The only really foolproof way I have found to install Vista and XP is:
Assuming
1. you have more than one HD;
2. you can select which hard drive to boot from thru BIOS selection.
(on mine I can press F11 at boot and get a selection screen).
I unplugged the second HD and installed Vista on the first HD with the
appropriate drivers etc to get a minimal working version up and
running.
I then unplugged the first HD, plugged in the second one and installed
XP on a primary partition on it along with the necessary drivers etc.
You can then plug in both and select which one to boot from using the
BIOS selection. No problems with overwriting boot records etc.
BTW I also installed Vista 64 on my third HD using the same technique
and they all work and play well together.
On Sat, 4 Aug 2007 09:06:01 -0700, Kaypee
<Kaypee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
>thanks - but neither any use
>
>Vista seems to have deleted 3 needed xp boot files. may have put them in
>windows.old but I deleted that at first boot so ...
>
>Oh well will try XP recovery and then Vista recovery and see.
>
>If that dont work then will just wipe all and start again.
>
>Disk 1 XP home
>Disk 2: XP Pro
>Disk 1: Vista
> hope it works this time
>
>Waste of a day :-(
>"Rick Rogers" wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> VistaBootPro is the easiest way:
>> http://www.vistabootpro.org/
>>
>> Or you can use bcdedit from an elevated command prompt:
>> http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms791568.aspx
>>
>> --
>> Best of Luck,
>>
>> Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
>> Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
>> My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com
>>
>> "Kaypee" <Kaypee@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:21D74A4C-99E8-4CDF-926B-B2DDE80A23BF@microsoft.com...
>> > Had Dual boot XP Home and XP Pro. All fine
>> >
>> > Upgraded XP Home to Vista64 now now longer have dual boot. Only Vista
>> > available.
>> >
>> > How do I get Boot menu with XP Pro option back?
>>
>>