Vista - Dual boot, 2 hard drives vista first

Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to display list
is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't chose
an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.



Kev wrote:
> Ok, i just descovered something:
>
> in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in there there
> are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i use.
>
> eg Default operating system
> and time to display list of OS's
>
> so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just instal XP on
> second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it still gonna
> be complicated?
>
> "John Barnes" wrote:

Ok i should have clarified a bit more, i meant: What does this mean for how i
instal a second OS? i kinda already got the fact that they would be
displayed and i had 30 secs to choose.

i can't believe how complicated this is gonna be when it should be really
simple, and how can i overwrite the boot if its on a second hard drive?
surely that would prevent XP trying to take over as primary, what if i don't
have the vista one connected when i install the XP one? that way XP can't
overwrite the vista boot.

"Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:

> Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to display list
> is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't chose
> an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.
>
>
>
> Kev wrote:
> > Ok, i just descovered something:
> >
> > in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in there there
> > are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i use.
> >
> > eg Default operating system
> > and time to display list of OS's
> >
> > so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just instal XP on
> > second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it still gonna
> > be complicated?
> >
> > "John Barnes" wrote:
>

Do you not know how to go into your BIOS and change boot priority?
Disconnecting the Vista drive will work, but when you reconnect it, you
still should go into your BIOS and check which drive is first in priority
(some will leave the XP drive first - others will switch back to the Vista
drive). In Vista, you can download and install either EasyBCD or
VistaBootPro and add a legacy entry pointing to your XP drive.

"Kev" <Kev@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E8E0962C-F842-4952-8EC0-9A479F64A8D8@microsoft.com...
> Ok i should have clarified a bit more, i meant: What does this mean for
> how i
> instal a second OS? i kinda already got the fact that they would be
> displayed and i had 30 secs to choose.
>
> i can't believe how complicated this is gonna be when it should be really
> simple, and how can i overwrite the boot if its on a second hard drive?
> surely that would prevent XP trying to take over as primary, what if i
> don't
> have the vista one connected when i install the XP one? that way XP can't
> overwrite the vista boot.
>
> "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
>
>> Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to display list
>> is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't chose
>> an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.
>>
>>
>>
>> Kev wrote:
>> > Ok, i just descovered something:
>> >
>> > in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in there
>> > there
>> > are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i use.
>> >
>> > eg Default operating system
>> > and time to display list of OS's
>> >
>> > so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just instal XP
>> > on
>> > second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it still
>> > gonna
>> > be complicated?
>> >
>> > "John Barnes" wrote:
>>

It doesn't affect what you are doing.


Kev wrote:
> Ok i should have clarified a bit more, i meant: What does this mean for how i
> instal a second OS? i kinda already got the fact that they would be
> displayed and i had 30 secs to choose.
>
> i can't believe how complicated this is gonna be when it should be really
> simple, and how can i overwrite the boot if its on a second hard drive?
> surely that would prevent XP trying to take over as primary, what if i don't
> have the vista one connected when i install the XP one? that way XP can't
> overwrite the vista boot.
>
> "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
>
>> Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to display list
>> is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't chose
>> an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.
>>
>>
>>
>> Kev wrote:
>>> Ok, i just descovered something:
>>>
>>> in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in there there
>>> are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i use.
>>>
>>> eg Default operating system
>>> and time to display list of OS's
>>>
>>> so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just instal XP on
>>> second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it still gonna
>>> be complicated?
>>>
>>> "John Barnes" wrote:

i am ok with the bios bit ans selecting drive priority, its the adding a
legacy entry bit i am not familiar with, can someone elaborate on how to do
that bit for me please? after that i'll give it a try (after backing
important stuff to DVD first) in the next week or so.

Thanks

Kev


"Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:

> It doesn't affect what you are doing.
>
>
> Kev wrote:
> > Ok i should have clarified a bit more, i meant: What does this mean for how i
> > instal a second OS? i kinda already got the fact that they would be
> > displayed and i had 30 secs to choose.
> >
> > i can't believe how complicated this is gonna be when it should be really
> > simple, and how can i overwrite the boot if its on a second hard drive?
> > surely that would prevent XP trying to take over as primary, what if i don't
> > have the vista one connected when i install the XP one? that way XP can't
> > overwrite the vista boot.
> >
> > "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
> >
> >> Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to display list
> >> is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't chose
> >> an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Kev wrote:
> >>> Ok, i just descovered something:
> >>>
> >>> in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in there there
> >>> are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i use.
> >>>
> >>> eg Default operating system
> >>> and time to display list of OS's
> >>>
> >>> so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just instal XP on
> >>> second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it still gonna
> >>> be complicated?
> >>>
> >>> "John Barnes" wrote:
>

