XP now, XP + Vista Dualboot, then just VISTA

[rileychris]

I have XP installed currently on a single HDD1.
I have Vista Business.
I want to in stall a 2nd HDD2 and install Vista there and have a dual boot system for a while.

Can I then copy "my Docs" from HDD1 to HDD2 and get rid of XP (best way to do this? Format HDD1?) and reclaim the space on HDD1 leaving Vista and 2 HDDs?

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

Why not just redirect your MyDocuments folder to point to a third, shared, data partition, and have both OS's use that location? That's how I set up a similar dual boot scenario. Works like a charm, plus you can more easily share docs while dual booting without having to keep track of different versions.

 

[rileychris]

So is my plan as simple as:

Install 2nd HDD
Install Vista to 2nd HDD
Redirect both XP & VISTA to see the "My Documents" on HDD1

Remove XP at later date?


By doing this which OS will it boot to by defualt? Or will I have a choice? Do I need other software to do this?

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

I would partition the second hard drive before the install, or create a second partition on the first hard drive. For example, in my setup I have two HDD. The first is partitioned as C, E, and F. The second drive is partitioned as D, G, and H. I have XP installed on C, and Vista installed on D. Both point to a My Documents folder on my H drive.

When you install Vista, it will take over as the default boot OS, but you'll have an option when you start your PC to boot into either. You can customize the boot process, including changing the default boot OS, using a handy little (free) utility called EasyBCD.

 

[rileychris]

Thanks. I am guessing it may be obvious once I get in there but how do I point my current "My Documents" to a new location/partition. By default doesn't windows create a subdirectory on the same partition that it is installed on?

 

[Hurricane Andrew]

Originally posted by: rileychris
Thanks. I am guessing it may be obvious once I get in there but how do I point my current "My Documents" to a new location/partition. By default doesn't windows create a subdirectory on the same partition that it is installed on?

For XP, you can use Microsoft's TweakUI XP tool to change the location of the My Documents folder. For Vista, I use TweakVI from the same folks who now maintain EasyBCD. Basic version is free as well, and will do what you want.