Dual boot into xp without wiping vista

Y

yfel

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
130
I'd like to have the option of booting into xp, and I've seen a few threads where people say install xp and then vista over it for dual boot, but is there a way I can do it in reverse? I'm using a sata 640 gig with vista on it, but I'd like to be able to boot into xp as well (yes I know I should have done this -before- I got all settled with the new os). I've got a spare 300gig lying around if that helps me at all.

I really don't want to go through the whole format/install all my crap/tweak it to my liking again. What do you guys think?
 
yfel said:
What do you guys think?
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I think most people who want something like this should go with a better option, which is a virtual machine. XP will run like a champ in a VM on today's systems. VirtualBox is free and works great, especially if you want to run Windows and Linux guests.
 
DeaconFrost said:
VirtualBox is free and works great, especially if ....
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..you are running a 'Home' version of vista, which nobody bothered to check about before recommending Microsoft Virtual PC, which in turn doesn't work on 'Home' versions of XP or Vista.
 
Catweazle said:
..you are running a 'Home' version of vista, which nobody bothered to check about before recommending Microsoft Virtual PC, which in turn doesn't work on 'Home' versions of XP or Vista.
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Incorrect, I'm running Virtual PC on both Windows XP Home Edition and Windows Vista Home Premium.

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The installer will give you a warning telling you that the OS isn't supported, just click "OK" and it'll install anyway.
 
I'll second Unknown-One' post - Virtual PC will run on versions of Windows that are not officially supported.

One of the big drawbacks of virtualization is hardware specific - you can't game much/well with any game close to recent on a virtual pc, you can't run things like tuner cards, etc. However, a virtual XP machine is great to run dated software, or another version of software that won't run on the same box (office, IE, etc). Also, a virtual PC is not a bad way to experiment, especially if you like to download free software or do other risk web things.

To the OP - if you have disk partitioning software or if the Vista-built in volume shrinking feature frees up enough space for you, it is possible to install XP on a second partition on the same hard drive. This route typically (always?) requires a repair of the part of Vista needed to boot (boot sector? - not sure of my terminology). Google "dual boot xp with vista installed". I've used Acronis Disk Director to do this.

You can also use your second hard drive and install XP on it - using two hard drives to dual boot can work well depending on your motherboard's bios and what it provides in the way of boot priority/management options. Some bios' this is very troublesome, but that seems rare anymore.
 
Easiest, guaranteed way to do it (as others have mentioned) is to just toss another hard drive in there. Unplug whatever drive Vista is on just to be safe, then install XP on the new drive as if you were doing a brand new install. When you are done plug the vista drive back in and simply choose which drive you want to boot into via your bios by selecting a Boot drive. Easy, simple, and you don't have to rely on either OS to do ANYTHING.
 
I did just that, with two drives and using bios to select the boot drive.

I ended up with just one larger drive with XP on one partition, then installed Vista to a second partition. Vista handles the boot loader.

In case you do not want to add a second drive, I think you will have to at least re-install Vista after a fresh XP install.
 
I think you will have to at least re-install Vista after a fresh XP install
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BBA, if you care to read the 'how-to' guide I linked above, you'll find that you don't need to reinstall at all. Just repair the boot loader.
 
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