What do I need to Dual Boot XP & Vista

[RU482]

I need to make my PC be able to boot to either XP (which it has now) or Vista (which I have a DVD for).

Is there a guide on how to do this? What partition manager software do I need? Is there a free program that will work?

Thanks!

 

[EagleKeeper]

I do not know about Vista itself but if using XP vs 2K is any indication, you should be able to install Vista in a seperate partition and the NT Boot Loader will request which OS you wish to use.

 

[sonoma1993]

make 2 paritions one for xp and one for vista. Then install XP first, then install vista. Vista will create the dual boot menu for you.

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: sonoma1993
make 2 paritions one for xp and one for vista. Then install XP first, then install vista. Vista will create the dual boot menu for you.

Can I just resize the partition that XP is on, and then install Vista on a new partition?

 

[EagleKeeper]

Yes.

The main thing is that each OS needs it's own unique partition because of common files names that they may share along with the registry

 

[Oyeve]

I use 2 seperate HDs. XP Pro is on one and Vista on the other. I installed XP Pro, diabled the HD and installed Vista on a seperate HD. I use BIOS boot menu to choose which HD I want to boot from. Still wary of Vista and dont want it taking other data with it.

 

[chusteczka]

Resizing a partition is a common method for destroying the filesystem on that partition. Backup your data first.

An excellent free partition editor is QtPartEd. This was available in the installation routine for Mandrake Linux v9.1. I assume it is still available in Mandriva's latest install CD.

QtPartEd will resize partitions. When resizing a partition. Make sure the filesystem has been defragmented at least twice in a row immediately before the resizing operation. This will hopefully move any stray data from the end of the partition, into the middle of the partition.

 

[crapito]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
I use 2 seperate HDs. XP Pro is on one and Vista on the other. I installed XP Pro, diabled the HD and installed Vista on a seperate HD. I use BIOS boot menu to choose which HD I want to boot from.

i use this same method in my dual-boot machine. i find this BIOS/hardware dual-boot concept quicker, easier and more fool-proof than any software based NT-Boot-Loader option. of course, you need 2 HDDs, though with current prices, i can't image that's likely to be an obstacle.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: chusteczka
Resizing a partition is a common method for destroying the filesystem on that partition. Backup your data first.

An excellent free partition editor is QtPartEd. This was available in the installation routine for Mandrake Linux v9.1. I assume it is still available in Mandriva's latest install CD.

QtPartEd will resize partitions. When resizing a partition. Make sure the filesystem has been defragmented at least twice in a row immediately before the resizing operation. This will hopefully move any stray data from the end of the partition, into the middle of the partition.

I second this.
I resized a partition once and lost 4GB of data.