Vista/XP SATA HDD install question and dual boot question

[AndyKH]

Hi

I'm going to install Vista 64-bit on my next build, but I'm considering alse installing my copy of XP professional in the event some of my games/programs don't like Vista (I considered a 32/64 bit Vista install but figured I would ensure better compatibility by using Vista 64 and XP).

Now to the questions:

My current build is only using PATA drives, so I have no experience SATA drives.

1) Do I need to install SATA drivers when installing windows XP (IIRC by hitting F6 in the text mode installer? Will it only be necessary when using a discrete SATA card (not an issue for me)? Will it make a difference to slipstream SP2 or SP3 to the install disc?

2) Do I need to install SATA drivers when installing Vista? I assume that slipstreaming SP1 wont make a difference - if Vista doesn't support SATA out of the box then MS are really having problems

3) How do I go around dual booting Vista 64 and XP? Does Vista include a boot manager, or do need to buy a boot manager? Should I install Vista first and then XP or the other way around?

Thanks in advance

 

[VirtualLarry]

1) Depends on whether your BIOS is set up for SATA to emulate IDE. If it's set to "legacy" or "IDE", then no, you don't need to use the F6 driver in XP. If you use a discrete SATA card then you likely will have to use the F6 driver. It shouldn't matter if you slipstread SP2 or SP3, but I recommend using at least a slipstreamed SP2 disc to install.

2) You don't need to install SATA drivers when installing Vista, unless you are installing RAID drivers, AFAIK. Vista supports native/AHCI (opposite of legacy IDE support) SATA drives out of the box.

3) Vista includes a boot manager, you should install XP first, and then Vista. Always install OS in the order that they were released by MS.

 

[johnsonbrewer]

I have a very similar situation. I have a SATA HD I have successfully migrated into a new computer. The computer dual-boots successfully to either XP or Vista 32, using the Vista boot manager ( and edited using EasyBCD ). However the HD is set up in Bios as "IDE" mode, not AHCI yet. I used MS article 922976 to edit the msahci registry entry but I can't get the drive working properly in ACHI mode in Bios after the edit. I haven't done anything on the XP side of things yet, is that my problem? Can I just do the F6 driver load at the initial startup before it wants me to select XP / Vista to boot from to allow ACHI under XP? In other words, do I need to fix both XP and Vista before either of them will work with AHCI?

I have a SATA DVD drive I haven't hooked up yet awaiting a solution. Also, is there much benefit to using AHCI mode without RAID? I have a Seagate 7200.11 32mb cache HD that checks out with HDTach @ 105+ MB/s in IDE mode now, so is it worth the hassle to get to AHCI in the first place? It supports NCQ, but again what is the gain? I suspect I won't see any difference with the lower speed DVD drive in either IDE mode or AHCI, correct?

If there are benefits I will make the move to AHCI, so can someone lay out an idiot-proof roadmap for me?

Much appreciated.