I want to install Vista

  • Thread starter Thread starter Newtechie
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Newtechie

I have an extra hard drive that I would like to install Vista on and create
a dual boot up system. My main drive is WinXP MCE which I want to keep.
What I want to accomplish is to select between the two drives at start up.
Can someone tell me how to do this or send a link with instructions?

Thanks in advance,
newtechie
 
Just get the drive in your box and all set up. Run the vista installer and
follow the prompts, vista will ask you where to install itself, choose your
second drive. As far as booting, vista will manage that for you, nothing for
you to do or knowhow needed... pretty easy actually
 
Thanks for your reply. Are you saying that Vista will automatically create
a screen that'll allow me to boot from either drive?
 
Yes..................but it will also change the boot files on the original
drive
This means in essence that you will not be able to format that original
drive without losing the ability to boot.
It also means its damn hard to get rid of Vista if it malfunctions
.............its more work to restore your previous boot option.
I managed to do it once by saving all of the files in the root of the C
drive before installing Vista.When I uninstalled Vista..by formatting it off
the drive from within XP ...I then deleted all of the files in the Root of C
and copied the old ones back.

peter
 
what cheddarhead said is true; however, since you have two drives that is not
the best way to do it. right now you have XP as your OS and it works and you
obviuosly like it since you dont want to loose it. so i would suggest the
following:



1. get any info you want to keep out of the extra drive (I will call it D: )
and migrate it over to C: which should be where XP lives. once you have
everything out of D: that you dont want to loose now you are ready to install
Vista.

before you shut down insert the Vista DVD into the DVD player!
if you have PATA drives set the jumper on drive D: to master and set the ide
cable so the end connection is attached to D:

if you have SATA drives then just follow along.

2. turn off computer and unplug drive C: (if you are not sure which drive is
which right click on the C: drive from "My Computer" select properties,
hardware tab, double click on the first drive shown, select volumes tab,
click "Populate". this will give all the info you need to identify the proper
drive)
3. once drive is unpluged; both power and IDE cable, restart computer and it
should begin to boot straight into the cd. if you get a mesaage that asks "do
you want to boot from cd"; hit any key to accept.
4. now just follow the prompts and install Vista to D: and partition the
drive as you like using the Vista tool. the only option available will be the
"CUSTOM" install option.
5. once Vista is alive and happy turn of the computer and re-install C: drive.

now C: was most likely the master if you have PATA drives so plug it back in
the same way it came out and dont forget to set the jumpers (master is C: and
slave is D:)

now you have two drives that are bootable and two OS's that are alive and
well. if one drive dies then the other drive can boot itself.
when you want to boot into Vista you can select the drive from either BIOS
or from BOOT Menu if you have a newer computer. (on HP and Compaq just press
esc when the HP screen comes on)

you can also rearrange so D: (Vista is Master) and C: (XP) is slave. then
just make a boot entry in Vista to boot XP and you dont have to deal with the
boot order everytime.
 
BTW installing an OS into a different HDD on the same computer is NOT dual
booting.
dual booting is only when you have more than one OS on the SAME physical
drive and ONE OS is responsible to BOOT all OS's on the drive.

if you install Vista (or ANY MS Operating Systeme) eventhough you will
install to a separate drive it will only end up with one MBR for TWO drives.
which means that only ONE drive is Bootable, and the other is just storage.
makes no difference that the two OS's are on separate drives. this is the
reason i suggest you unplug the XP drive to keep it out of the way of Vista.
 
Hi,
That is not entirely true. Dual or multi booting means that operating
sytems, no matter where they are located, are booted with a boot manager
located on one partition.
 
Hello Alejo,

Thank you for the extensive and wonderful post. I'm gonna print it to use
as a reference but I do have some questions.
1. What does PATA mean? I have regular ATA drives and I'm 100% they're not
SATA.
2. Will a boot menu be created automatically? I have a custom built
computer that I built myself. I think it'll a hassle to
go into the bios every time to boot to the other drive.
3. In your last paragraph, you said I could make a boot entry in Vista to
boot XP. What does that mean and how do I
do that?

Newtechie
 
PATA = parallel ATA drives; which is what you have (wide grayish cable to
connect to mother board)

a boot menu will not be created. so you will not be given a choice if you
start Vista for example. it can be a hassle, so making a boot entry would be
the better choice.

this link will help you with the boot entries.
http://neosmart.net/blog/archives/273

i would like to clarify since you gave a little more info, you should have
built your PC with CS (cable select) setting for the drives as they are
somewhat new correct? if so then dont touch the jumpers. you are just going
to swicth drives and have Vista as the first drive on the cable (which will
make it master) CABLE SELECT will understand that this is the master drive
and with out doing anything in the BIOS will automaticaly boot that drive.
then just go to the link and you'll know what to do from there.
and just to make sure: before you unplug the drive or touch ANYTHING inside
the tower make sure it is truned off and the power cord disconnected. ALWAYS
WEAR ESD protection.

if you have more questions or need more help just post.
 
