Re: Dual Boot Instructions

Hi, David.

I'm probably thick as a brick where this is
concerned.

It's called "mindset" - and we ALL have experienced it. :>(

We all have known the "Aha!" moment when the "light bulb" turns on. Immediately, what was so complex a moment ago is now as clear as a bell. ;<)

It seems too simple that I
just disconnect the already installed Vista drive, then plug in the blank HDD
and install XP as per normal. Is this part correct???

Yes, it's just that simple, to this point.

Once the XP
installation is complete it seems to be that once BOTH OSs are installed,
then the fun and games begins, is that true?

Not quite.

All you really need to do then is to update the startup files on your first HDD. You need for Vista Setup.exe to write its files there while preserving the WinXP startup files - and to create a menu to let you choose. (In all your posts so far, David, you have not yet told us how many partitions are on each HDD. Our job would be easier if we knew such basic facts about your system. For now, I'm assuming a single partition on each HDD.)

Step 2: Leave the first HDD connected, with the System Partition on it - and WinXP somewhere on that HDD, too. (I would prefer it in a second partition, rather than have its boot volume share the system partition, but that point is optional and does not change what happens next.)

Step 3: Connect your second HDD (with Vista and a second System Partition on it).

Step 4: Boot from your Vista DVD and click Repair your computer. On the next screen, click Startup Repair. As a part of the repair, Vista will detect the existing WinXP and include the "earlier" version option in the startup menu.

Repair should know to fix the first HDD, but it might do the second instead. That's OK. You can just set your BIOS to boot from the second HDD instead of the first. The computer will be just as happy that way. ;<)

I am new to this but the only way I'll learn is to do it myself.

Yep! One thing for sure: You won't know until you try. A dozen more newsgroup exchanges will leave you still wondering - and without a working dual boot system. Do it - and then let us know what happened. You shouldn't have any problems, but we're here if you do. ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Microsoft Windows MVP
Windows Live Mail 2009 (14.0.8064.0206) in Win7 Ultimate x64 RC 7100

"DavidG" <DavidG@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:B0906973-90F8-483A-A416-EFA6293CF0F9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi R. C.

I've read over your thread a number of times and it is beginning to sink in.
I am new to this but the only way I'll learn is to do it myself. I'm just
worried about the system not booting at all. If I slip up somewhere. I
don't think I am thick but I'm probably thick as a brick where this is
concerned.

No one has said either yes or no to the proposed installation as described
by "DL" in the first posting (other than Josh). It seems too simple that I
just disconnect the already installed Vista drive, then plug in the blank HDD
and install XP as per normal. Is this part correct??? Once the XP
installation is complete it seems to be that once BOTH OSs are installed,
then the fun and games begins, is that true?

So If I am following your instructions BOTH HDDs will have a System
Volume/Partition. The Vista volume will have a system volume - because it
was already there. Because the Vista volume was disconnected when installing
XP, the XP volume also will have a system volume. OK, if I wade through the
instructions I've been given I will find an answer to this conundrum?

I guess I can always take the PC to my local computer shop, where they will
charge me by the hour and I will have still learnt nothing. Unfortunately,
to learn something I may have to ask dumb questions, well I'm not afraid of
that. If I encounter put-downs as a result of asking, then it is bad luck,
I'll keep asking.
Thanks



"R. C. White" wrote:

Hi, David.

> does the "Earlier version of Windows" option occur automatically

Yes. Setup.exe in either Vista or Win7 will automatically create this as
the first of the boot options if it detects WinXP already installed on the
computer.

On later reboots, if you select (or let it default to) Vista or Win7, this
"earlier" line will be ignored, of course, and your Vista/Win7 selection
will be loaded and started, just as you would expect. NTLDR, etc., will
simply be ignored in that case. But if you select the "earlier" option,
then Vista's bootmgr will turn control over to the saved file of the WinXP
boot sector, which knows nothing of Vista but will look for NTLDR - and
continue as though Vista/Win7 did not exist. As always in a WinXP-only
system, if there is only a single WinXP installation, the boot process will
not waste time presenting the Boot.ini menu but will simply boot the only
choice.

While you may not have tried, it, some of us have dual-booted multiple
installations of Win2K/XP. We might have (or have had) WinXP Pro (x86) plus
WinXP x64 - and maybe an installation of Win2K, all selected from the
Boot.ini menu at startup. If we added Vista to that system, Vista's Setup
would preserve that Boot.ini file. On each reboot, when we select
"earlier", that previous multiple-choice Boot.ini menu will be presented.
But if there is only a single choice in Boot.ini, that OS will be booted
automatically after we select "earlier".

