparted), or at the Partition stage of an OS Install. Hence, why I would recommend you save your personal files, load up your XP Install CD and boot to it. Follow the on-screen instructions, then when you get to the Partition area, delete everything currently there so you have one giant chunk of unallocated space. After that's done, set up your C: and D: (and/or others) the way you want - there won't be an active OS telling you 'No, I can't do that' or giving you odd readings - just the raw Windows Partition Editor. I honestly think it will solve all of your issues you're having with crazy partitions.
 
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thanks for your help. i've managed to install vista on a new partition, G. i would like to know if it's possible to transfer setting from C to G, such that Vista can detect programs installed in C and treat it as its own programs.
 
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