How to make/get copy of Vista DVD for Dualboot?

[WildViper]

Hi,

I just bought a Sony Vaio laptop and it doesn't come with Vista DVD on its own. I can and did do Recovery Disks, but that installs everything.

I need the Vista DVDs for multi-boot reasons. As I have read online at a couple of places, if I have Vista already installed(i do) then I can install XP Pro SP2 on another partition and then Dual boot. But, all of them say I need to have the original Vista DVD as well.

How can I get that? Sony says that they only have Recover Disks with all their junks.

Or is there another way to dual boot without having to uninstall Vista?

Thanx for any help;

 

[Billb2]

You have an "OEM" copy of Vista.
It can not be used to do a full install. MS keeps you from doing full installs, and Sony saves a little money. OEM copies, per the EULA, can only be used on the machine they were sold with. Since you have to install XP before Vista in order to dual boot ...well...you're screwed.

What you want to do can be done in a nunber of ways. They are either illegal or such a klunge as to be useless. And it's so difficult that if you have to ask...well then, no, it can't be done.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Billb2
You have an "OEM" copy of Vista.

That is correct.

It can not be used to do a full install.

How did you come to that conclusion? Is that stated in the end user license agreement?

 

[thegorx]

You don't need a Vista DVD to dual boot, you can install XP after vista and dual boot you just have to know how.

here are some things to search for and read about

bootsect.exe /nt60 c:

EasyBCD


You could resize and hide the vista partition or just make the new partition primary and active and use the Disk Management Console to activate the OS you want to reboot into or use a program like EasyBCD to get XP in the vista menu. There are many ways and different obstacles depending on how you're planning to do it. Frankly I think having two primary partitions would be best since you can just use the Disk Management Console if all fails.

 

[Barfo]

Isn't there a way to know your serial number? that way you could then install xp, get a hold of a vista dvd and install it with your serial number.