John said:
Hi
I am submitting the question for a friend who has purchased a HP Pavillion
9200 laptop. ($4,500 AU)
He has been trying to set up a dual boot for Vista and XP without any
success. He has been infromed by HP technical support that this computer will
not allow a dual boot of these systems. In fact, it will not even allow
installation of XP. As I have never heard of this I was just wondering is
this the case?, can some new computers only run Vista?
If that's how their manufacturer designed them, certainly. After all,
all the manufacturer need do is decide to *not* develop any WinXP device
drivers for the computer's components, and, voila: the computer cannot
be used with WinXP.
If this is not the case is there anyone that may know where I can get info
on setting a dual boot up for this laptop?
Normally, the older OS must be installed first unless you wish to
acquire and use some 3rd-party partition and boot management utility.
(In which case you have to follow the instructions provided by whatever
3rd party solution you select.) However, this KB Article (not for the
faint of heart or technically-challenged) explains how to repair the
Vista boot process after installing WinXP:
Windows Vista no longer starts after you install an earlier version of
the Windows operating system in a dual-boot configuration
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529
MS-MVP John Barnett's Guide is considerably more user-friendly:
http://vistasupport.mvps.org/install_windows_xp_on_machine_running_vista.htm
Before proceeding:
First and foremost, if the specific computer model in question was
designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no WinXP-specific
device drivers available to make the computer's diverse components work
properly. If this proves to be the case , installing WinXP in a virtual
machine would be your best option, anyway. Consult the computer's
manufacturer about the availability of device drivers. Secondly, adding
another OS might void any support agreements and, sometimes, even the
warranty. Again, consult the computer's manufacturer for specifics.
However, dual-booting is no longer necessary in a great many
situations. Why not download a Virtual Machine application, such as
Microsoft's VirtualPC 2007
(
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp?) or Innotek's VirtualBox
(
http://www.virtualbox.org/) and run WinXP and your legacy applications
within a virtual computer? Both are free and work with Vista.
NOTE: Microsoft does not support the use of VirtualPC 2007 on Vista
Home editions, but several people have reported that it works. Your
results may vary.
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin
Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell
The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has
killed a great many philosophers.
~ Denis Diderot