RC

"DavidG" <DavidG@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:12D80226-8F05-42D8-AAAB-585002B0A175@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> What can I say, the reponses to my post have been fantastic and > generous.
> As
> is yours RC. The only thing, and I might be wrong about this, but I > still
> feel a little uncertain about setting up the booting side of it. What > I
> mean
> is does the "Earlier version of Windows" option occur automatically or > do
> I
> need to do something? How do I physically set that choice up? If I'm
> overdoing the request let me know, I feel confident about the
> installation,
> it is just that last bit.
>
>
>
> "R. C. White" wrote:
>
>> Hi, David.
>>
>> You've received plenty of good advice here. You don't really need >> more,
>> but... ;^}
>>
>> Ever since WinNT4 (which is where I jumped in to dual-booting), the
>> Microsoft dual-boot (actually multi-boot) system has consisted of two
>> parts:
>> The System Partition and the Boot Volume. For the official but
>> counterintuitive definitions of these two terms, see KB 314470 (
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314470/EN-US/ ). As others have said,
>> those
>> uninformed on such matters may think it strange that we boot from the
>> system
>> partition and keep the operating system files in the boot volume - but
>> those
>> terms are rooted in computer history and we're stuck with them. I see
>> this
>> as a figure "Y". It all stands on the upright portion, the System
>> Partition. The boot process starts there, then proceeds to one of the
>> two
>> (or more) branches of the "Y", depending on what we select. (In a >> one-OS
>> system, the "Y" looks like an "I", but the System Partition and Boot
>> Volume
>> still exist - and the distinction is still important.)
>>
>> The System Partition must be a primary partition and marked Active
>> (bootable), and it must be on the HDD designated in the BIOS as the >> boot
>> device. The Boot Volume may be a primary partition, but it also may >> be a
>> logical drive in an extended partition on any HDD in the computer. If
>> there
>> are multiple Windows installations, each will have its own Boot >> Volume,
>> but
>> they will all share the single System Partition. (More complex
>> arrangements
>> are possible, such as creating a System Partition on each of multiple
>> HDDs
>> and changing BIOS settings to choose between them, as some have >> suggested
>> in
>> this thread, but let's keep it simple for the current discussion.)
>>
>> The System Partition can be very small (well under 1 GB) because all >> that
>> is
>> required to be there are the boot sector (512 bytes) and the few
>> relatively
>> small startup files. The Win2K/XP startup files are only NTLDR,
>> NTDETECT.COM and Boot.ini. For Vista/Win7, they are only the file
>> "bootmgr"
>> (no extension) and the folder named \Boot, which holds the BCD (Boot
>> Configuration Data). No matter where you tell Setup to install >> Windows,
>> these startup files MUST be in the System Partition.
>>
>> All the rest of Windows (maybe 10 GB or more for Vista) will be >> installed
>> in
>> a single folder tree, named \Windows, in the Root of whichever volume >> you
>> choose, which thereby becomes the Boot Volume for that Windows
>> installation.
>> This CAN share the System Partition - and that is the typical
>> arrangement,
>> especially for newbies and for new computers with Windows >> pre-installed.
>> But this means that you can't format that Boot Volume without also >> wiping
>> out the System Partition. (Win7's default installation on a new blank
>> computer solves this by creating the System Partition as a separate
>> volume
>> with no drive letter, then creating the large boot volume and >> assigning
>> it
>> Drive C:. But that arrangement is not available to us when adding >> Win7
>> to
>> an existing WinXP system.)
>>
>> WinXP's Setup.exe never heard of Vista or Win7, of course, because >> those
>> did
>> not exist back in 2001, when WinXP was released. But Vista and Win7
>> Setup
>> knows how to handle an existing WinXP. That's the reason for the >> Golden
>> Rule of Dual-Booting: Always install the newest Windows last. When >> Win7
>> Setup finds an existing WinXP, it does not delete NTLDR, etc., but >> adds
>> its
>> own bootmgr and \Boot folder alongside them, then rewrites the boot
>> sector
>> (after saving a copy of it). Later, on each reboot, the BCD menu
>> includes
>> an option for an "Earlier version of Windows". If you choose that, >> the
>> BCD
>> gets out of the way and lets NTLDR present the familiar Boot.ini >> menu -
>> if
>> there are multiple Win2K/XP options - or continues directly into WinXP >> if
>> there is only one. Since you want to add WinXP to a system that >> already
>> has
>> Vista installed, you'll need to do some repair work after installing
>> WinXP,
>> but that's easier than it used to be. And upgrading from Vista to >> Win7
>> later should be easy, although Microsoft hasn't yet published the >> details
>> of
>> this transition.
>>
>> Well, that's enough for now. We could discuss drive letters and such, >> or
>> creating multiple System Partitions on your multiple HDDs (for >> insurance
>> in
>> case one HDD gets damaged), but we can save those for another day.
>>
>> RC
>>
>> "DavidG" <DavidG@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:E15CFD5B-9225-47AB-9DEA-FA6A86CB4178@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> > Hi
>> > I'm wanting to create a dual boot for my PC. I would like to use 2
>> > separate
>> > HDDs. One HDD has Vista Business (current) and the other proposed >> > HDD
>> > will
>> > have XP. I would like to locate some good user-friendly >> > instructions
>> > on
>> > how
>> > to do this by downloading from a web site, or maybe someone on the
>> > group
>> > has
>> > a set of instructions. Could someone assist please? Is there a >> > good
>> > site
>> > on
>> > this topic?
>> >
>> > I have tried Virtual PC 2007 but I cannot get the screen to enlarge >> > to
>> > any
>> > extent. Full screen mode fails every time I try it. Anyway, I >> > figure
>> > the
>> > twin HDDs would be the cleanest way to go. One more thing, I plan >> > on
>> > upgrading the Vista installation to Windows 7 when released, would
>> > there
>> > be
>> > issues with the dual boot when installing Win 7??
>> > Thanks

.

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