Dual Boot question.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dr Teeth
  • Start date Start date
D

Dr Teeth

I want to install Vista so I can dual boot with XP. I do not want to
do the dual-boot the conventional way, i.e. using BOOT.INI to select
the booting OS...I have Linux here too ;-).

I like to keep my OSs completely separate and unaware of each other,
to is it possible to use a partition manager to ensure that Vista will
not install any detritus into the Win XP partition?

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.
 
Vista does not use Boot.ini anyway. The problem will not be Vista doing
anything to XP. It is the reverse. Booting into XP will do bad things to
your Vista recovery options, both files and system recoveries.

Use a boot manager like BootIt NG.
 
The problem will not be Vista doing
anything to XP. It is the reverse. Booting into XP will do bad things to
your Vista recovery options, both files and system recoveries.
Click to expand...

Could you please elaborate? I have had many OSs installed at the same
time and have never had any problems associated with one being aware
of the other.

The reason I ask is that I made a slight error in installing RC1 (by
not doing what I normally do) and Vista placed some files in my XP
partition that were a devil to remove.

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.
 
Please search this ng and the vista.general ng on "volsnap.sys." This has
been elaborated on ad nauseum. The reason you haven't run into this before
is that Windows OS's prior to XP did not have VSS. MS enhanced VSS in Vista
and the XP volsnap.sys (VSS driver) is incompatible with Vista VSS. It
removes incompatible VSS files upon booting into XP. Volsnap.sys enumerates
all VSS files systemwide so when it enumerates the ones on the Vista volume
it deletes them. As I said, please do the search. The explanations are
pretty detailed. This is not a Vista bug because it is not caused by Vista.
It is an incompatibility between Vista and XP VSS. MS is well aware of this
issue and has decided not to fix it because it would require an extensive
rewrite to XP and the percentage of the user base who dual boot is minuscle.
 
Maybe these refs will help--you didn't say what version of Linux you're
using:
Click to expand...

I have quadruple-booted before (two versions of Linux and two versions
of windows). I am just trying to make sure whether Vista will do
something to the other partitions even though I install each version
of windows into an empty and active partition.

I use the boot manager that comes with partitionmagic and would rather
not change.

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.
 
Make sure the other partitions are hidden from Vista. I haven't used PM
boot manager in years, but you should be able to make the other partitions
hidden when Vista is selected in the boot manager.
 
If you are using XP SP2 you should hide the Vista partition from XP
otherwise XP will erase Vista's System Restore points and Shadow
copies every time you boot into XP. Vista can see the XP partition
with no problem.


| Make sure the other partitions are hidden from Vista. I haven't used PM
| boot manager in years, but you should be able to make the other partitions
| hidden when Vista is selected in the boot manager.
|
| | > On Fri, 26 Jan 2007 10:45:09 -0500, "Chad Harris"
| > <getsomevistainfoout.net> wrote:
| >
| >>Maybe these refs will help--you didn't say what version of Linux you're
| >>using:
| >
| > I have quadruple-booted before (two versions of Linux and two versions
| > of windows). I am just trying to make sure whether Vista will do
| > something to the other partitions even though I install each version
| > of windows into an empty and active partition.
| >
| > I use the boot manager that comes with partitionmagic and would rather
| > not change.
| >
| > Cheers,
| >
| > Guy
| >
| > ** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
| > ** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
| > ** out of someone who richly deserves it.
|
 
Vista can see the XP partition
with no problem.
Click to expand...

Even when the XP partition is hidden? I never let OS partitions 'see'
each other. I have a common area (another partition) that I use for
cross-OS access of data.

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.
 
As DOM pointed out Vista must be hidden from XP or you will lose restore
points, etc. from the Vista install.
 
Also, "hiding" Vista drives by not assigning them drives letters in XP
and/or not having XP's System Restore monitor the Vista drive does
NOT work. ONLY solution Bitlocker or a partition manager such
as BootIT NG or System Commander, etc..

| As DOM pointed out Vista must be hidden from XP or you will lose restore
| points, etc. from the Vista install.
|
|
| | > On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 14:39:05 -0500, "dirty old man" <[email protected]>
| > wrote:
| >
| >>Vista can see the XP partition
| >>with no problem.
| >
| > Even when the XP partition is hidden? I never let OS partitions 'see'
| > each other. I have a common area (another partition) that I use for
| > cross-OS access of data.
| >
| > Cheers,
| >
| > Guy
| >
| > ** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
| > ** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
| > ** out of someone who richly deserves it.
|
 
Also, "hiding" Vista drives by not assigning them drives letters in XP
and/or not having XP's System Restore monitor the Vista drive does
NOT work. ONLY solution Bitlocker or a partition manager such
as BootIT NG or System Commander, etc..
Click to expand...

I 'hide' my partitions with partitionmagic and its associated boot
manager. When I install Vista, it will be to the only active
partition, all others will be hidden both during the install and use.

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.
 
In my opinion, based on experience with it so far, none of the messages
here that say you can and should hide XP will work unless someone has
found a utility that does this and is compatible with VISTA -- PQ's
Boot Magic is not.
 
PQ's Boot Magic doesn't work with VISTA in my experience -- it stopped
VISTA from installing until I uninstalled it even although it was not
active -- I only had the one XP system on my machine when I began to
install VISTA.
 
When you run XP it should be the only active partition and Vista must be
hidden.
Click to expand...

That will be the case.

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.
 
PQ's Boot Magic doesn't work with VISTA in my experience -- it stopped
VISTA from installing until I uninstalled it even although it was not
active -- I only had the one XP system on my machine when I began to
install VISTA.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up on that one Hugh. Did you reactivate Boot
Magic after the Vista install and did you have any problems?

TIA.

Cheers,

Guy

** Stress - the condition brought about by having to
** resist the temptation to beat the living daylights
** out of someone who richly deserves it.
 
BootIt NG works.
Click to expand...

My recollection of their messages, including one from terraabyteul is
that it does not hide although he said they'd look at that and asked
why we wanted it.

The built-in boot manager of VISTA works, but does not hide.

If I'm wrong be glad to know it.
 
Back
Top