First of all I believe XP 32bit is better for games...but its your choice.
Check your BIOS and see if it will let you pick which HD to boot from by
means of an F key during the boot process.This way you dont need a
"software" dual boot.
In order to create the dual boot I describe you disconnect the drive that
Vista is installed on and proceed with a normal XP installation.This keeps
each OS boot files on their respective drives.Once you have XP setup to your
satisfaction you reconnect the Vista drives and upon boot use the F function
to pick which drive(OS) to boot from.
If your BIOS does not support this option you would need to enter the Bios
and set the boot order accordingly.
Since there is no cross referencing of OS's on the MBR on any of the 2
drives it is very easy to undo the "dual" boot...remove/format the OS no
longer needed.

here is a website that explains the "software" Dual boot.........read down
till close to the end.you wont need the diskpart instructions.
http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp
peter

"Kev" <Kev@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:EAEC9EC0-2D0F-4DBD-B19D-32FF96886306@microsoft.com...
> So ho do i make vista 'not see' the second hard drive, and for that matter
> not let XP see my vista drive?
>
> -kev
>
> "Paul Randall" wrote:
>
>>
>> "Kev" <Kev@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:52398BDE-49A6-4A12-BBEC-5F101A2173E8@microsoft.com...
>> > Hi,
>> > I am a keen gamer and although i love vista the compatability problems
>> > mean
>> > that i may need to set up dual boot.
>> >
>> > I have Vista home premium 64bit on my C drive right now.
>> >
>> > I plan to get another drive, get XP 64bit, instal it on that hard drive
>> > and
>> > have a dual boot sytem to allow me to play games i can't play right
>> > now.
>> >
>> > I have tried reading up but most of the info talks about dual boots
>> > with
>> > XP
>> > first or on partitions rather than seperate hard drives and talks about
>> > having to repair vista.
>> >
>> > So my question is: how would i set up my pc to have Vista on one drive
>> > and
>> > XP on the other and essentialy just have a start up menu to choose
>> > which
>> > one
>> > i want to use on that login?
>> >
>> > My logic states just instal on seperate hard drives and all things will
>> > be
>> > fine, but reading up it seems not the case, so basicaly HELP! )
>> >
>> > Any advice or help would be appreciated
>>
>> I haven't tried this, but perhaps it would work.
>> With only one drive connected, install Vista. After doing your typical
>> setup configuration of first boot-up as a user, shutdown and connect the
>> second drive. On startup, as soon as you have control, remove the drive
>> letter from the second drive, so your Vista only sees the drive it is
>> installed on. Install WXP on the second drive, using a similar
>> procedure.
>> Each time at boot up, hit the function key that allows selecting which
>> drive
>> to boot from.
>>
>> I'd be interested in hearing if this actually works and keeps the systems
>> separate so that both system's recovery stores work.
>>
>> -Paul Randall
>>
>>
>>

Kev,
Visit each of the sites for Vista Boot Pro and EasyBCD about adding a
legacy entry and installing XP as the second o/s.
Here's the VistaBootPro site
http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=88231


Additionally here's some other articles on the subject for EasyBCD
http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp
http://www.apcstart.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp
http://www.setup32.com/resource-guid...ith-vista-.php

And imo, the best of them all for configuration of dual boot and
bootmanaged systems: BootItNG
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/examples.html

Background info: normally for dual booting it is recommended to install
XP first, then Vista. With Vista installed as the second o/s, and after
complete install the user will be provided with two options in a dual
boot system.
Vista and the Other Windows Legacy O/S.

Since you are doing the opposite, XP basically isn't smart enough to set
it up the normal way and breaks Vista's control.....thus one has to
manually add the option for the legacy o/s, and/or restore the
bootloader, move necessary files from the XP drive to the Vista
drive(ref. John Barnes posts), and in some cases perform a repair
install of Vista.

The use of VistaBootPro or EasyBCD in your case makes part of the Vista
first/XP second process much easier. Visit the sites and read the
articles to familiarize yourself.

With respect to Restore points..yes XP breaks Vista's restore points.
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/prevent...windows_xp.htm

