Vista Novice...

  • Thread starter Thread starter mgm
  • Start date Start date
M

mgm

Can anyone point me to instructions on how to install Vista on a D:\
partition after WinXP pro sp2 has been installed on C:\ ?
I don't want to "trash" my XP partition as this is my main working OS with
needed work apps. and files. I'm curious about VISTA but i can't afford to
ruin XP. The goal is a dual boot box with XP as the default os. I've
downloaded and have a working VISTA bootable DVD. My PC boots to it to
install when it's inserted. The first screen I see with VISTA asked my for
language and currency???? When will VISTA install let me pick which
partition to install to???
 
If you can't afford to ruin XP, don't install Vista. Microsoft does not
support Vista at this time so you have no guarantee of recovery.

If you decide to proceed anyway, you have two choices. Install with Virtual
PC 2004 or Virtual Server 2005 R2 (both now free for the download) or
install on your second partition.

If the latter, make an image backup of your entire XP volume. Then with XP
running, insert the Vista dvd and follow the instructions. Vista will
create the boot options screen enabling you to choose which OS to boot into.

Removing Vista may render XP inoperable. That is recoverable but recovery
is not intuitive.

Vista should not be installed on a production computer or a primary home
computer. If you proceed, you must accept the risk of losing all your
programs and data.

I suggest you first try it in VPC since that entails none of the risks of a
standard installation. You will still have the option to do a bare metal
installation if you want.

If you have a 64bit capable computer you have the option of installing
either the x86 or x64 editions or both.
 
You're welcome. Vista will be slow, but a fix for that is in preparation.
It is called Virtual Machine Additions for Vista. The new ones should work
with all the recent builds. Ask back in a week or so and we should have
more info.

Colin Barnhorst - MVP (Virtual Machine)
 
Will VPC be able to use my d:\ logical partition and does VPC give me the
option to select which partition I use. I looked up VPC 04 and found this
"Partition the VHD using a boot disk before install; VM Additions must be
installed by running setup in VMADD\Windows" . Does this mean I have to
reformat this d:\ partition?
 
Vista is not a partition manager and you do not install to a partition. You
install to a file. That's why you can run your XP and the Vista virtual
machines on the same desktop. You can have Virtual PC use any volume on
your system including any external drives to store the virtual machine
files. As far as your XP system (the host) is concerned, the Vista virtual
hard drive is just a big data file. Inside the Vista virtual machine Vista
thinks it has a real hard drive, but in fact doesn't. What you read refers
to prepping a hard drive. You will not be prepping a real hard drive. You
will not need to prep the virtual hard drive from within the guest (Vista)
since Vista knows how to do all of that. You don't do anything to XP like
make a partition, format it, and so on. Your physical drives will not be
changed at al.

Vista is able to automatically run the hard drive prepping on the virtual
drive so you really don't have worry about any of this. You just boot the
virtual machine with the Vista dvd and Vista Setup will just handle the rest
(with a little info provided by you).

Keep in mind that you must burn a physical dvd before you can install a
Vista virtual machine. The Vista dvd is too large for the virtual cd drive
in this edition of VPC. It may take you a minute to catch on to how to get
Vista to use the dvd instead of your XP, but it will come.

Don't try to figure out everything I have just said. Take it step by step,
use the VPC Help facility, and ask questions. The best newsgroup for VPC
questions is
microsoft.public.virtualpc
 
Thanks for you time and efforts; I'm looking forward to learning a thing or
two about VPC and VISTa... thanks again... mgm
 
Last question. How much ram do you have?

mgm said:
Thanks for you time and efforts; I'm looking forward to learning a thing
or two about VPC and VISTa... thanks again... mgm
Click to expand...
 
MGM - the post has become a "little" complicated - I have used the last
three Vista builds in dual boot conjurations with XP without difficulty or
problems.
However I utilize two HDs and am not familiar with using two partitions
(same drive).
As vista setup continues you are offered the choice of location for the
installation.
 
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