milleron

On Thu, 15 Jun 2006 14:54:02 -0700, RoboDude
<RoboDude@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Because of the curiosity factor invovled in seeing how an x64 OS would
>respond with digital media apps on my 64bit processor, I decided to install
>Vista x64 onto a spare 40GB PATA drive in a system with a working x86 XP SATA
>setup.
>
>After installing the drive, I did not boot to XP, but instead, immediately
>ran the setup from the DVD. When presented with the graphic showing possible
>installation partitions, I noticed that the spare drive (which was in the
>second column, I believe) still had information on it, so I formatted it,
>then proceeded to install with no problems.
>
>I restarted the system after updating some drivers and noticed that there
>was no boot menu presenting me with the option to boot to my previous version
>of windows - it went straight into Vista. After another restart, I confirmed
>that my BIOS was set to boot from the SATA drive first, but it was booting
>from the PATA drive, instead. Thinking that the DVD had something to do with
>how the drives were being recognized, I ejected the DVD, and then booted
>straight into XP. For some reason, the boot configuration data was installed
>on the PATA drive and not the SATA. In XP, the Vista drive shows up as my G:
>drive. In Vista, the XP installation shows up as the D: drive. That drive
>letter assignments doesn't bother me. But now, how do I get the Vista
>bootsector installed on the SATA drive, which is my normal boot device?

You've discovered a phenomenon that seems more like a bug than a
feature. To assure that your BCD is placed on your XP drive, so that
you get a dual-boot menu, launch Vista Setup from within XP. I think
you're going to have to reinstall using this method.