Alejo,

I'm not sure if I understand how to use that software to the link you
provided. So there's no simpler
way to do it? Does that software let you create a boot menu? Do I install
it after I install Vista? How
will I be able to access the XP drive?

Also, when I installed XP I set the drive to master and installed the D
drive and set it to slave. I can't
start this until tomorrow so I'll probably this again when I get up in the
morning.

Thanks for all your help.
 
no problem, that software is to create the boot entries in BOOT.ini (which is
the file that contains the info of what OS's are installed) so you dont have
to figure out how to mannually put in the entry for XP. ...and that is the
simplest way i know!
and you will install "easy BCD" in Vista after VIsta is all up and running
and happy. until you make the boot entry the only way to access XP is through
the BIOS. just have to change the boot order.
if you dont know how to change the boot order from inside BIOS take the time
to learn that. it really is easy. when the computer is starting up and you
see the VERY first "welcome" screen, you will have options to press F1, esc,
F2, or maybe F3. one of those keys will send you straight to the BIOS set up.
you may also have an option to enter "boot sequence" which will be preferble.
then you need to select D: drive save and exit.
OK, the boot menu is the graphical display of BOOT.ini; and remmember,
BOOT.ini is the file that has the locations of the OS's.
now look at your drives again and see is you have an option for the jumpers
that says "CS" (cable select) if so look at the specs for the motherboard and
see if the motherboard BIOS supports cable select.
i think i may be confusing you, and i dont mean to. doing this is no
different than building you r computer again from scratch but with only one
drive. it is really simple. the hardest part is downloading that software.

please email me with all of your computer specs and i will try clarify with
a better procedure that fits the way your computer is set up.

(e-mail address removed)
 
you will be happiest if you boot your current MCE sytem, then insert the dvd in the drive and install from there, when it ask where to install, point to the 2nd hard drive.

this will create the boot information on the MCE drive. and create a boot menu to allow chosing between the 2 OS's.
one drawback, the boot info for visa is on the MCE drive. so you must be careful not to destroy it or vista will not boot.

if you boot direct from the dvd vista will STEAL the "C" drive designation and you will end up with both OS assigned to "C". can be VERY confusing.

there is no need to destroy the computer, upplugging cables, and such. if you feel the need to disabe hard drives it is much easier to simply do so in the bios and leave the cabling alone.




(e-mail address removed)



I have an extra hard drive that I would like to install Vista on and create
a dual boot up system. My main drive is WinXP MCE which I want to keep.
What I want to accomplish is to select between the two drives at start up.
Can someone tell me how to do this or send a link with instructions?

Thanks in advance,
newtechie
 
Hi mikeyhsd - thanks for your reply. I actually thought of this in the beginning but decided against it because of the C drive. I prefer to have 2 different systems on separate drives so in case something does happen to either I'll always have the other one to fall back on.
you will be happiest if you boot your current MCE sytem, then insert the dvd in the drive and install from there, when it ask where to install, point to the 2nd hard drive.

this will create the boot information on the MCE drive. and create a boot menu to allow chosing between the 2 OS's.
one drawback, the boot info for visa is on the MCE drive. so you must be careful not to destroy it or vista will not boot.

if you boot direct from the dvd vista will STEAL the "C" drive designation and you will end up with both OS assigned to "C". can be VERY confusing.

there is no need to destroy the computer, upplugging cables, and such. if you feel the need to disabe hard drives it is much easier to simply do so in the bios and leave the cabling alone.




(e-mail address removed)



I have an extra hard drive that I would like to install Vista on and create
a dual boot up system. My main drive is WinXP MCE which I want to keep.
What I want to accomplish is to select between the two drives at start up.
Can someone tell me how to do this or send a link with instructions?

Thanks in advance,
newtechie
 
Hi Alejo - I'm working on sending the specs now. I do know how to enter the
BIOS and change boot sequence and a few other things :-) Is there specific
info you'd like? Also, have you used this EasyBCD?
 
mikeyhsd said:
you will be happiest if you boot your current MCE sytem, then insert the dvd in the drive and install from there, when it ask where to install, point to the 2nd hard drive.

this will create the boot information on the MCE drive. and create a boot menu to allow chosing between the 2 OS's.
one drawback, the boot info for visa is on the MCE drive. so you must be careful not to destroy it or vista will not boot.

if you boot direct from the dvd vista will STEAL the "C" drive designation and you will end up with both OS assigned to "C". can be VERY confusing.

