Help needed with XP Vista dual boot

tgbyhn10111 · 6 Nov 2007 at 13:01

Hi

I followed these instructions to install xp after vista but it's gone wrong
http://www.pro-networks.org/forum/about88231.html

Xp install went fine. I installed VistaBootpro330 and updated as indicated. Vista is showing up in the boot menu but XP has dissapeared - help.

Both OS are on a single raid partition.

I tried to boot from my original OEM vista install disc to repair the OS but all it does is boot to a pretty blue wallpaper screen and show a mouse pointer - help.

dr. sarf · 6 Nov 2007 at 21:16

Start over and install XP first - then just install Vista on another partition and it will sort the boot menu out for you autimatically - easy.
I tried it the other way around and had a loads of problems.

tgbyhn10111 · 7 Nov 2007 at 16:21

Thanks but surely there is another way of sorting this out? Seems like a lot of work.

Fire Wizard · 7 Nov 2007 at 16:48

Hello tgbyhn10111, Dual booting Windows XP and Windows Vista tends to be a bit of a pain overall. You follow one guide and it works perfectly fine on one machine and then do the exact same thing on another system and it doesn’t work.

The best way is to install Windows XP first followed by Windows Vista, this way Vista will automatically sort the boot configuration out for you. (Even then, it doesn't always work

) Though if you already have Windows Vista installed, I can completely understand, you not wanting to re-install Windows Vista again.

The program i use to restore the boot menu is something called EasyBCD. First download and install EasyBCD

Launch the app and go to the Add/Remove Entries tab. Where it said’s "Manage Existing Entries", it should just say "Microsoft Windows Vista". Now in the "Add an Entry" section, where it said’s "Type", use the drop down box to select "Windows NT/2K/XP/2k3. Where it said’s name simply type "Microsoft Windows XP" and then select the appropriate drive. (The drive where Windows XP is installed) Then click "Add Entry" and finally "Save" at the top.

Reboot the system and you should now be able to select the Operating System you would like to boot into. Hope that helps you out.