How do I setup Dual Boot XP/Vista w/two HD's, not partitions?

skygodtj

New Member
Hello all,

I can't figure out how to set up dual boot with two complete, but seperate drives already running respective OS's fine.. I had two seperate HD's, one with XP, one with Vista Ult. already on them. I want to be able to dual-boot these but all I can find is setting up dual boot when installing one or the other (Vista w/XP already on or XP w/Vista already on). I have EasyBCD on hand..

Thanks, TJ
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel E6420
    Motherboard
    ECS M900P4
    Memory
    4GB (2x2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVideo 8600GS
    Sound Card
    Intergrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    WD500GB, WD300GB..
    PSU
    Thermatake 500w
    Case
    Clone
    Cooling
    Intel OEM
The very easiest approach is to install each system seperately (just disconnect the other HDD during installation). To switch between the 2 HDDs (2 systems), you just switch the boot sequence in the BIOS.
Advantage: No headaches with the MBR, you can delete each system independent from the other, switching the BIOS boot sequence is fast, etc.
Also, if you create a seperate data partition on one of the HDDs, you can share the data from both systems and do not have to worry about copying/synchronizing the data.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
Each HD already has a full OS on it, which were installed seperately, with only one drive plugged in at a time (dont ask..).. one hd has XP Home, the other drive has Vista Ultimate.. so right now I am going into the bios to select which drive is primary, which it will boot from. It is a hassle doing this, and beyond my wife or kids to do it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel E6420
    Motherboard
    ECS M900P4
    Memory
    4GB (2x2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVideo 8600GS
    Sound Card
    Intergrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    WD500GB, WD300GB..
    PSU
    Thermatake 500w
    Case
    Clone
    Cooling
    Intel OEM
set up a bootloader. you can partition your first or second hdd and installa linux distro or install grub from a live cd. well if you are going to install linux (i reccommend ubuntu its the most stable) wehn you triple boot these, ubuntu will already set up grub 1.97 beta4 for you. but you can always go in and edit the bootmenu: Customizing Grub2 boot menu - Ubuntu Forums

or you can research on google on how to install grub off a live linux cd. you can always setup lilo (not reccomended as that it is an old bootloader)

GRUB = grand unified bootloader, meaning that it loads most operating systems, even mac ones, i think. oh, and when you set up grub, set it up as a mbr on a partition with an operating system on it instead of its own partition.

i could be wrong, if i am sorry!
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Hp pavillion a6110n
    CPU
    amd athlon 64 x2 live! 4400+
    Memory
    4 gigs 3.3 useable
    Graphics Card(s)
    Finally! SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 12
    Monitor(s) Displays
    generic pnp monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    7.2k rpm
    1 linux ubuntu partition
    1 vista partition
    1recovery partition
    1 windows 7 partition
    1linux swap partition
    PSU
    500W, antc earthwatts EA500
    Case
    normal black case
    Cooling
    fans
    Keyboard
    saitek cyborg gaming keyboard
    Mouse
    logitech mouse (small to fit hand perfectly)
    Internet Speed
    dsl
    Other Info
    2.3 ghz amd
'not a fan of ubuntu.. so it's not an option.. It's XP, Vista, and shortly, 7.. thanks anyway.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel E6420
    Motherboard
    ECS M900P4
    Memory
    4GB (2x2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVideo 8600GS
    Sound Card
    Intergrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    WD500GB, WD300GB..
    PSU
    Thermatake 500w
    Case
    Clone
    Cooling
    Intel OEM
try tirple booting win 7, i think itl make a boot menu for u but im not sure.

you can also try other linux distros if ur not a fan of ubuntu. open suse is another great linux distro to use.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Hp pavillion a6110n
    CPU
    amd athlon 64 x2 live! 4400+
    Memory
    4 gigs 3.3 useable
    Graphics Card(s)
    Finally! SAPPHIRE 100283L Radeon HD 5770 (Juniper XT) 1GB 12
    Monitor(s) Displays
    generic pnp monitor
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    7.2k rpm
    1 linux ubuntu partition
    1 vista partition
    1recovery partition
    1 windows 7 partition
    1linux swap partition
    PSU
    500W, antc earthwatts EA500
    Case
    normal black case
    Cooling
    fans
    Keyboard
    saitek cyborg gaming keyboard
    Mouse
    logitech mouse (small to fit hand perfectly)
    Internet Speed
    dsl
    Other Info
    2.3 ghz amd
I'm just trying to get XP and Vista to db now, so when I add 7 I can get it to trip-boot together..
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel E6420
    Motherboard
    ECS M900P4
    Memory
    4GB (2x2GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVideo 8600GS
    Sound Card
    Intergrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Envision 19" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    WD500GB, WD300GB..
    PSU
    Thermatake 500w
    Case
    Clone
    Cooling
    Intel OEM
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