there is no need to destroy the computer, upplugging cables, and such. if you feel the need to disabe hard drives it is much easier to simply do so in the bios and leave the cabling alone.
Click to expand...
there is nothing to destroy, it is no different than truning off or
unplugging the computer.
Vista does not "STEAL" the C: designation. it will always be C: by default
on every MS OS that you boot into. if you boot into XP the OS drive will be
C: the best thing to do is just put names on them from computer management
console. no confusion.
if you begin to install from inside XP you need to make sure you choose
"CUSTOM" otherwise you will upgrade the system and loose XP.
i have used easy BCD, but this is a new and improved version and i will look
at it today and i can help you with it.
i dont want to argue with other people or make you think this is the only
way; it is not. if you take the time to learn your system you will in the end
have a solid system that allows you more options in case something goes
wrong. also when the Vista test is over what are you going to do? Vista will
not last forever, so you will have to either buy Vista or remove it. if you
try to remove it while in dual boot you will have a lot more work as you will
have to re-install XP's NTLDR.
if you want help let me know.

what is useful to me:
Hard drive size and type (ATA, SATA)
BIOS and or mother board name and model

what is useful to you:
know how to get to BIOS (look at documentation from the MFG)
know how to identify the hard drives and their configuration
know if you have a "BOOT MENU" your documentation for the mother board
should tell you. this is NOT the same thing as "BOOT ORDER" from inside BIOS.
this is a separate menu that allows to temporarly boot from a different
location other than the DEFAULT drive setting in BIOS. this does not change
the default setting.
 
Alejo,

I sent you the email. I think I'll try your method for now. I don't wanna
confuse the C drive on the XP system. I will NOT be installing from within
XP. I will unhook the drives. Its not that much effort to do so. Let me
know when you get it so we can continue.

newtechie
 
it is a known and proven fact that if you install vista by booting direct from the DVD it automatically steals the "C" drive regardless of the partition drive you attempt to install to.

the only way to retain the expected drive lettering is to install from within another os.



(e-mail address removed)





mikeyhsd said:
you will be happiest if you boot your current MCE sytem, then insert the dvd in the drive and install from there, when it ask where to install, point to the 2nd hard drive.

this will create the boot information on the MCE drive. and create a boot menu to allow chosing between the 2 OS's.
one drawback, the boot info for visa is on the MCE drive. so you must be careful not to destroy it or vista will not boot.

if you boot direct from the dvd vista will STEAL the "C" drive designation and you will end up with both OS assigned to "C". can be VERY confusing.

there is no need to destroy the computer, upplugging cables, and such. if you feel the need to disabe hard drives it is much easier to simply do so in the bios and leave the cabling alone.
Click to expand...
there is nothing to destroy, it is no different than truning off or
unplugging the computer.
Vista does not "STEAL" the C: designation. it will always be C: by default
on every MS OS that you boot into. if you boot into XP the OS drive will be
C: the best thing to do is just put names on them from computer management
console. no confusion.
if you begin to install from inside XP you need to make sure you choose
"CUSTOM" otherwise you will upgrade the system and loose XP.
i have used easy BCD, but this is a new and improved version and i will look
at it today and i can help you with it.
i dont want to argue with other people or make you think this is the only
way; it is not. if you take the time to learn your system you will in the end
have a solid system that allows you more options in case something goes
wrong. also when the Vista test is over what are you going to do? Vista will
not last forever, so you will have to either buy Vista or remove it. if you
try to remove it while in dual boot you will have a lot more work as you will
have to re-install XP's NTLDR.
if you want help let me know.

what is useful to me:
Hard drive size and type (ATA, SATA)
BIOS and or mother board name and model

what is useful to you:
know how to get to BIOS (look at documentation from the MFG)
know how to identify the hard drives and their configuration
know if you have a "BOOT MENU" your documentation for the mother board
should tell you. this is NOT the same thing as "BOOT ORDER" from inside BIOS.
this is a separate menu that allows to temporarly boot from a different
location other than the DEFAULT drive setting in BIOS. this does not change
the default setting.
 
if you unhook the drives to install, then you will probably end up unhooking them every time you want to change OS.
its much easier to simply turn off the individual drives in the bios.
since you have to use the bios settings to direct the boot process to the differnt drives anyway.



(e-mail address removed)



Alejo,

I sent you the email. I think I'll try your method for now. I don't wanna
confuse the C drive on the XP system. I will NOT be installing from within
XP. I will unhook the drives. Its not that much effort to do so. Let me
know when you get it so we can continue.

newtechie
 
You are asking for trouble. For the most part I would follow Mikeyhsd's
method, but you can avoid overwriting the MBR and putting the Vista boot
records most easily by changing the boot priority in the BIOS. You will
then have what you want, two drives, both capable of being booted. You can
make it selectable from the boot menu later, which you would have to with
Alejo's advice. I personally would not follow his suggestions.
 
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