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Dual boot XP and Vista

post #1 of 5
8/15/08 at 12:54pm
Thread Starter 
Hello everyone,

I wish to install Windows Vista on my existing Dell Inspiron laptop that already contain Windows XP. My laptop came with Single partition with XP installed and had hidden Dell PC Restore partitions (see http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/)

Now I wish to shrink the existing XP partition ( my C:\ ), create a new partition (say D:\ ) and install Vista on this new partition. Would fiddling with existing XP partition create problem with my Dell PC Restore mechanism ? any tips?

Just want to check with you guys before I make any changes.

Appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.
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post #2 of 5
9/4/08 at 10:43am
What I did was install Vista (64-bit Vista works awesome!) and run the free Microsoft Virtual PC software and run XP in a window. That doesn't work for all purposes, but it filled my needs to run some legacy software that wasn't written to proper 2001 and later specifications from Microsoft. It's sad the amount of software that just isn't written correctly, huh?
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post #3 of 5
9/7/08 at 3:55am
SohailK, you might want to check out these links:

http://apcmag.com/how_to_dualboot_vi...creenshots.htm

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/...stalled-first/

Hope you find them useful.
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post #4 of 5
9/9/08 at 5:32pm
to do a dual boot or even a triple boot i would start your hard drive fresh. The bestway to do a duel boot is to use the xp cd and create the xp partitions and the vista partition then install the XP. After you done that install vista on the other partition. XP's booting method does not respond well with vista. but if you do vista 2nd then everything will be smooth as a babys butt
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post #5 of 5
9/10/08 at 10:11am
Zander's solution is truely best. A couple things to consider. Do start fresh, it works so much better. But, be sure to follow Dell's driver install order suggestions. Sorry I forget the link, use Dell's search in there support area, you'll eventually find a list of driver install steps for laptops. Some laptops it's important to install drivers in the correct order for them to work best. When installing XP first, be sure NOT to delete any partition but the largest. Why? The smaller partitions contain diag tools and a re-install of the original OS if ever wanted. Wiping these means you may never get them back, so be careful. Just delete the largest partition and then make a single smaller, 1/2 I guess, partition and install XP on that, no need to make the 2nd partition yet, as Vista will allow you to create one by using the "advanced" button on the partition choice screen during Vista install. Vista's partition creation is a little different than XPs and this will ensure it's created properly. Installing Vista last installs the latest pre-boot OS choice software and does work much better.

That's my 2 cents on this procedure.
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