http://bertk.mvps.org/html/dualboot.html

Good luck!
...winston
MS-MVP Windows Live Mail

"Kev" <Kev@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B4D45F82-A87B-4340-863E-D2DD18BBDE90@microsoft.com...
>i am ok with the bios bit ans selecting drive priority, its the adding
>a
> legacy entry bit i am not familiar with, can someone elaborate on how
> to do
> that bit for me please? after that i'll give it a try (after backing
> important stuff to DVD first) in the next week or so.
>
> Thanks
>
> Kev
>
>
> "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
>
>> It doesn't affect what you are doing.
>>
>>
>> Kev wrote:
>> > Ok i should have clarified a bit more, i meant: What does this mean
>> > for how i
>> > instal a second OS? i kinda already got the fact that they would
>> > be
>> > displayed and i had 30 secs to choose.
>> >
>> > i can't believe how complicated this is gonna be when it should be
>> > really
>> > simple, and how can i overwrite the boot if its on a second hard
>> > drive?
>> > surely that would prevent XP trying to take over as primary, what
>> > if i don't
>> > have the vista one connected when i install the XP one? that way XP
>> > can't
>> > overwrite the vista boot.
>> >
>> > "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to
>> >> display list
>> >> is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't
>> >> chose
>> >> an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Kev wrote:
>> >>> Ok, i just descovered something:
>> >>>
>> >>> in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in
>> >>> there there
>> >>> are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i
>> >>> use.
>> >>>
>> >>> eg Default operating system
>> >>> and time to display list of OS's
>> >>>
>> >>> so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just
>> >>> instal XP on
>> >>> second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it
>> >>> still gonna
>> >>> be complicated?
>> >>>
>> >>> "John Barnes" wrote:
>>

Read the info provided by winston, especially the loss of restore points and
shadow copies in Vista. BootItNG is the best solution to that problem. I
prefer EasyBCD and there you start the program, select add/remove entries,
in the bottom section (add an Entry) in Version select Windows/Windows
Vista/Longhorn, point to the drive that it has been assigned in 'computer' ,
Change the name to what you want to see in the boot menu, and click on add
entry. Reboot and check the new entry.

In a few cases it will be necessary to copy the ntldr ntdetect.com and
boot.ini files to the Vista drive from the XP drive. You will have to
change the rdisk entry in the boot.ini file from 0 to 1 if you have either
made the XP drive first in boot priority or disconnected the Vista drive.
Otherwise be prepared to run startup repair on the Vista DVD up to 4 times.

"Kev" <Kev@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:B4D45F82-A87B-4340-863E-D2DD18BBDE90@microsoft.com...
>i am ok with the bios bit ans selecting drive priority, its the adding a
> legacy entry bit i am not familiar with, can someone elaborate on how to
> do
> that bit for me please? after that i'll give it a try (after backing
> important stuff to DVD first) in the next week or so.
>
> Thanks
>
> Kev
>
>
> "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
>
>> It doesn't affect what you are doing.
>>
>>
>> Kev wrote:
>> > Ok i should have clarified a bit more, i meant: What does this mean for
>> > how i
>> > instal a second OS? i kinda already got the fact that they would be
>> > displayed and i had 30 secs to choose.
>> >
>> > i can't believe how complicated this is gonna be when it should be
>> > really
>> > simple, and how can i overwrite the boot if its on a second hard drive?
>> > surely that would prevent XP trying to take over as primary, what if i
>> > don't
>> > have the vista one connected when i install the XP one? that way XP
>> > can't
>> > overwrite the vista boot.
>> >
>> > "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
>> >
>> >> Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to display
>> >> list
>> >> is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't
>> >> chose
>> >> an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Kev wrote:
>> >>> Ok, i just descovered something:
>> >>>
>> >>> in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in there
>> >>> there
>> >>> are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i use.
>> >>>
>> >>> eg Default operating system
>> >>> and time to display list of OS's
>> >>>
>> >>> so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just instal
>> >>> XP on
>> >>> second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it still
>> >>> gonna
>> >>> be complicated?
>> >>>
>> >>> "John Barnes" wrote:
>>

Ok thanks ladies and gents, leave that with me, and i'll get it sorted over
the next week or two (damn work interfering with more important things! hehe)
and i'll let you know how i get on by replying here.

Thanks for all the advice

-Kev


"Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:

> It doesn't affect what you are doing.
>
>
> Kev wrote:
> > Ok i should have clarified a bit more, i meant: What does this mean for how i
> > instal a second OS? i kinda already got the fact that they would be
> > displayed and i had 30 secs to choose.
> >
> > i can't believe how complicated this is gonna be when it should be really
> > simple, and how can i overwrite the boot if its on a second hard drive?
> > surely that would prevent XP trying to take over as primary, what if i don't
> > have the vista one connected when i install the XP one? that way XP can't
> > overwrite the vista boot.
> >
> > "Brett I. Holcomb" wrote:
> >
> >> Default OS is the one that will be booted after the time to display list
> >> is up unless another has been chosen. In other words if you don't chose
> >> an OS in the time to display the default OS will be booted.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Kev wrote:
> >>> Ok, i just descovered something:
> >>>
> >>> in the advanced system menu, go to start up and recovery. in there there
> >>> are some settings that imply that vista can control which os i use.
> >>>
> >>> eg Default operating system
> >>> and time to display list of OS's
> >>>
> >>> so what does this mean, that it is as simple as i think (just instal XP on
> >>> second hard drive and make sure vista is primary boot) or is it still gonna
> >>> be complicated?
> >>>
> >>> "John Barnes" wrote:
>